Resurrect an old RC car?

[_Al_]

Hi all,

Just wondering if the Tamiya TA02 chassis in my loft is beyond saving?





It's nothing special, and there's a lot of issues. The batteries are gone, the servos are a decade old, the ESC is made by a manufacturer that no longer exists and there's no radio.

Is it worth buying a new motor / battery / servos / TX or is it all old hat now and I may as well buy something new?

It's just for playing about with and to see if RC cars can in any way make up for my real car obsession which is currently on hold pending a house purchase..

Thanks in advance..

Al

Edited by _Al_ on Monday 6th April 01:08

[_Al_]

I did wonder about a LiPo upgrade for it (the setup that powers my trex 250 is mind blowing) but I expect it'd last a few seconds then detonate like a top fuel dragster..

I think a 2.4GHz pistol setup and some meaty NiMh batteries will do me.. It's only for running around outside.

I guess the question is - are there any reasonably durable off road buggies that would be around £100 which could share a TX / RX with this car...? Not that defblade has rekindled my childhood wish for a buggy at all... Always preferred off road but all my mates had touring cars so had to buy one to race with them!

eBay is full of RC these days but I've been out of it so long that I have no idea which brands to trust. I'd just want it to deal with mud and fields rather than BMX track conditions..

[_Al_]

This seems to be the same chassis but comes with oil filled dampers...?

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/tamiya-dual-ridge-bugg...

[_Al_]

My inner child won the "spares or buy a new one" argument - backed by my wife, who thinks it looks awesome and wants to help build it.

Multi-win!

Thanks for your help gents - will let you know how it works out!

[_Al_]

The wife is so keen on the buggy that I may have to do that... Or order another.

[_Al_]

Nice models! Judging by the tyres I'd say the Hot Shot has some miles on it... Hard to believe the Chevy is on the same ground-hugging chassis my Nissan is.

I'd forgotten about the joys of uprated bearings.. I remember the first time I did that upgrade - it was really impressive how much difference it made to acceleration and battery life.

Oh dear - the buggy hasn't arrived yet but I'm already planning upgrades....

Edited by _Al_ on Wednesday 8th April 07:44

[_Al_]

Love how this has turned into a "my old models" thread..

The Skyline has no massive sentimental value, but I'm not desperate to free up the cash right now. I'd be happy to do the chassis mods and make it an off roader.

By the way, it's actually a TA-02W. Does that mean I don't need some of the anti roll parts?

I'd forgotten "hop ups" - ah the memories!

I actually have a 2wd touring car as well. That's old!

[_Al_]

Well........



Um.........





I couldn't help myself. My inner child went mental when it saw that and I just had to own it.

I won't be building it any time soon as work is mental right now, plus I have several other kit projects on, but I can't wait to get cracking.

The skyline isn't just going to be left in the loft though. I really like this truck idea. Next paycheque will have some bits on the way.



Now then. Colour scheme..? I have silver and purple spray paints in the loft. Any Photoshop artists on this thread?

[_Al_]

I've looked at the smaller scale stuff in the past. I guess it's just like free-form scalextrix? Those cars are stupidly fast.

I've always been put off 1:16 though as I assume that they'll need mirror-flat tarmac to work. The 1:10 scale ones struggle on the rough stuff near me.

Does anyone know if I can order ball race kits for the TT-02b as a set or do I have to just count the number / size and order?

[_Al_]

Thanks - that's really helpful. Is there any particular type of bearing or are they all standard sizes? Will take a look after dinner.

This car is just for hacking about in the "garden" so I'm not planning much by way of performance upgrades. I always liked the ball race as it frees the car up a bit and helps the battery life.



This one.....?

http://www.rcbearings.co.uk/index.php?route=produc...

Edited by _Al_ on Friday 10th April 21:49

[_Al_]

SWMBO and I are taking our time over the Dual Ridge, and she's popped out to see the MIL.

Well there's all this good RC kit sat here and I know she'll be sad if I finish the buggy without her, so suddenly there's a brightly coloured intruder in the build zone...




The skyline lives!

I need to tidy up the cabling in some "non-permanent" way, but a functional test with the wheels in the air looks great. Hopefully I'll give it a shakedown before dark.

Excited!

Edited by _Al_ on Saturday 25th April 18:03

[_Al_]

Success!





It drove itself out and was flying around the local cul-de-sac. Just like the good old days.

Point of fact, it works better than ever. 2.4GHz and modern battery power have really done it the world of good. Feisty, responsive and chuckable. Brilliant! With a digital fast servo it'd be amazing.

Only faults are a badly buckled right rear wheel and a really lousy driveshaft which rattles like crazy at higher speeds.

There's a sort of fault / bonus situation with the tyres. They're distorted and very old, but age has made them hard. She drifts nicely!

[_Al_]

Good advice, thanks! I actually bought the dual ridge from them and it has a fast digital servo with it, but I wanted to see how much of the original car still worked.

The only thing that seemed to go badly was my attempts to set up the ESC. It works fine going forward but the brake doesn't work at all. Not sure how to sort that but going to have a play now. Sadly it's raining now so can't run it outside.


Just realised there's a problem. The rear wheels are only getting a tiny amount of drive. The rears do get drive eventually, but they're slow and you can hold them still with one finger easily. Try that on the fronts and you loose that finger!

Edit: just needed to tighten the rear diff.

Edited by _Al_ on Saturday 25th April 20:51

[_Al_]

They are very flaky, well distorted.

For wandering outside they're fine, but I guess they'll have to go at some point. Are the HPIs a straight fit or do they need any mods?

I'm still planning to convert this to some sort of grass truck though so it'll be good to understand the options!