Lunchbox mods? What other ones are there?

[jimbo858]

Okay, so I'm trying to bring back my old Lunchbox to basher form.  A couple of months back it had a bad full speed head-on "accident" with a concrete wall.  So, after breaking another of my bashers I decided to put some effort into getting my Lunchbox working again. In so doing, I've done the following;

-added BB's all around

-added a Kimbrough Large Servo Saver

-used old Blackfoot steering rods

-used one long Blackfoot steering rod to act as a shock tower brace (thanks again to the info on Tamiya Club!)

-used the Futaba FX-10 CRP arms in front to help with the steering slop (thanks again to the info on Tamiya Club!)

-added the third shock setup to the rear (thanks again to the info on Tamiya Club!)

-replaced all the stock shocks with the old oil shocks from my TL01B ripoff (aka Bonzer or Cross Tiger)

-replaced the MSC with the all in one ESC/Receiver from my TL01B ripoff (aka Bonzer or Cross Tiger)

So, the question is... Are there any other recommended mod's for the Lunchbox? One's that don't require me fabricating some sort of aluminum chassis? Oh and now I'm just looking for another Lunchbox motor adapter plate. for some reason the original one broke in the "accident".

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

Nice modifications [H]

another "basher" mod done by many people is stiffening the rear of the chassis tub.

the lunchbox chassis is basicly a modified tamiya pajero tub, and still has the rear "table", where the pajeros hump battery was fixed.

the pajero has its rear shocks mounted in a very nice place on the chassis tub, you can still see their mounting positions on the lunchbox chassis.

but when tamiya turned the pajero into the lunchbox, they placed the rear shock mounts further to the rear of the chassis, in the middle of the "table".

this causes the rear of the chassis to flex. to much flexing, or a big impact will break the rear of the chassis tub!

plating up the rear of the tub was one way to fix the rear chassis flex, but i came up with this method:

you can see my plastic brace going from the rear shock mount down to the axel mounting part. i've added one on both sides. now the rear table is rock solid! i dont know what the plastic brace part was from, they came in a bag of spares from ebay - but the same can be achived using metal rods and rod ends (like steering links).

there are other bits you could get, like aftermarket tyres, wheels and a lexan shell - the list goes on and on, only you can decide where to stop []

[jimbo858]

HEY!!!  Now THAT'S! a good mod!  I've got some more spare Blackfoot steering rods.  I'll have to dig up a couple tonight and do that!  Thanks for the update!

BTW, this thing is gonna probably be a basher again.  It's gonna temporarily take the place of my Super Blackfoot.  I was playing with the new 13t motor in the Super Blackfoot and I kinda mis-judged the sidewalk again!  Another front end demolished by a full speed head-on, off-centered smash!  I guess I'm getting really near sighted in my old age....

[jimbo858]

AMAZING!  I just did a short test drive today and it's totally

different. The brace for the front struts and the braces for the rear

struts (to reinforce the rear of the chassis tub) make a HUGE

difference. Compared to before the whole thing is just so much

stiffer!  And you're right the rear of the chassis deck felt like

it was about to snap.  Now it's just solid.

I still have sort out the front suspension.  I still need to go to

the LHS and try to get some Lunsford turnbuckles with a few pillow-ball

endlinks (don't know if that's what their called).  but... so far

I'm really happy with it.

[jimbo858]

MonsterBeetle, thanks again for the help.  I've finally gotten most of the stuff sorted out.  I still need:

-a new motor plate (so I can put the proper pinion on. don't worry it's on order from Bodis!)

-resolder the motor plugs. this is a cheapo Bonzer motor that I'm using. It's a bit longer so it almost rubs against the tires.

-oh and I've got some 2.2 truck tires on order. hopefully, using Blackfoot rims will  help give alittle more room between the front shocks and the rims.

here's the link to some of the pics if you're interested...

My LunchBox Basher

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

Excellent stuff! [H]

glad to hear the mods worked out ok!

the chassis is looking great, and i like what you've done with the front suspension! [H]

those tyres look cool! any idea who made those?

[jimbo858]

....those tyres look cool! any idea who made those? ...

I got those tires with one of my Ebay purchases.  I don't know who makes them and I wouldn't recommend them.  They wore really weird and are WAY off balance.  makes the thing shake like crazy with the old suspension and a Venom 21t motor.  I'm hoping that with the different tires and the different rims that it will be better....

[Rabiedmushroom]

I'm a Crazy Fool, but I reckon the best modification to a Lunchbox is turn it into an A-Team Van and stick it on a M-chassis []

I'm sure I've seen topics about that here. Sorry to diversify slightly from the query above, but if you wanted to fit a Lunchbox shell onto a M-chassis, what wheelbase can you use? The 210mm Mini type or longer?

Can someone get a tape measure out and check the distance between their wheel arch centres please!

I love it when a plan comes together... []

[jimbo858]

I'm a Crazy Fool, but I reckon the best modification to a Lunchbox is turn it into an A-Team Van and stick it on a M-chassis []

I'm sure I've seen topics about that here. Sorry to diversify slightly from the query above, but if you wanted to fit a Lunchbox shell onto a M-chassis, what wheelbase can you use? The 210mm Mini type or longer?

Can someone get a tape measure out and check the distance between their wheel arch centres please!

