TA01 radio and bits

schnappy · 10-12-2009, 04:55 PM

Note: I've disjointed links to get them posted... figured I'm not a spam bot so it's ok?

Hey,
I'm getting my first RC car - a TA01 Escort Cosworth. It doesn't come with radio, as pictured here -
img269.imagesha ck.us/i/img3339n.jpg/

I'm quite certain it is this:
tamiyaus a.com/product/item.php?product-id=58112

I'm doing this on the cheap, every time I've looked at getting a good RC I've been put off by the $300AUD price tag for a RTR - but this cheap TA01 came up.

I can't say for sure if everything is there... according to the Tamiya site, it still needs a 6 cell battery, radio trans/reciever and servos. Can anyone tell from this picture that everything else is there?

Which ofcourse means I'm now after the rest of the bits on the cheap. There are radio sets on ebay for $40 odd, but again I'm not really sure what I'm looking at. I'm after a second hand one so I'll hit up the trading sections, but I want to know exactly what I'm after. Likewise for the battery. I'm in Melbourne, Australia - so I might be a bit limited.

Any advice would help,
Thanks

niznai · 10-12-2009, 08:08 PM

It is not possible to say if the car is all there or not from one shot like that. You need to take it apart to make sure or at least get a few pictures with the body off.

One thing apparently missing (not sure, again) is the mechanical speed controller which isn't worth much and even if you get one it's better you bin it. A basic electronic brushed speedo is cheap to buy new these days. The other electronics you need are transmitter, receiver and only one servo if you get the electronic speedo. The second servo would have been needed for the mechanical speedo. You might need a motor as well (should have a silvercan but it is not clear if it has one).

Bits for that vintage car (if you need any plastics) are easy to find as Tamiya has just released a couple of other cars that use the same chassis renamed DF01. There are more cars that use some of the bits, but that's your best bet. Mechanicals (gears, driveshafts, etc) are easy to get as well.

Good luck and check out the thread here (vintage TA02 fan or something like that). Alternatively there's the Tamiyaclub over in the UK, a website where you can find a lot of info, people with these cars and a forum as well as a trading section.

schnappy · 10-12-2009, 10:25 PM

Arr that's not the pic I meant to link - here's the one with the body off:
img408.imagesh ack.us/img408/3232/img3338.jpg

DF01... great! I'll keep searching and chew up as much info as I can. When you say the electronic servos don't cost much, how much is not much? Can anyone recommend some stores in Australia? A few come to mind but would like to know who everyone else uses and recommends.

niznai · 10-13-2009, 02:51 AM

Well, it seems pretty much all there. No mechanical speedy as I suspected. An electronic speedo these days is probably the same price as a servo so you might as well buy that. If you look on ebay, you could probably get one for about 30US$, as seen here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamiya-45041-ESC...ht_2736wt_1167

You have two choices in the city. One is just next to the Flinders street station (forgot the name), the other in Little (?) Lonsdale street. Look them up in the phone book. There are plenty of others too.