New guy finds old TL-01

[ParkRNDL 0]

Hello, all. I figured I better post a proper introduction before jumping in and asking all kinds of silly questions...

I have loved Tamiya R/Cs since I was in high school back in the '80s. In about 10th grade (that would be 1984-1985), I bought myself a Tamiya F-150 Ranger, the one that came on the Rough Rider/Sand Scorcher chassis. Had loads of fun just bashing around with it, but I busted it up a good bit bouncing it off curbs and such. I was always jealous of the hobby store owner's Toyota pickup with 3 forward gears. As newer stuff came out like Hornets and Frogs and Grasshoppers, I always wanted one, but couldn't afford to upgrade. Then I got a real car and discovered girls and the R/C stuff sat on the shelf till I sold it all off to my brother's friend for something like 40 bucks. Ah, if only I had known.

Fast forward about 10 years. Got married, bought a house, thinking about kids... missed the hobby. So I went and bought what I thought would be a good backyard basher, an Associated RC/10 Graphite. I never got real good at driving it, and I seemed to destroy front suspension parts every time I took it out. Somewhere along the line, at a Kay-Bee Toys clearance sale, I also picked up a 1/14 scale Avante 2001 QuickDrive. I had a heck of a lot more fun driving that one, as it seemed no matter what I did to it, I couldn't break it. (Yes, it has occurred to me that maybe my lousy driving is better suited to the toy-car speeds of the QDs as opposed to the RC10... ) But eventually it got old, since it is really a toy after all, albeit a pretty sophisticated and durable one for its time. So it went on the shelf with the RC-10. Over the years, I have charged up the Avante and run it a few times, but mostly I have been fulfilling my need to play with little cars by getting into HO scale slot cars.

Now in the interim, I have seen Tamiya's touring car releases: TLs, TTs, TAs, all these cool-looking things with 4-wheel drive and realistic suspension... but with 4 kids and a mortgage, the time never seemed right to ask the wife if I could drop a few hundred bucks getting back into the hobby. Fast forward again to last weekend, when I stopped at yet another yard sale to look for the aforementioned slot car treasures... and instead found this jammed in a box with pots and pans and housewares:

And I have to gloat a little here: Honest to God, I paid a nickel for it!

After getting it home and finding all I could about it on teh intarwebs, it appears I have the Tamiya Mustang Cobra R on a TL-01 chassis. It came exactly as you see it here, with no transmitter or battery and with the motor leads disconnected.

The previous owner apparently did some upgrading... the car has an ESC and what appears to be a heat sink on the side of the chassis, and from what I've read, it didn't come that way. Also, the receiver is mounted inside the chassis UNDER the ESC, which is a pain because I'd like to swap the crystal out.

After reading everything I could find online about this chassis, my plan is to use the transmitter from my RC-10, if I can get it to play nice with the receiver in the car by swapping crystals, and do a few laps around the driveway and see where I stand. I had figured the only upgrades I'd want for the kind of backyard bashing I'd do would be a set of ball bearings and a set of oil dampers, but upon closer inspection, it seems the previous owner already did the ball bearings. Lucky me.

I touched a 9v battery to the contacts on the motor and all 4 wheels turned, so I figure the drivetrain is at least serviceable. So I connected the motor leads and charged one of the batteries from the old RC-10 and touched it to the battery connector. The steering servo hiccuped and the car jumped... so the electrons seem to be getting where they need to go. I am thinking it won't be too hard to sort it out once I get the radio for it.

Now for the first couple of silly questions:

1. The car is currently set up with the 23t pinion. From what I've read, this is probably too much gear for the original motor. Other than shorter run times, will I do any damage running it this way till I can pick up a 19 and a 21 from somewhere online?

2. The receiver is a NER-102, which is, near as I can figure, made by JR/Python. The Futaba transmitter I have is a FP-2PB, which was sending a signal to an MC210CB receiver in the RC/10. The transmitter frequency is 75.830, the receiver frequency in the TL-01 is 75.790. Can I get a 75.790 crystal for the Futaba transmitter to make it work with the JR/Python unit already in the car? Or will I need to yank the Futaba receiver out of the RC-10 and tear this thing all apart?

thnx in advance for any advice/feedback/et cetera...

--rick

[Gruntfuggly 562]

Hi and welcome to the club...

Great score for that price! The TL01 is not everybody's cup of tea, but when it's virtually free you can't argue!

You'll probably get away with that pinion for now - easiest thing is to just keep an eye (or a finger) on the temperature - if it doesn't get too hot, you're all right.

And if you get the correct frequency crystal that should work too.

Are you aware that your RC10 graphite is probably worth a fair bit of money these days? Got any pictures of it?

[ParkRNDL 0]

Hi and welcome to the club...

