Jump to content
TheOtherGuy

Vintage Tamiya Falcon found in the attic...

Recommended Posts

Hey there,

during the Corona-Situation I cleaned up the attic…what I found was my old vintage Tamiya Falcon… It was like staring at a time machine… unfortunately a lot of parts are broken. Now I´m trying to fix the whole thing (just to get the feeling of a happy young boy…😉). It´s been so long...and a lot has change since then.

I read about ESC and thought about changing the old speed controller to a Hobbywing Quicrun 1060. What do you guys think?

Then I stumbled over Ampro and his engineered 3D improvement parts. That really made my day!

Unfortunately one of the dog bones every now and then slips out of the cup. I read about the Thorp Dirt Burners and was on fire right away. Now I´m looking everywhere to get the whole set. I already had the possibility to get the dog bones and the cups, the axles are still missing. Does any of you guys know, where I could get them? I could trade the cups in as I have two sets of cups.... And does anybody know the market price for those (vintage) things? Is there any possibility to use any other axle from another car? Would really appreciate a suggestion...

Body shell and decals are the next things on my list.

I´m looking forward to hearing from you guys!

Thanks in advance and stay safe!

 

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good idea, I have a shelfie and a spare chassis, but perhaps I should get the AMPRO stuff as well and sacrifice on as a runner to bring back memories of a 10 year old me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, TheOtherGuy said:

I read about ESC and thought about changing the old speed controller to a Hobbywing Quicrun 1060. What do you guys think?

That ESC will sure make your Falcon FLY!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just started driving and rebuilding my Falcon (see the other thread). I did buy a Hobbywing 1060 and am really happy with that, so i can recommend it.

can you tell a little bit more about thorp dirt burners? 

On my car, for now i stuck some tape between the chassis and the rear suspension arms. on the chassis there is some wear, and then the suspension arms can swing down a little bit to far causing the dogbones  to fall out. On my Falcon the dogbones don't seem to worn down yet, but the axles are. The car has been running in my childhood days with nylon bearings, and upgraded to metal ballbearings only after some time, so the metal parts have been worn down and do have quite a bit of free play in the ballbearings. So i am interested in where to get those parts, or upgrades as well! 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for your replies, just bought the ESC and I am now waiting for its arrival...

The Thorp Dirt Burners are also a special improvement (in exchange for the E-Parts) and are also very rare. But I don't know the market price,  that's why I asked... I list of the thorp parts can be found here : http://www.rcchopshop.com/thorp/thorp_manufacturing_rc_car_parts_list.html ...but where can I get them?

I already installed some new ballbearings. In the meanwhile I discovered that one of the rear bumpers loses oil. Is there any improvement to it?

Good luck with your restoration project!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a fix I read about ages ago that involves inserting a screw in the chassis tub each side where the rear trailing arm connects to act as a bump stop to limit down travel.

I have also done some research a long time ago on suitable CVD replacements.

There is an Xray part that is suitable, but the shaft is too long.

A cut and shut with a sleeve that is brazed into place will work.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Maybe you could post a link to the "Xray part"?

With regard to the other suggestion: I wouldn´d like to make adjustments where I have to drill extra holes...

Does anyone know where I could the Thorp Axles 4585? That would made my day...^_^

Are there any other mods for the falcon?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, TheOtherGuy said:

In the meanwhile I discovered that one of the rear bumpers loses oil. Is there any improvement to it?

Good luck with your restoration project!

Tnx!
I just detached the front shocks, and they don't go  as smooth as i think they should. They are sticky the last 6mm's out. They still look in ok condition, no pitting or whatsoever on the dampener rod. So hopefully only new oil and o-rings?  So i am interested in the answers to your question above. Where are rebuild parts available, or what do i need to search for? 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I tried my own shock absorbers and they are all working but one of the rear ones... But I don´t know why. There´s oil leaking through the mini-hole on top of the absorber. Are there any replacement parts to improve them?

