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Porsche Turbo RSR Type 934 (49400)

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I’ve always wanted one of the 30th anniversary Porsches. The closest I was able to do was buying two of the 40th anniversary kits several years ago when they were released. I don’t like the TA-02 chassis though. It’s very crude and inelegant compared to more modern chassis. I always like to tinker with everything and again, the TA-02 is limited in this regard. I shied away from the 49400 kit due to the cost and the fact that I would be torn between keeping it pristine in the box, built completely stock as a shelter, or customized and run for bashing.buying two would be out of the question... or would it? I was perusing a famous auction site recently and came across a listing for TWO 49400 kits together! One was built and one was still mint in the box. The price was “reasonable” so I just had to have them. A Canadian gentleman shipped them promptly and packaged well. They were better than I expected and I am extremely thankful for the transaction. This is how they arrived. Beautiful.93DBF5CB-0E04-43B1-BD9C-17C47E57945A.thumb.jpeg.ffdb3b3654eee32c7d539d186f127124.jpeg22210133-60D5-4AEF-A36B-3918CDEEE1FF.thumb.jpeg.580992e158dbf506c05fd4234a33a39c.jpeg510473A9-801A-4081-B4FC-F9D70F1FA70F.thumb.jpeg.12bcf35179f84379cc6de56ac767a3c0.jpeg

I plan on keeping the one mint in the box for the foreseeable future. The built one will be disassembled and rebuilt with every imaginable upgrade that has become possible in the 14 years since the 2006 original release. I want something realistic and fun to drive. Not sure if I’ll make it RWD, AWD, or RWD with front braking. I have a nice gyro for it. It will run with wider rear tires for sure. Not sure how many TRF420 parts will be on it. I’ll start work on it within a month, but I don’t see completion happening until 2021.

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Nice score!

Plus I spy a Novak brushless combo too, double nice!

 

meh, it doesn't really need upgrading IMHO.

And it's got more in common with TA05 than TRFs... 

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They truly are beautiful chassis.  I think you got a good deal considering you got two.  Not sure how many 420 parts fit as they are more closely related to the TA-05.

I bought one back in ‘06 and couldn’t bring myself to build it so recently I bought one that someone built and is ready to run. I made a chassis protector out of some .010 fiberglass sheeting.  The only thing I don’t like is the front one way the previous owner installed.  

BF339072-2284-4C14-90B9-EB8E321A4B8F_zps

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How is that chassis dealing with the wider rear end of the porsche body shell? Its not using the 30mm wide rear wheels - so are the rear arms longer or are wider hexes and axles used?

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Axles/hexes are standard, nothing wider.

TRF style suspension can be widened by using wider hingepin mounts... but this is built with "D" mounts upfront whilst only "C" width at the back, so the front is mounted wider than the rear.

 

Did 49400 get asymmetric wheels of different offset? I forget... manual takes effort to differentiate Front vs Rear, Left vs Right.

Then again 49400 was a brandnew body molded for a bespoke chassis. I have doubts them beancounters got any say against whatever the engineer/designers wanted to produce for this Anniversary token. This kit is pure luxury like never seen before (or since!). 

Back then ~M02/M04 days, T often made wheels of different offset - cars like Merc SLK and Porsche Boxster had their wheels replicated with wider offset variant for 'rear' whilst still using same 26mm tyre width. 

30mm rear tyres were rarity by comparison. 

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While the wheels on the 30th anniversary all use the same 26mm tire, the rears have a bit more dish to them.  But nothing like the dish of the BBS mesh wheel used on the 40th anniversary 

CA77FC5D-AE63-4970-B549-10211B4AE659_zps

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3 hours ago, Superluminal said:

Those wheels are completely different!!!! Are they only used on this kit?

Yes only on this kit

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This kit came out in 2006 and was the first modification of the TA-05 chassis released. Other TA-05’s followed along with continued evolution of Tamiya touring cars. The two main shortcomings with the 49400 kit are lack of stabilizer bars and the differentials. There is an old TA-05 stabilizer bar set but I’ll try to find something newer that will fit with black bars instead of the red yellow and blue bars. The ball differential joints are a problem as they are plastic and prone to melting. There are TA-05 aluminum differential joints, but I’m wondering if there are more recent differentials from other cars that will fit with minimal modification. If any other differentials or differential joints can be made to fit the TA-05, I’m all ears. I’m really hoping not to spend a lot of money on trial and error just to have to go back and buy expensive OOP TA-05 hop-ups anyway. 
 

One thing I really want to do is have the car be RWD with all-wheel braking. I need a center one-way for that. There is a specific one just for this kit (53952) and one for the TA-05 (53841). I’m really lost as to what the difference is between them and why I couldn’t use the TA-05 center one-way with this kit.

 

Another desire is to use narrow tires up front and wide ones in the rear. Hopefully 24mm up from and 36mm in the rear. This will require modifying the wheels to make the fronts match the rears or the rears match the fronts. Likely doable. If not, then I’ll run 26mm in front and 32mm in the rear.

Lastly, I want to run TRF420 suspension from the toe blocks on out. Should be able to without any problems. They are more durable and offer more adjustability. I would need to replace the toe blocks and suspension arms anyway for the new wheels I want to run.

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I had to shelve this project due to the corona virus. I had to fly back home to China without the car in my luggage. It might not be until 2022 when I can go back to the US to get the car again. Also my work was cut back drastically so money is tight now and all those gee-wiz parts are buy too many of for trial and error are considered a luxury now. The only bright spot is that I still have a lot of parts to build a few other cars in the meantime. At my current rate of production, my stash will last me through the end of this difficult time for all of us.

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