cjm_wales

I don't suppose you have part numbers for the Losi springs you run mate?

I'll muddle on with the shell I have for now. My hi caps arrived from japan last night - they're actually brand new and still in the original packaging, which was a pleasant surprise! Does anyone have any ideas what oils to run? I was thinking 40wt front & 30wt rear. Another spanner in the works are my star dish wheels. They appear to be ever-so-slightly less than 2.2 inches in diameter. You have to love Tamiya and their quirks.....

The tower is apparently their standard item - it is significantly different from the original FRP item as you rightly point out. I think it's possible to achieve the same damper geometry with it, but my repro shell won't fit, which means I've had to chop off the nose, annoyingly. It was also a tight fit with the 3d printed bulkhead. Hopefully my Hi-Caps will be arriving today, and all the additional turnbuckle ends arrived from Schumacher last week, so tonight it should be mostly finished, pending the electrics fit & painting the bodyshell

A slow afternoon. I decided to bin the original turnbuckles (good for nothing but the bin really) & go with schumacher items (the same as on my KF2, easy to adjust!). it took a while to get everything together and I will admit it was pretty frustrating. I've got no idea why Tamiya went for such an over-engineered design for the front suspension! I have all the madcap bits but the knuckle arms are a different design with ball ends that look like they'd break in a strong breeze. I still might go with the madcap uprights. Simplicity is underrated. I got there eventually though, thanks in part to a pair of cougar SV2 captive ball joints I had sat in my pit box. I also had to get inventive with the steering assembly as it was fouling easily & not giving full lock. And I have no idea where my front bumper is! Then I realised that the lovely, logical turnbuckle mounting from the front of the tower would foul the shocks! So I changed them around.

I think modelsport still have one or two in stock at the RRP. The shorty pack is probably 50g lighter than the core rc packs I was running previously, but the biggest gain is the C rating of the turnigy packs - 90c instead of 30c, which does make a huge difference in punch and top end with the 17.5 motors we run in the stock class. The super shorties are even smaller, which will get the chassis down to the minimum weight. The core-rc stick pack lipos are great, but they really aren't designed for racing, especially in blinky classes where the battery output makes such a difference. Edit: They do have the chassis in stock! http://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-ta04-lightweight-carbon-lower-deck/rc-car-products/23711

This box of goodies is a very meaningful upgrade for your vintage tourer. Also comes with universal driveshafts! I gained over a second a lap after fitting the same kit to my TA04. 50 quid posted (some ebay sellers are asking for 117!!!)

Firstly I bought the carbon reinforced chassis (that doesn't have rounded moulds to secure stick pack nimhs). no grinding needed. I also bought the SSG carbon battery straps. Then I designed some retaining blocks as pictured, got them 3d printed, and job done. I need to design another pair of blocks (or a once piece retaining strap) for the super shorty lipo cells I've just bought. If I'd stuck with the original TA04 chassis I would have had to do a lot of dremelling!

Update: Jauce is a money pit, plain and simple. Don't be fooled by what appears to be a bargain - the charges soon mount up. It's a joke!

Small update: The A&L transmission is on its way, as is the fibre lyte carbon parts & egress Hi-cap dampers. I think the blocker to progress will be the D1 parts (rear wishbone hinge pin mounting blocks). I ordered a pair from pargu over a fortnight ago & I had a response from them to say they haven't even made them yet! It could be another 3-4 weeks, which is frankly shocking. I've emailed ORB racing to see if they have any D1 parts in stock. I should have just ordered from him to begin with! the parts he's sent out already look superb and took less than a week to arrive...

I was trying to read them on RCTECH, but that forum software is awful. It crashed my browser several times & I gave up, which is a shame as they were fascinating!

The super shorties have arrived. These will also be going in my TA04 vintage racer project in an effort to shed some weight. They're ridiculous! Also arrived today: the UJs and a savox 1251MG low profile servo

it's an RPM nylon 48dp adapter kit. I can't find any info on the net for it though. The hub is completely redesigned and the slipper plate faces the nylon. The concept is pretty much what you've come up with.

yeah, I just ordered one

The first company I've sent an enquiry too has quoted me an hours' labour per gear (£62 quid). I need to get my SketchUp skills up to scratch for gears, so I'll have a crack at designing them myself. I might even end up biting the bullet & buying a 3d printer!

I've owned this Super Astute since I was 13. It was given to me for Christmas in 1992, and was my first 'race grade' RC car, following on from a Madcap. It's been in bits in various boxes since the mid 90s, and other than a previous failed attempt to race it back in 2002 - the gears couldn't handle a reasonably powerful brushed motor - it's sat idle for all this time. Back in 2009 I bought a Kamtec repro shell which I never took out of the packaging... I'll be prepping that later this week Now I have more money than sense, I've decided I'll have a crack at getting it back up and running. Not just for street bashing, but for 'serious' vintage racing. To this end, I intend to fit the 3d printed parts from ORB racing (on their way to me as I type ), the full suite of Fibre-Lyte carbon fibre parts, Egress / Avante hi-caps that I found on the japanese auction site for 30 quid, and I'm also considering either the A&L lethal weapon transmission, or reverse engineering the existing gear set & having them 3d printed in super-strong plastic. Electrics wise, I think a 17.5 in either blinky or boosted would probably be enough, unless I upgrade the transmission. I'm also opting for a super shorty lipo pack & plan to design my own battery holder or adapt the existing one so I can mount the ESC and reciever in line behind the pack, keeping everything neat and compact. Unfortunately the diff 'holder' or access hatch is cracked around the counter sinks. I might have to re-design that part too. I'd be grateful for suggestions on turnbuckle options. The originals were always slop-tastic & I partly swapped it out for schumacher CAT turnbuckles and rod ends. The madcap kick up plate is pictured. I do have madcap uprights I could swap the original parts for, to get rid of the ridiculous bushings. Annoyingly I'm missing one hinge pin from the front inboard wishbone mountings, and I'm having to use the madcap pin-screws to keep the wishbones attached. Sorting through the bits: The piece that failed last time out - a definite weak link: Stripping the superglue (what was I thinking?!) from the spur gear / slipper plate): gearbox back on: lots of work to do still: I'll be replacing all the original screws with hex hardware: I've already emailed a 3d printing firm regarding the gear set. I intend to get the main shaft reduction gear, hex 'washer' plate, idler gear and diff casing re-engineered in modern high strength plastic.