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49460 Tamiya TNX 5.2r Champagne Gold Restoration

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So,

It's usual for me to be restoring 5 or 6 nitro at any one time. The next one to start is this:

model-49460-01.jpg

It's kit number 49460 and its the Champagne Gold Edition TNX 5.2r. It's the last of the TGM series cars I need to finish for my collection. As ever they are hard to find so I will be building one up from parts and restoring a chassis. Crucially there are 5 changes to the normal 5.2R TNX.

The Gold body

Gold wheels

A silver chassis plate

Silver shock springs

Silver damper caps

You can see them in this picture from the Tamiya release

21-49460-2.jpg

Now Tamiya being Tamiya they haven't released some of the parts as spare parts. Noticeably the silver chassis plate and the silver damper caps. I will be stripping the anodizing off of some blue ones to make them silver during the restoration.

I have got the last body and wheels new that were in Europe so sorted there. The springs are from the original TNX and they are easy to find.

So I will be starting with these two chassis that I got from Ebay for around £35 each.

TNX2.jpg

 

TNX4.jpg

 

Fairly complete but both without engines. I then picked up an engine to restore. The original Tamiya FR-32FX was made by Force and there are lots of spare parts about.

engine.jpg

 

So started today to look at what parts I will need to make a list. Stay tuned, more to come.

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Started looking over the chassis and then looking at my spares pile. I have all of the TGM chassis 1/8 trucks in my collection and as such quite a few spares.

Of course I have as mentioned a new bodyshell

IMG-5849.jpg

and the wheels, tyres will be selected from the two chassis and swapped over.

IMG-5845.jpg

A set of new battery box plastics, the M Parts

IMG-5846.jpg

Main chassis braces in plastic. Normally I would try and keep these but one is cracked.

IMG-5847.jpg

and the skid guards

IMG-5848.jpg

Annoyingly I dont have a spare set of black bumpers just grey from the normal TNX. One set has been ordered. Looking over the chassis it appears fairly complete but will be stripped and restored as normal. The engine will be checked over making sure everything is as it should be. It will go through the same process as the TGS engine in my other thread.

More to come soon

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Do you run these at all after rebuilding or are they stricly for the shelf?

ETA: forgive me if that seems a snarky question, it’s not at all, i’m just curious. I’d be hard-pushed after spending all that time and money to run them and risk breaking a part or gunking things up internally. 

Edited by Kevin_Mc
There’s no tone over the internet!
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23 minutes ago, Kevin_Mc said:

Do you run these at all after rebuilding or are they stricly for the shelf?

ETA: forgive me if that seems a snarky question, it’s not at all, i’m just curious. I’d be hard-pushed after spending all that time and money to run them and risk breaking a part or gunking things up internally. 

Every kit I restore is built to the Tamiya manual or hopped up with Tamiya options. They all run, the engines are all tested on a test bed.

IMG-5752.jpg

Most of the cars then become shelf queens but I have a few runners in my collection. The second TNX chassis in this build is actually going to be another runner.

My biggest problem is with 250 cars they cant all be run so I take happiness in restoring them to running condition and then moving on to the next.

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Aye, i can get that logic. I think i’d be the same. 

I like that test bed 😎

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1 hour ago, Kevin_Mc said:

Aye, i can get that logic. I think i’d be the same. 

I like that test bed 😎

Its actually a new one that I got fairly recently. I had a cobbled together one but got this aircraft engine testing one that was purpose built. Much nicer.

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44 minutes ago, wolfdogstinkus said:

Bargain price on those chassis, cant wait to see this progress. Putting the kettle on.  :)

Yep they were cheap. Both had no engines and looked tatty so I think put people off. I have a load of parts so can keep the costs down. Plus, with having restored around 6 now I am familiar with what needs doing.

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So today I got the chassis stripped and some parts ready to be washed

IMG-5869.jpg

Some parts will be cleaned and sold as used as they are being replaced for new

IMG-5866.jpg

Some parts will be washed then stripped and regreased etc

IMG-5868.jpg

There are a lot of screws on the TGM cars so I use an electric drill to remove them all quickly and efficently

IMG-5870.jpg

Lots of screws to be cleaned up

IMG-5867.jpg

The parts were then all washed in soapy water (like my TGS restoration thread) and then will be left to dry. It's unusual for this to work first time so once dry they will be checked and washed again.

IMG-5871.jpg

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Some extra info. The tyres are glued so a new set are on the way from Japan and the black bumpers arrived. Once the chassis is clean I will need to work on the Chassis plate and damper caps making them silver!

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Looking forward to the rebuild. 

It’s a pity about the tyres, i hate if they’ve been glued in place 

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acprc do you know of other vendors that have Mugen Bulldog parts? i've searched on line (Googled and found some) but was hoping someone like you would perhaps have better sources for these rarity vehicles. you sure are a busy builder. i received some cool sticker with my RC4WD order and one was hecka funny " Honk if any Parts Fall Off" i have to put it somewhere on my FFG.

Thanx.

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12 hours ago, Kevin_Mc said:

Looking forward to the rebuild. 

It’s a pity about the tyres, i hate if they’ve been glued in place 

Yes. I will use them up on a runner though. I have had success getting them off before with Super Glue debonder but it is a real painful and messy job. These rims are very large and just don't want to mess with them. Plus, the Gold rims will really draw the eye to the tyres so want them to look good.

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12 hours ago, ACCEL said:

acprc do you know of other vendors that have Mugen Bulldog parts? i've searched on line (Googled and found some) but was hoping someone like you would perhaps have better sources for these rarity vehicles. you sure are a busy builder. i received some cool sticker with my RC4WD order and one was hecka funny " Honk if any Parts Fall Off" i have to put it somewhere on my FFG.

Thanx.

