Thommo

The OG Astute body is all the way up to the rear shock tower and the repro body looks to have quite a gap there too... I use TBG bodies on my runners and they fit OK and should marry nicely with the Tamiya under tray.

Suspect the body is the culprit there. The back of the side pod should be straight down and not balloon out. That's a tough one.

My experience is that ultra high viscosity gear diff oil works best in these planetary gear diffs. It slows the diff action considerably more than AW grease and doesn't leak out a black mess.

Thank you for the kind words. There is a lot that I really like about this and I'll contribute more when I have more time. Madcap front arms do result in a longer wheelbase also ! I always space the front upper damper mounts out by 3mm when using Madcap front arms too..... always have.

I know...... I think this vid just just set me further away from the BBX

Surely it's the 1992 TRF211X. The first TRF, much desired and really not that difficult to put together as a re-release....

Acceptable driver as follows : * Willy * A Cowboy (with or without hat) * Any driver wearing a helmet

Your location is always helpful with this type of request.

Sweet CRX..... I don't think you will get any closer to gold than gold PS34 Bright Red will work, especially backed with white. Lots of time and effort into masking, paint the black detail first, then your colours and back with white.... it will be terrific !

Will you make a custom body out of the shoe goo ? 😜

So black paint or white ?

Great thread..... I just read through 15 pages and me thinks my entry is going to be straight out of left field ! I'm going for a mid / front motor, tub chassis and my kit comes with a diff lock. It's an easy guess.

Good spot on damper length, pretty sure the TA02T dampers have a longer damper shaft and taller springs than the touring cars. The front bumper is different, it's the narrow one to clear the bigger tires on turns For accuracy, you will also need TA01 or DF01 front uprights (the C hub and the steering knuckle) and importantly TA01 suspension arms (upper and lower). TA02 front uprights still work with TA02 front arms, however the wheelbase is then slightly different at the front. The TA01 parts in particular the flipped over rear suspension arms give the TA02T its unique wheelbase. Edit - Link to manual https://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/58495.pdf The front wheel axles are different also if you're going with the OG - TA01 front uprights.

Great find. That's a very good start point for a great project. Those front wheels have got me trippin, not sure about those. Remove the motor and connect 2 alkaline batteries in line and run 3 volts direct to motor cables. I hope that motor runs again for you.

I normally stop myself from posting in a thread about how good the content is but .... Wow. How good is this ! I've seen everything about this diff and tried most but this work is clearly the easiest and most effective upgrades. Minimal parts replacement, keeping it authentic with the ball diff or utilising the SA planetary gears, it's just the best work seen on TC with this diff I reckon.

Yeah it's a bad design and the reason it pops out in the first place. Once you've popped it into place just don't overtightenen. You could also fit the press nut to the cover and then pop it back in.

Try a press nut first. I'm pretty sure a press nut can be pushed into place or pulled in with a screw with the motor removed.

Damper mounts are still available new - https://www.rcmart.com/Tamiya?fc=853&page=3 If you have no luck finding the FRP plate for the rear hub in Europe, let me know..... I should have one down under.

Restored now but this is how I found my OG Astute after 20 years

Agree but check very carefully because often the collision waiver is NOT insurance and often the credit card company will only pay your waiver if you have agreed to the waiver and paid to reduce liability. The credit card company will not accept maximum liability for you ever !

Pictured are 180 degrees opposed. There is a tiny centre pop mark on the YR motor mount to mark the 16t position at the same orientation as the triangle on the Tamiya mount. Going from your photo, turn that YR mount 180 degrees and it will align. It's a tricky exercise when using the hi speed gear set. I could swear black and blue that I had it correct and still had to re-fit the motor to the next position. Thinking about it, I could have that motor mount upside down in error. Remove the top cover, push down on the caps on the centre shaft and wiggle the spur gear to be sure you have only a tiny amount of backlash with the pinion.

I would have had up to 5 or 6 of these parts that were cracked at the pivot. The Astute C2 part will crack if you make a loud noise or show it an angry face.

This thread has no photos and is hurting my eyes.

Sell nothing...... no regrets later !

I agree looking at the front upright Hop-Ups. The rear wheels and tyres can also fit onto the front.... then it just needs a variant of the cage and a truck body and you have a BBT BB-01 Just saying...