TOPIC:

 
I saw this on eBay a few weeks ago. I liked the look of the body and I’d like to look at improving it if possible. But only if it’s possible to fix it first.
Anyway it was nice that it came with its box even if it’s a bit tatty.
Also to point out the TL-01 chassis is one I know nothing about, which was another thing that drew me to buying this. 
Here’s what was in the box when I opened it. I think a little bit of bubble wrap or something else would have been nice, luckily it survived further damage from what I can tell. 
And here’s what I found upon removing the body shell.
At this point I’m just hoping nothing major is missing.

 
Here’s the body shell first of all.
The first thing missing is the wing mirrors, but I don’t think they were even fitted because the holes haven’t been made to fit them. I’m gutted they weren’t sitting in the bottom of the box, but unfortunately they were not.   
Back end and front. There are some splits in the back, but these can be repaired.
Not surprisingly the front end took the brunt of the damage and as well as some splits, some of the body is missing. I’m not a fan of polycarbonate shells, but I’ll have a go at seeing if it’s possible to repair.
At this point I have nothing to lose and worst case scenario I’d be looking at a repro shell. 
Cracks in the back end.
   
And the front end damage. I’ll be doing a lot of research to see what’s possible with fixing this.

 
Here’s the chassis laid out. It’s very, very grubby !!!
 
The box seemed to have the sprues from the plastic tress, which is kinda nice.
 
The worst bit of obvious damage is the big crack where the motor fits.
 
Judging by the bottom of the chassis this was well used.
 
The pinion looks well used as well ??!!
   
And finally something that was puzzling me, but luckily this leaflet in the box has cleared something up. I thought this had come with an ESC, but it looks like it came with an MSC, but they also give you the option of adding an ESC.
 I’m so used to working with earlier cars, adding an ESC was in its infancy and you had to buy an aftermarket one. 

It’s time to strip this down, clean it and see what parts are broken or missing.

Very nice find Al. I love these Celica bodies, I had one that had the headlights permanently up and it was one of my favs. 

Good news is thats not damage or rip in the chassis under the motor area, its actually part of the design. (mold). Overall looks like its mostly there. 

 
So the above picture shows the level of grime we’re dealing with.
I think the PO was going to restore it himself, but then decided to move this on.
 
Everything pretty much stripped down. To be fair everything is in pretty fair condition.
I think the main issue was a couple of bits of grit getting into one of the gear boxes.
 
 

The other thing is the chassis. Which as was pointed out by Jim, is it’s not broken, but one side comes in two pieces. One or both parts are warped, creating what I took to be a crack.
 

I really don’t want to start replacing thing’s for the sake of this looking like it’s brand new, but do you guys think I should replace the chassis ???
( thanks Jim )

 
Here’s pretty much everything after an initial scrub, degrease and clean up. Some parts will need another going over, but it’s definitely looking better.
   
Here are the bits of grit caught in a couple of the gears. Nasty !!!
My first thought was to buy a new set of gears, but on initial inspection I think for the level of use it’s going to get I think I’ll go with them for now.
 
I think this shows how the damage was caused.
   
And finally at this point I think all I’m missing is one part B5.
If anyone has a spare then please drop me a line. Cheers.

I have to say that this is either a robust chassis or was not overly abused as I haven’t come across any broken parts.
I’ve only ordered a new set of tyres so far.

Welcome Al.

This is where things get expensive for me if I am not careful. If it's a runner let it ride and use as is if it is functional. Save the brand new stuff for when it breaks!! Lol

My thoughts exactly Jim.

I don’t know if anyone can confirm, but does this chassis need 24 1150 bearings !!!
I was going to add them, but wow !!! My spares are going to take a big hit if that’s correct.

I have a pair of new ones. Yours if you like. Send me a PM with address etc and they are yours. 

Oh yeah!!!! 24 is about right! A veritable smorgasbord of rotating mass!!! LOL