Old Mugens are a real pain to get parts for, don't throw anything away that can be restored! I have a Mugen SuperSport restoration in my showroom that I have been doing for nearly 4 years now. Parts are really hard to find. I had some success with the Swiss Mugen importer on parts but other than that Japan has been the only place I have slowly found parts. I have purchased three chassis to get the required bits and also had to 3D print another. I am making a copy of the 1990 IFMAR winning car driven by Koji Sanada. What is really cool however is that Koji Sanada is now the CEO of Mugen and I have had a few e-mails back and fore with him to discuss the car. Whilst he doesn't remember much about the spec (he did confirm engine type etc) he is genuinely interested in the replica. Google searches tend not to find much but you can work hard to aid you. Don't just search for the part you need, search for other parts and if you find them ask if they have more that are unlisted. For instance all the Mugen part numbers were changed in each country so you might need to work out what the Bulldog parts were in other countries. Search individual Ebay sites like Ebay.fr and Ebay.de. Change your postage location to a french or German address and you will see items that dont ship to the UK or USA. You can then contact them directly. Take a look at www.rcmagvintage.com. It is a french only vintage RC site. It is a goldmine of collectors. Put a wanted add up and go from there. You will see lots of my posts in the Mugen and BMT threads.

Lastly, what do you need? I will keep my eyes open.

Adam

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15 hours ago, acprc said:

Old Mugens are a real pain to get parts for, don't throw anything away that can be restored! I have a Mugen SuperSport restoration in my showroom that I have been doing for nearly 4 years now. Parts are really hard to find. I had some success with the Swiss Mugen importer on parts but other than that Japan has been the only place I have slowly found parts. I have purchased three chassis to get the required bits and also had to 3D print another. I am making a copy of the 1990 IFMAR winning car driven by Koji Sanada. What is really cool however is that Koji Sanada is now the CEO of Mugen and I have had a few e-mails back and fore with him to discuss the car. Whilst he doesn't remember much about the spec (he did confirm engine type etc) he is genuinely interested in the replica. Google searches tend not to find much but you can work hard to aid you. Don't just search for the part you need, search for other parts and if you find them ask if they have more that are unlisted. For instance all the Mugen part numbers were changed in each country so you might need to work out what the Bulldog parts were in other countries. Search individual Ebay sites like Ebay.fr and Ebay.de. Change your postage location to a french or German address and you will see items that dont ship to the UK or USA. You can then contact them directly. Take a look at www.rcmagvintage.com. It is a french only vintage RC site. It is a goldmine of collectors. Put a wanted add up and go from there. You will see lots of my posts in the Mugen and BMT threads.

Lastly, what do you need? I will keep my eyes open.

Adam

Ah Koji San, A very honourable and remarkable gentleman, a real thinker. I was lucky enough to have dinner with Mr Sanada in Japan whilst there with the Australian Mugen Distributer, what a trip that was B)

46276069494_20a0612093_k.jpg2675DE89-0C44-4B5A-88DE-E8E67DE3A373 by Kym mtbkym01, on Flickr

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19 hours ago, acprc said:

Old Mugens are a real pain to get parts for, don't throw anything away that can be restored! I have a Mugen SuperSport restoration in my showroom that I have been doing for nearly 4 years now. Parts are really hard to find. I had some success with the Swiss Mugen importer on parts but other than that Japan has been the only place I have slowly found parts. I have purchased three chassis to get the required bits and also had to 3D print another. I am making a copy of the 1990 IFMAR winning car driven by Koji Sanada. What is really cool however is that Koji Sanada is now the CEO of Mugen and I have had a few e-mails back and fore with him to discuss the car. Whilst he doesn't remember much about the spec (he did confirm engine type etc) he is genuinely interested in the replica. Google searches tend not to find much but you can work hard to aid you. Don't just search for the part you need, search for other parts and if you find them ask if they have more that are unlisted. For instance all the Mugen part numbers were changed in each country so you might need to work out what the Bulldog parts were in other countries. Search individual Ebay sites like Ebay.fr and Ebay.de. Change your postage location to a french or German address and you will see items that dont ship to the UK or USA. You can then contact them directly. Take a look at www.rcmagvintage.com. It is a french only vintage RC site. It is a goldmine of collectors. Put a wanted add up and go from there. You will see lots of my posts in the Mugen and BMT threads.

Lastly, what do you need? I will keep my eyes open.

Adam

hello and thanx so much. this was acquired from my brother in law several years ago and i stripped it down, labeled every thing and put into containers, i keep puttn' the MBD off because of the parts issue but i had never delved into it deep enough. you have given me a great chance to finally get somewhere with this really neat and rare ride. has all it has it's original's and not all that bad of shape, cracked roll cage, wheels are pretty much toast, just some things will have to be up to date and not all 100% original but i'll give it a try. so Thank you again for your time and your reply.

i'll find out this week end all that's needed.

 

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as suspected the chassis parts needed cleaning again. Thats now done.

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Nice resto ! Agree These are not to be seen often. 
Are the new wheels you have really gold plated? Looks more chrome to me..

Do you know btw if These came with an extra Manual 49460? I have only the Manual from the 43530 with it.

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They are gold but its very subtle. Not sure on the manual, would need to find someone with a NIB and ask.  

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6 hours ago, jonboy1 said:

great build thread this - will be following!

Thanks

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Few more bits done:

Carrying handle was sanded down, zinc primed and then repainted. New top nuts fitted

IMG-5885.jpg

Gearbox was cleaned. I tend not to take them apart unless something doesn't sound right or feels right when turning the spur. Re-greased as well. The plate that holds the clutch is damaged. Whilst purely cosmetic it is annoying me and will be replaced.

IMG-5886.jpg

 

and the front and rear diffs were checked and regreased.

IMG-5887.jpg

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