Resurrecting a Tamiya TL-01 - Help/Advice
Discussion
Hi all,
I was recently given my old Tamiya TL-01 with 1999 Subaru WRC Colin McCrae Shell after atleast 15 years hibernation in my parents loft.
Plenty of good memories building it with my Dad and then playing with it. I am keen to get it running again so myself and my son can play with it.
Now I need some help as I have no idea about RC cars these days, I am hoping to get a new battery and charger and a more modern speed controller compared to the servo operated one that is currently fitted - any reasonable suggestions?
I have already part stripped it down and cleaned / re-greased the gearing - I can't beleive how good condition it's in - I am impressed with 12 year old me!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated :-)
I was recently given my old Tamiya TL-01 with 1999 Subaru WRC Colin McCrae Shell after atleast 15 years hibernation in my parents loft.
Plenty of good memories building it with my Dad and then playing with it. I am keen to get it running again so myself and my son can play with it.
Now I need some help as I have no idea about RC cars these days, I am hoping to get a new battery and charger and a more modern speed controller compared to the servo operated one that is currently fitted - any reasonable suggestions?
I have already part stripped it down and cleaned / re-greased the gearing - I can't beleive how good condition it's in - I am impressed with 12 year old me!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated :-)
For electronics, you have a choice. If you want daft speeds out of it go LIPO battery and brushless motor. Its all more expensive but will bring it up to date. LIPO batteries are more fussy on how you look after them and can be a fire risk - this includes when charging, they should not be left unattended and should be placed in a fireproof bag, just in case. Ideally you match the battery to the motor.
The other option is nimh batteries & brushed motor, which is more like what you remember as a kid. Far cheaper, easier to manage and probably fast enough for your lad.
If going nimh, get one of these controllers https://www.modelsport.co.uk/hobbywing-quicrun-106... that will handle almost any brushed motor, you will probably get it a few quid cheaper if you look around.
If you fancy a new motor these are cheap and will work fine https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=... Just get a battery thats it say 3600mah, should give you 30 minutes+ running time.
LIPO will be more difficult, you need to find a pack that will fit in the chassis, if I remember its even wrose for the TL-01 as the pack slides through the chassis ? A lot of lipo do not have the same shape, thus will not fit - e.g. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/voltz-2200mah-3s-11-1...
Brushless motors and speed controllers can be bought in a set together, there are some cheap ones around, seen reports of problems and/or short life with some, a lot of this stuff is from China, so while they can make good stuff the cheaper side isn't always good - seen stuttering problems, controllers metling etc.
If you need radio gear, look at flysky stuff like this https://www.banggood.com/Flysky-FS-GT3C-Transmitte... If you can avoid it dont go with the GT3B version, it takes a bunch of AA cells, the C version has a battery pack.
Battery chargers there are loads out there and typically they can do many type sof battery, including transmitter packs. Again, therre are some dirt cheap chinese products available, which quality wise might not be the best choice. I saw a post elsewhere that a couple were bought for use in a university lab, they failed PAT testing, not good. Even the stuff that is "ok" are clones of each other, for example - https://www.modelsport.co.uk/skyrc-e680-ac-dc-80w-... and https://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsr-80... are likely identical. I think the iMax B6 is similar, if you go here https://www.banggood.com/search/imax-b6.html?from=... you can see they sell several versions of the same thing, all clones of one another..
As far as the car goes is a 257mm wheelbase chassis, so more or less any touring/rally car body should fit provided is 1/10. https://landlmodels.co.uk/ do quite a few, if you look on ebay you'll find official Tamiya bodies too - e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Choice-Of-New-Tamiya-1-...
that seller JK-RC has a website here: https://www.jk-rc.co.uk/ sometimes stuff is a bit cheaper to go direct instead of via ebay. Another good seller for tamiya bits is https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_ssn=tonystamiya...
The other option is nimh batteries & brushed motor, which is more like what you remember as a kid. Far cheaper, easier to manage and probably fast enough for your lad.
If going nimh, get one of these controllers https://www.modelsport.co.uk/hobbywing-quicrun-106... that will handle almost any brushed motor, you will probably get it a few quid cheaper if you look around.
If you fancy a new motor these are cheap and will work fine https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=... Just get a battery thats it say 3600mah, should give you 30 minutes+ running time.
LIPO will be more difficult, you need to find a pack that will fit in the chassis, if I remember its even wrose for the TL-01 as the pack slides through the chassis ? A lot of lipo do not have the same shape, thus will not fit - e.g. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/voltz-2200mah-3s-11-1...