I love it when a plan comes together... []

someone here has one similar in their showroom...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...371&id=3222http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=24371&id=3222'>

I like it! But, I also still want something that'll do wheelies and jump off a small ramp. My sons love it... I'm hoping some day that I'll be able to jump the Lunchbox up and over my Daschund!  HAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!

[Mad Ax]

I'm a Crazy Fool, but I reckon the best

modification to a Lunchbox is turn it into an A-Team Van and stick it

on a M-chassis []

I'm sure I've seen topics about that here. Sorry

to diversify slightly from the query above, but if you wanted to fit a

Lunchbox shell onto a M-chassis, what wheelbase can you use? The 210mm

Mini type or longer?

Can someone get a tape measure out and check the distance between their wheel arch centres please!

I love it when a plan comes together... []

I'm half-way through an M04L conversion for a Pumpkin shell - I think

the pumpkin and lunchbox shells are the same length.  I had to

shorten the M04L using custom-made chassis rails, you can see my

progress here:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...8&sid=15729

Obviously, any good A-team conversion will need to use a rear-drive M04

or M02 chassis; BA Barracus wouldn't be seen dead in a front-drive...

[jimbo858]

Mad Ax, that's very nice!  keep up the good work!

[Bodis]

There aren't too many more mods that would be worthwhile doing to a LB or MP. Reducing any excess weight is a good start, or perhaps moving the esc forwards to get a bit better balance. They also have a very high centre of mass, so lowering it will help the handling (I have even shortened the body posts on my MP to get the body lower on the chassis). It also needs to sit low enough that it has negative camber on the front wheels, rather than the positive camber that it has with the stock suspension.

The Blackfoot wheels you mentioned are much narrower than the LB wheels, they also have a much wider offset, so much that here is a little something im playing around with for my MP.

[jimbo858]

Bodis, that's very clean!  How'd you do that?

[Bodis]

I had another set of blackfoot wheels that were all smashed up on the outter edge, so i cut off the inner edge with a dremel, and with a lot of skillful skill with sandpaper and CA glue attached this cut off piece to the inner edge of my good set of wheels. They still look rough at the moment, but with more putty, sanding, and a hit of lunchbox yellow, i think they'll come up pretty nice.

Even though they are now wider, they are still not as wide as the standard LB wheels. I am tempted to chop up another good pair of wheels to widen them further on the outter edge. It really depends what tyres i can get. I am thinking of stretching the standard LB tyres over them, but im not sure yet.

Note that I have NOT widened these wheels for use on a runner. Whilst i am confident that the CA glue will hold the plastic together, and that the wheels could be used, it is possible that the putty would flake off if the plastic flexes.

[volksnhousin]

Hi guys...I have a hornet with big wheels and would like to install the smaller lunchbox pinion. I need the lunchbox motor plate/adaptor. I was looking on line and it looks like it is in the parts on the "D" parts plastic tree of the lunchbox kit. Am I right with that guess? I just want to confirm before I buy...

[Bodis]

Yep.. Its on the lunchbox/pumpkin D parts tree. Cheers

[volksnhousin]

Ok thanks for the help Bodis. []

[jimbo858]

****... I was "bashing" with the Box this past weekend.  And, the steering servo broke off a piece of the chassis.  The two points on the chassis where the steering servo are secured on are very small and look rather weak.  Anyone have any ideas on how to improve this?

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

Thats a common weak spot. if both wheels take a knock at the same time, or one takes a large impact that the servo saver cannot soak up, the servo mount gets put under a lot of strain.

you could try fabricating an aluminium braket to secure the servo to the chassis.

[Bodis]

I feel sorry for this lunchbox of yours, it must be one of the most abused out there! It must be time for a trip back to the optometrist to get some new specs to stop these high speed stacks. Or perhaps you could just slow things down a bit by not running a 21t motor, but wheres the fun in that! Cheers

[jimbo858]

I feel sorry for this lunchbox of yours, it must be

one of the most abused out there! It must be time for a trip back to

the optometrist to get some new specs to stop these high speed stacks.

Or perhaps you could just slow things down a bit by not running a 21t

motor, but wheres the fun in that! Cheers

hahahaha... yeah... that would help?

this time though... I didn't crash into anything. It just finally gave

in from all of the other times it was "bashed" into something

solid....  OH well...  Gotta keep Tamiya revenues up right?

[Bodis]

Are there any other recommended mod's for the Lunchbox? One's that don't require me fabricating some sort of aluminum chassis?

Good thing that you didnt want to build an aluminium chassis, it probably wouldnt have stood up to what you throw at it. Im thinking you'll need carbon fibre, kevlar, reinforced carbon carbon, and lots of other space age composites to keep this lunchbox together, considering that it now falls apart without even crashing it.

[jimbo858]

Are there any other recommended mod's for the Lunchbox? One's that don't require me fabricating some sort of aluminum chassis?

Good thing that you didnt want to build an aluminium chassis, it probably wouldnt have stood up to what you throw at it. Im thinking you'll need carbon fibre, kevlar, reinforced carbon carbon, and lots of other space age composites to keep this lunchbox together, considering that it now falls apart without even crashing it.

I was thinking of using some sort of steel block... then I could call it the Tamiya "Lunch Brick".  But... I decided against it cause then when I hit the concrete sidewalk I might start breaking that!