'Vintage' Tamiya BTCC Mondeo
Discussion
When I was younger, my dad's friend turned up one day with an old remote control car he had lying about, and gifted it to me. It's 1/10 scale so at the time was the biggest toy car I've ever had, and I have fond memories of walking into the kitchen to see it sat on the table! However, it was pretty battered and had no controller, so I made do with one from a Nikko Subaru I had that seemed to work. It did have a battery, but it didn't seem to fit properly in the slot.
Anyway, it's been shoved away for many years and I fancy having a go at recommissioning it, and decided the limitless wisdom of PH was the place to begin the journey. All I know is that it's a 1/10 scale Tamiya, chassis model number FF01, made in the early nineties. It's a front 'engined', front wheel drive layout, which seems pretty unique (and unnecessary!). The chassis was sold with a variety of body types, the BTCC Mondeo being just one. Currently it has no battery (no idea where that went, and doubt it'd be up to much now anyway), I think I might be able to dig out the controller I used at the time but let's assume it doesn't have one, and the body is knackered. It could also benefit from a good clean up inside, and the wheels have discoloured yellow, and I'm not keen on the style anyway.
I've found a website which seems to stock a lot of spares here so I figure I can find some wheels and tyres, plus any other little bits I might need there. They do have a Honda CRZ body but I'd like a choice of some more! I've heard a fair few modern bodies will fit, any tips on sourcing those? My limited research reveals some modern Tamiya ones will be OK, HPI ones may well fit too but might be too wide, requiring wider wheels to be fitted and spaced a bit. In terms of a battery, what am I looking for? Same goes for a controller I guess, but I figure I can match it to the transmitter already fitted. Anyway, have a couple of photos showing how it sits now, the insides and the state of the body (it has several cracks like that in various places).
Open to suggestions on all the things I've mentioned, and anything I haven't, including places to get bits from etc. Bit of an amateur when it comes to R/C stuff. Cheers all!
Anyway, it's been shoved away for many years and I fancy having a go at recommissioning it, and decided the limitless wisdom of PH was the place to begin the journey. All I know is that it's a 1/10 scale Tamiya, chassis model number FF01, made in the early nineties. It's a front 'engined', front wheel drive layout, which seems pretty unique (and unnecessary!). The chassis was sold with a variety of body types, the BTCC Mondeo being just one. Currently it has no battery (no idea where that went, and doubt it'd be up to much now anyway), I think I might be able to dig out the controller I used at the time but let's assume it doesn't have one, and the body is knackered. It could also benefit from a good clean up inside, and the wheels have discoloured yellow, and I'm not keen on the style anyway.
I've found a website which seems to stock a lot of spares here so I figure I can find some wheels and tyres, plus any other little bits I might need there. They do have a Honda CRZ body but I'd like a choice of some more! I've heard a fair few modern bodies will fit, any tips on sourcing those? My limited research reveals some modern Tamiya ones will be OK, HPI ones may well fit too but might be too wide, requiring wider wheels to be fitted and spaced a bit. In terms of a battery, what am I looking for? Same goes for a controller I guess, but I figure I can match it to the transmitter already fitted. Anyway, have a couple of photos showing how it sits now, the insides and the state of the body (it has several cracks like that in various places).
Open to suggestions on all the things I've mentioned, and anything I haven't, including places to get bits from etc. Bit of an amateur when it comes to R/C stuff. Cheers all!
That looks very much like a 2wd version of the same tub my Manta had, so here's a link to me getting my old one working again:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=94...
I use modelsport for my bits, I had a bit of trouble with the company you mentioned although they were fine until something went wrong...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=94...
I use modelsport for my bits, I had a bit of trouble with the company you mentioned although they were fine until something went wrong...
Don't bin the shell, it will have some value as it looks reasonably well painted & stickered, the wheels too (& they can be bleached white again with hydrogen peroxide & sunlight).
RC bodies tend to be described by width, from memory the FF01 chassis is nominally 190mm, not sure about the wheelbase so you'll have to check once you've found some candidates ... wheels tend to be described by hub size, in your case "12mm hex" ... if they look like road wheels/tyres they're probably right (and usually 26mm wide, 60mm OD). Offsets tend to run from none to 10mm depending on how much extra width you need to fill out the shell.
