Manta Ray Refurb

[ap6318]

Hey everyone!

My next rebuild is gong to be a fast one - both in build time and top speed.

As much as I love my vintage 2wd buggies, the time has come to build one to keep up with the other weapons at our track - all brushless Top Forces, Evos and Terras.

My car of choice is a Manta Ray, the first chassis of the pedigree. I'm going to do this as a performance rebuild on a budget.

First I sourced a local dog of a car on ebay for $50 as a base.

Now it looks like this

I was quite happy as car was complete with only a few broken parts - cracked chassis being the only dissapointment

But I was happy at the spares that were in a plastic bag at the bottom of the box

Sourced a chassis from a Blazing Star at my local shop so I'm ready to rebuild.

The car will be running all low cost electronic parts from China to show they can keep up with the big boys. I will list all parts used as I go through the build over the coming weeks.

So far the cost is:

Manta Ray - ebay - $50.00

New Chassis - LHS - $29.00

Packet of biscuits - $2.99

Coffee - $5.00

[lucasan]

Ha this is awesome. Love it. Can't wait to see the next stages.

[WillyChang]

good that you're starting with new gearbox moldings - when you assemble them and put their lids on,

avoid selftappers & use machinethread screws the longest available you can fit in

some ppl change the alloy idler gear in rear gearbox for a plastic one frm a TA02 but mine's survived ok so far

i've gone to silicone & waterbased greases... oilbased seems to make the plastic gearboxes more brittle

rebuild yellow CVAs with modern silicone TRF o-rings

grab an alloy motor mount from YeahRacing, dirt cheap... just make sure you label which end points front

stock up on front shock towers... if you find anybody making alloy ones TELL ME PLEASE.

My MantaRay survived a 4HR Enduro and still looks fit enough to start another

[WillyChang]

oh and if you've got the plastic-knobbed dogbones... replace them with all-metals from DF03

or unis but i didn't see sufficient benefit

[Projectzip]

Awesome, The Manta Ray is one of my top cars that I want but have never owned.

I must buy one of ebay soon!

look forward to seeing the rebuild.

[madmatt13]

Hey AP,

nice project...but I would prefer a Top Force

I love the nice look of them.

Maybe we find one for me or another racer.

Hopefully we can bash soon...

For your Manta, take the speed gears from Skyline, a alu prop shaft and a brushless 13,5...

My TF runs like badword with this setup.

[TA-Mark]

The car will be running all low cost electronic parts from China to show they can keep up with the big boys. I will list all parts used as I go through the build over the coming weeks.

I'll havta get down to Boondall again with the MM5700Kv Blazing Star.

Few parts are must haves to run brushless:

*Steel pinion

*Alloy motor mount

*Solid main propshaft (avoid the dogbone type ones, they break easy)

*All plastic TA02 gears in the rear gearbox.

*DF03 dogbones (or 70mm universals if you can get them cheap)

*Full set of bearings

A few recommendations to make things stronger:

*Angled rear gearcover brace (you will need to make this part from an angled section of aluminium)

*Machine screw right through the rear damper tower mount with a nut on the end to help hold down the rear gearcover. (I'm sure I showed you this mod last time I was at Boondall)

*Bevel Gear diffs packed with anit-wear grease are stronger than ball diffs in this chassis.

You can see the alloy brace and screw/nut through the damper tower fitted to this TA02.

[qatmix]

I'll havta get down to Boondall again with the MM5700Kv Blazing Star.

Few parts are must haves to run brushless:

*Steel pinion

*Alloy motor mount

*Solid main propshaft (avoid the dogbone type ones, they break easy)

*All plastic TA02 gears in the rear gearbox.

*DF03 dogbones (or 70mm universals if you can get them cheap)

*Full set of bearings

A few recommendations to make things stronger:

*Angled rear gearcover brace (you will need to make this part from an angled section of aluminium)

*Machine screw right through the rear damper tower mount with a nut on the end to help hold down the rear gearcover. (I'm sure I showed you this mod last time I was at Boondall)

*Bevel Gear diffs packed with anit-wear grease are stronger than ball diffs in this chassis.

You can see the alloy brace and screw/nut through the damper tower fitted to this TA02.

You can now buy an alloy gearbox top from 3 racing which can help the gearbox stop lifting.

I have my Jamie booth chassis on mine. Top car and the first trf of sorts.

[ap6318]

Hey thanks for the responses guys. Heaps of helpful information! I did do a lot of research before I started this project but there are some I've missed.

Next step gearbox. Bought a Tamiya #50529 4WD Touring & Rally Car Plastic Gear Set, Yeah Racing prop shaft and alloy motor mount.

Rear box stripped

Think the alloy idler may have had its day? and possibly a new pinion required

All new gears and shaft end in. Bearings all round. Using bevel diff with AW grease instead of ball diff as most people recommend. Ceramic grease used everywhere else.

Thanks TA-Mark for the idea of the plate to keep the stress away from the screw hole and yes mate you need to come back to Boondall again soon. We miss looking for your diff parts in the dirt

Additional costs:

Bearings - ebay - $20.00

Plastic gear set - Stella - $15.00

Yeah alloy prop shaft - ebay - $20.00

Yeah alloy motor mount - ebay $20.00

Pat Benetar CD to keep that 80s feeling while I build - Kmart - $12.00

[TA-Mark]

Thanks TA-Mark for the idea of the plate to keep the stress away from the screw hole and yes mate you need to come back to Boondall again soon. We miss looking for your diff parts in the dirt

You do remember how I tore the rear damper tower off and snapped the rear gearbox in half? I was doing the 2 single jumps on the track as a big set of doubles! Had an 'oops' moment and landed ontop of the 2nd jump badly.

