Turnip's F103 "new build with a few used parts thrown in"

[TurnipJF 9192]

Today I received a very well-used F103 from fellow forum member @Wooders28 (great seller by the way) upon which I will be performing what I believe the full-size classic car fraternity refer to as a "sympathetic restoration", replacing what is broken beyond repair, but retaining those components which are still serviceable but bear the patina of wear which give the car its character.

The end result will hopefully be a car that doesn't try to deny its history in terms of looks, yet is indistinguishable from a new build in terms of performance.

This is the starting point:

 

[Jason1145 3986]

Remember this car has come from chilly Scotland so best gently microwave it up first to get the ice out.

This F103 is in good hands to get running as best possible, I have built a F103GT recently so if you need any parts I might have left over from that just ask ( my box is in house so still accessible) - what a nice pink damper it has too!

[Wooders28 4723]

53 minutes ago, Jason1145 said:

Remember this car has come from chilly Scotland so best gently microwave it up first to get the ice out.

Not too quickly mind, don't want to give it the benz 🙄

('The benetton' didn't really work...🙈)

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

I am interested in this thread, I really like my F1 but know very little about them. Its probably due for a 'sympathetic restoration' of its own, I have heard that some people strip them down after every race meet...I have a lot to learn

[Grastens 2795]

4 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

('The benetton' didn't really work...🙈)

I'm not "Benetton" on it!

... You're right 

4 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

I have heard that some people strip them down after every race meet...I have a lot to learn

That sounds, uh, sympathetic? To the car, I guess, but I also figure the precedent was set by full-size F1!

Looking forward to this restoration! I love my F103 - it was my very first Tamiya 

[TurnipJF 9192]

Step one (following disassembly of course) was to assess the main chassis plate. This has seen a lot of wear. 

This is particularly noticeable at the front, where it has been worn down to less than half its original thickness. 

I have cleaned it thoroughly, given it a light sanding to remove the splinters and sealed it with cyanoacrylate. Hopefully it will survive a few more miles!

All the screws that go in from the underside will need replacing though, and the replacements will no doubt stand proud of the very worn chassis, so I will probably need to run one of those vinyl chassis protectors otherwise the new screws will catch on the carpet track surface.

...Either that or bite the bullet and get a replacement...

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

Wow thats amazing that it has worn down that much but its still ok.  Is it expensive to replace?

[TurnipJF 9192]

On 4/23/2018 at 3:31 AM, Jonathon Gillham said:

Wow thats amazing that it has worn down that much but its still ok.  Is it expensive to replace?

I suspect that I might be asking too much of it, and that it will need replacing. New ones go for about £15 - £20.

 

I'd rather not replace it with a new one though, as that would be out of character for the car and would jar with the rest of the worn pieces.

 

I don't suppose anyone has a worn-but-not-this-badly-worn F103 chassis plate they would be willing to part with?

[Wooders28 4723]

13 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

This is particularly noticeable at the front, where it has been worn down to less than half its original thickness. 

Wow!

Didn't realise it was that, urm, well used!! 😕

[TurnipJF 9192]

7 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

Wow!

Didn't realise it was that, urm, well used!! 😕

It has lived a long and eventful life indeed. I suspect that it has had at least two owners before yourself, probably starting out as a well-resourced racer's primary chassis (hence the hop-up shock and motor mount), then being passed to at least one, possibly several less well-heeled racers or bashers, at least one of whom appears to have driven it extensively on an abrasive surface with worn-down front tyres fitted, hence the extreme wear on the underside.

The next chapter in its life should be a good one though, seeing a return to racing, but on a car-friendly indoor carpet track.

[Jason1145 3986]

Worst case buy a new one and scratch it up... now that’s just daft..... or is it???

[TurnipJF 9192]

Putting the main chassis plate aside for now, we move onto the front arms. In standard form the F103 uses two mouldings, one for the lower arms and one for the upper ones. 

The upper moulding was too far gone, deformed on one side, melted by what appeared to be either heat or chemical exposure. The lower  moulding however, while worn, appears usable. Here it is following a good wash and a soak in dashboard spray:

 

Luckily I had a barely-used upper arm moulding spare in my bits box, so this will be used in the resto. Here it is mated to the lower piece:

It is just resting in place for now. The two pieces will be screwed together once the kingpins and uprights have been cleaned up and prepped for refitting.

[TurnipJF 9192]

On 23/04/2018 at 8:41 PM, Jason1145 said:

Worst case buy a new one and scratch it up... now that’s just daft..... or is it???

Not a ridiculous idea, but I do have a backup plan. If I can't get a suitably aged yet usable replacement chassis plate, I will get a new one and fit it to my regular race F103. The cosmetically worn but still very much intact plate currently on that car will then be available for use on this one. 