Brushless motors and speed controllers can be bought in a set together, there are some cheap ones around, seen reports of problems and/or short life with some, a lot of this stuff is from China, so while they can make good stuff the cheaper side isn't always good - seen stuttering problems, controllers metling etc.
If you need radio gear, look at flysky stuff like this https://www.banggood.com/Flysky-FS-GT3C-Transmitte... If you can avoid it dont go with the GT3B version, it takes a bunch of AA cells, the C version has a battery pack.
Battery chargers there are loads out there and typically they can do many type sof battery, including transmitter packs. Again, therre are some dirt cheap chinese products available, which quality wise might not be the best choice. I saw a post elsewhere that a couple were bought for use in a university lab, they failed PAT testing, not good. Even the stuff that is "ok" are clones of each other, for example - https://www.modelsport.co.uk/skyrc-e680-ac-dc-80w-... and https://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsr-80... are likely identical. I think the iMax B6 is similar, if you go here https://www.banggood.com/search/imax-b6.html?from=... you can see they sell several versions of the same thing, all clones of one another..
As far as the car goes is a 257mm wheelbase chassis, so more or less any touring/rally car body should fit provided is 1/10. https://landlmodels.co.uk/ do quite a few, if you look on ebay you'll find official Tamiya bodies too - e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Choice-Of-New-Tamiya-1-...
that seller JK-RC has a website here: https://www.jk-rc.co.uk/ sometimes stuff is a bit cheaper to go direct instead of via ebay. Another good seller for tamiya bits is https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_ssn=tonystamiya...
My first car was a TL01, I now have a collection of about 30 cars, all in various stages of not working...
The weak point on the TL01 is the damper upper mount, which is part of the chassis moulding. These often suffer from a hairline crack which can be difficult to spot, but ultimately when they let go they snap leaving you having to replace the entire A-parts (chassis halves). A real bummer. The other weakness is the front steering knuckles, which tend to split at the ball joint. These are much easier to come by on eBay etc.
You'll need a round case LiPo to fit as Crafty_ suggests, the Core RC 4000mAh is a good shape but will require you to fit a couple of spacers between the battery plates to get it to fit nicely.
One consideration with upgrading to modern electronics is whether you have a good, high-power soldering iron at home. Without one you'll need to either be very picky with your electronics to ensure all your connectors match or get someone else to solder matching plugs on for you. My preference is XT60 connectors, but it's a whole can of worms and everyone has their favourite...
Finally, it's worthwhile putting some new ball bearings in there, or at the minimum re-oiling the bearings it has. If it only has nylon bushings (all TL01's came with these little white bushings as standard) then they're a worthwhile upgrade.
The weak point on the TL01 is the damper upper mount, which is part of the chassis moulding. These often suffer from a hairline crack which can be difficult to spot, but ultimately when they let go they snap leaving you having to replace the entire A-parts (chassis halves). A real bummer. The other weakness is the front steering knuckles, which tend to split at the ball joint. These are much easier to come by on eBay etc.
You'll need a round case LiPo to fit as Crafty_ suggests, the Core RC 4000mAh is a good shape but will require you to fit a couple of spacers between the battery plates to get it to fit nicely.
One consideration with upgrading to modern electronics is whether you have a good, high-power soldering iron at home. Without one you'll need to either be very picky with your electronics to ensure all your connectors match or get someone else to solder matching plugs on for you. My preference is XT60 connectors, but it's a whole can of worms and everyone has their favourite...
Finally, it's worthwhile putting some new ball bearings in there, or at the minimum re-oiling the bearings it has. If it only has nylon bushings (all TL01's came with these little white bushings as standard) then they're a worthwhile upgrade.
Amazing advice, thank you both! I don't think LIPO will be the way to go, I don't want it to go stupid speeds due to it's age, sentimental value and the age of my lad who is still getting to grips with his little rock climber buggy. In time he will move onto this (if he's still interested!)
New battery, charger, speed controller + motor will be my first steps I feel - thank you again for the valuable advice.
New battery, charger, speed controller + motor will be my first steps I feel - thank you again for the valuable advice.
The Enrich (Schumacher) 3300mah NiMH battery packs last ages and are easier to look after than LiPos, and will fit perfectly in the chassis. About £15 from Modelsport etc.
I used to work in a model shop and remember when the TL-01 came out, Riko (UK distributor) sent us 6 of them made up and a pre-fab track to set up in the car park to demo them to customers for a weekend. Happy days.
I used to work in a model shop and remember when the TL-01 came out, Riko (UK distributor) sent us 6 of them made up and a pre-fab track to set up in the car park to demo them to customers for a weekend. Happy days.
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