Short Wheelbase; TA-02SW or TA03R-S?

[Juhunio]

I absolutely love the 934SR shell, but missed out on the Jagermesiter, Black Edition and Vaillant Kits

I've managed to get hold of a Black Edition body kit, the full FRP chassis kit, the two piece f&r wheels and f&r tyres. The universals will be easy enough too, so I just need to source a short wheelbase kit for the build!

The choice seems to be the shaft driven TA-02SW or belt driven TA03R-S. Both would come with body shells and wheels which I could sell on, so the question is...

What are the pros and cons of the shaft vs belt drive versions of these short wheelbase chassis? Not necessarily which is 'best', just what are the positives and negatives.

Anyone who has experience of both who could throw some wisdom my way would be much appreciated 

Thanks all!

[ChrisRx718]

The answer is always to get both 

But the TA03 is notoriously hard to find parts for now, even basic A & B parts sprues aren't common. It's a more complex chassis with more parts to it than a TA02. As the TA02 spawned offspring in the form of the Top Force and TA02T variants, the aftermarket is strong. The aftermarket for the TA03 on the other hand is all discontinued and very expensive. If you enjoy the hunt for parts, TA03s make great cars to work on and look at, and are great to run, too. Very quiet and efficient drivetrain. 

However, the other issue you have is the wheelbase. Both TA02SW and TA03R-S are 236 and 237mm respectively, the 934 body is 230mm. There are aftermarket fixes to correct this, or the Tamiya solution is to position the body so it's wheels don't sit in the middle of the arches. Adjusting the wheelbase on the TA03 isn't straightforward without modifying those rare parts, so I would also lean towards the TA02SW in this respect.

I just bought everything to build a carbon chassis TA02SW for under £200, using only spares and aftermarket parts. You couldn't do that with a TA03 of any sort.

[dannymulder]

1 hour ago, ChrisRx718 said:

But the TA03 is notoriously hard to find parts for now

That is because I am buying al the parts , I bought 2 ta-03 chassis used, a bunch of used parts, rare rear ta-03f gearbox suspension parts, I have an order for new  front and rear gearbox parts for a ta-03 rs and some belds and ordered 2 sets of torqeu splitter sets for the alloy pulleys. 

I think I have a ta-03 problem when I rebuild the second hand cars then I have 3 of them.

[ruebiracer]

You know the TA03 RS is just rereleased with the le mans GT1 Body? I think, there is everything you need with brandnew plastics. No need to spend big money on collecting all single spare parts...

[dannymulder]

14 minutes ago, ruebiracer said:

You know the TA03 RS is just rereleased with the le mans GT1 Body? I think, there is everything you need with brandnew plastics. No need to spend big money on collecting all single spare parts...

yes I know I have one to, but there are not many spare parts so I am starting to collect parts and I am not spending big money on spare parts, all the parts I bought I found very cheap

[ruebiracer]

1 minute ago, dannymulder said:

yes I know I have one to, but there are not many spare parts so I am starting to collect parts.

Oh, great color! Usually with the Rere also new spares will follow. New customers also want to use these cars. So Tamiya will also bring the spares up. Just think about it regarding your search for parts, when you look at the prices.

Guess you already know, just to Mention it for other TA03 lovers.

 

Kind regards,

Matthias

 

[Juhunio]

Thanks so much @ChrisRx718  for the detailed and considered response, as ever!

3 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

As the TA02 spawned offspring in the form of the Top Force and TA02T variants, the aftermarket is strong.

 Yup, I'd clocked the common ground between the TA02 and Top Force, so assumed that would be the case

3 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

However, the other issue you have is the wheelbase. Both TA02SW and TA03R-S are 236 and 237mm respectively, the 934 body is 230mm. There are aftermarket fixes to correct this, or the Tamiya solution is to position the body so it's wheels don't sit in the middle of the arches. Adjusting the wheelbase on the TA03 isn't straightforward without modifying those rare parts, so I would also lean towards the TA02SW in this respect.

Is that right? The 934 Black Edition body came (obvs!) with the Black Edition TA02SW Kit (47362) which included the FRP chassis kit, so I had assumed that it was all designed to work together. It doesn't seem logical to combine a chassis and body that don't fit eachother? 

Tamiyabase has the wheelbase of the Black Edition TA02SW at 236mm, and Tamico spec the wheelbase of the Black Edition body at 236mm too. So it sounds tailor made.

In terms of aftermarket for the TA03RS, as @ruebiracer says, the TA03RS just got rereleased (47443) so you'd have to assume that parts would start to become available again too. Tamiyabase has the wheelbase at 237mm, so also seems close enough for the 934 body?

