TOPIC:

I wrote:

a piece for the blog...

Rather than to digress and go of topic too much here...
F and Group C chassis could also make a nice subject btw...

Waterbok, I'll send a couple of them steering parts to your known adress.
I encountered the same problem when I tried to fit a GPM steering assembly to a bathtub.
My solution was a Dremel and some plastic mutilation (brand new chassis too) :


Red bits were removed :


Still have to fiber glass reinforce the front if I want to do any real off roading with it...

Owing you bigtime by now
any chassis parts that you are in search for?

Those are the same gpm's i got in silver, they are made for the FRP chassis.
Maybe I will use them on the Evo, would have to get them black though.
Yeahracing got some for the bathtubs that should fit

No problemo.
All I was looking for short term myself was a pair of hardened CR-01 wheel axles but I just clicked them my way.
With these I can make the FRP chassis a runner again. With another upgrade compared to the regular parts.
Not as cool as a double set as universals (the Evo) but slicker than the regular TF.

I was snoozing when the black GPM TA02 rear knuckles were still available at Asiatees not too long ago.
Now they suddenly seem to be hard to find in that colour.
Dunno if they have the steering assembly in black btw...
In the end it can always come down to some home anodisation.
Didn't know about the YR parts btw.

YR parts look nice but i've read they dont take measurements and finishing quality to serious.
How about a pair of these #3R/DT02-03/HD 3racing universals, had them in a dt02 should fit the DF01s too.

OH! now this is kinky, Tamiya - 53681 should work with Tamiya - 53791,
that would work pumping some money into a DF01

YR is (can be) nice, but I prefer GPM... or actually Tamiya but that's a budget thing.
There are also 3Racing parts on the FRP car 'cause I'm a fan of their titanium turnbuckles.
But the rear setup on the car is not too shabby as it is - hardened diff joints (from the ball diff), then hardened dogbones (like the TF) and a hardened wheel axle in the knuckle. Quite happy with that.
Don't really like CVDs with plastic joints btw like some of the GPMs also have...

waterbok wrote:

OH! now this is kinky, Tamiya - 53681 should work with Tamiya - 53791,
that would work pumping some money into a DF01

I'll translate for the neutal reader.
That's DF-02 universals with titanium wheel axles on them.
Only if I find the end of the rainbow and defeat that leprechaun...
I considered a set of those universals though but then the ones for the TF popped up at Jason's for a reasonable price.
But 53791 with 58681 would certainly make it an Evo Plus.

The teflon shielded ball bearings finally arrived so there's progress!


The small ones (850s) make the new aluminium C hubs ball raced :


Fluorine coated aluminum ball ends (replacing blue specimen) on them :


With an all metal setup, chances are the lightweight king pins will come loose easily because of vibrations...
So I cut some tiny pieces of teflon tape to secure them :


Lastly, a set of 3Racing titanium turnbuckles to replace the last blue bits :


Actually, the picture above is recycled because I used 42mm for the steering connection.


Before (of course with plastic hub) :


Strangely enough the adjusters I wanted to use were a dark shade of grey instead of black like they should be :


So I switched a few with another car...

There's some vertical tolerance between the steering knuckle and the C hub, but nothing major.
There must be some room for it to turn freely...
But the amount of play the C hub has on the suspension arm is always a small disaster.


One simple 3mm shim makes a world of difference there :




Now I'll have to wait for the hardened wheel axles to show up so I can finish the rear...
And then there's some final details to do on the undercowl so I can fit that also.

The FRP chassis is mechanically fully functional once more!
With this nice CR-01 hop up on it :


The loose parts that need to be reassembled :


Put together - and what a joy it is to work with this hex driver for the grubs :


The result :


And a bird's eye view :

Looking at it now, silver rear knuckles would probably not be a bad match either.
Guess that's the whole clue with this car - and it's siblings I have.
Especially this one is becoming more of a sculpture than a radio controlled car...
And a discovery for myself what I like when it comes to colours and what not.
Here's a summary of the thread to show the process.

