Taimya Baja Champ

[Greno]

My very first post so please be kind.

My prospective son in law has given me a Taimya Baja Champ to restore.

I build and fly radio control aircraft so not very knowledgeable on RC cars but he thinks I have the skill set.

Initial investigation reveals a broken shock absorber and a very worn pinion gear. I can see parts advertised online but very unsure what to go for or if they are the right ones. Can any of you very knowledgeable guys point me to a link to purchase a 19 tooth pinion gear and a set of shocks that are good but won’t break the bank. 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[Kpowell911]

This was my first off road RC car 🙂

 

For the pinion

 

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/schumacher-19t-steel-pinion-gear-06mod-437245
 

Shocks, whats the budget? The stock ones are friction and terrible BUT, you may not want to upgrade all 4?

[Kpowell911]

Budget, these shocks maybe worth a punt you wont really beat that price from the UK

 

https://www.jk-rc.co.uk/rc-shock-absorbers/jkrc9936g-p

[Greno]

Thanks for the links it’s appreciated. As far as budget is concerned I don’t want to spend over what the car is worth. £20 is reasonable but I was not looking for an upgrade, rather just to get the car running. Therefore friction shocks would be good enough, but if there are no other alternatives then I will have to consider them. After seeing your link and doing more searching online I gather the chassis is what Taimya call a TL01B. I have also found and downloaded the manual which gives me a clearer picture of how the car is put together. At least I am a stage further. Thanks again.

[locky]

It will come with plastic bushes for bearings so a full bearing kit from https://www.rcbearings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=827 is recommended if you want. Steel 19, 21, or 23 tooth 0.6 module pinion gear pinion will last whereas stock aluminium pinion quickly wears. You will need 7.2V nimh pack or oval lipo pack. Measure shock absorber length, hole centre to hole centre, to find alternatives.

[Greno]

Thank for your input Nitro fun. As I said I just want to get the car up and running. I don’t want to throw a heap of cash at it and spend more than what it’s worth. Expensive parts and another battery all add up. The car was owned by my prospective son in law in his early teens. It holds a bit of nostalgia for him. He now has a son (my grandson) he wants me to get it running so he can pass it on. It will only be used to run round the garden. But again thanks it’s nice that people take the time and effort to give advice. 
 

[Kpowell911]

The reason I suggested the oil shocks is because the way Tamiya work is you have to buy parts tree’s i.e several parts at once rather than what you need. Sometimes you will need multiple parts for the friction shocks (you will probably need the shock plastics as 1 part, and the springs as another) so it may work out cheaper to upgrade. 
 

You’re correct its the TL-01B

[ad456m]

I reckon keeping it cheap is wise and restore the car to relatively stock is a good plan here and if the grandson takes to the hobby then there’s still pocket money upgrades to be done if that’s of interest and if not then there’s not a heap of money spent on something that doesn’t take. 
 

eBay would be a good place to look for second hand parts to get it running. Those shocks are something most people would take off so I bet there’s plenty listed on there. 
 

 

[Greno]

Thanks again to those forum members who replied. 
I managed to source an old TL01B chassis which I used as a donor from which I replaced  the damaged shock absorber, and one or two other parts which I found to be missing. I did a complete strip down and cleaned everything. The gears and differential were surprisingly in good condition still with traces of lubricant. Only the pinion gear needed to be replaced. After a rebuild with plenty of new grease everything turned very smoothly. The ESC was missing so I replaced it with a Hobbywing 1060. The radio gear is a very old  accoms transmitter and receiver. The antenna on the tx was missing so I sourced one from an old broken tx I had lying around. The result is a very nice running car. It’s a sympathetic restoration I did not touch the paint work. The main aim to get it up and running. As I said my hobby is building and flying model aircraft, this was a complete change. Very enjoyable so much so that I am now eyeing up the Tamiya Plasma Edge.

 

 

[Kpowell911]

On 21/08/2024 at 16:48, Greno said:

Thanks again to those forum members who replied. 
I managed to source an old TL01B chassis which I used as a donor from which I replaced  the damaged shock absorber, and one or two other parts which I found to be missing. I did a complete strip down and cleaned everything. The gears and differential were surprisingly in good condition still with traces of lubricant. Only the pinion gear needed to be replaced. After a rebuild with plenty of new grease everything turned very smoothly. The ESC was missing so I replaced it with a Hobbywing 1060. The radio gear is a very old  accoms transmitter and receiver. The antenna on the tx was missing so I sourced one from an old broken tx I had lying around. The result is a very nice running car. It’s a sympathetic restoration I did not touch the paint work. The main aim to get it up and running. As I said my hobby is building and flying model aircraft, this was a complete change. Very enjoyable so much so that I am now eyeing up the Tamiya Plasma Edge.

 

 

Thats amazing. So glad you’ve got this going. Sounds like the bug has got you 😉