RC tech has moved on a long way since what was current when that chassis was new, 2.4ghz radio gear, electronic speed controls, brushless motors, full metal bearings & lithium polymer batteries are pretty much normal now - depends how much of a hooligan you want to be
... although the 3 step mechanical speed control & resistor block is very much considered a fire risk now 
If you just want to get it running again, I'd look for a 7.2v NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) stick pack of around 3000mAH capacity, "Vapextech" is a 1/2 decent brand. Re the transmitter, I'd look for a used Acoms or Futaba 27mhz unit.
add - I'd suggest a look at TamiyaBase.com, thought of course other sites are available
RC bodies tend to be described by width, from memory the FF01 chassis is nominally 190mm, not sure about the wheelbase so you'll have to check once you've found some candidates ... wheels tend to be described by hub size, in your case "12mm hex" ... if they look like road wheels/tyres they're probably right (and usually 26mm wide, 60mm OD). Offsets tend to run from none to 10mm depending on how much extra width you need to fill out the shell.
RC tech has moved on a long way since what was current when that chassis was new, 2.4ghz radio gear, electronic speed controls, brushless motors, full metal bearings & lithium polymer batteries are pretty much normal now - depends how much of a hooligan you want to be
... although the 3 step mechanical speed control & resistor block is very much considered a fire risk now If you just want to get it running again, I'd look for a 7.2v NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) stick pack of around 3000mAH capacity, "Vapextech" is a 1/2 decent brand. Re the transmitter, I'd look for a used Acoms or Futaba 27mhz unit.
add - I'd suggest a look at TamiyaBase.com, thought of course other sites are available
Thank you both for your replies! Interesting to hear about that website maybe being a bit difficult, I've heard of Modelsport at least but it's a little harder to find parts on there. Loved reading through your thread, some real inspiration! I see a few people telling you to shelve it but you decide to carry on, that's kind of where I'm at really; I can see the pointlessness of it, but I feel a duty to bring it back to life and enjoy doing so.
Don't worry, I didn't plan to bin the body or wheels, but I'm not sure what can be done with the body to fix the various cracks, so for the moment I'd rather just get something else. I've found some tech specs so that should help find a body. I might hold off on the wheels until I get a body on and see if it needs anything wider/some spacers to fill it out. Hopefully the wheels will prove less difficult to find. Haha fire risk doesn't sound good, but I'm willing to live dangerously to get it running. I can already feel a slippery slope of chucking in a new motor etc. etc. so will do enough to get it running and go from there! Interestingly, TamiyaBase has someone with an FF01 project too.
First stop, battery and a controller then! I remember the battery was some truly retro bright yellow Team Orion, with pink bubble font for the logo...
Don't worry, I didn't plan to bin the body or wheels, but I'm not sure what can be done with the body to fix the various cracks, so for the moment I'd rather just get something else. I've found some tech specs so that should help find a body. I might hold off on the wheels until I get a body on and see if it needs anything wider/some spacers to fill it out. Hopefully the wheels will prove less difficult to find. Haha fire risk doesn't sound good, but I'm willing to live dangerously to get it running. I can already feel a slippery slope of chucking in a new motor etc. etc. so will do enough to get it running and go from there! Interestingly, TamiyaBase has someone with an FF01 project too.
First stop, battery and a controller then! I remember the battery was some truly retro bright yellow Team Orion, with pink bubble font for the logo...
Tamiya used to run a class in their championship for the front wheel drive chassis hence the weird layout
You can help the cracks in the shell by drilling a 2mm hole at the end of the crack to stop it spreading and reinforce the back with fibre-reinforced tape.
I used to race 1:10 saloons at the old club at Ashford back in the late nineties and there was a guy that ran one of these competitively up against guys with top spec 4wd chassis (Schumacher SSTs, Associated, Losi etc.). They can be made to handle very well indeed so don't write it off! He used to have a funny driving style where he would pretty much keep the gas on all the time and scrub off speed with steering lock!
You can help the cracks in the shell by drilling a 2mm hole at the end of the crack to stop it spreading and reinforce the back with fibre-reinforced tape.
I used to race 1:10 saloons at the old club at Ashford back in the late nineties and there was a guy that ran one of these competitively up against guys with top spec 4wd chassis (Schumacher SSTs, Associated, Losi etc.). They can be made to handle very well indeed so don't write it off! He used to have a funny driving style where he would pretty much keep the gas on all the time and scrub off speed with steering lock!
lufbramatt said:
Tamiya used to run a class in their championship for the front wheel drive chassis hence the weird layout
You can help the cracks in the shell by drilling a 2mm hole at the end of the crack to stop it spreading and reinforce the back with fibre-reinforced tape.