I'll be leaving the recent finished build (basically the car I started with) mostly out of the story.
Here are just a before and after picture :



First of all I found out I like hop ups.
The initial craze was the colour blue.
Soon going from just a pair of alloy knuckles to mucho mucho blue :




And the first major side track because I turned that chassis into a Hummer :


I traded some FRP plates with Spitfire and that led to getting all the other necessary parts :


That took a while. And detailing this chassis with the best parts I could think of even longer...
From building the blue chassis I learned that that colour looks best in combination with black.
It also made me aware that I am not the biggest fan of the blue being directly on silver.
The two colours are okay together but only if interrupted by black...
Same goes for silver on silver by the way. In my own modest opinion that is.
Guess now is my gun metal - titanium phase. Fluorine coated and silver combine well with this.

What I am going on about? Let me show the pictures - and the slow metamorphosis through rerebuilds and resto jobs...












No more blue on this one. Still like that colour though.
I'll be doing an off the map F103...

I wonder if I'll ever consider this one ready. There's still some tempting possibilities...
But after fitting the undercowl and a good looking body, I can certainly say it has some state of completion.
With an enormous parts list that I've kept up to date.

Edou wrote:

0005429 Top Force Evo D parts
0445212 Top Force bumper
0605001 Top Force Y parts (damper housings)
4135028 Top Force universal shafts (front)
9115041 Top Force J parts
9405707 Top Force press parts bag
9405709 Top Force ball connector bag
9405710 Top Force mount bag
9465396 Top Force screw bag A
9465397 Top Force screw bag B
9465399 Top Force screw bag D
9805551 Top Force drive shafts (rear)

50529 TA02 all plastic gear set
50579 3x10mm step screws
53024 4mm aluminium flange lock nuts
53070 ball diff set (front and rear)
51000 high torque servo saver (black)
53127 69T Skyline speed tuned gear
53136 one piece ball thrust (diff) bearings
53141 lightweight king pins
53164 hollow carbon gear shafts
53596 aluminium servo stay
53968 hardened ball head connectors (front knuckles)
54048 CR-01 reinforced wheel axle (rear)
84013 aluminium short ball nut black

GPM TA1021 silver alloy front uprights
GPM TA1025 silver alloy main drive shaft
GPM TA2002 silver alloy motor mount (TA02)
GPM CC019 black aluminium C-hub (CC-01)

3RAC-HTS30/BU blue alloy servo saver horn (de-anodized)
3RAC-TR332 3x32mm titanium turnbuckles
3RAC-TR338 3x38mm titanium turnbuckles
3RAC-TR342 3x42mm titanium turnbuckles

AX30427 Axial narrow 12mm aluminium hex hubs black
RRP1121 21T 0.6mod Robinson Racing hardened pinion
IMX7053 Imex 2.8" Eagle black rear rims all around
1172-00 Pro-line 30 series Road Rage tyres
6023-03 Pro-line 1/8 high downforce wing

And naturally a full set of (30) ball bearings :

6 pcs. 850 and 8 pcs. 1150 metal shielded inside gearboxes
4 pcs. 850 rubber shielded on steering assembly
4 pcs. 850 and 8 pcs. 1150 teflon shielded for C hubs and wheel axles

Edou wrote:

...
Put together - and what a joy it is to work with this hex driver for the grubs :

...

I have to say that weeny hex drivers are possibly the best tool ever invented for use on RC cars ... probably even more so than the Tamiya box wrench

Putting on pinions and hexes went from a totally annoying job (and murdering grubs) to a very pleasant activity.

Btw guys, sorry that the last picture is a bit boring and anticlimatic...
I'll do better when I finish the first body shell. Think it will be the Dirt Thrasher. In pearl white box art.


Edit - here's a slightly better pic :