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wtcc5

wtcc‘s FF-03 addiction

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I remember that DC5 body from yeaaaars ago. Always loved the look. Great replica! :D

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This thread will get an extension. I will build another one or two FF-03s.

One will be the FF-03evo and one will get the Chassis Upgrade Set (84314). Of course both are very hard to get items. I could get most of the needed parts, but will also do some CAD magic to replace the missing parts. Especially the FF-03evo chassis plate is one of these parts I couldn’t get…

Some of the parts are already here:

ee90c51d-175d-477a-bnuj97.jpeg

 

I started with the front gear diff and added some Hop-Ups already:

60bc76ef-37bd-44c6-biqky4.jpeg

d02eb482-4604-490e-8juksr.jpeg

c9a85654-f012-4606-au4jtf.jpeg

 

Now, I need to be patient for the rest of the parts to arrive from HK and Switzerland.

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18 minutes ago, wtcc5 said:

This thread will get an extension. I will build another one or two FF-03s.

One will be the FF-03evo and one will get the Chassis Upgrade Set (84314). Of course both are very hard to get items. I could get most of the needed parts, but will also do some CAD magic to replace the missing parts. Especially the FF-03evo chassis plate is one of these parts I couldn’t get…

Some of the parts are already here:

ee90c51d-175d-477a-bnuj97.jpeg

 

I started with the front gear diff and added some Hop-Ups already:

60bc76ef-37bd-44c6-biqky4.jpeg

d02eb482-4604-490e-8juksr.jpeg

c9a85654-f012-4606-au4jtf.jpeg

 

Now, I need to be patient for the rest of the parts to arrive from HK and Switzerland.

You’re my hero Kevin

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@lukej: Thank you!

The real hero here is @one_hit! Out of maybe thousands of Tamiya experts (here and on Fb), he was the only one who helped me with this project (Thanks again for making these pictures for me Rob!).

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Looking forward to these. Always been intrigued by the Upgrade Set chassis. Bit of an oddball with its vertical fences for the battery. 

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Some hard to get items arrived:

afd85dee-9847-42cb-8ovj0j.jpeg
 

Now, I have gathered all parts I could get to do the drawings for the „impossible to get parts“. Therefore I will partly preassemble the chassis for accurate measurements and pleasure ^_^

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Lets do it!

img_300404jx5.jpg

 

Adding the bulkheads to the chassis:

img_30053hjwa.jpg

 

I took the gearbox unit of the Pro for this "test":

img_3007q3jmm.jpg

 

The preassembly for the measurements:

img_3008ccj46.jpg

img_30099ukkk.jpg

 

All in all a very slim chassis plate. Thanks to Robs nice pictures I was already pretty close regarding all distances. After doing the little corrections, this is my CAD file for the manufacturer:

bildschirmfoto2022-07wxkb3.png

 

I am also thinking of letting the spur gear mount manufacture, as it is impossible to get these days...

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And while at it, I also drew the carbon parts for the FF-03evo.

 

Again, I started with assembling what I have:

img_3010r1kqd.jpg

 

Rear bulkheads:

img_3011q7jwr.jpg

 

Top deck and upper shock mount:

img_3012cij31.jpg

 

Both paired with the gearbox:

img_3013vpjnk.jpg

 

... and the Upgrade Lower Deck to check for similarities:

img_30141zj2n.jpg

 

And that was a good move. Arm mounts and steering sit at the same spot on both chassis, what made this chapter easier for me.

Much more difficult to replicate is the shape. I used all hints the manual gives. Easy was the Rear Damper Stay. You get a good picture in the setup sheet.

img_30162x5j07.jpg

 

The Lower Deck needed more calculations and tricks. It took its time, but in the end it worked pretty good. This is the result:

bildschirmfoto2022-077zkaq.png

 

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The parts finally arrived. The quality is spot on:

bdd2c85b-50a0-4211-9iafwe.jpeg

Time to start the build then slowly step by step.

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Finally time to start the build.

 

First: Package art parts alignment.

mobile.1w7iiu.jpeg

 

Vertical frame plates to bulkhead attachment:

mobile.2sjfps.jpeg

 

Attaching the unit to the lower plate:

mobile.3xhe5t.jpeg

 

Installing the mechanism decks:

mobile.45dibv.jpeg

 

Front stiffener unit:

mobile.5c5dy2.jpeg

 

At this stage it is time to disassemble the benefitting FF-03pro chassis. A last picture of the pro in its present condition:

mobile.6ifeu2.jpeg

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The front stiffener gets the aluminum bellcranks:

mobile.77lcev.jpeg

 

Steering rack assembled and installed on the chassis:

mobile.8w1dqz.jpeg

mobile.90oepi.jpeg

 

...with turnbuckles:

mobile.10zaf10.jpeg

 

Then it was time to attach the front stiffener unit to the chassis. This step made me nervous, because if I made a measuring mistake, it would have shown now:

mobile.11meibm.jpeg

 

Then the suspension changed chassis (and the sun came out):

mobile.1247iq0.jpeg

 

In preparation for the gearbox attachment, the connection brace got ballstuds:

mobile.13exioa.jpeg

 

It was installed on the gearbox and then all went on the chassis:

mobile.142zc0z.jpeg 

 

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This build is so straight forward ^_^

 

The bumper is next. It has 3x0.7mm shims to close the gap created by the carbon chassis:

mobile.15k5il1.jpeg

 

At this stage the build continues at the rear with the installation of the suspension arms:

mobile.162qfzs.jpeg

 

Then comes the rear bulkhead:

mobile.17eyivc.jpeg

 

That then hold the shocktower and camber link mounts:

mobile.1800dea.jpeg

 

I spare you all the damper build, but show the result of course:

img_3637i0fb4.jpg

 

I was a bit forgetful making pictures... Here the servo mount with Yeah Racing mounts is already installed:

img_364041iml.jpg

 

The battery mounts are something special, because of the vertical plates. In front two horizontal posts hold the battery down. In the rear it is this pin. Depending on the battery size it can be mounted in two positions:

img_3641kafxa.jpg

 

You may have seen, that I didn't use many Hop-Ups so far. I couldn't resist buying the rear shocktower, though:

img_3642rifrc.jpg

img_3643inegf.jpg

Now, the rear shocks were installed also.

