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Matty36

TA01 From when I were a lad

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I have had my TA01 since I was about 12, mostly in bits. I have now found most of the original parts, I just had to buy some driveshaft parts and body posts. I had decided to go with the escort cosworth shell to put it back to how it used to be when I was bashing it about.

I couldn't decide on a color, so i went with blue, purple, grey and white, but it didn't quite turn out as planned, but some stickers may help. I know the wheels are not original, I have them but they sit too far in the arches, so I put some 6mm offset ones on.

 

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I found some multispoke wheels but they are only narrow, but I think they suit the car better. I'm undecided on what color to paint the wing, i quite like the white with the wheels.

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Cool car! Those colors and scheme fit that era so good. I'd have a tough time deciding on the wing too, that is one of my favorite Tamiya bodies.

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It was supposed to be a white stripe, but ended up silver. The new wheels have arrived, just waiting on the tyres then I will put a picture up, hopefully before the weekend. I've gone for a different look for the wheels, and they are not silver or white.

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Ok, I didn't realise that I had bought drift wheels, so the tyres i have ordered may not fit. I have test fitted some slicks and road tyres, the slicks sit better on the rims, but they wont sit on the outer edge. I may have to trim the inner bead on the new tyres once they arrive for a better fit. Anyway, it's either a love it or hate it wheel. Next on the list is to sort out the suspension, sort out the ride height, finish trimming the body, put some lights on it and an interior.

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Looks like MST wheels. Regular 26mm rubber tires should fit just fine, but the lip of the wheel might stick out a bit. That's how they are designed to look, to give the 'stretched sidewall' look.

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The tyres arrived, I wasn't expecting them to be solid tyres, they had to be boiled in water to allow them to fit. Here is the chassis next to my 2006 x ray chassis, which I've changed to rear wheel drive.

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I decided to have a change of wheels, due to the gold ones having a split tyre, and I want to put them on my other car. I bought some hpi wr8 wheels for my on road losi chassis, but they are 2.2 inch rather than 1.9 inch, but for the purpose of trial fitting they are perfect. I just need to order some 1.9 inch hpi wr8 off road wheels, then I can put some rally block tyres on. I'm still unsure about the colors of the shell, but once I've ordered some decals and fitted some electronics, I can finally drive it around the house.

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I didn't like the ride height, so I fitted some shorter shocks from my touring car, so now the wishbones sit level and so do the driveshafts. It now means that I can sort out the camber links properly and it steers easier without binding.

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I am thinking that the team orion Ddrive motor and esc system would be best, then I can fit a lipo easier, as I dont have any nimh batteries anymore. I also found some old rally tyres on some graphite wheels, so test fitted them. They are minions on the front and mini blocks on the rear. I think the Michelin decals or monster energy ones would suit it.

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Every post different wheels :D

Nice slippers "Superman" xD

Looking forward to see the car on the bench and track!

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MST rims are unfortunately too wide for Tamiya 26mm tyres, I also found the same. I bought some rubber MST tyres to match but the profile is extremely low, making the wheels look too small in the wheel arches. Frustrating because MST rims look fantastic.

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8 hours ago, wtcc5 said:

Every post different wheels :D

 

I have over 20 years of touring car wheels in a box, some are very narrow. I dont know why but the 190mm body and standard offset wheels dont look right, the mst ones are 5mm offset and seem to look right. I am tempted by the changeable offset wheels next, but I think that electronics should come first.

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I have decided to try and get the car working, just to have all my models useable. I nearly bought a tamiya tble02 with a tblm motor, until I saw the price of the brushless motor. I opted for an absima brushed 17t combo which I think is made by hobbywing and an absima steer wheel radio as it comes with two receivers so the other car will then work and a cheap servo for steering. When it arrives I will update. I opted for the slow motor as it's got its 25 year old gearboxes still.

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Some parts have arrived from modelsport UK, the only thing I havent ordered is a nimh battery, I am hoping that I can somehow fit a shorty lipo behind the servo.

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44 minutes ago, Matty36 said:

I am hoping that I can somehow fit a shorty lipo behind the servo.

What's the reason for this thought?

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On 12/30/2020 at 9:12 PM, Aerobert said:

What's the reason for this thought?

The reason was because I have some, and they wont fit in the original battery location. It will have to go on top of the original battery tray, unless I buy a nimh just for this model.

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Or you go for these affordable LiPos that fit our vintage racers. See more info here:

 

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Thanks for the info, I never realised they made lipos in that design, I will get some ordered in the new year.

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Nice to see you get this up and running again.  Be careful running it, the plastics on these TA series cars basically crumble to bits as they get old.  I have bought quite a few older TA01/TA02 chassis and always end up having to replace the gearboxes and body mount braces.  Control arms seem to hold up OK, but those gearboxes do not do well over time.  Most of mine are trucks and run off road, so that probably doesnt help, hopefully you'll have better luck when running on smooth roads.

As @wtcc5 said, there are lipos that fit Tamiya chassis perfectly.  I bought a few after hearing about them on the forum and they are a lifesaver, have been using them in my TA chassis, as well as Grasshoppers, Mad Bulls, Juggernatu, etc.  Love them and dont have to wory about finding small lipos anymore.

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I only plan on running the car gently, hence why I bought a 17t brushed system. Hopefully I can replace any worn out gears if they break. I remember back in the mid 90s when I used to drive it as fast as I could, not knowing then that the original escort bodyshell would be collectable 20 years later. I did have a home made trailer with a boat that I used to tow around the garden.

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You should be fine keeping it on-road, they're great cars.  It's not the gears themselves that have issues, it's the gearbox housings.  The gears are actually quite durable, have never borken any of them even with a lot of power.

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