3 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

TA03s make great cars to work on and look at, and are great to run, too. Very quiet and efficient drivetrain. 

Yeah, the belt drive option sounds like something a bit different too, if there are no major drawbacks?? I've built three shaft driven buggies, and have a couple of TT02 variants to build, so the belt drive would be interesting....if parts aren't going to be an issue

3 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

The answer is always to get both 

Unfortunately, I feel you may be right!! Dammit!

[Alexei]

36 minutes ago, dannymulder said:

yes I know I have one to, but there are not many spare parts so I am starting to collect parts and I am not spending big money on spare parts, all the parts I bought I found very cheap

thats a very nice color. what paint was used?

[Superluminal]

34 minutes ago, Juhunio said:

Is that right? The 934 Black Edition body came (obvs!) with the Black Edition TA02SW Kit (47362) which included the FRP chassis kit, so I had assumed that it was all designed to work together. It doesn't seem logical to combine a chassis and body that don't fit eachother? 

You would assume that wouldnt you - but sadly the bodyshell was made for the 30th anniversay which has a chassis with a 230mm wheelbase.

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/49400porsche934/index.htm

Then for the subsequent 40th anniversay and black specials etc the same shell was used on the Ta02sw chassis which is 236mm wheelbase. It was probably deemed that with a bit of tweaking the body posts here and there and some trimming of the wheel arches that most people would fudge it to fit to a reasonable level of satisfaction.

But it does look a bit off.

You have a couple of options if you want to correct it;

Ruebiracer wrote a guide on drilling additional holes in the front of the top and bottom chassis decks to mount the front gearbox 6mm further back. Then dremmeled out the slots deeper in the gearbox drive cups to suit the propshaft length. He had a really good thread on it which I will try and find.

Another option is to do whatI did. Go on ebay and search for a guy in Germany who makes carbon chassis parts, email him and he will cut you a set of shortened carbon chassis plates with the holes in the right place. I think its someone Ruebiracer knows, the quality was very good and I would really reccomend him. I then cut the two ends off the prop shaft and then epoxy / araldited them into a 5mm dia brass tube which was cut to suit the reduced chassis length. You can get carbon tubes too which will work.

[Juhunio]

2 hours ago, Superluminal said:

You would assume that wouldnt you - but sadly the bodyshell was made for the 30th anniversay which has a chassis with a 230mm wheelbase.

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/49400porsche934/index.htm

Then for the subsequent 40th anniversay and black specials etc the same shell was used on the Ta02sw chassis which is 236mm wheelbase. It was probably deemed that with a bit of tweaking the body posts here and there and some trimming of the wheel arches that most people would fudge it to fit to a reasonable level of satisfaction.

Thanks mate, really useful. Nothing is ever straightforward is it? It beggars belief that Tamiya made such a fudge of it. Why not just change the later 934 shell molds a tiny bit??

2 hours ago, Superluminal said:

Ruebiracer wrote a guide on drilling additional holes in the front of the top and bottom chassis decks to mount the front gearbox 6mm further back. Then dremmeled out the slots deeper in the gearbox drive cups to suit the propshaft length. He had a really good thread on it which I will try and find.

@ruebiracer if you have that link it would be appreciated!

2 hours ago, Superluminal said:

Another option is to do whatI did. Go on ebay and search for a guy in Germany who makes carbon chassis parts, email him and he will cut you a set of shortened carbon chassis plates with the holes in the right place. I think its someone Ruebiracer knows, the quality was very good and I would really reccomend him. I then cut the two ends off the prop shaft and then epoxy / araldited them into a 5mm dia brass tube which was cut to suit the reduced chassis length. You can get carbon tubes too which will work.

If you have the seller details in your eBay history that would be great. Though the @ruebiracer method might be better seeing as how I've already tracked down the full FRP conversion set from the Black edition 

[Superluminal]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HD-Carbon-Chassis-Plate-for-Tamiya-TA-02SW-Chassis-Porsche-934-Black-Edition/372547834084?hash=item56bd94d0e4:g:5CsAAOSwbWJcRLOG

Maxspeedparts - he does the front and rear shock towers in matching weave carbon too. I got the full set fod my Vaillant 934 build. Will save the FRP ones that came in the kit for a future build.

[dannymulder]

good info, I am happy that i did not bought the porsche 934 body shell for my ta-03 rs for a spare, now I know that the wheelbase is 230mm, wierd choice tamiya did to put it on a 236mm chassis.

