Tamiya TL-01 Rebuild.

[NL1990]

TAMIYA TL-01 REBUILD FROM SCRATCH
Bumped into this tl-01 chassis on a local auction last year , the main reason for buying was the lightweight chassis and it was cheap.

All torn down, the shafts and plastic bearings were as good as new    The chassis itself looked very good seems like the car was rebuilded with the lightweight chassis after it was driven for a while since it has minor scratches at the bottom of the chassis

After giving it a good scrub with degreaser a toothbrush and hot water it looked very clean
the overal shape is outstanding since this is a 20 year old chassis

 

I started collecting hop up options and spare parts to rebuild the Lightweight chassis with al new original tamiya parts.

TAMIYA TL-01 HOP-UPS
53331 TL-01 Lightweight chassis
53323 TL-01 Carbon propeller shaft
53322 TL-01 Hollow carbon gear shaft
53418 TL-01 Universal shaft
53324 TL-01 Stabilizer set
53300 TL-01 Turnbuckle tie-rod set
53346 (TL-01,M03) Quick release battery hold
53218 Touring car hard joint cup set
53303 TL-01 Adjustable upper arm set
53569 Clamp type aluminium wheel hub
53342 TL-01 Speed tuned gear set
53345 TL-01 Toe-in rear uprights
53596 Aluminium servo stays (Short)
53571 TRF Damper set Fluorine coated
53523 Aluminum Front Upright Set M03/M04
53301 TL-01 Stainless steel suspension shaft set
Full Ball bearing set

Spare parts.
Tamiya TL-01 Spare parts
50738 TL-01 G Parts
50855 TL-01 E parts
50736 TL-01 B Parts
50737 TL-01 C Parts
50602 Differential bevel gear set
50355 18T, 19T av pinion set
50356 20T, 21T av pinion set
50357 22T, 23T av pinion set
53523 Aluminum Front Upright Set M03/M04
51421 HONDA CIVIC VTI CASTROL BODY SET

Until so far im waiting on some grease because i ran out 😅 to be continued

Got the grease 

Diferrential prepped for lubrication

Ultrasonic cleaned screws

 

 

[svenb]

Love a TL01 👍

[svenb]

You may find the servo stays are a bit short unless you have the aluminium spacers!? 

[NL1990]

9 hours ago, svenb said:

You may find the servo stays are a bit short unless you have the aluminium spacers!? 

Yes i got the spacer set with it.

[NL1990]

Got some more work done 

I found out that the dt02 alloy motor mounth fits the tl01 chassis great upgrade if u wanna get better cooling on your engine wich is recomended  on a tl01 chassis

Tamiya superstock type s

Until now its sitting in the box im waiting on wheels tyres paint and steering servo and some alloy kingpins

[Tizer]

Nice!  Nice collection of motors too

[NL1990]

16 hours ago, Tizer said:

Nice!  Nice collection of motors too

Thank you .

[NL1990]

Last

 

 

[NL1990]

 

[Tizer]

Nice work  The white racing wheels suit it well. Are you going to add electronics?

[NL1990]

49 minutes ago, Tizer said:

Nice work  The white racing wheels suit it well. Are you going to add electronics?

Yes im waiting on a low profile servo and im gonna instal a simple hobbywing esc and use the 23t superstock type s motor for battery i will use a 7.6hv 5200mah lrp lipo battery

[Kpowell911]

Posting for reference. Most of those hop ups are crazy rare now though ;(

[MadAnt]

2 hours ago, Kpowell911 said:

Posting for reference. Most of those hop ups are crazy rare now though ;(

Yes that is true, but some parts can still be substituted at least for now.

 

[svenb]

On 6/11/2025 at 7:14 PM, Kpowell911 said:

Posting for reference. Most of those hop ups are crazy rare now though ;(

Definitely 

I did a TL01 build a few years ago, difficult and expensive then. I managed to squeeze 50 Tamiya hop ups on it.

[ChrisRx718]

1 hour ago, svenb said:

Definitely 

I did a TL01 build a few years ago, difficult and expensive then. I managed to squeeze 50 Tamiya hop ups on it.

Likewise, I did one during lockdown - you have to go for 2nd hand parts for things like the LA suspension setup unless you wanna spend a fortune. 

You can build car better CVDs than the OG TL01 versions out of parts. @svenb even sorted me out with the correct axles after I ordered the long versions in error.

I had to make a propshaft out of carbon fibre rod/tube as I wasn't prepared to pay £40+ for the genuine Hop Up part...

[Kpowell911]

15 hours ago, svenb said:

Definitely 

I did a TL01 build a few years ago, difficult and expensive then. I managed to squeeze 50 Tamiya hop ups on it.

I didnt even know the TL-01 had 50 parts let alone hop ups. To be fair, I just want some

53331 TL-01 Lightweight chassis
53300 TL-01 Turnbuckle tie-rod set
53346 (TL-01,M03) Quick release battery holder
53303 TL-01 Adjustable upper arm set
53569 Clamp type aluminium wheel hub
53342 TL-01 Speed tuned gear set
53345 TL-01 Toe-in rear uprights
53596 Aluminium servo stays (Short)
53571 TRF Damper set Fluorine coated
Full Ball bearing set

They will hopefully going on this BNIB TL-01

[svenb]

The short service stays will be too short unless you put spacers with them

[MadAnt]

I need to fire up my TL-01 again, it's just sitting pretty on the shelf. 

This is also built from parts technically, and has two ball diffs. The front diff is an old worn out grindy notchy feeling ball diff that needs more effort to rotate, so it really acts like and LSD.

[NL1990]

The project never finished its still sitting in my kabinet waiting to get finished i collected a foam bumber and rear stabilizor rear plate

Btw i bought all the parts in japan cost me a little les over €200 true japanese actions

The new parts like shocks bought at plaza japan (the cheapest around the world with tamiya parts)