Great score for that price! The TL01 is not everybody's cup of tea, but when it's virtually free you can't argue!

You'll probably get away with that pinion for now - easiest thing is to just keep an eye (or a finger) on the temperature - if it doesn't get too hot, you're all right.

And if you get the correct frequency crystal that should work too.

Are you aware that your RC10 graphite is probably worth a fair bit of money these days? Got any pictures of it?

yeah, it seems like at this point, the TL01 is a love-it-or-hate-it phenomenon. The guys who don't like it say it's heavy, outdated, and lacks adjustablity. The guys who like it say the minimal adjustments available are adequate and that it seems to be dang near indestructible, which is a big bonus for me.

yeah, I have checked a few RC-10 Gs on Fleabay, and sometimes they seem to go pretty high. I was actually thinking of selling this one off to fund some stuff for the TL if it turns out not to be a basket case.

I ripped off a couple quick pics of the RC-10 and the Avante:

The body is supposed to look like my old 1:1 Monte Carlo. I know it's kinda goofy-looking.

Still have the original box, instructions, body (painted green), wheels, and some other odds and ends.

And this, believe it or not, is the Avante:

I know, I know, I drilled holes in the body. What did I know? It was a cheap toy I got on clearance... Still have the box and instructions and spoiler and stuff for that one too.

--rick

[Henk4Focus 0]

The guys who don't like it say it's heavy, outdated, and lacks adjustablity.

What did I just read "HEAVY" in there! Who ever said it's heavy obviously never owned one. For sure one of the lightest chassis out of the box. Heavy......

[No Slack 454]

Hi welcome to TC.

I followed exactly the same route like you, even the HO-scale slotcars (these are rare in my country).

I own a TL-01 since it was introduced and indeed this chassis is bullet proof. I never changed a part because of a defect (ok some bodies but that is normal as I never found a foam bumper for my chassis).

What I added to the chassis is:

ball bearings, ESC, oil dampers, toe in rear uprights, speed tuned gear and a 23T pinion. That's all. Only thing I still consider is turnbuckles for the steering.

All parts for the TL-01 are cheap so it is perfect for bashing.

You will like the TL-01.

[SteelRat 46]

Can't beat a TL-01. Bashers love it. Racers (for the most part) hate it.

Oh and welcome to the club.. won't be long before you see this place as home!

[Butler 338]

I'd rather have a TL01 than I TT01.

You can race them too:

http://www.rccartips.com/rc-car-project-tamiya-tl-01.htm

[ParkRNDL 0]

Thanks for all your support and comments. Sounds like I can do plenty with this car, especially if I just want to start out zooming around the driveway. I noticed there is a really cool Vintage Trans-Am racing series that holds events in Glen Burnie, MD, and Frederick, MD which aren't all that far from me.

http://www.usvintagetransam.com/index.html

Seems like they try to keep the field level and easy for novices, which is what I'd need if I ever get around to trying organized competition. I guess this car might work for that if I ever get that far.

For now, I need to get to the LHS sometime this week and get some basic stuff to see what this thing can do. In the meantime, I'm surfing the far corners of the Net looking for TL01-relevant information. I actually have a question about an oddball wheel setup which I'll post in another thread...

--rick

[calicool 27]

Can't beat a nickle! you will like the TL01 for your uses no doubt...definitely get bearings if not already equipped. wish i still had mine . Funny you should mention Kay Bee Toys as that was the place i used to drool over tamiya's as a young boy in the 80's

[markbt73 5316]

I never find stuff like that at yard sales. Nice find!

The TL01 is practically indestructible, doesn't really need any adjustments, and is a ton of fun to drive. If it already has bearings, that's really all you need. Oil shocks will help out a little on rough surfaces, but for driveway work they aren't really necessary. The 23T pinion will be fine with the stock tires, but if you put any larger tires on it, you'll want to gear down.

I know what you mean about having fun with the QD, too. I had a Manta Ray QD that I beat to death in college, and dollar-for-dollar it might be the most fun I ever had with an RC vehicle. I used to run it around the dirt floor of the basement of my apartment building. Good times...

[ParkRNDL 0]

I know what you mean about having fun with the QD, too. I had a Manta Ray QD that I beat to death in college, and dollar-for-dollar it might be the most fun I ever had with an RC vehicle. I used to run it around the dirt floor of the basement of my apartment building. Good times...

Believe it or not, I even used the QD when I taught driver's ed. After showing kids all the stupid diagrams in the book about how to parallel park, I put two big toy cars on the table in the front of the room and parked the QD between them the way the book said to do it. I let a few of the kids try it too. I had kids tell me it actually helped to see the steps in real life instead of having to figure them out the first time behind the wheel...

--rick