Sgt.Speirs' TA03F PRO to David Jun Edition

Sgt.Speirs · August 25, 2021

This is my first thread, so a short summery about my RC history.

When I come back to the RC hobby after over 20 year in 2020, there was only a Grasshopper II from 1995 and a Manta Ray from 1998.

Beginning from April 2020, more and more RC cars found their way into my collection. Most/all of them are from the late 80s, respectively the 90s. There are a Porsche Turbo RSR 934 Black Edition (TA02SW), a Dyna Storm, a Avante 2011 and an Egress 2013. I'm a fan of the RC cars/chassis from the 90s like the Top Force, Dyna Storm, TA01, TA02, FF01 or TA03 since I was reading (or more soaking up) the Tamiya guide books when I was a teenager.

This summer it turned out, that @wtcc5 and @Quincy live near to my home town. After a nice on-road race day, they convinced me to add a FF01-chassis to my collection.

After buying, restoring and full upgrading a FF01 (PIAA Honda Accord), the next project should be starting...a TA03F.
Especially the hop-uped TA-03F PRO "David Jun" edition impressed me even as a teenager (guide book from 1998, page 39).

But to find a DJ edition is hard and expensive, so I want to convert a standard TA03F PRO into a "David Jun" edition.

Starting point:

Hopefully the final status in the future:

The standard TA03F PRO version used grey plastic parts, so the challenge will be to find the black ones.
Fortunatelly there is the re-re of the Porsche 911 GT1 Street (TA03R-S), so a lot of parts in black are already available.
Also the aluminum parts (rear hubs, pulleys, motor heat sink,...) will be hard to find, because no longer produced by Tamiya.

So the first step was to disassemble the complete chassis, cleaning all parts and have a look, if any parts can be reused or are broken and have to be replaced.

After the inspection of the parts, the front and the rear gearboxes have cracks and have definitely being replaced. The front gearbox will be no issue, because it is the same part as the rear gearbox of the TA03R.

More critial is the damaged rear gearbox part. Fortunatelly, the seller of the chassis sent me an additional rear gearbox as a spare part. I will use this one until I find a black one.

The gear wheels itself comes in almost new condition and also the ball diffs looks good.

The installed low friction dampers are looking good as well, so I will renew only the seals/o-rings.

Now it's time to make the list with additional parts for the David Jun edition:

A-Parts (front gearbox/suspension mount - black) (10005657)
B-Parts (rear gearbox/suspension mount - black) (50699)
C-Parts (steering parts - black) (50700)
D-Parts (suspension arms - black) (50701/10005660)
E-Parts (front bumper - black) (19006835)
J-Parts (battery holder - black) (50703)
53157 - Aluminum King Pins
53172 - 4WD TA02 & FWD TA02 Universal Shaft Set
53226 - 1/10 Touring Car Aluminum Front Hub Carrier
53275 - TA03 Aluminum Motor Heat Sink
53276 - TA03 Fluoriscent Color Stabilizer Set
53278 - TA03 Aramid Fiber Reinforced Drive Belt
53286 - TA03 Aluminum pulley (16T)
53288 - TA03 Aluminum Rear Upright
53302 - TA03F PRO Carbon Chassis Plates
53325 - TA03 Aluminum Knuckle Arm
53157 - Aluminum King Pins
...

(If parts are missing, I will update the list)

Once again, I was lucky, because @Quincy also work/worked on the same chassis and have some parts for me:

Important parts and also hard to find. Thanks a lot for providing me these parts

As I mentioned, most of the black parts are shared with the Porsche 911 GT1 (TA03R-S). I'm currently not sure to buy these parts as spare parts or the complete kit (depending on the price difference)...

Now the list of missing parts got a little bit shorter:

~~B-Parts (rear gearbox/suspension mount - black) (50699) - on the way~~
~~53274 - TA03 Aluminum Counter Shaft~~
~~53275 - TA03 Aluminum Motor Heat Sink~~
53276 - TA03 Fluoriscent Color Stabilizer Set
~~53278 - TA03 Aramid Fiber Reinforced Drive Belt~~
~~53286 - TA03 Aluminum pulley (16T)~~
~~53288 - TA03 Aluminum Rear Upright~~
...

Tizer · August 26, 2021

Cool! Looks like @Quincy has a goldmine of NOS parts stashed somewhere

Quincy · August 28, 2021

On 8/26/2021 at 4:26 PM, Tizer said:

Cool! Looks like @Quincy has a goldmine of NOS parts stashed somewhere

Better have parts in stock you don't need, than the other way.

Tizer · August 30, 2021

On 8/28/2021 at 4:06 PM, Quincy said:

Better have parts in stock you don't need, than the other way.

