Tamiya TR-15T Restoration

[Homar 4]

Hi I am a new member who wants to share the restoration of my TR-15T and get some advice where possible.

I bought the TR-15T brand new over 20 years ago and it has sat in my parents garage for the last 15 years. This was my first and currently only nitro car. I had a bit of a checkered history with this model and it spent more time down than up. It started when it was almost brand new and I installed the spur gear back to front and it is not very noticeable (well wasn't to me!) but one side is rebated. This jammed up and I completely destroyed my clutch and bell. Parts were nearly impossible to get at the time and I waited months for new parts.

I finally got the parts and then got some run time of it when the recoil spring snapped in my pull start. Once again waited many months to get a new one and I was off again and from there it eventually snapped again and I gave up and parked it up. Starting the car was always a pain for me.

I then figured out I could take the one way bearing out of the pull start and start with a cordless drill, I finally was able to get the running I always wanted. The car took a beat of beating during this period and was basically left in the current state it is now.

It is complete (including original box) other than couple of issues I see. I have lost the whole pull start mechanism, the rims are beatup and tires are non existent, mechanism deck is snapped at the front, front plate is intact but cracked and fingers crossed the engine can be cleaned up and still operates. I think I am up to it.

I have never restored an RC car so this is all new for me but willing to give it a go to get the beast back up and running. I think it will end up on a shelf with only one or two runs to make sure it goes.

Below are photos, it was already partly disassembled by my nephew a few months back who wanted to restore but thought I might take it off his hands.

I have started on the easy things first cleaning the chassis and rear suspension. I haven't stripped the diff or engine yet as they scare me a little. I had a lot of issues getting a few screws out in particular the rear swing arm mounts. I always had issues originally with screws coming loose so I ended up stripping some of the screws. I ended up drilling the head off two screws to pull it apart and it seems to be all ok.

This could be a long drawn out process as I will work on it when I get time but will try and keep this thread updated. I have to admit my inspiration comes from wildwillydrivers restoration and I will definitely be using it for reference.

If anyone has any hints or suggestions I am happy to hear and I also happy if anyone can help with parts. I am thinking if I can find it I will get a new mechanism deck but I know parts are very hard to find.

Thanks.

[Tamiyabigstuff 832]

Nice truck

I'm a big fan of these - I have 8 of them including 3 NIB kits...also have quite a lot of spares...let me know what you need.

[lee1980 71]

I lusted after one of these in the catalogue at the time was far to young to afford, just loved the style of it truck but with treaded slicks for road to!

A few years later got a traxxas nitro buggy, was like half the price doh! but got me in to nitro!

[Plopes 138]

I love the tr-15t, Will be watching this restoration carefully.

[KEV THE REV 2319]

Lots of TR15T parts still available on eBay, and wheels / tyres are available from the Tamiya Street Rover . There are some parts which are very hard to get, but you have pretty well all of them . You can get a replacement pull start on eBay - or better still get a Roto-start setup

[Byteme909 27]

looks like a long and fun rebuild process. I guess the first thing to decide on is what to do with the engine; are you planning on rebuilding it or replacing it completely? Back in the day it was fairly easy to get new conrod & piston and sleeve set but I'm not sure how easy it is to obtain engine parts. Also you'll have to check the front bearings as well for wear and also leakage; you can replace these but you'll need to pull everything off and heat the block for the bearings to fall out.

replacing the engine would be my suggestion but I can understand if you want to keep things original. looking forward to your restore.

[chickenman242tk 266]

i did a similar resto last year to my tr-15t ,mine just had a seized engine and dirty from sitting in a box for so many years. for some reason the screws seemed stuck in mine too and they are different to the usual Tamiya screws.

engine wise I would try to salvage it , strip it down and give it a good soak , engine bearings are quite easy to get from the interwebs , you may need to hunt down the gaskets and if the piston and sleeve are worn or have no pinch you can get them repinched without having to replace the parts and its a lot cheaper too.

[Homar 4]

Thanks for all the support. I will look to rebuild the existing engine, I will admit I have never pulled an engine apart but don't think I can do any more harm to it. I assume it is a good thing but currently the engine turns so it is not completely seized.

In terms of the pull start, I was eyeing off the roto start and may look to install one of them. Only wish I knew about that back in the day .