It was TA02 swaybar screws that I was searching for on the track, the diff was easy to find

[MAD RACER]

Nice Work Mark.

You got a bargain on e bay with that. The rear diff case is $20 alone.

Can't wait to see it all finished.

TA when are you coming to Boondal next.??

Hope to see you next time...

[ap6318]

Front gearbox rebuilt same as rear. The original plastic end dog bones look ok so i'll re-use them until they break then upgrade to DF-03 ones.

Rear end ready to bolt up as well. I've used original 10mm self tap screws as per the munual. I'm going to keep an eye on them after every run to see if they undo at all. If they do start to loosen I'll change over to metric threads. I'm trying to keep this as close to manual built stock as possible - apart from modern electrics

Moving onto the shocks... Apart from the dirt and grime they are in pretty good nick. Were even full of whiffy old oil in them gave them a good clean and filled with 30 weight Team Associated silicone oil.

Half done...

Additional costs:

Associated 30wt shock oil - LHS - $10.00

1 pair of soft ear plugs - to stick in my nose to block the smell of old shock oil - $2.00

[Top Force Racer]

Nice resto thread! I know it'll add to the cost, but what about some ball links and adjustable turnbuckles?

[kaiser]

my brushless df01 dirt thrasher is holding up so far on the pavement under the bl power.

i have upgraded the propshaft only so far. the gears are ok and the stock motor mount is holding up as well.

i did shear one of the dog bones so i stole one out of a dt02.

i took it to a new local offroad track and it lasted 3 laps until the upper tie bar came loose and an inner drive cup got lost.

i think adjustable tie rods with bolt through ball ends are needed to hold it together.

[TA-Mark]

i did shear one of the dog bones so i stole one out of a dt02.

DT02 dogbones are the same as DF03 ones.

i took it to a new local offroad track and it lasted 3 laps until the upper tie bar came loose and an inner drive cup got lost.

i think adjustable tie rods with bolt through ball ends are needed to hold it together.

Always glue the stepped screws in. Small pieces of dirt get jammed in them and the action of the suspension will undo them on both the plastic upper links and the dampers. I had this problem a lot until I started gluing them in. Ball nuts/screws and some turnbuckles does solve this problem too. All my DF01's are upgraded to turnbuckle upper links now.

[ap6318]

Great stuff. Thanks for all these tips. I will glue the step screws as this is a low cost build.

Chassis assembled ready for electrics

I have put the stock vintage sanwa 101 servo in but it is seriously slow.

Have since upgraded to a Bluebird BMS-621 High Speed Servo. Specs at are torque:6.4kg, Speed:0.13sec Weight: 41g

Also noticed the back end sagged quite badly while the front end was way too high until it was pointed out the front and rear shocks are different and I had them on back to front in this picture. You'll notice the next time I post a picture the shocks with less turns are the stiffer springs for the rear.

This and moving the bottom of the front shock to the outside hole, dropped the front ride height to a better level.

Off to drop in some power!!

Additional costs:

Servo - Hobbyking - $25.00

Nail polish remover - to unglue my fingers after touching step screws - $6.00

[MAD RACER]

Hey Mark.

Looking good.

[TA-Mark]

Your pictures appear to be missing the upper battery cover, Part 4 from the E sheet. It also doubles as a chassis brace for the plastic tub.

[mr. Rallying]

You can now buy an alloy gearbox top from 3 racing which can help the gearbox stop lifting.

Where?? Can't find it on 3Racing website....

[pikachoo-75]

the only alloy gearbox part ive seen is the bit that allows the rear diff to come out of the back..the part with the tiny rear bumper on it?

[pikachoo-75]

forgot to ask...i see you have black coloured front uprights. are they from the Hummer/Baja Champ/King?

and has anyone tried the Boomerang RE-RE blue uprights? it comes with original and new ones..

seem like blue version of Top Force/Hotshot red ones to me but i aint had a pair to try.

ive got blue bits on my TF and thought they would go well

[qatmix]

Where?? Can't find it on 3Racing website....

Sorry it's yeah racing. Search for yeah racing ta01 alloy gearbox and you will find it

[TA-Mark]

Sorry it's yeah racing. Search for yeah racing ta01 alloy gearbox and you will find it

I don't see it in their list here. Only the 'bling' rear diff cover that you never break. The diff cover tears out of the gearcasing. I'm yet to have this cover break. The top gearcover is the one that breaks, but if you fit the alloy angle brace, as I have on all of mine, it shifts the weight away from the screw head and moves it to above both shafts.

[Live Steam Mad]

DT02 dogbones are the same as DF03 ones.

Always glue the stepped screws in. Small pieces of dirt get jammed in them and the action of the suspension will undo them on both the plastic upper links and the dampers. I had this problem a lot until I started gluing them in. Ball nuts/screws and some turnbuckles does solve this problem too. All my DF01's are upgraded to turnbuckle upper links now.

What do you glue the step screws into the suspension arms with?

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[TA-Mark]

What do you glue the step screws into the suspension arms with?

Cheers,

Alistair G.

A very tiny spot of superglue. Use too much and you will split the holes on the harder plastic parts. On the flexible nylon lower arms the amount of glue is not an issue. Be cautious not to get glue on the stepped part of the screw or the pivot hole in the arm/damper, only on the thread.

Always clean away dried glue if you remove the screw before you refit again after maintainence.

The glue itself will not make a solid bond to the ABS/nylon, just enough to stop them coming out on their own.