FF-01 Nostalgia

[OneSixthRoy 30]

It was exactly 1 month ago a Buddy of mine messaged me to catch up and started talking about how he dusted off some of his old tamiya chassis' and started driving around again. The word "Tamiya" rang a nostalgia bell for me, since I semi-professionally raced Tamiya cup between 1995 and 1999. For reference, I was 14 when I started (I'm 42 now). Unfortunatly at the age of 18 other things became more interesting and the hobby for me stopped. Somewhere around my 25th I got rid off all my old race cars and live went on. I still liked RC, because amongst my youtube subscriptions there are a whole bunch of RC Youtubers but only when my buddy messaged me about him dusting off his RC cars, it clicked. This was something I enjoyed thoroughly and still watch content about pretty darn regularly. Why wouldn't I pick this up again? And so the search began. Ofcourse you first start with the more current chassis', but I was also pretty darn interested to see what had happened to one of my favorite chassis' way back then. And that's when I started googling "FF-01 Builds". And boy that started something..

I immediatly got mesmerized by @wtcc5 's FF-01 addiction build thread. All cars he was gathering I've had the pleasure of building or racing before. Primera's, Opel's, Levin, Civic's, Clio's, Mondeo's, everything was exactly how I remembered them. So that started something. I already got myself a TT-01E chassis to see if the hobby was still for me, but getting something I used to love and problably still know some ins and outs off might be fun aswell. 

Unfortunatly as you guys problably know, the FF-01 is not a new chassis' anymore (fingers crossed Tamiya reissues it) so they aren't that common anymore. The netherlands isn't as big as some of our neighboring countries, so the search pool is also a bit smaller. But unfortunatly it only took a couple of weeks before I got my first "hit". So this is where my FF-01 nostalgia journey starts.

It is't the prettiest, but I could get it for cheap and atleast it should be able to run after a bit of TLC. 

This slammed Golf VR6 with a roofrack and rollcage.

Body is actually in pretty decent condition. No mayor cracks, what it looks like not painted with tamiya PS paint, some extra holes for the roofrack, mirrors, running lights and a big exhaust. The Body actually didn't matter to me at all. It was advertised as a roller with only needing a receiver, bodyposts and it would be ready to go. 

Unfortunatly all isn't that easy, because on first glance I could easily notice some screws I didn't remember from 25 years ago, and also the rear strut body post hole being defective. Bathtub also has some material removed, for which I think is problably a lipo. Also, no battery holder. But that doesn't bring me down at all, it actually becomes a bit more challenging and rewarding now to get this in driveable condition now. Chassis is completly standard (not even ball bearings) so plenty of stuff to improve on. That night I went to bed thinking about my glory days. Couldn't sleep pretty well, so I started looking around on the internet again. And for some miracle I found this on an obscure dutch website who deals in "odd stuff"  and vintage toys practicly within biking distance from me:

The Upgraded Special Jaccs Accord (How good is vintage Tamiya boxart btw, that's just a thing of beauty!). I had been searching FF-01 stuff for weeks, and suddenly this popped up. The seller doesnt use the bigger websites like ebay, so it was through the power of google that I found it. A build chassis but only driven once. An extremly rare FF-01 for actually a steal of a price. Especially when you see the next picture:

An untouched Jaccs Accord Body! Not only was I over the moon to have found what is basicly a grail car at this moment (with the coveted blue Heat Sink), but in this condition? Wow!

So within a couple of days I have ended up with this paring:

As you can see, the Upgraded Special is in almost immaculate condition. So this is where the fun begins. Next Step is to take them both apart and to clean them thoroughly. On the golf chassis I'm going to inspect the damage and try to gather new parts for it to make it up to my personal standard again. And ofcourse driveable. Both chassis' will be upgraded, tempted to do one period correct and one just going mental with current parts. But in the mean time I will definitly be on the lookout for more cars/chassis' because as much as I love the accord. The Castrol Primera is the most gorgeous fwd racecar in the world, and the Calsonic Primera has a special place in my heart aswell. So hopefully I can keep you guys updated, because I can't wait to slowly and steadily restore some of my teenage memories. 

 

[RichieRich 870]

Very nice! There are several big time fans of the FF01 here at Tamiya Club. It's nice to see these old cars getting another go. Last year, I upgraded my old VW New Beetle FF01 with a few period hop-ups and added a Castrol Civic body. The car is an absolute blast to bomb around in the back patio.

[wtcc5 5987]

FF-01 never come alone. I just wanted one to run in the beginning… well you know where this lead to 

Great to see you got the legendary JACCS Accord for a nice price.

Can‘t wait to see your content here!

[Tizer 607]

Another one going down the rabbithole of old FF01's Welcome to the club haha!

I'm curious what shop you found this at. A friend of mine is potentially selling a bunch of his cars including multiple nice FF01's and some NIB too. Primera's, Accords, Levin etc. He too has a NIB Jaccs Accord so for a second I thought you found his sale ad Where in the Netherlands are you from? Would be great to have a racing buddy in the area

[OneSixthRoy 30]

On 3/2/2023 at 11:52 AM, Tizer said:

Another one going down the rabbithole of old FF01's Welcome to the club haha!

I'm curious what shop you found this at. A friend of mine is potentially selling a bunch of his cars including multiple nice FF01's and some NIB too. Primera's, Accords, Levin etc. He too has a NIB Jaccs Accord so for a second I thought you found his sale ad Where in the Netherlands are you from? Would be great to have a racing buddy in the area

It was a dutch webshop specialized in "oddstuff". Doesn't like "marktplaats" but that worked out pretty great for me since I think it was pretty undervalued. I'm definitly on the lookout for Primera's and although the calsonic primera is special, the Pure Racing Castrol Primera is the car I dreamed of owning when I was in my teens and I could never find it. If he has that car, I'd love to have a chance to take it over from him.

Unfortunatly I live in Alkmaar, as I am looking for a driving buddy aswell.