New RC TL-01B project

[MadAnt]

I have been trying to shrink the collection a tiny bit to make some room, so last week I was glad getting rid of one of my cars to a new owner. That's fantastic! I just have maybe 3 or 4 more cars on the list that I don't want anymore. Well... I still have the same amount of cars is my collection... sort of. Yep! I bought another one, but it's something I really want to have fun with and maybe use as a test car. It's a platform I already have experience with and I should have everything in my inventory to complete since I bought it as an incomplete parts lot.

I'll just throw up a pic of some of the parts for now and have all of yall guess what it is.

 

[Gratuit]

TL01B ?

[Silver-Can]

Yep tl01b - that funny u shaped carbon piece looks like the rear gearbox plate.

[MadAnt]

6 hours ago, Gratuit said:

TL01B ?

 

5 hours ago, Silver-Can said:

Yep tl01b -

Bingo!

There are some extra parts that don't belong to it, but it was a parts lot. Some goodies are on the way and the chassis is waiting for me to put ball bearings in. This is pretty much a new car, just with a few pieces missing and once finished it will not only be a fun buggy, but also a good test mule.

[Silver-Can]

1 hour ago, MadAnt said:

 

Bingo!

There are some extra parts that don't belong to it, but it was a parts lot. Some goodies are on the way and the chassis is waiting for me to put ball bearings in. This is pretty much a new car, just with a few pieces missing and once finished it will not only be a fun buggy, but also a good test mule.

I really quite like my baja champ/king. It has nice balance, in my view. Only real downside for me is lack of suspension travel. I know there were shock towers you could bolt on to give it more travel but I think they were from another kit (bush devil?). I just drive mine on the beach now with my kids. Hope you enjoy yours!

[MadAnt]

1 hour ago, Silver-Can said:

I really quite like my baja champ/king. It has nice balance, in my view. Only real downside for me is lack of suspension travel. I know there were shock towers you could bolt on to give it more travel but I think they were from another kit (bush devil?). I just drive mine on the beach now with my kids. Hope you enjoy yours!

I have some ideas brewing, I like the look of the Blitzer Beetle, but having 4WD would be nice, so I might put a beetle body on it. Maybe I'll call it the "Beetle Champ". Most of its use will be on road, and I already have a set of buggy wheels with Bandito tires, so should workout fine. The funny thing is, now I have spent more money in upgrades and accessories than it's worth just to build it my way, but having experience with the standard TL01 touring car, it should be fun.

[Silver-Can]

2 hours ago, MadAnt said:

I have some ideas brewing, I like the look of the Blitzer Beetle, but having 4WD would be nice, so I might put a beetle body on it. Maybe I'll call it the "Beetle Champ". Most of its use will be on road, and I already have a set of buggy wheels with Bandito tires, so should workout fine. The funny thing is, now I have spent more money in upgrades and accessories than it's worth just to build it my way, but having experience with the standard TL01 touring car, it should be fun.

I remember a thread from about 5 odd years ago where a member had put a beetle shell on a tl01b - I think it was xv01 pilot but they've not been active for a long time. It looked really good 👍. Someone also did a kamtec rough rider shell on one too, equally awesome.

I know what you mean about hop ups etc costing more than the actual car...false economy, but logic doesn't really apply to our toy cars 🤣

[MadAnt]

It's been awhile since I have built a TL-01, so I'm going off of memory lol. Anyway I have removed all the plastic bushings and replaced them with ball bearings. The easier it rolls the better, since I'll be starting off using the stock motor. The next upgrade I installed are 6° caster C-hubs by Square RC Sustain, which should keep this buggy stable at higher straight line speeds.

Even though the c-hubs were listed for the GF-01, some of the factory parts had been borrowed from the TL-01 for multiple current Tamiya models, so there there is a good amount of cross compatibility with factory and aftermarket parts. 

Stay tuned, the steering links and electronics are next. Also maybe shocks too.

 

[TurnipJF]

Those hubs look very good. Do you know if they come in black?

We are looking forward to seeing what happens with your TL-01B. It is the chosen model for our family one-make races - my nephews, brother-in-law, father and grand-niece all have them, as do I. They have proven tough and reliable runners for us. Hopefully yours will be the same for you.

