Cephas

I have made a few bits out of carbon fibre on my manta ray, 2-3 mm is plenty thick enough for most chassis parts. cutting it requires a very fine blade, a metal hacksaw blade for example or the equivalent dremel blade. you MUST wear eye protection (mine are sealed goggles) and a good quality face mask, also cut in a well ventilated area, I cut it in my workshop, it creates a lot of dust.

It was £50 so depends on what you call expensive, for a Lunchbox probably but considering how far I am taking it, for me not really as I don’t build many cars in a year. For me they have to be a runner ( which this one will be ) I limit myself to 5 runners at any one time or a shelf queen of which I have 2 and room for 2 more.

Front end is complete, much better than the Ampro one on my other Lunchbox. seems to have made the front track width slightly wider than the rear, unless this is normal, not an issue as I was looking to widen the width anyway

I was going to use the upgrade from option1 to replace the stock A10 part, but the fitting is not great, so I went back to the stock part for now.

It’s well made, changed the plastic tie rod ends for alloy ones I have spare

Put the Monster Uk front end together today

Yes that’s part of what sparked my interest in trying it, as I have a stock Lunchbox. Somewhere I saw one that had used the stock gearbox/ axle and just flipped it over, that and Monster Uk are making some good upgrades for the Lunchbox. so I am adding it all together in one. I am interested to see how it will handle

I modified some generic crawler shock mounts to use as bottom shock mounts attached to the carbon filter four link mount

And from below 😀

Next the panhard bar, had to put a spacer in one end for the suspension mount to clear. all seems to work smoothly without any binding, needs a bit of fine tuning, but happy with it so far.

Next I used the Monster Uk rear suspension mount and flipped the axle over so that the old axle mount becomes the wheelie bar and the carbon fibre mount becomes the new mounting point for the four link

I have seen a number of people use the technique I am going to try, always wanted to do a four link on a Lunchbox. I am going to use a number of Monster Uk upgrades to make it all work, hence the Monster reference in the title. Using the D7 parts to make the front mounts for the four link is the start.

I have used Fastrax shocks a lot, they are great for the price, I have them on several of my cars. well worth getting 😀

Or just get these 😀 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181905003668?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=XxraILF5SAK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=GG_mmGtCQLa&var=481243053061&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

With the body, maybe you could find a stadium blitzer body, they are lexan, unsure how easy they are to get.

Here is my stadium blitzer which is the same as a blitzer beetle, l have some Schumacher tyres on order to try on some street rover wheels which are the correct fitting front and back, they are the same width all round unlike the blitzer ones. I am running a brushless 13.5T motor and 2s lipo, as mentioned above, unsure how well or long it would last on 3S, but I know people do run em. There is a Facebook group dedicated to Blitzer Beetles with some good info. I have made a simple roll cage for mine as it is used for a beach basher, with the alternative wheels with paddle tyres I have.

Looking forward to seeing the new perfection

Tamiya junkies is an informal meet, 1/10 only. Not strictly Tamiya, people bring Kyosho etc, they have an indoor track in case it rains and two large outdoor ones. It’s not racing it’s just for fun and socialising with like minded individuals, I have said to myself that I would go for ages and last month was the first time and it was the most fun my brother I have had in ages. I decided recently after a ****ty couple of years, to stop putting things off and just do it, especially things I enjoy 😀

I read your DT03 build thread with great interest, made me put one on my need to get list 😂. my brother has just built one to take to the Tamiya Junkies meet on Saturday

Under the body

I have a stadium blitzer, which I believe is the same chassis as a Blitzer Beetle. picked it up second hand and it’s a bit rough, but it’s a basher I have been tinkering with. here are some pictures hope it helps your decision 😀

Nearly finished my Manta Force, it’s an upgraded Manta Ray with a few carbon fibre bits that I have made. I have a top force evo body to fit, l had a Top Force before but it looked so nice I couldn’t bring myself to run it 😂. so I am building this so I don’t cry if I crash it.

Or do this, I have so many laying around I thought it was a great idea. Not my idea by the way, someone here on Tamiyaclub had a gold set they framed and I thought it looked really nice, but I can’t find the post to give them credit, sorry 😬

Yes all sorted now, funnily enough that’s exactly where I got them from along with a fully assembled rear lunchbox gearbox/axle they were selling cheap. many thanks