**wanted**monster Beetle Advice, Tips & Hop-up's Explained!

[Connor]

Hello there MB fan's i'm new to the site and was given this forum as the best place for Vintage Monster Beetle help!

I have a vintage monster beetle & another one nearing completion here is the nearly finished chasis:

You can see that I have re-sprayed the original red chasis a metallic blue/silver as it had alot of sun damage & scuffs that have been sanded out before painting.

The chasis has been primed, painted & laquered with new waterbased car paints, I am a car bodywork restoration proffesional by trade and found it has come in very handy in doing the paintwork & restoring cracks, chips, dents & scuffs on the MB!

The shell has been painted with solvent based paints:

I should have taken a photo of what the car looked like before I started this project but from the underside of the shell you can see where the shell has been glued, plastic welded & filled!

I have dismantled & rebuilt this car (& the other one) about ten times in restoring it (should have followed the instructions more closely) but now could probably build one blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back!

So now im looking for info on what aftermarket products I could build my next MB with, I have heard of uprated shocks, motors, electronic speed contoller's, strengthening kits etc... but am unsure of where to look to purchase so any info given will be highly appreciated!

The bodywork isn't a problem for me, the paintwork on this beauty is a one-off specially mixed by me (the photo's don't do it justice) and is a burgandy/copper mix with about 10 different pearlescents / mettalics in it! It tottaly sparkles on a sunny day!!!

If anyone wants any advice on spraying please let me know.......

[kingofrimz]

wow that is a real nice color. defenitely get ball bearings for it and maybe some oil filled shocks.

[Leethal Driver]

Mate there's so much stuff on here for the MB.

Check out Ed's (mymonsterbeetleisbroken) runner MB in his showroom lots of hop ups on that baby.

There's a thread in the vintage section on handling upgrades for the Blackfoot chassis (same as MB) too by Taz NZ here:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...ckfoot+handling

Mine's still under construction but it's got the CRP chassis brace, Thorp Dirt Burner ball diff, and a few mods from Taz NZ's excellent guide.

Waiting to get the last bits of paint off the shell before I can set about with the Italian Red.

Good choice though, these look great when done right.

[Connor]

Here is another photo with the shell on the other one's chasis.

As you can see the wheels were pretty badly scuffed, so again they have been sanded, primed, painted & laquered to give a sliver / gold split rim effect!

[Connor]

Also can I use a Tamiya Technigold RX 540 VZ in a monster beetle without changing any other parts?

[Leethal Driver]

Like those two tone rims. I have some high standard to try and match here!

Technigold will be fine I think. You only need the adjustable motor mount if you're changing pinion size from stock.

[Connor]

Like those two tone rims. I have some high standard to try and match here!

Nearly all the wheels I have are in need of a re-spray! I am going to try and do different colour combo's mathcing whatever paint scheme I come up with next! Do you think I should do step by step instructions on how to refurbish MB (or any other R/C) rims? Would people be into that on here?

[highflyer]

BTW Connor, beautiful paint job!!

Well, I raced these when they first hit the street. Hop ups are a must with these trucks, the driveline is a good place to start. I used a Thorp set up then switched out the Thorp diff and used the standard diff, also got Team CRP outdrives to fit the dog bones.

Take a look at my Hopped up Beetle pics (especially the last pic) in my showroom in the link below:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...1&sid=14859

[Connor]

BTW Connor, beautiful paint job!!

Well, I raced these when they first hit the street. Hop ups are a must with these trucks, the driveline is a good place to start. I used a Thorp set up then switched out the Thorp diff and used the standard diff, also got Team CRP outdrives to fit the dog bones.

Take a look at my Hopped up Beetle pics (especially the last pic) in my showroom in the link below:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...1&sid=14859

Yeah that beetle is fine! The yellow paint stands out a mile, I like the different colours when they are done correctly (no dodgy personalised stickers as well), my next one is going to have a metalic blue undercoat then sprayed with a very thin coat of gold for the dust layer (hopefully it will create a mad effect)! I have ordered some CRP hop-up's from America, metal ball bearings, chassis stiffener, alu shocks, metal rear arm mounts & the CRP axel conversion kit! Then I was wanting some advice on a top-rated electronic speed controller & some sort of uprated motor! If you could give me any advice it would be much appreciated!

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

Also can I use a Tamiya Technigold RX 540 VZ in a monster beetle without changing any other parts?

Hey Connor,

I've got a Technigold in my modded runner.

You need to shave some material from the suspension arm if you want the suspension to drop level, as the techingolds wider diameter can rubs on the suspension arm. It develops plenty of power for the chassis, much better than a standard motor

[Connor]

Hey Connor,

I've got a Technigold in my modded runner.

You need to shave some material from the suspension arm if you want the suspension to drop level, as the techingolds wider diameter can rubs on the suspension arm. It develops plenty of power for the chassis, much better than a standard motor

Hey Ed

Is Technigold the best you can get or are more modern aftermarket motors better?

(I have just bought yet another beetle with a Technigold in it - I will be in touch if I can't get it running right!)