[chickenman242tk 266]

depending on how far you wish to go with the rebuild , you could look at an electric start kit.

there are a number of engine rebuilding stripping videos on youtube ,that will help a lot if you havent done it before , just be careful with the small screws and the o rings in the carby.

if you want to go with a pull start , you may be able to adapt one from another engine, i would take a stab and say most .15 engine pull starts would work.

[kontemax 1725]

I would convert it into a brushless elettric racing truck.

I'll do this to mine.

Max

[chickenman242tk 266]

how is that going max?

to the op , you gotta go nitro .nothing can beat that sound....

[Plopes 138]

Definitely keep it nitro with the original engine, Bet you its just run-in, They last a very long time.

Engine will need a good clean, new bearings, plug, seals and she will be as good as new.

The whole point of this truck is that it is nitro powered.

If you want electric, go get a Dyna Blaster.

[Plopes 138]

[berman 5315]

Pet peeve of mine, when ^people/magazines^ call glow fuel 'petrol' powered.

Restore it, Tamiya's first nitro and a fantastic truck.

[wildwillydriver 33]

Nice car, one of my fav too!

You can find some resto info and also engine resto in my post about the resto of mine.

You can find the link in my signature below.

Hope this help.

Bye.

WWD

[spinkle 15]

Nice car, one of my fav too!

You can find some resto info and also engine resto in my post about the resto of mine.

You can find the link in my signature below.

Hope this help.

Bye.

WWD

@wildwillydriver I bought a couple of TR-15Ts purely because your rebuild thread had inspired me to do the same!

[wildwillydriver 33]

@wildwillydriver I bought a couple of TR-15Ts purely because your rebuild thread had inspired me to do the same!

Nice to know, thanks for your kind words!

Any pics to show?

Bye

WWD

[Homar 4]

@wildwillydriver, I gave you credit in my first post . I have read all the way through your post and you inspired me to dig out my car and try and do the same.

I definitely want to keep it nitro, I think an electric conversion would just be wrong to such a great car.

I haven't done any more with the car this week, as I said it could be a bit of slow restoration.

[Homar 4]

So I continued to clean parts and decided to tackle the engine today. I really struggled to get any screws undone so I stuck the whole engine in a bi-carb mix to try and break down the grime. As you can see from the photos it was in bad shape.

The positive was that I got everything nearly apart. The negative I can not get the piston moving and remove the sleeve or the crank and I can't get the carby moving. I am not sure if it is completely ceased or something else is the problem. Anyone have any suggestions to get it out or moving?

I have left everything soaking over night most things were looking pretty good but some things will need a second cleaning.

Thanks.

[Tamiyabigstuff 832]

I would soak it in something like paraffin for 24 hours or at least give it several good does of WD-40 or similar before trying to do anything else.

Have you got the backplate & head off ?

[Disco 88]

Also try heating it up with a hairdryer/paint stripper, just take the carb off first or you could put it in the oven if the wife's out... works also

[kontemax 1725]

I miss some diff parts, the front bulkhead and some small bits.

Max

how is that going max?

to the op , you gotta go nitro .nothing can beat that sound....

[KEV THE REV 2319]

Also try heating it up with a hairdryer/paint stripper, just take the carb off first or you could put it in the oven if the wife's out... works also

Yes , heating up the block will soften any old fuel etc in the cylinder and crank and allow movement / free up the liner and help loosen any headbolts / backplate bolts and such , it will all tighten up again as it cools , but keep warming as you progress to each stage and remove parts and it will come apart with some ease . Take lots of photos as you dissassemble to make sure it all goes back in the right place, the right way and in the right order - or you could end up with parts left over - like the old self assembly cupboards

If you go for a pull starter you will need to get one with compatible mounting bolt hole dimensions - centre to centre , check before you buy

[chickenman242tk 266]

When i got mine the engine was totally seized, i soaked it several time in carby cleaner as the is ok to use on o rings ,took me nearly a week of soaking and fiddling to get ezerything moving again.

Once you get the piston rotating put a cable tie in through the exhaust port and turn the flywheel over by hand and that should dislodge the sleeve but as other said it will most likely need heat.

[wildwillydriver 33]

For sure the best thing to do is to heat the engine. But after the bi-carb mix is better to soak it overnight with WD-40 to avoid rust on bearings.

Bye.

WWD