You can look for rebuild parts here:

https://www.myminifactory.com/users/Ampro_Engineering

or here

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/ampro?section=Tamiya+Falcon&s=0

You have to take a look at his videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQh3kynPdr4&feature=youtu.be

And while disassembling my old falcon, I found out that I already engineered a spare part myself (or rather my father)...so they are unique. They are some items to improve the front shock tower, as you can see here:

 

IMG-7220.jpg

IMG-7223.jpg

IMG-7224.jpg

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5/26/2020 at 10:32 PM, Falcon#5 said:

There is a fix I read about ages ago that involves inserting a screw in the chassis tub each side where the rear trailing arm connects to act as a bump stop to limit down travel.

I have also done some research a long time ago on suitable CVD replacements.

There is an Xray part that is suitable, but the shaft is too long.

A cut and shut with a sleeve that is brazed into place will work.

 

On 5/27/2020 at 3:28 AM, TheOtherGuy said:

Maybe you could post a link to the "Xray part"?

With regard to the other suggestion: I wouldn´d like to make adjustments where I have to drill extra holes...

Does anyone know where I could the Thorp Axles 4585? That would made my day...^_^

Are there any other mods for the falcon?

I've done some digging around in my posts in another forum, and may have something to work with. B)

From my understanding Tamiya TT01 metal outdrives fit the Falcon gearbox.

Yokomo have a 51mm CVD set from a drift spec car that fits the TT01 outdrives, and has the same axle dimensions as the Falcon.

I did a quick search and can't find them, but did find some spring loaded, self adjusting ones. May be worth doing a bit of research on these...?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

EBay is where I went to restore my bird.  Although there are plenty of parts floating there seems to be a mass inflation thing going on with anything Tamiya,  just last year I bought a part tree for the Falcon and it was 15.99 now guy is asking 130 for it.. no one is paying those crazy prices so it will go down.  I love the 959 but no way would I drop 2,500 for one.. crazy lol you can get the body from TBG team blue groove and decals from MCI.  Hope that helps

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 hours ago, Maverick74 said:

EBay is where I went to restore my bird.  Although there are plenty of parts floating there seems to be a mass inflation thing going on with anything Tamiya,  just last year I bought a part tree for the Falcon and it was 15.99 now guy is asking 130 for it.. no one is paying those crazy prices so it will go down.  I love the 959 but no way would I drop 2,500 for one.. crazy lol you can get the body from TBG team blue groove and decals from MCI.  Hope that helps

What do you mean with "959"?

I found the axles on ebay for 78$...grrrrr....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, I got new front tyres and the universals also arrived...

Tried to paint them...the tyres, not the universals...;-))

Now I only need some replacement parts and the Thorp Drive Axles 4585. The parts I will get via 3D-Printing.

The project is going on.

Have a nice weekend, folks!

IMG-7239.jpg

IMG-7240.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5/30/2020 at 6:11 PM, TheOtherGuy said:

So, I got new front tyres and the universals also arrived...

Tried to paint them...the tyres, not the universals...;-))

Now I only need some replacement parts and the Thorp Drive Axles 4585. The parts I will get via 3D-Printing.

The project is going on.

Have a nice weekend, folks!

IMG-7239.jpg

IMG-7240.jpg

I should have used a pen for this...

But from afar it looks great.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If anybody happens to know where I can the Thorp Dirt Burners 4585 (Drive Axles) please give me a hint. Or if there is any other solution for the dog bones slipping out. Thanks guys!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You could try putting some o-rings on the rear shock shafts under the piston.

This will limit droop and keep the dog bones in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Falcon#5 said:

You could try putting some o-rings on the rear shock shafts under the piston.

This will limit droop and keep the dog bones in.

I´ll try this one, but definitely looking out for the axles...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Foam, cut from disposable ear plugs, or the foam protectors for ball n cup linkages (like Associated RC10's used, shown in pic) in each cup, can help keep either end of the dog bone from working it's way out..  Just enough for a little tension when the cups are at their closest point in the suspension travel, you don't want it to bind and try to push the suspension away from the chassis.  It's cheap, easy to do and makes a big difference that no one but you will know is there.

RIMG2375b.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I understand what you're writing but can't really understand how to do it... Just don´t get the info from the picture... could you please be more precise use arrows for explaining? Sorry, I'm a bit slow today...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...