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wtcc5's FF-01 addiction

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56 minutes ago, wtcc5 said:

Thank you!

 I am afraid this will be a shelfqueen for the coming months, as I have a runner with this chassis already. 

Any other answer would have been sacrilege mate!👍

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@Kol__: Both has a good and a bad side. I think, I have more joy keeping it save on the shelf. Seeing this body race would be an eyecandy, too.

 

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I am back at the Calsonic Primera restoration. The color removal didn't went as planned. The color has some places where it seems invincible for the Paint Remover. As I don't want the Lexan become brittle, I decided to stop. Also the decals are always at high risk using the Paint Remover. Except for the front lip the body is in a excellent condition. No need to risk damaging it.

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Because of the front, I decided to use my later-years-evolution-front-lip (which I also used for the STW Primera I made years ago) to cover the damage. Using it will have an negative effect on the historical correct appearance of the body...

Oh no! Anyway...:D Last year I saw these pictures:

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That is the 1995 Primera. It developed aerodynamically regarding rear wing, mirrors and front lip, but has nearly the exact same livery B) ... I have a plan:

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In my lair I found a Peugeot 405 rear wing which will fit the look very good (better would be the Vectra wing, but it is sold out anywhere) and I bought Mercedes C-Class body parts for the mirrors (I wanted to use them for the Gruppe C Sauber initially).

 

First step now will be to reattach the decals that came lose over time. Then I will lightly sand the inside of the body , paint it in the darker blue that was used by the previous owner, paint the body parts in the same color and then attach them. Last step then would be to replace the damaged decals and the missing ones.

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I like this plan! I always thought the later cars looked better anyway (lower, more agressive)

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Thanks @Tizer! I think the same :)

 

I prepared the parts and the body for the new paint as mentioned above and masked the outside and the windows:

img_5533upd42.jpg

 

That is the result:

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Unfortunately the old color now looks brighter than the new paint and you can see it :( That is not what I expected, my experience up to now was, that Tamiya pretty much nails their color matching. Another surprise was the TS blue, that also doesn't match the PS blue. So I had to put a layer of PS blue on the body parts as well.

 

Now I have to live with the result and continued to glue the front lip. I had to use four strong clips to press the the lexan in place. This is how bend the lower front is. 

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While the Shoegoo was drying, I installed the rear wing. I really like the look:

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The mirrors demand for a bit creativity, especially the mounts. This will need more time, so I postponed it to the weekend and continued with the stickers. Some had to go (like the Yokohama Marinos) and some had be relocated (Total) and some were new (for the wing). The original orange front indicators were scratched and needed replacement. This '95 Primera had white glas already. To mimic that look, I cut the indicator outline out of the headlight sticker I had and it looks more realistic than I expected:

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Nice work! Maybe the body has been left in the sun for a long time fading the colour that was on it?

Before I switched to airbrush paints I always used the PS on the wing and mirrors :) Works just fine and with some clear coat over it you can match the gloss of the lexan too.

For the mirrors have a look at some of the SuperGT / JGTC bodies as they have very similar (Craft Square) mirrors. Some of the Yokomo drift bodies have them too, for which you can buy the accesoires sets separate. Or 3D print some, that would be cool ;)

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@Tizer: Thanks for the suggestions! I will take a look at these mirror types.

 

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to @GermanTA03Guy, who send a lot of small decals for my Levin cockpit. Tausend Dank Simon!

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With these I could fill a lot of empty spaces. Sekiya now has Sabelt belts, a Momo steering wheel, a Arai helmet... and normally a Sparco seat... but I put the stickers on the helmet instead, because they would otherwise be invisible behind the drivers helmet. Overall a nice step for the look of this cockpit:

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This is my first post on this forum, but I just had to register myself here to thank you for this incredible bit of nostalgia over these 18 pages. I loved scrolling through every bit of it and it had me remember things from the late 90s which I had forgotten. My RC addiction started somewhere around 1993 with the release of the TA-02 when I was 12 years old and didn't stop with the hobby until somewhere shortly after the release of the TA-03. Over the course of those years I raced Tamiya Eurocup with first my TA-02 chassis' in the modified class, and later with the FF01 in the "stock" class. I did it so well I got sponsored by our local hobby shop (which was great because it was a very expensive hobby for a teen). All of the hop ups across these pages have been provided, tested an reported back to the hobby shop over what they did, how they worked and how their customers could use them. I loved my fully decked out TA-02 with the carbon chassis (even sometimes switched with the FRP chassis depending conditions) but I absolutly ADORED the FF01 racing. Not only was it an awesome class to race (being nearly stock speed differences where next to nothing, it all came to driving skill) with races where I was literally on someones bumper for 5 minutes straight, but also to me it had some of the best line up of bodies. All the body's/cars you have gathered over the course of these 18 pages I have raced. Unfortunatly never in stock colors but always in PS06 yellow and black due to the sponsorship. 