[ploots]

I shall be following this too as ive a tl01b baja king,it was my sons Xmas present many years ago, then in later years he sold it to his mate who's now married to our daughter he managed to crash it whilst we were all out racing each other and now ive inherited it, it's a good runner but could do with a new body and the kamtec beetle body or pick up truck body is what I was looking at

[TurnipJF]

Penguin RC do a Baja Champ shell if you fancy keeping it as a buggy. 

[ChrisRx718]

39 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Penguin RC do a Baja Champ shell if you fancy keeping it as a buggy. 

Yeah I may have ordered one of these just the other day  the buggy addiction is real. MCI do the decals too, ask me how I know.

What about the suspension bulkhead/towers? These are always the weak point on the TL01. Even if they don't break due to an impact, the plastic seems overly brittle in that exact location, it's quite common for the screw hole where the damper attaches to just split 

I think you can get carbon fibre plates to go over them - I have a file somewhere from my TL01LA build.

[MadAnt]

6 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

Those hubs look very good. Do you know if they come in black?

I really don't know, I believe these 6° versions are discontinued so whatever you find will be old stock. However, there are various Chinese brands and vendors on ebay that might have C-hubs with positive caster. It's a bit more time consuming searching things up because TL01 only aftermarket parts may not show up as easy, but changing the search to some of the current Tamiya models like the WR-02, GF-01 and others that use compatible parts might yield better results.

6 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

It is the chosen model for our family one-make races - my nephews, brother-in-law, father and grand-niece all have them, as do I. They have proven tough and reliable runners for us. Hopefully yours will be the same for you.

That's awesome, they definitely are durable, lol, I've taken flight a few times with my other TL-01 touring car back when it had a 57 Chevy Bel Air body shell. 

5 hours ago, ploots said:

I shall be following this too as ive a tl01b baja king,it was my sons Xmas present many years ago, then in later years he sold it to his mate who's now married to our daughter he managed to crash it whilst we were all out racing each other and now ive inherited it, it's a good runner but could do with a new body and the kamtec beetle body or pick up truck body is what I was looking at

Sweet! I'd say go with a beetle, the round shape handles rollovers better in my experience, they get back on all fours easier. I will probably do a beetle body for mine since I already have a Parma Beetle body sitting for years waiting to be painted.

[MadAnt]

1 hour ago, ChrisRx718 said:

What about the suspension bulkhead/towers? These are always the weak point on the TL01.

I just bought a 23x48 inch x 1mm sheet of G-10 or as we know it "FRP". I should be able to cover enough projects with that for awhile.

[MadAnt]

Update! I got some more goodies for the TL-01B and installed a few. For the steering I bought a set of XRay turnbuckles from the hobby store, because I thought I could make them fit. Turns out I was right, they just needed a few millimeters ground off on each side. Got the new Power hobby 300BW high speed servo, the torque might be overkill, but the speed is decent at 0.124 seconds. Then sort of lastly for now, I bought a set of Tamiya TRF touring car shocks, part# 42102. I'll build and install the shocks later, I got home late last night and went right to sleep.

The servo saver was rubbing on the chassis, so some trimming was necessary.

I'll have more photos later when I do the shocks.

[ChrisRx718]

What length turnbuckles did you need in the end? I'm building one of these next and I've got some 40mm, I think they'll be long enough...

My bodyshell from Penguin RC arrived today, it's a very good replica of the Baja Champ - my first ever Tamiya buggy!

[Silver-Can]

11 minutes ago, ChrisRx718 said:

What length turnbuckles did you need in the end? I'm building one of these next and I've got some 40mm, I think they'll be long enough...

My bodyshell from Penguin RC arrived today, it's a very good replica of the Baja Champ - my first ever Tamiya buggy!

Plus one for the penguin body shell. Got one a few months ago and really pleased with it. I think it's a little thinner than tamiya poly but well worth the money. I've had a couple off them recently (fox and terra conquerer) and they've all been good quality.

[MadAnt]

3 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

What length turnbuckles did you need in the end? I'm building one of these next and I've got some 40mm, I think they'll be long enough...

They are 70mm turnbuckles and I removed maybe 2-3mm from each side and the rod ends are the regular 3mm rod ends Tamiya uses in many kits.

[MadAnt]

Another update!

We have a runner!