I did bought a vw t1 m chassis body shell to put on the ta-03rs chassis with a 239mm wheelbase I think it wil be fine, and the shell is wide enough to.

[Juhunio]

26 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

Maxspeedparts - he does the front and rear shock towers in matching weave carbon too. I got the full set fod my Vaillant 934 build. Will save the FRP ones that came in the kit for a future build.

Nice one, thank you. I’ve found the listing for the upper and lower deck. Is it a simple enough brief, “one of these but for the 6mm shorter wheelbase”, or is it more complex than that?

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain the complex path through Tamiya logic 😃

[Superluminal]

Yes both decks - when i added to basket I emailed him and just asked can you move make them 6mm shorter for the 934 kit wheelbase. He knew exactly what they were for and why - I think hes probably made quite a few like that for people now.

 

[Superluminal]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254167081710

Looks like you might not even need to email him after all. Should have checked his other items first!! He seems to sell them as a stock item now, demand must have been high enough.

[SuperChamp82]

Interested in Ruebiracer’s guide @Superluminal ?

I like to keep everything anchored in original red n blue so tweaking the gearbox position + drive cup innards really appeals 

Agree the German plates are top notch if you drift outside the reservation though 😂

[Juhunio]

10 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254167081710

Looks like you might not even need to email him after all. Should have checked his other items first!! He seems to sell them as a stock item now, demand must have been high enough.

Superstar, thank you!! 

[Superluminal]

14 minutes ago, SuperChamp82 said:

Interested in Ruebiracer’s guide @Superluminal ?

I like to keep everything anchored in original red n blue so tweaking the gearbox position + drive cup innards really appeals 

Agree the German plates are top notch if you drift outside the reservation though 😂

 

[ruebiracer]

2 hours ago, Superluminal said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HD-Carbon-Chassis-Plate-for-Tamiya-TA-02SW-Chassis-Porsche-934-Black-Edition/372547834084?hash=item56bd94d0e4:g:5CsAAOSwbWJcRLOG

Maxspeedparts - he does the front and rear shock towers in matching weave carbon too. I got the full set fod my Vaillant 934 build. Will save the FRP ones that came in the kit for a future build.

He Always has both versions in his shop:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carbon-Chassis-Set-fur-TA-02-echte-230mm-Radstand-fur-Porsche-934-body-set-o-a/372629741773?hash=item56c276a0cd:g:bbsAAOSw~llcRLM4

This is the listing for the 230mm version. I contacted him to design it after my cut down original FRP chassis, so I upgraded to carbon, too.

And this is the thread for it:

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/88635-anniversary-934-upgrades/&

Thanks Superluminal for remembering it.

Parts are really bang for the buck, very nicely made.

Porsche greets,

Matthias

 

[Problemchild]

I’ve just finished a TA02 SW build 

it’s a 911 kit (as per the purple one) but bought a vaillant full kit from tamico (bargain)

i so like that purple though

 

was going to do an FRP conversion but too many parts needed 

 

JJ

[Juhunio]

12 minutes ago, Problemchild said:

It’s a 911 kit (as per the purple one) but bought a vaillant full kit from tamico (bargain)

Nice!

So, standard issue TA02 SW build, with 934 Vaillant body?

How did the body fit?

[Problemchild]

It’s designed for the TA02SW

€50 for shell, wing, light buckets, 2 sets of decals

JJ

[Juhunio]

1 hour ago, Problemchild said:

It’s designed for the TA02SW

€50 for shell, wing, light buckets, 2 sets of decals

JJ

Yeah I’ve got one on the way too...it makes sense to me it should fit, but seems that hasn’t been the case for some here hence all the advice and workarounds discussed above 

[Superluminal]

1 hour ago, Problemchild said:

It’s designed for the TA02SW

€50 for shell, wing, light buckets, 2 sets of decals

JJ

Unfortunately that wasnt the case, it was designed to be used on the 30th anniversary TRF414 chassis with a 230mm wheelbase but was recycled for use on a TA02SW for the later anniversary / special editions (possibly as a lazy friday afternoon bash it out quick then hit the pub project)

This was one of the earliest attempts at correcting it on a 40th anniversary edition but involved cutting the suspension arms. You can see in the before and after photos how much of an improvement it is.

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=129718

 

[Superluminal]

I suppose it depends on how particular you are about the fit - mine was built as a shelfer and i wanted it look as good as possible with a lowish ride height.

If it was going to be a runner with thr body raised up a couple of holes on the posts it might not be as noticeable.