Just wished I had kept some of my cars, and judging by the rarity, some of the hop-up parts/spares and wheels (I had loads of the calsonic primera wheels/parts). But reading through this topic has brought back some of the memories, for which I can't thank you enough.

I'm only just looking to get back into the hobby, and the fond memories of the FF01 makes the need to find one very real. Hope to find a Castrol Primera one day, since out of all the bodies I had, that was the one which resonated with me the most. Once again, thanks for this incredible bit of RC FWD History!

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@OneSixthRoy:  Wow! Thanks for telling us your story! If you have photos of this incredible era you would like to share with us, especially FF-01, I would appreciate it very much. I would like to see your race cars of that time. Where did you race Tamiya Cup?

I am glad you registered to share your memories with us.

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I finished the 1995 spec JTCC Calsonic Primera restoration today.

For the mirrors, I went for 2009 BMW M3 GT2 body parts:

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I painted them blue and added mirror decals:

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The mirror-mount-triangel-frame got filled with black vinyl. I also added three dots to make it look like the screws of the original. The front cooling opening got black vinyl as well as the grille. This then concluded the build of this car. Reflecting on it and the result, I would say it makes a great runner, not much more. Especially the body with its scratches & damaged stickers here and there spoils it for the shelfqueen. It still bothers me, that the plan to paint it brilliant blue didn't work. The 1995 style body parts are cool and make this car easy loveable. Here the pictures of the result for you guys:

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Vroom!

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Great job, i especially like the modified wing, the lip and the mirrors (wheels and springs and cooling metal plate too). The same way i like it when you see a calsonic r32 and it has the tom's levin mirrors on it instead of the bulky stock ones....  And about not being a shelf queen : at least you can run it and enjoy the view from far away and not be tooo gentle with it.... i personally hate it that nearly each car i build i get so attached that i nearly dont dare to run it.... which is not how they bring most Joy.... still i understand that one wants to preserve things... So for this use i think it is the right balance.... and looks awesome from far away... my 2 Cents...

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@GermanTA03Guy: Great words! Thank you. Strange that Tamiya went for the bulky mirrors... I guess the aero mirrors came later to the racecar... But I am glad, you mentioned it. I want to make a R32 this year and just ordered aero mirrors to make it special :D I also have the attachment problem. I don't want to sell any of my FF-01, no matter what condition they are in. Like a compulsive hoarder :rolleyes:

About that... well, er, you know, I bought this from @Quincy :ph34r::

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"You gotta catch them all!" or something like that. Starting with at least wanting one to have fun on the parking lot, my goal is now to have them all. And I am not so far away. Adding this JACCS Civic means I only miss out on the first published FF-01, the Idemitsu Civic.

Lets stay with the JACCS Civic: The chassis is just partly build, never saw dirt. The build was stopped at step 19 of the manual with finishing the body first. The rear axles are missing together with some hardware and the steering rod... The rest of the chassis parts are in an immaculate condition.

The body is one of the toughest regarding the decals. You can see, that the original japanese owner put in an honest effort, but reaching his own limits. I guess because of lack of experience, he didn't use a hair dryer/heat to apply the decals, which is a must for the JACCS-models. So a lot of stickers came off at the edges and have wrinkles. Also the cockpit then wasn't completed, too. Cockpit and body need a bit of correction trimming.

 

Yesterday evening I couldn't wait and wanted to start finishing this car. I started with the body. Luckily, the glue became sticky with heat again and the vinyl could be stretched were needed. I could press it into any recess of the body. I corrected the trim lines and removed excess decal edges. All in all, I am very happy with the outcome. Only one sticker needed to be replaced (because it was missing); the Bridgestone sponsor decal on the front bumper:

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Then I continued with the rear unit. I stole axles from a boxed spare chassis and thought about what to do with the bearings, because one was missing:

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I am no friend of bushings, so a full ball bearing set will go into this car.