Absolutely!

DarkSonic · September 1, 2021

An old coworkwr told me:" Always take it when it's available, not when you need it"

Really nice project. Always hat a soft spot for the TA03. In my parking lot racing days ,all others run TA03.

Sgt.Speirs · September 4, 2021

Yesterday the postman brought me a lot of missing parts, so the assembly can start in the next days...

The thing with the most needed spare parts for the TA03F...the dispender for the black chassis parts:

And then a lot of small parts...all from major and minor hobby shops, nothing from online auctions portals.

Regarding the "torque control unit" I know that this is not for use in the TA03F due to the 14T pulley. I will use in the first step only the 16T aluminum pulley. These are hard to find (and expensive), so for me is is cheaper to buy two of these "torque control units" only for the pulleys :rolleyes:

GermanTA03Guy · September 13, 2021

Hey what really works well is spraying the gray parts black with Tamiya ps5 body paint. Looks exactly the same as the original black parts, and doesn't flake off. Just be sure to wash, degrease and sand (grit 800 e. G.) the parts before painting. Works a treat and looks way better. Cheers

Sgt.Speirs · September 18, 2021

The last weeks were very busy at work, so the project progress is not so far how I was expected. But good things must have time

In this build I don't want to use the Tamiya self-tapping screws, so I ordered various M3 stainless steel screws in different length and head types:

Armed with thread cutter and screw driver, I started with the front gearbox. I also install the "torque control unit". I haven't run an stock TA03F-chassis until now to have a comparision, but we'll see if my driving style can handle it...

Next step was the build of the dampers:

In the kit of the Porsche 911 GT1 Street (TA03R) was hard damper oil (#900) included, in my Porsche 934 Turbo (TA02SW) soft damper oil (#400), so I will try a compromise with the medium oil (#600).

And installed on the front gear box:

In the manual are also turnbuckles for the upper arms (front and rear) shown as hop-ups. My TA03F PRO David Jun will get this also from the beginning:

GermanTA03Guy · September 18, 2021

Nice, Looks great and very authentic, very careful build. There are too many untidy ta03s out there. When once in a while a David Jun appears on ebay it mostly looks "verbastelt" (messed up tuning) Good job in sourcing the 53316 alu c hubs and the universals ! And the alu knuckles are also very rare.. I love these dampers, they're great. I had a set of one of those sitting in my mums cellar for 20 years after some running and a eurocup race, and they still worked like brandnew.. I think the David Jun look with the silver parts and the neon sway bars is so much nicer than the new trf stuff with far too much blue bling.

Sgt.Speirs · September 20, 2021

I also love older chassis from the 90's (TA01, TA02, TA03, FF01,...) upgraded with frp or carbon double decks more than a full option competition chassis from (for example) the TRF-series.

TRF cars are competitions cars with max. weight reduction (open gearboxes/spur gears, carbon decks, alloy/titanium parts,...), which are for my use cases (driving on the street before my house or on parking lots) oversized.

Or maybe, because the older chassis (rallye/touring cars and/or also buggies) and their bodies have a character, which modern racing/competition cars (without "realistic" bodywork) in my opinion not have.

Sgt.Speirs · September 25, 2021

This week I continued the build with the carbon deck as long as I haven't all parts of the rear gear case in black.

With the J-parts and carbon deck from @Quincy and the steering linkage of the Porsche 911 GT1, the result after half an hour was this:

My TA03F PRO included also the "53238 M-Chassis Quick Release Battery Holder". After some polishing, the battery holder looks like new out of the box:

After finishing the carbon deck and the steering linkage, I decided not to wait until having all parts in black (perhaps this can lasting months or even years).
The dampers and the differential gear were already finished, so the assembly of the gear housing was done quickly.

Looks not so pretty as completely in black, but better a finished black/grey chassis than to have an unfinished black chassis standing around for months.

What I'm was not aware, that the front damper stay of the Porsche 911 GT1 Street (which I want to use in the rear) isn't the same as the rear one (which I'm using in the front).
The mounting holes for the dampers are lower, which would mean that the ground clearance at the rear would be greater, if I'm using the same damper config as in the front.

Maybe this issue will also be solved when I find black B-parts (rear gear housing), because there is also the correct damper stay included.
An alternative would be to use spacer inside the rear dampers or buy additional A-parts from the Porsche 911 GT1.

Next steps will be the mounting of the front and rear gear hounsings with the chassis...

Sgt.Speirs · October 10, 2021

This weekend I had time to work on my TA03F and complete the chassis by mounting the front and rear gearbox with the chassis plates.

Eight screws from the bottom and and two from the top side hold the front gearbox with the lower chassis deck together.