Connor

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

Hey Ed

Is Technigold the best you can get or are more modern aftermarket motors better?

(I have just bought yet another beetle with a Technigold in it - I will be in touch if I can't get it running right!)

Connor

Modern motors are far more powerful, cheaper and more durable than the good old technigold

But, for a vintage chassis, using a vintage motor just "feels" right.

The technigold is a 21 turn motor designed to give maximum power on 8.4 volts. I run mine on 7.2 with an ESC and a 13 tooth pinion and it accelerates very well.

The drawback is, the brushes wear faster than modern motors, and replacements are expensive. Its a sacrifice you have to make if you want to keep the whole truck vintage

Modern motors that I'd recommend are the tamiya 23 turn BZ or RZ. They will provide comparable performance to a technigold (possibly faster though I've not tested that) but won't wear out as fast.

My technigold isn't tamiya badged, its a graupner technigold - exactly the same motor though. It cost me £6 new in the box so I don't feel guilty using it

[Connor]

Modern motors are far more powerful, cheaper and more durable than the good old technigold

But, for a vintage chassis, using a vintage motor just "feels" right.

The technigold is a 21 turn motor designed to give maximum power on 8.4 volts. I run mine on 7.2 with an ESC and a 13 tooth pinion and it accelerates very well.

The drawback is, the brushes wear faster than modern motors, and replacements are expensive. Its a sacrifice you have to make if you want to keep the whole truck vintage

Modern motors that I'd recommend are the tamiya 23 turn BZ or RZ. They will provide comparable performance to a technigold (possibly faster though I've not tested that) but won't wear out as fast.

My technigold isn't tamiya badged, its a graupner technigold - exactly the same motor though. It cost me £6 new in the box so I don't feel guilty using it

Well Im going to do a few different combo MB's a few vintage and a few with modern hop-up's, I will keep the technigold motor for the Vintage MB & purchase a more modern motor for whatever project I put together in the future!

I have seen your page with the new technigold's in the boxes where the badword did you find them!?!

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

Wings and Wheels model show

Website Here

[Jack_Truck]

Nice car, but I would invest in some Tamiya club reproduction decals.

[Connor]

Nice car, but I would invest in some Tamiya club reproduction decals.

Hi, thanks for the input, but why the Tamiya club reproduction decals???

[Jack_Truck]

Hi, thanks for the input, but why the Tamiya club reproduction decals???

To my knowledge they are the closest to the real deal. They are a thousand times better then a set I bought from ebay that were printed on white paper, the TC ones are printed on clear vinyl. However, if you making a 'runner' I wouldn't bother due to the costs.

[Connor]

Hey thanks for the advice, the ones I have on this MB are the white vinyl one's (very tricky to apply), but I liked the alternative colour scheme as I find boxart MB's boring! I have been in contact with a printing company who say they can replicate the MB sticker sheet onto clear vinyl AND give me whatever colour scheme I can come up with! I'm currently undergoing negotiations with the chap that prints them so I will post some info on them when they have arrived! Like you say if your creating a runner, the paper/white vinyl ones are very cost effective! I have a few sets myself just for that reason!

[highflyer]

So, any updates on the BUG Connor?

[Connor]

So, any updates on the BUG Connor?

Have a look at my showroom for all recent Monster Beetle rebuilds my friend!!!

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom.asp?id=29259

[Connor]

Here is a picture of the custom made Monster Beetle decals I am waiting to apply to various projects!!! These are better than Tamiyaclub decals (and better than originals in my eyes). They are printed on a 7 year UV resistant sheet. The guy you need to speak to if you want any or have any queries regarding custom decals is Jeremy at Screenprintdigital. He is a Tamiyaclub member and his contact details are as follows: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/member.asp?id=27025

Below is one that I have already completed using the custom decals, your comments on them would be much appreciated!!!

[bfst24]

the black decals would look good on a yellow mb

and the green on a white mb?

[highflyer]

Your truck looks great. I like those decals.

[Connor]

the black decals would look good on a yellow mb

and the green on a white mb?

Well the standard MB repro decals are going on a custom mix metallic grey/blue colour scheme, the red,white,blue,grey is going on a custom mix metallic light blue, the red,green,yellow,blue will be going on a flat VW colour (something retro I think), and the last set of decals orange,blue,black,white will be going on an Audi Lava grau pearl effect (sparkley dark grey) colour scheme!!!

Thats the plan so far, just waiting for some paint stripper to strip the 2nd hand shells I have recently bought!!!

[bfst24]

Well the standard MB repro decals are going on a custom mix metallic grey/blue colour scheme, the red,white,blue,grey is going on a custom mix metallic light blue, the red,green,yellow,blue will be going on a flat VW colour (something retro I think), and the last set of decals orange,blue,black,white will be going on an Audi Lava grau pearl effect (sparkley dark grey) colour scheme!!!

Thats the plan so far, just waiting for some paint stripper to strip the 2nd hand shells I have recently bought!!!

sounds good.

cant wait to see the results.