I used to race 1:10 saloons at the old club at Ashford back in the late nineties and there was a guy that ran one of these competitively up against guys with top spec 4wd chassis (Schumacher SSTs, Associated, Losi etc.). They can be made to handle very well indeed so don't write it off! He used to have a funny driving style where he would pretty much keep the gas on all the time and scrub off speed with steering lock!
Yeah I've found a couple of YouTube tutorials on fixing cracks in RC shells. I'm struggling to find anything I like body wise, so I'm warming to the idea of tidying the Mondeo one up...it is original after all, and as mentioned, seems relatively well painted so would be a shame to write it off! I've seen a few in better condition on Google and they do look nice. Trouble is the cracks are quite big, and seem to have a few little chunks missing, so it won't be tidiest job ever.You can help the cracks in the shell by drilling a 2mm hole at the end of the crack to stop it spreading and reinforce the back with fibre-reinforced tape.
I used to race 1:10 saloons at the old club at Ashford back in the late nineties and there was a guy that ran one of these competitively up against guys with top spec 4wd chassis (Schumacher SSTs, Associated, Losi etc.). They can be made to handle very well indeed so don't write it off! He used to have a funny driving style where he would pretty much keep the gas on all the time and scrub off speed with steering lock!
The aim for the weekend is to give it a clean and get a controller and battery pack ordered. Once it's up and running I'll look at fixing the cracks and replacing the wheels and tires, as I'm genuinely not keen on the style, authentic or not! A quick search reveals the same Mondeo did run with different alloys at some point too, so might try and match them. Another thing I've noticed is some of them on Google have a full interior with driver, which I guess I have no hope of finding.
I figured they made them just to mimic FF real life cars and have read that they actually weren't that popular, but that makes it even better to me as it's a bit different and presumably rare because of it. Good to hear it does have some ability on a track, though I doubt this one will go near one!
I have never seen a front wheel drive RC car before.
I dug my old short wheelbase schumacher CAT (Circa 1986) out of the loft a few years back and put it on ebay.
I couldn't believe when it had over 50 watchers and went for over £500! That was just the rolling chassis and a cracked top chassis!
Amazing
I dug my old short wheelbase schumacher CAT (Circa 1986) out of the loft a few years back and put it on ebay.
I couldn't believe when it had over 50 watchers and went for over £500! That was just the rolling chassis and a cracked top chassis!
Amazing
I had one of these brand new for xmas back when they first came out and I was a spotty 13yr old boy, GREAT memories!!
I raced it at club level before upgrading to various 4WD TC chassis and spending (wasting) way too much money on the hobby where all the fun was drained out of it, this Tamiya model was by far the most fun RC car I've ever owned.
And yeah, as above, you can get them to handle well, my 'stock' setup was to put as many spring spacers into the front shocks as I could squeeze in and none in the rear, this would force the car to understeer but you could throw it in at maximum speed and all kinds of angles and just keep the power on to pull the car where ever you wanted it to go.
BRB on the hunt for a brand new kit for old times sake!
I raced it at club level before upgrading to various 4WD TC chassis and spending (wasting) way too much money on the hobby where all the fun was drained out of it, this Tamiya model was by far the most fun RC car I've ever owned.
And yeah, as above, you can get them to handle well, my 'stock' setup was to put as many spring spacers into the front shocks as I could squeeze in and none in the rear, this would force the car to understeer but you could throw it in at maximum speed and all kinds of angles and just keep the power on to pull the car where ever you wanted it to go.
BRB on the hunt for a brand new kit for old times sake!
Sorry, just realised I didn't actually answer ANY of your queries! Any 7.2V stick pack will fit, a cheap ESC and an upgraded motor is all you need, and a cheap radio set if you haven't got one, it won't be anywhere near as quick as a modern brushless TC set up, but will be hours of fun and reliable
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-code-2-4ghz-2...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-4012-servo-4k...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/etronix-probe-plus-2-...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/absima-thrust-eco-ele...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/enrich-power-3000mah-...
Then just give it a good clean, re-lube the diff and gears, rebuild the shocks (will require some shock oil) and you're good to go.
I would shelve the original body and original wheels and throw something else on, any 190mm TC body will fit and any hex fit 1/10 wheels will fit as well.
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-code-2-4ghz-2...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-4012-servo-4k...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/etronix-probe-plus-2-...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/absima-thrust-eco-ele...
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/enrich-power-3000mah-...
Then just give it a good clean, re-lube the diff and gears, rebuild the shocks (will require some shock oil) and you're good to go.
I would shelve the original body and original wheels and throw something else on, any 190mm TC body will fit and any hex fit 1/10 wheels will fit as well.
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