After that the drive belt has to be installed. By the way, it was the first drive belt installation in my RC life

The rear gearbox is fixed by six screws with the lower chassis deck. View from the bottom...

...and from the top.

Finally I assembled the upper chassis deck.

And this week arrived a period correct motor for a TA03F, a Dyna Run Super Touring Motor. Not in MINT condition, but definitely sufficient for my requirements

And this week I'm expecting another package, which means one less part on my missing parts list

M 800STD · October 10, 2021

Got such a soft spot for this car.

Cost me a small fortune building mine.

svenb · October 11, 2021

16 hours ago, M 800STD said:

Got such a soft spot for this car.

Cost me a small fortune building mine.

There's a lot people who can relate to that!

GermanTA03Guy · October 11, 2021

Me too.

Sgt.Speirs · October 20, 2021

Only a short update for today à la „the postman brought me“:

I hope to have time at the weekend to build in these parts.

The list of missing parts becomes shorter…

Sgt.Speirs · October 26, 2021

As @wtcc5 mentioned I also worked on my custom anti roll bar at the weekend.

I bought spring steel wires in different diameters (1.2mm, 1.5mm and 1.8mm) and tested what works similar to the original Tamiya anti roll bar from my TA03F Pro.

Then I bent a pair each from 1.5mm (LHS) and 1.8mm wire (in the middle). For comparision with the original one (RHS):

After applying the primer...

...and the finish with fluorescent yellow paint:

Unfortunately, the camera can't reproduce the color properly, in real life the color is much nicer

GermanTA03Guy · October 26, 2021

Hi, nice to see it coming together. Where did you get the 53288? Great idea with the paint on the stabilizers. I have bent stabilizers but never painted them as I thought it doesn't last... I mean, even the original ones' paint doesn't hold on.... But it looks promising and I want to do the same. Which type of paint did you use? Thanx, regards

Sgt.Speirs · October 26, 2021

The NIB 53288 was offered in a auction in the UK. Not cheap, but still within budget. Regarding the painted anti roll bar I used a standard paint for metall/stone/... from a local do-it-yourself store.

Beside the DIY anti roll bar I've got now all missing parts to complete the DJ Edition (some already received, some are still on a longer journey from the USA). I think there will even be another car made from the remaining parts

svenb · October 26, 2021

16 hours ago, Sgt.Speirs said:

As @wtcc5 mentioned I also worked on my custom anti roll bar at the weekend.

I bought spring steel wires in different diameters (1.2mm, 1.5mm and 1.8mm) and tested what works similar to the original Tamiya anti roll bar from my TA03F Pro.

Then I bent a pair each from 1.5mm (LHS) and 1.8mm wire (in the middle). For comparision with the original one (RHS):

After applying the primer...

...and the finish with fluorescent yellow paint:

Unfortunately, the camera can't reproduce the color properly, in real life the color is much nicer

A decent colour match👍

Sgt.Speirs · October 27, 2021

Last weekend I found also time to install the aluminum rear uprights.

After disassembly of the rear plastic uprights:

At the weekend I also made two successful bids on auction platform, where the first parcel already arrived yesterday:

Besides the immediately apparent "TA03 Aluminum Motor Heat Sink" (53275), the car is also equipped with the "TA03 Carbon Steering Bar", "Hollow Carbon Gear Shaft TA03" (53260), "Aluminum Servo Stays (Short)" (56596) and two aluminum pulleys (16T) (53286) which I've already had.

These parts will also find their way into my DJ edition and the new chassis will be used as a runner.

Sgt.Speirs · November 5, 2021

The lasts parts were arrived this week and I‘m looking forward for the weekend to finish the chassis…for the moment

GermanTA03Guy · November 6, 2021

Nice... Especially to get hold of the 49111... Respect.

Don't go too far beyond DJ spec. I know that rabbit hole. It's a trap. HAHA

Sgt.Speirs · November 6, 2021

The Stabilizer Support, Steering Bar and Motor Plate will be the only additional Hop-Ups…this project was already expensive enough

Sgt.Speirs · November 7, 2021

As written on Friday, all missing parts arrived. First I had to deassembly the rear gearbox to replace the grey gearbox house by the black one.
I had to replace also the rear damper stay which was until now the low profile type of the TA03R in the front.

Then I followed the manual starting from step 10 again...

In this step, I replaced also the steering bar by the Carbon one...

...and the washer by the Carbon Stabilizer Support.

The TA03 Aluminum Motor Plate (53357) is no standard part of the David Jun Edition, but in later TA03F Pro kits (e.g. Drift Spec) mentioned. So I will use this plate, too.