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DT02 Holiday Buggy to Sand Viper conversion - advice needed

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Hi all,

Just finished installing the hop ups to make my previously stock HB2010 eligible for next weekend's DT02 challenge event.

We took the newly tuned HB out for a spin yesterday and was impressed by the massive increase in speed that the new motor and full bearings have given the buggy.

We've also been down to the TORCH track last Sunday afternoon for a blast round the track there - great fun and should be even better now we've got the 540 motor in there.

However, the poor HB body shell is already starting to look a little battle scarred...I lost one of the headlights yesterday as a result of a head-on smash (fortunately the red plastic seems to react postively to super glue and the shattered plastic is now back in place, for how long remains to be seen!). I've also got cracks around the roof area. This leads me think that the HB shell isn't going to withstand the rigours of weekly racing...plus having been down to TORCH last week we were definately the odd ones out, and of course the body shell, driver figure, etc are all adding weight.

So, the aim is to get both my son and I in a position where we both have a car to race - at the moment the Holiday Buggy is our only RC car - we're both total newbies to this hobby.

I'm planning to buy a Sand Viper kit to build for myself to race and gradually hop-up over time, plus experiment with camber angles and so on.

Initially I was thinking I'll have to buy two sand vipers, however I then realised that HB and Sand Viper are based on the same chassis. A quick google search showed I can buy a Sand Viper body shell and wing online for about £10 which got me thinking - how easy is it to swap out the HB shell for the sand viper shell? I've got a few bits left on the M and D trees that look like mounting points for body shells - are these the ones that I'd use for the Sand Viper shell and wing?

What else would I need to change? I'm planning to go back down to TORCH the first Sunday in October and talk to them about entry requirements for their races - I'm assuming I'll also need to change the wheels and tyres for Sand Viper wheels and whatever tyres are permitted in races?

If anyone has done this, or can advise feasibility it'd be much appreciated.

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Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure the Sand Viper body mounts come on the Holiday Buggy sprues meaning you just need to get the Sand Viper body set and appropriate wheels and tyres in order to convert it.

You may be better off looking at tyrea more suited to track running though as I know some of the racers on here always recommend tyres from other brands such at Schumacher.

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Thanks SteveU30 - I've got some bits left on some of my sprues that definately aren't needed for the HB build, but look suspicously like body mounts for an alternative body.

Looks like "Project Sand Viper Conversion" is about to begin, alongside a build of a new Sand Viper for my good self... :)

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Have a look at the Sand Viper manual found on www.tamiyausa.com to see all the differences between this model and your Holiday Buggy. The bodymounts do come with your HB, but the long self tappers for the rear wing mount or rear body mount do not.

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You could of course fit other bodies onto the SandViper configured DT02 chassis. I found the Kamtec Rough Rider shell fits very well and looks great.

EE820EEE-44F2-48AA-8364-2959677E8F25_zps

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Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure the Sand Viper body mounts come on the Holiday Buggy sprues meaning you just need to get the Sand Viper body set and appropriate wheels and tyres in order to convert it.

They do indeed as I have done this - very simple to swap over - takes less than 5 minutes :)

I did this to race in the 2WD class at my outdoor club but missed the look of the HB so have swapped it back again. I agree though that the shell wont last long if you plan to race it regularly. I initially tried glueing it back together after lots of crashing - but have resorted to careful drilling and cable tying together the damaged areas - I would now call it a 10 foot buggy (ie it looks ok from 10 feet away! lol)

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Thanks for all the replies. Basically I'm trying to go from a standing start to having two race-ready off road buggies whilst maintaining some control over budget! :wacko:

Given the improvements made to the HB to get it ready for this Sunday it seems like a good platform to build on for my son to use in races - I can then start out from scratch with a new kit. Doesn't seem like a one-way street though and we could always turn the converted Sand Viper back into its original HB form without too much hassle.

Going to download the Sand Viper manual this morning and check for any other bits/ pieces I'll need.

Thanks to JWeston for the tip re. the DT03 Neo Fighter buggy - looks interesting and like you say the price is right but will need a fair few hop ups...decisions decisions! :)

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Sand viper uses metallic parts for transmission :

DT0200001.jpg

DT-02-00061.jpg

M parts to install body and wing 9115154 M5 for front, M6 for rear, M2 and M7 for wing

cluster-m-dt02.jpg

and adjustable tie rods .

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Thanks Mastino...that's really useful info...much appreciated.

And thanks also to all others who have replied to this thread...nice to be made so welcome here.

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