 

 

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There it stands on its own tires again:

img_36458veqo.jpg

Just adding the rear anti-roll-bar is left.

 

Pictures of the completed car. A very special chassis and a quite rare one, too. For a FWD fan like me, a kind of must have. I am very glad that I could pull it off with all the missing parts:

img_3663e8eta.jpg

img_3665tycha.jpg

img_3667y1dep.jpg

img_3669v6ibn.jpg

 

img_3671kucp0.jpg

img_3673qxfxd.jpg

img_3675kcdqv.jpg

img_3677xjepq.jpg

img_36784oe5s.jpg

img_3681i1f63.jpg

 

The end ^_^ 

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... or is it?

Another adventure is waiting. For me it is the king of all FF-03 versions. It should have been called TRFF-03, but Tamiya just called it FF-03evo :wub:

 

It starts with a lot of hop-ups. The diff was assembled earlier here already:

img_3727e8dgr.jpg

img_37281pe8k.jpg

img_37291qdx9.jpg

 

Titanium screws here as well as the aluminium camber link mount:

img_3731ucia1.jpg

img_3732a3imh.jpg

img_3733ecf7u.jpg

img_3734plfqs.jpg

 

It is a real pain, that Tamiya produced such a low number of aluminium spur mounts... For now the plastic piece has to do the job. I got a aluminium one in the pipeline, which will be made by good friend, though:

img_3735urd0p.jpg

img_373622c2q.jpg

 

 

 

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Next thing was to add the suspension mounts on the lower deck:

img_3737pwi9x.jpg

img_37384kftw.jpg

 

Another highlight... assembling the rocker base with aluminium nuts:

img_3739h7iu4.jpg

img_37403jelz.jpg

 

Married with the gearbox:

img_3741ifeg6.jpg

 

Adding the steering turnbuckles:

img_3742hjidb.jpg

img_3743y3ih2.jpg

 

 

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You're just pumping out one awesome project after another. So cool!

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I have a question for you @wtcc5 – and I might as well ask here. I am looking to upgrade my FF-03 with stabilisers and the 54230 set you got your hands on is impossible to find. Do you think the 42281 set would work on the FF-03 as well? The arms are the same as the TRF418 anyway and the shape of the sway bars themselves look identical to me as well. Thanks in advance!

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6 hours ago, zuqbu said:

I have a question for you @wtcc5 – and I might as well ask here. I am looking to upgrade my FF-03 with stabilisers and the 54230 set you got your hands on is impossible to find. Do you think the 42281 set would work on the FF-03 as well? The arms are the same as the TRF418 anyway and the shape of the sway bars themselves look identical to me as well. Thanks in advance!

I can’t tell if it will fit, but the possibility is high. The problem could be that the middle part is not wide enough and the angles will not match. But as said, I don’t know exactly.

What I would do, is to buy piano wire and bend & paint the wires myself. The price is cheap and the skills needed low.

 

I was lucky, that my friend gave a lightly used set to me, after he cleaned his hobby room.

 

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On 9/28/2022 at 6:28 PM, wtcc5 said:

I can’t tell if it will fit, but the possibility is high. The problem could be that the middle part is not wide enough and the angles will not match. But as said, I don’t know exactly.

What I would do, is to buy piano wire and bend & paint the wires myself. The price is cheap and the skills needed low.

 

I was lucky, that my friend gave a lightly used set to me, after he cleaned his hobby room.

 

Thanks, I will have to try it out – I got a couple of those Stabilisers flying around in my touring cars. It's a shame really, I think the FF-03 is a great car and could still be raced competitively – but with the limited parts availability I wouldn't dare. Tamiya should send some product managers over to Europe, FWD classes are very popular at the moment and I am confident a FF-03 successor would sell and perform well.

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I continued with the arms:

img_37446mdn5.jpg

 

Front:

img_3745j5c8p.jpg

 

Now, the gearbox and the bumper base was added:

img_3747ibipm.jpg

 

DJC are a must for an FWD. I use fitting C-hubs:

img_374887ffe.jpg

 

Hubs ready:

img_37492x9fed.jpg

img_37502khd0w.jpg

 

The front part so far:

img_37512jmcao.jpg

 

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Wow, that´s insane Kevin! 2 rare Evos in a row! What are the intentions behind the second one, is it totally different? Just spotted some more blue Alu shine on it?

Will one of them be a runnner? They are almost too precious to drive nowadays.

Have fun completing the build,

Matthias

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@ruebiracer:

One is „just“ a Tamiya Hop-Up (Upgrade) chassis for the FF-03 and the latter is a full FF-03evo kit build. Both cars are very different with the latter just having the gearbox section and arms equal from the original FF-03.

I will build the Evo to a runner and race it against @Quincy Exo77 fwd conversion.

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