Abc Hobby Body On M-04 ?

[Mad Ax]

For a long time I've been in love with the ABC Hobby Sunny Coupe body. Check it here: http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-mini-chas...l?cPath=438_874

Recently I acquired a new-built M04 chassis that I thought would be a superb donor for the ABC body, however the RC Mart info states "not available to Tamiya M03/M04 chassis."

Does anyone know what this means, specifically..? Does it mean the body simply won't fit (too low, too narrow, etc..?) or does it mean that it won't fit a standard M04 because the wheelbase isn't right? M04s are very easy to make custom-length due to their modular chassis design.

Any infos appreciated. I also have an M02 chassis that I could use if needs be, but would rather use the M04 if I can!

TIA for any advices

[roog909]

i've read that the nose is too low. Will fit the m02 though because of the monoshock layout.

its a 208mm wheelbase,

qoute from takotuning.com:

The Sunny Coupe is another detail monster from ABC. The grill alone has three options. You get two different decals for the grill and you can also chose the emblem that goes in the center of the grill. The third option is to mount the separate Lexan grill piece that adds depth to the front of the body. Now the separate grill requires some painting skills, but that doesnt ruin the fun as you can use the grill decals until you are ready to mount the Lexan grill

Some of the other features include lexan light buckets, front and rear optional bumpers, and a rear spoiler.

This body is a direct fit for the Genetic chassis, but the low bonnet causes problems with the M03. This body has the correct wheel base, but you will have to get your M03 low to the ground and come up with you own body mounts if you want to mount the Coupe on a M03.

I looked at my own m03, is seems fairly easy to convert it to mono-shock with some small alu. cantilevers, I say go for it

cheers!

edit: BB-code typed wrong

[Mad Ax]

Thanks Roog. The M03 is very high at the front where the servo goes, but a google image search for "Tamiya M04 chassis" produced this as the very first hit:

http://www.rccartips.com/toyota-trueno-body.htm

It hopefully proves that the front of the chassis isn't too high for a Sunny Coupe body. This RC Mart pic doesn't show a particularly low snout on the body:

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-mini-chas...16.html?picID=1

Hopefully it's a misunderstanding on the RCMart site, and the M04 chassis isn't entirely incompatible with this badboy shell...

[terry.sc]

Don't know what size that Jada Import body is, but it ain't a mini size shell.

All the ABC Hobby mini size bodies are made to fit the standard 210mm chassis, as used on all the 4wd mini chassis from HPI, ABC, Xpress, Tech Racing, etc. Unfortunately the M04 chassis doesn't go down to a 210mm wheelbase, it has a minimum wheelbase of 225mm. You can shorten it further http://www.rc-mini.net/MiniWeb_Online/Vw_To_Ferrari.html but it requires a fair amount of butchering of the suspension. Alternatively you can cut a section out of the chassis and be creative with attaching the front and rear ends together.

[Mad Ax]

All the ABC Hobby mini size bodies are made to fit the standard 210mm chassis... ...the M04 chassis doesn't go down to a 210mm wheelbase, it has a minimum wheelbase of 225mm. ...you can cut a section out of the chassis and be creative with attaching the front and rear ends together.

Thanks for this info Terry, very helpful I already did a shortened M04 for my Pumpkin Lowrider some while ago and still have the chassis plates (and the chopped/glued stock chassis prototype too) somewhere.

I want to get an ABC m-chassis shelfer anyway at some point, I might wait until I've got the complete kit before seeing if a second shell will fit on the M04S for a runner...

[TA-Mark]

The chassis you shortened for the pumpkin/lunchbox should fit very well under an ABC body from what I can tell. With some spacers in the suspension you can get the final few mm of adjustment needed to match the wheelbase.

My first shortened chassis for the VLB (sectioned plastic M04) had a 202mm wheelbase, these ABCs are supposed to be 208mm. I've since done as you suggested and made up some Carbon Fibre chassis upright plates and a base plate. I made 4 upright pieces and slotted the part that connects to the gearbox so I can slide the front section of the chassis back and forward to adjust the wheelbase from 200mm to 240mm. I now have the ESC (Mamba) between the chassis uprights, tiny 3PK receiver on top of that (or infront when you are using a longer wheelbase body), and Li-Ion saddle packs either side of the chassis upright in a 3s2p layout. This type of setup doesn't mess with the nice steering geometry. Not adding pictures of this build to my showroom until the chassis is complete with all hopups (too expensive with the current market problems).

I can put the plans up for the chassis as a 'How-To' if anyone is interested in doing the same mod to a M04.

Cheers, Mark

[Mad Ax]

Sounds like you put a lot of thought and time into your mods Mark, would love to see a How-To and definately looking forward to seeing the finished model