Shocks are done and installed. Are TRF shocks worth it? I don't know, but the quality is excellent and with using some different ball ends, they fit the way I want it. I do like the white springs, I think they look spiffy, but I need to find a softer set because these don't sag enough to get me the lower ride height was looking for. I'll maybe order a spring set or use the funky color ones I have in my inventory.

Also, I swapped the original RS-540SH motor for a newer RS-540sh motor because I want to save the old one from my abusive driving lol.

To transfer the electricity from the battery to the motor is a cheap and simple HobbyWing 1060 ESC. I'm really starting to like these ESC's, I usually keep a spare in my inventory, so now I'm wondering if I should get multiple of them for future uses.

I did get the chance to take out the new built TL-01B for a test drive. It's not too bad and seems pretty stable, but I only test drove it on the asphalt. Before I take this thing off road, I want to make a belly pan or skid for the bottom of the chassis and reinforce the shock towers. 

Stay tuned, because fitting the body should be next.

 

[ChrisRx718]

13 hours ago, MadAnt said:

They are 70mm turnbuckles and I removed maybe 2-3mm from each side and the rod ends are the regular 3mm rod ends Tamiya uses in many kits.

Oh bummer, I may have seriously underestimated the turnbuckle length then, I've just ordered 40mm jobbies after eye-balling my DT02! Are you using long connector ends or short ones? (Adjusters, to use the proper term).

The TRF Dampers are a lovely touch! 

I've got some purple hardware coming for mine, but haven't sorted the dampers yet. I've also realised that the GF01 front uprights are of course very blue... I think I've messed up here!

[MadAnt]

4 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

Oh bummer, I may have seriously underestimated the turnbuckle length then, I've just ordered 40mm jobbies after eye-balling my DT02! Are you using long connector ends or short ones? (Adjusters, to use the proper term).

That's a bummer, maybe with the right size rod connector/adjuster end you can use them for camber links. Also, yes, I'm using the short connector ends.

[MadAnt]

Sorry, no pictures for now, but I should be taking some this weekend.

Anyway, I'm in the process of fitting the Parma Beetle body and have spots for the posts marked out for drilling. The long rear posts seem to wobble quite a bit, so I will need a threaded rod to connect the two post extensions together which are for a WR/WT-01. Then there is deciding on the paint color for the new shell, or colors. I just want to do a simple two-tone panit job, with just two base colors and a back coat. I'm thinking metallic blue for the bottom and gun metal for the top, or maybe a nice bright silver for the top. I'm still undecided, but leaning towards the blue with gun metal. I can't make this thing too nice run, lol.

Also on the to do list is making the belly pan and shock tower reinforcement out of G-10. I'm not a fan of the beige-ish color for this application, so might paint it black.

[MadAnt]

The Beetle or Baja bug body is fitted. I still need to cut out the wing, because I do want some rear downforce. It looks pretty good, even for a rough cut, but unfortunately I will need to cut the fenders so that the tires will clear when the suspension and steering is going through its motion. 

 

I'll pick up some paint next week, and maybe order another two Parma beetle bodies for replacements. Also maybe tomorrow I'll get started on belly pan and shock tower reinforcement.

 

 

[MadAnt]

Slow progress, but still progress. I made the belly pan skid thingy. It's made from G10 and is one millimeter thick. The plan is to maybe paint it black so it blends in rather than standing out and attach the two pieces to the bottom with double sided tape. This will hopefully protect the battery and help it slide over obstacles easier.

Next I need to make the shock tower braces. Since I see that they bow inward when the suspension is under compression, I'll just make a brace that goes across and ties the two ends together.

Done with this for today, maybe tomorrow I get a little bit more done.

[Nikko85]

1 hour ago, MadAnt said:

Slow progress, but still progress. I made the belly pan skid thingy. It's made from G10 and is one millimeter thick. The plan is to maybe paint it black so it blends in rather than standing out and attach the two pieces to the bottom with double sided tape. This will hopefully protect the battery and help it slide over obstacles easier.

Next I need to make the shock tower braces. Since I see that they bow inward when the suspension is under compression, I'll just make a brace that goes across and ties the two ends together.

Done with this for today, maybe tomorrow I get a little bit more done.

Looks awesome. I like my TL01s.

For the shock tower I also drilled all the way through then used an M3 bolt and ball nut, this seems to stop the tower cracking at the join.