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Note: This build log is excerpted from my web site . You can check there for larger versions of every photo or further reading.

The TB-03 is a shaft drive, all wheel drive touring car with independent double wishbone suspension and inboard shocks on the front which allows the use of very low bodies. The original TB-01 chassis was released in 1999 and gradually evolved into the TB-03 by 2008. The TB-03 exists in several variants including the TB-03D (drift), the TB-03R (race) and the TB-03 VDS (deluxe drift). The model uses a one-piece plastic bathtub chassis with cooling slots. Out of the box pretty much everything is plastic including the CVA shocks. The differentials are ball type (my first). There is a lot of adjustability in the chassis including caster, camber, and toe on all wheels. There are also multiple shock attach points at both ends. I've pretty much left everything as per instructions because I don't know what I'm doing.

Although this is a model of a real specific car, I did not paint it metallic green because I had just used that color on another model. I went with a champagne gold metallic which I think looks really good. This car has an insane number of stickers. Cutting out and applying the stickers took considerably longer than the construction of the model, but it also really makes the look of the car. There are even stickers on the sidewalls of the tires which looked real nice for photos but fell off almost immediately which I kind of thought they might. The tires are slicks on lovely gold wheels.

I immediately bought a brushless system for this. Since I had built my first touring car, the TT-02 NSX, the same week this as stock, I really wanted to see how a higher end car with brushless stacked up. Truthfully, I didn't see a huge difference. It certainly handles and tracks better, and it is faster and quieter with the brushless but I find both a blast to drive. Both bottom out on the slightest bump in the road even with the ride height maxed out. The car is very stable in corners, especially after I upgraded the shocks.

Here is the box along with my original build electronics setup. Oddly, I chose a lovely Hobbywing brushless sensored motor and ESC combo and then paired it with the cheapest servo I could find. I guess I figured the load requirements were low. It actually works fine. I'll replace it some day when it dies. Super fast speed is not important to me because I don't race.
I only took this single photo during assembly and then I became too engrossed and built the whole thing in one night. This shows part of the first ball diff I ever assembled. I screwed it up. When clamping it down, I forgot to put in the spring first which resulted in crushing the plastic nut holder inside the hub. The whole thing was a nightmare and I stayed up all night correcting it. I did manage to fix it without buying any more parts though, and I've driven the car for months with no problems.
This shows the front and rear suspension. The front suspension uses pushrods and crank arms to locate the shocks inboard and free up space for low bodies. The system works pretty well with very little lost motion. The front and rear suspension use the same type of control arms. The rotation axis can be adjusted by inserting different blocks for the pins. The upper arms are turnbuckles which allow length adjustment for camber, and the rods can also be attached at different positions. The battery compartment is big enough for moderate Li-Po's.
The completed car. The chassis tub is pretty full once the ESC, servo, and receiver are installed. The receiver actually sits on top of the servo. I cut the wires short and soldered them directly to the motor to avoid clutter and I like the way it looks. The whole system is very quiet on the road, with the loudest noise being the hum from the sensor system. From the bottom you can see the smooth surface with the cooling duct for the motor and slots for the battery.

The only upgrade I made to this car was to change out the shocks. The stock CVA shocks are OK, but they tend to leak and I cannot deny that I also wanted the look of a bit of aluminum. These TRF shocks are among the best that Tamiya makes. I also bought a set of medium weight shock oil.
It's amazing how many parts are involved in building a set of shocks. Many of the parts from the plastic trees you see in the background go unused, but even so every shock has a body, a lower cap, an upper cap, a preload ring, a spring, a spring collar, a rod, a rod end, a piston, a bladder, a foam spacer, 2 E-clips, and a pile of o-rings. The only plastic part is the rod end because these shocks even use aluminum spring collars. Very, very nice, and smooth as silk once built. The pistons have a fluorine coating that really make them move effortlessly. The kit even comes with low friction ball ends for the model. The right hand image shows a comparison with the stock shock. You can see that the new version is slightly shorter.
Wow, those sure do look nice once installed. The performance on the road was noticeably better with less bounce and more control over bumps and around corners.

That sure is a nice looking car. Sadly it has developed quite a bit of road rash since these photos were taken. I'm going to try my hand at buffing Lexan and see if I can make it smooth again. The tire stickers are long gone.