 

Better:

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The gearbox got some too:

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And the front... I also checked the build and removed excess grease. While holding the hub to remove inner bushing, it just broke:

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Cleaning the motor with brake cleaner brought back its shiny gloss:

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The differential and then all bearings were added:

img_5681dzdbe.jpg

 

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I like to have old standard servos in the car for the steering. It not only fills an empty space, but secures the steering from flipping around and the steering link from making noises, taking awkward positions.

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This build step was very nice, because it were all new parts from the cast tree. An experience I seldom had, building FF-01.

 

Now to the steering rack. Unfortunately the connection wire was missing. I had to steal one from the donor chassis. Except for that, again all new shiny parts:

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Then it was time to unite all units:

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Shiny chassis B)

 

Little last steps. First the body posts. The 20mm screws were also missing... yeah, donor chassis had to save the day again :P

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Hexes and battery stopper added, too:

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The tires are a special case. Never driven, the rubber still in good shape, good looking rare wheels. These are the good things. The japanese owner glued them to the wheels (mistake number one for a collector like me) and generously spilled the glue over wheeledges and rubber.

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I could've cleaned that, but it is not worth the effort, destroying the rubber for this. I also didn't want to use chemicals or the oven to remove/weaken the glue.

 

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That's it so far for chassis and body. Next on is the cockpit.

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img_5699xefre.jpg

Painting and preparing the cockpit took a lot of time. Before I went on to paint it, I fitted it to the body and chassis. The problem with the Civic is, that you cannot mount the body in a proper ride height with cockpit. The rear body posts and damper bridge are in the way. It is easily solved by cutting away some small areas in the rear.

Driver face and cockpit then got paint. Again not all cockpit stickers were present, so I improved a bit:

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Cockpit and body together:

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And the whole car completed:

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I just saw a video of the JTCC with the JACCS Civic fighting with BMW M3, Toms Levin (always sideways :D) and Nissan R32. What a time that was for motorsport :wub: 

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@Tizer: I could build one myself, but think, that it is a waste of body and chassis... But if you and @Quincy are insisting hard enough, I will probably do one anyways :rolleyes::lol:

 

Time for an interlude. For the previous JACCS Civic build I stole parts from an Volvo chassis. That sounds so wrong, but the previous owner ruined the body big time (paint job, cut away the sides 5cm too high :blink: , unfinished sticker work and also forgot the body parts). So no need to try to save it. But still I felt it would be a shame to just leave it dirty and unfinished in a box.

I also was curious how the overall condition of this chassis is. So, I cleaned it and was very happy with the result and state of the parts:

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I skip a lot of build steps, because you may have seen the same here several times. The front went together without problem. The front bumper ist missing. I replaced it with my 3D-print version, which has an improved bottom protection. The gears are like new. The diff is very smooth, too. And the previous owner only used a bit of grease, which was very welcome in the cleaning process. Even the damper mounts are uncracked.

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The outdrives show no sign of wear. This time I didn't damage the steering hub:

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Both units finished:

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A new can went in:

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Tub assembled:

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Successful marriage of the units with the chassis:

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This time I didn't have enough ball bearings at home, so I used the kit bearing. The rear axles are new:

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Aaaand the cleaned rebuild chassis:

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The tires are glued to the wheels. They have foam inserts. As two wheels are damaged, I didn't make an effort to remove the old rubber. These can stay on for now. 

 

 

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Thank you for this beautifull thread. I love reading it. 
I started with on road cars with the tamiya TA03F opel calibra.  Drove it at parkinglots. Then i got married to my wife in 1999 and at our wedding day we drove a Volkswagen New Beetle. a few months later i found a tamiya FF01 new beetle at a local hobby store and just had to buy it. At first it was just a shelf queen. But then i joined a race club and started racing. First with the TA03 but then i  took the FF01 to the track. And i fell in love with it. Not wanting the new beetle body damaged, i bought a honda accord PIAA body. And drove it as much as i could. Later many other cars followed. But the  FF was the car i enjoyed the most. I was very happy when te current FWD class began. It still is not a FF01 but today i drive a mugen MTC2 fwd.  Also a lot of fun.

This topic brings back a lot of memorys and makes me wish i would have kept the FF01. But i drove it until it couldn't be repaired.
thank you WTCC5

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@compass: Thank you for sharing that wonderful story here! If you ever want to relive this wonderful time with your FF-01 please contact me. I have complete spare chassis as well as a brand new new beetle body set (with wheels) and a PIAA Accord body waiting. It would be my pleasure.