[TurnipJF 9192]

The diff was next in line for assessment. Totally shot, as expected from the compete lack of differential action felt when turning the rear wheels by hand:

The outer ring is deeply grooved on both sides, so no chance of flipping it. Replacement will be needed.

I can't even get to the inner ring, as the spur and inner housing have been melted together. This diff must have seriously overheated at some point. I suspect it is in the same state as the outer one. 

I have no used spares, so that is a new spur and diff housing set added to the shopping list, as well as a diff ring and ball set. (In all fairness to the seller, I was expecting this from the photos he sent me beforehand.)

[TurnipJF 9192]

Continuing to look at the rear end, the next piece up for assessment was the T-bar:

Heavily worn as one would expect from having seen the condition of the main chassis, I was nonetheless hoping that this could be saved. I think I was being a tad optimistic though. 

Closer inspection finds it to have worn more heavily on the left than the right. Not sure how this occurred - I suspect an abrasive oval track may have been involved - but it gives the plate uneven flex characteristics.

Another unfortunate issue is that the rearmost of the two holes through which it is bolted to the main chassis has worn to an oval shape, so it won't stay in proper alignment anymore.

Another item for the shopping list...

[TurnipJF 9192]

The fibreglass pieces continue to take centre stage, with the upper deck next in line:

Here we see the reason for the off-white piece of plastic seen in the original photo - it is there to replace a missing piece of fibreglass deck, to give the body post somewhere to attach. 

Fortunately this isn't one for the shopping list as I already have a spare in my bits box. It is intact but shows slight cosmetic wear, so should fit the character of the car. 

[TurnipJF 9192]

It is not all doom and gloom in the fibreglass department though - there is one piece that doesn't need replacement:

The little piece that attaches to the motor pod and fits between the friction damper plates shows cosmetic wear but is still structurally sound. A light sanding of the edges and some cyanoacrylate to seal them, and it should be good to go back on the car. 

[TurnipJF 9192]

In other news, I have just completed an inventory of my F103 screw box, and between all the different screws that came with my various F103 spare part purchases over the last couple of years, I won't need to order any extras to complete this resto. Yay!

[TurnipJF 9192]

It was the damper's turn for some TLC this afternoon:

The pink anodising was worn and scratched in several places, so I decided to polish it back to plain silver. I then rebuilt it with fresh oil and seals, and fitted a new lower eyelet to replace the deformed one it came with. 

[Juls1 1661]

1 hour ago, TurnipJF said:

It was the damper's turn for some TLC this afternoon:

The pink anodising was worn and scratched in several places, so I decided to polish it back to plain silver. I then rebuilt it with fresh oil and seals, and fitted a new lower eyelet to replace the deformed one it came with. 

Well that looks better. 

I never understood why pink in the first place? 

[TurnipJF 9192]

I received a message from Tony today saying that his shipment of parts arrived early, so my replacement chassis plate will be on its way shortly. 

This prompted me to finish the inventory of reusable parts, and finalise my shopping list for this project.

Uprights and tierods are fine:

 

The rest of the plastics also appear structurally sound:

 

My project shopping list is therefore as follows:

chassis plate 4005040

T-bar 50505

gear set 50506

servo saver 50204

diff disc & ball set 51347

 

I am also going to buy it a fresh set of bearings, a 18t steel pinion, 21.5t motor, TBLE-02 ESC, Deans connector and a 180mm sensor cable, which will be joined by an Orange DSM2 RX and JR servo from my stash.

[Wooders28 4723]

19 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

It was the damper's turn for some TLC this afternoon:

That looks brand new! Nice job.

[Wooders28 4723]

12 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

My project shopping list is therefore as follows:

chassis plate 4005040

T-bar 50505

gear set 50506

servo saver 50204

diff disc & ball set 51347

I knew the gear and balls were in need of replacement, but would the wear on the other parts make the car lack luster to drive? It was my first , flat earth -  onroad car and maybe not the best introduction?

[Jonathon Gillham 4606]

1 minute ago, Wooders28 said:

I knew the gear and balls were in need of replacement, but would the wear on the other parts make the car lack luster to drive? It was my first , flat earth -  onroad car and maybe not the best introduction?

I have no idea if the worn parts would affect it that much as I'm new to them but I really enjoy driving mine. Its so hard to drive at all (compared to my buggies or touring car) but easy to drive fast once you're in the groove. There is something about them being so simple and precise, they take a lot of skill to drive compared to other cars. So maybe worth giving them another shot? 

[Wooders28 4723]

21 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

There is something about them being so simple and precise, they take a lot of skill to drive compared to other cars.

Maybe that's it, just didn't alter my driving style to the car, like you need to alter going from 2wd to 4wd buggies. After a few laps I was bored, I was on my own on the track though,but that shouldn't matter.

24 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

So maybe worth giving them another shot? 

I'll maybe try and get a shot of a set up one first before I spend any cash, as looking at what is need on this one, I thought was a bit scratched, I'd maybe better getting a new one!