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So I was visiting the warehouse of a "local pickup only" auction site in my area, sort of a cross between eBay and CL, and I saw this on a shelf for the next week's auctions: The next week, I watched over that sucker like a hawk and I ended up paying a measly $22 for it. The box was in pretty clean condition and if I figured if the box was so nice, it couldn't be so bad, right? Being my first vintage Tamiya and all, I really appreciated all of the cutaway drawings on the box After staring at the box for awhile, it was time to open my "Ark". Initial reactions: Pretty dusty and dirty, but looks fairly complete. I was relieved the manual was included. However the original wing, side mirrors and interior set all nowhere to be seen. The original owner even left some of the original decals like the tire decals and a GENUINE Traxxas TQ AM Radio manual! What a snag!!! It also looked like some junk from the original servo saver was rolling in the bottom of the box. Once most of the junk was taken out of the box, I took a moment to take in all the detailing Tamiya put into these old boxes: Ok, enough staring at the darn box, let's get on to the car! The body had a few cracks, definitely not a shelf queen or worth trying to restore, but certainly acceptable quality for a runner, which is how I will use it. The original owner did a pretty decent job painting and decalling the body some 24 odd years ago, but some of the paint had flaked off, especially around the front. All the wheels decals were present and intact which was a plus. Now let's take a look at that chassis the body is sitting on. Nothing looked broken and it even came with a vintage Trinity Midnite motor! The rally block tires had been sitting nearly 20 years without foams, they had massive, nearly comical flat spots and were dry rotted beyond belief. They were absolute junk. Only two of the tires came off in one piece. I kept them as crappy souvenirs. Hiding behind those dirty wheels was a pleasant surprise, ball bearings! I started to tear down the chassis to see how it worked, and assess the condition of the mechanicals. The gears looked to be in pretty good shape. Whoever built the car was pretty liberal with their grease application. Unfortunately the ball bearings were limited to just the hubs. After I finished disassembling the front, I moved my way to the rear, putting plastic in the tray you see to the left to be washed. After I stripped the entire car down and removed everything, I sorted all of the hardware and metal components in another tray and soaked it with PB Blaster. I binned the motor, diffs and shocks. Reassembly and hopups will come in the next update. Total invested as of yet: $22

Hi selling my TA02 Escort cosworth with a few extas on ebay; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tamiya-TA02-Escort-complete-chassis-and-box-controller-3-shells-box-of-extras-/201257601661?ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123 Moving house so space and money desperately needed, unfortunately this has to go. I bought it all through ebay about 8/9 years ago. It was working fine the last time I used it but I haven't tested or even cleaned it because I know I'll want to keep it then. Complete with radio gear, transmitter and receiver, battery pack and charger. Chassis seems to be original TA02 Escort Cosworth with an ESC, MSC included too. Original manual and box, box has a tear on one side. Original wheels and tyres but wheels have been sprayed silver. Extras are: Escort Cosworth shell - has been badly painted, bashed at front crack in rear bumper and front arch. Original mirrors and 'whale tail' spoiler included. Subaru Impreza WRX shell - not tamiya so post holes are a bit off, wheels line up, vgc with mirrors Ford F150 Lightning shell - unsure if this is Tamiya but is good quality and all lines up. Paint job is very good, black bars for behind cab included Chrome wheels with tyres - as new Humvee / Ford ranger tyres - as new Fast charger, not really sure what it is. Says 12v Teamline ProPeak Delta Peak fast charger, 6-7 cells 1300-1800mAh If I come across anything else I'll include it. £60 seems cheap for all this so don't miss out!