 

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i would love to , but i already have to much cars. And these days i concentrate on just one chassis, the mugen.  if i drive more than 1 chassis at the same time it gets out of hand haha. But i love to make body's for the fwd.
 

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@compass: These look awesome! Great to see someone who makes the effort for good looking race bodies. I made the Gorilla body in the Camel and Calsonic scheme for my FF-03evo and own Fwd designed car.

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On 2/2/2023 at 8:21 PM, wtcc5 said:

@OneSixthRoy:  Wow! Thanks for telling us your story! If you have photos of this incredible era you would like to share with us, especially FF-01, I would appreciate it very much. I would like to see your race cars of that time. Where did you race Tamiya Cup?

I am glad you registered to share your memories with us.

I raced Tamiya cup in the Netherlands :) I wish I had pictures from that time, but unfortunatly digital camera's weren't even invented back then. I might have some non digital pictures hidden in photoalbums, but those still are safely stored at my parents house.

But.. your topic has brought back so much nostalgia that I couldn't resist and gave in. I did some research on the current tamiya cups and noticed that there is a legends cup starting soon here in NL. I hope to attend some races and I bought a TT-01e to build. But I haven't even build it yet and I got a hit on an FF01 search on a dutch ebay site. I couldn't resist, so I will be receiving a FF01 Golf VR6 pretty soon aswell. Looks pretty decent but I will know more once it's here. I think I still have enough knowledge to see what's needed, and otherwise I think I have found some knowledge here ;)


I would definitly like to restore the VR6 with original decals, any advice as to where to get those? I'll definitly be hunting for more FF01 chassis' (and bodies) but they are starting to become pretty darn rare. Hopefully I can find enough parts to make it nice again, and then ofcourse drive it! First upgrade is already in house, a replica primera body :)

Edit: found a picture i took of the pictures from way back then. No primera's, but I think you can spot some specific wheels under the Levin. This was on a testing day so no racing decalled body's, just some personal stuff. Not bad for a 16 year old back then. Look at how i cut out the jaccs stripes from my civic decal set as a border between the black and purple. :D

This was just when i made the crossover from 4wd modified to fwd. The Yellow Porsche is on my hopped up TA-02sw chassis. The cool thing was that the golf body actually almost had the same wheel base as the TA-02sw making for a very hot hatch. After this day of training I made the transition and then came the primera's/mondeo (so light!) and Clio's

So many memories here :)

Schermafbeelding 2023-02-20 184400.png

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On 2/8/2023 at 8:11 PM, wtcc5 said:

img_5732yeiae.jpg

 

 

OMG, that Clio was the FIRST RC I ever built, when I was 9... yes, 9. My Grandpa painted the body as I was too little to manage a task with "dangerous chemicals"...

 

Unfortunately, they broke into our house a few years after, and stole it... I've tried looking it up everywhere to no avail. I'd love to get one again!!

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18 hours ago, OneSixthRoy said:

I did some research on the current tamiya cups and noticed that there is a legends cup starting soon here in NL.

Oh I need to look that up then! Would be a good place for me to start competing too I think :)

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1 hour ago, Tizer said:

Oh I need to look that up then! Would be a good place for me to start competing too I think :)

Yeah, wish they made it a true legends cup by using legends' chassis'. Would have loved to race a TA02 or FF01 in competition again. But i'm thinking most people with older chassis problably don't want to race them because of how scarce they are becoming (problably because @wttc5 bought all the good ones). I do hope to share something really cool here soon after being inspired by this thread, might have found a gem ;)

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Awesome stuff guys! It is great to see how much you could enjoy the hobby at that young age already. 

@OneSixthRoy: I am glad the fire is on again! Seeing the cars on your pictures :wub: Today I would buy them all. In Germany we have the RC-Kleinserie with a class that uses TA-02SW chassis to race (Porsche body, box tires, brushed can, no tuning). But the racing is a bit off. Mostly guys who know how to build a car like that and how to treat brushed motors win. Especially indoors is not suited for this class.

The Golf decals are pretty hard to get. I only saw them once on Ebay… It seems to be easier to get the whole Golf kit. Looking forward to see your builds here ^_^

@YoShImUrA53: The Renault sets pop up once in a while on Ebay and/or Facebook. If you get a FF-01 chassis then a L&L replica body with MCI decals should do the job. The Clio is a bit rare, because it was the body to drive in the Tamiya Euro Cup at that time.

 

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