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Potor

Baja Champ still lives

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Dug my old TL-01B out of the attic, been up there gathering dust for 15 years! Popped a new nimh in and she still runs šŸ¤­

Suspension isā€¦ unresponsive and I need to sort out the calibration of the speed controller because the wheels went mental when I connected the battery!

Any tips and pitfalls to avoid greatly appreciated as I get back into this šŸ˜Ž

2B9E013B-8A11-42BC-8D13-35BA70C1B961.jpeg

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View without the body. Safe to say things have moved on a bit when I look at what you can buy these days!!

9895869C-2464-41D9-BDB2-E788A36BB10B.jpeg

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I am assuming you have a mechanical speed controller on there? Ā  (edit: you posted picture afterĀ I posted..lol). Might be a good time to update the speed controller (ie Hobbywing 1060) and radio if you are not running 2.4GHz.Ā 

Have fun and welcome to Tamiya Club.Ā 

Edited by Willy iine

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Yes a manual controller and a 27mhz radio. Whatā€™s the advantage of a new radio or is it just that thatā€™s what works with an esc?Ā 

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Welcome! That car looks like it's only ever seen light use (as least from what I can see).

Modern radio probably not necessary, but they tend to have better battery life, and no big antenna (they are WiFi). Also even cheap ones these days have things like digital trims and adjustable steering rates etc.

A electronic speed control would be worth it over a mechanical one, much easier to setup and tend to be a lot more efficient and reliable. If your using the car a lot - a decent steering servo can make a car feel much nicer to drive as well (I like savox metal geared servos myself).

Best thing you could do to that model would be to strip it down and give it a good clean, replace any damaged plastics and then rebuild it with bearings (and relube the gearboxes). The shocks could probably do with fresh seals and oil if they are the oil filled type.

If the cars been sat with its weight on the wheels for 15 years then some fresh springs might be in order (maybe), as well as new tyres (and foam inserts if it has some) - tyres tend to get flatspots and perish / crack over time - though they look ok from the photo!

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12 minutes ago, BuggyGuy said:

Modern radio probably not necessary, but they tend to have better battery life, and no big antenna (they are WiFi).

Ok, this cries out for a little nitpicking.Ā :ph34r:Ā They are not WiFi. They just operate within the same frequency range. But so does Bluetooth - and your microwave in the kitchen.Ā ;)Ā So yes, (some) WiFi uses 2.4GHz (more modern WiFi standards use 5GHz), but not everything that uses 2.4GHz is WiFi.Ā :)

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36 minutes ago, Potor said:

Yes a manual controller and a 27mhz radio. Whatā€™s the advantage of a new radio or is it just that thatā€™s what works with an esc?Ā 

With a modernĀ radio you will not have to worry about interference and driving with your friends is no longer a problem as there is no crystal or frequencyĀ to worry about. Ā Your transmitter will be "binded" to only your receiverĀ on your car. Ā Plus if you get a nicer radio you can bind multiple receivers and program car settingsĀ separately under their separate "model". Ā I have manyĀ different cars programmed to run off one radio for example. Ā 

You can use an electronic speed controller with your existing radio as it is a separate system. Ā 

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I too have a tl01b chassis. Being derived from the touring car tl01, ground clearance isn't great, but stick some 2.2 wheels/tyres on and it is adequate. On the plus side, it is well balanced imo (weight distribution wise). Shock mounts canĀ be a weak spot, especially a PITA due to them being moulded into the chassis halves.

As others have said, strip down, good clean, check for cracks/splits etc, replace where necessary (spares still plentiful) relube where appropriate, bearings, steel pinion, HW 1060 esc and 2.4ghz radio (if you've got any cash left after that lot šŸ˜€) and then enjoy getting it dirty all over again!

This is mine...

20201011_191838.thumb.jpg.4a62bb9b5d303da5e28e7356abe82069.jpg

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1 minute ago, hIghQ said:

Ok, this cries out for a little nitpicking.Ā :ph34r:Ā They are not WiFi. They just operate within the same frequency range. But so does Bluetooth - and your microwave in the kitchen.Ā ;)Ā So yes, (some) WiFi uses 2.4GHz (more modern WiFi standards use 5GHz), but not everything that uses 2.4GHz is WiFi.Ā :)

Yeah I know, I'd originally written more but felt like overkill to talk about spread spectrum, binding, etc

Ā 

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12 minutes ago, BuggyGuy said:

Yeah I know, I'd originally written more but felt like overkill to talk about spread spectrum, binding, etc

Ā 

Sorry, it's just that some people (especially newbies) tend to gobble up such simplifications and then often turn around and spread them. The rest of your post was excellent help for any newbie.

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Welcome back to the hobby and to Tamiyaclub, your car looks great! IĀ think all the good advice has been given already šŸ‘

Edit: this buggy had somehow escaped my attention so far, I've looked it up and it really is gorgeous!Ā With thoseĀ retro looks, it could almost sit unnoticed amongst the usual suspects from the '80s...

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Get a cheap electronic Speedcontroller (ESC) and install Ball Bearings, that is all you really need. That will cost you about 20 Dollars.

Ā 

If you want a working Suspension you need Oilfilled shocks. But for the first few drives you are good with the Shocks you have installed.

If you get fun out of it, oilshocks will come naturally.

Ā 

In a few Moths buy a Sand Scorcher, a Clodbuster and a few other KitsĀ :D

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8 hours ago, Silver-Can said:

I too have a tl01b chassis. Being derived from the touring car tl01, ground clearance isn't great, but stick some 2.2 wheels/tyres on and it is adequate. On the plus side, it is well balanced imo (weight distribution wise). Shock mounts canĀ be a weak spot, especially a PITA due to them being moulded into the chassis halves.

As others have said, strip down, good clean, check for cracks/splits etc, replace where necessary (spares still plentiful) relube where appropriate, bearings, steel pinion, HW 1060 esc and 2.4ghz radio (if you've got any cash left after that lot šŸ˜€) and then enjoy getting it dirty all over again!

This is mine...

20201011_191838.thumb.jpg.4a62bb9b5d303da5e28e7356abe82069.jpg

What shell is that?! :)

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6 minutes ago, vanpeebles said:

What shell is that?! :)

It's the Baja King. The tl01b came in 2 flavours - the Baja Champ and the Baja King. Exactly the same except different body shell. I personally prefer the Baja Champ shell and will get one from TBG in Canada at some point. šŸ‘

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As others have said pretty much. But to fix those friction dampers for now, open up the top cap and pop in a tiny bit of the Tamiya white ceramic grease. That will get them working smoothly to begin with so you can start having fun again right away. My son's DT02 dampers froze up as they hadn't been used in over a year. Added a drop of white grease and they work great now. But some upgraded oil filled dampers would be something to aim for once it's up and running imo.Ā 

The radio etc will work fine for now, although a cheap chearful 2.4ghz radio and receiver are only around Ā£25-Ā£30 these days.Ā 

An Electronic Speed Control is a must though imo. Those old mechanical 3 speed items are rough and non energy efficient.Ā 

James.

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I did notice your old radio was a 2 stick type. If you want to upgrade to 2.4 GHz but donā€™t like the wheel and trigger style there are options out there . Iā€™m sure someone can suggest one.Ā 

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Another TL-01B fan here - this one is mine:

2020-11-17_10-21-35

Ā 

2020-03-13_04-16-33

Ā 

2019-07-13_08-27-50

I would also strongly recommendĀ fitting an ESC and 2.4GHz radio, not because your current gear won't work, but rather because it has no failsafe. If radio signal problems occur, the car will carry on doing whatever it was doing when the radio last worked, which may be running off at full speed and not only damaging itself but also potentially damaging something else or injuring someone. In today's compensation culture, this could be very expensive indeed - certainly a lot more than a basic 2.4GHz radio and ESC, both of which typically feature failsafes that bring the car to a stop if signal is lost.Ā 

Come to think ofĀ it, even if you only run on private land with no other people anywhere nearby, or have ironclad public liability insurance, it would still make sense to upgrade to electronics with failsafes just to protect your bodyshell, for which replacements cost a pretty penny more than a basic 2.4GHz radio and ESC.

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Nice paintjobs guys that green and black one is so cool šŸ˜ŽĀ 

Will take the advice and get an esc. When I get chanceĀ to strip and rebuild Iā€™ll fit it and some bearings and grease it all up again. Perhaps treat myself to some oil shocks, what would be a good ā€œstandardā€ oil to put in them?

I donā€™t see this ever being driven hard will likely get something else for that, it will be more to mess around with for nostalgia reasons!

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