Neo-Mud-Blaster-Monster-Brat-DT-02-thingy

[markbt73]

So a while back I bought a Brat, because it was there. It's still there, in the box, and I'll get to it eventually. I'm in no hurry. But I forgot that the re-re Brat kits included a Lexan body as well as the original hard plastic one. I'll never use it on the Brat chassis; it just seems wrong. But it's a decent piece, still genuine Tamiya, and so I trimmed it out to see if I could find it a home.

And I think I have. I plunked it down on my monsterized DT-02, which has been body-less since I robbed its Sand Rover shell for another project...

And it fits! Sort of. Actually, pretty well. And oddly, the body post dimples almost line up perfectly.

Obviously, it won't work slammed down on the chassis like that. But if I lift it up on some old tires...

Hey, now we're getting somewhere! Might have to go just a little bit higher for the front tires to clear at full lock, but not much. Going to tinker with it some more and see if it will really work, raid my spare parts for some long body posts, and go see what colors of polycarbonate paint I have lying around, and I'll report back...

[markbt73]

So yeah, that worked out pretty slick.

I had some old JG body mount adapters that I think were part of a JR-X2 monster truck conversion once upon a time, and some HPI body posts the right length. It's hard to tell with the body still clear, but the stance is just perfect. It looks like it was meant to be on there. I even like the gap between the body and the chassis, and maybe it will let dirt and rocks get out again, instead of just getting in and staying there.

Paint is tougher; I have dregs of a few colors of Faskolor, but not much. I'm going to mix some stuff and see if I can come up with a convincing version of that "Subaru beige" that was so common in the early 80s.

[Jason1145]

I always like to see new ideas of bodyshells thrown on the DT02 chassis as I never really cared for my Sand Viper shell.... that's why I put a Nissan Titan shell on to give it that truck look.

Liking what you're accomplishing here, hope it turns out great when painted up.

[Country Mike]

Coolio

[GregM]

Nice! Any plans on dropping down the pinion size? If you manufacture your own motor mount adaptor, going down to 15 teeth is possible on the DT-02/03 gearbox.

[markbt73]

It still has a 380 motor in it, actually. It does fine, and I don't have room to go any faster...

[markbt73]

Painted. Turned out a little darker than I was going for, but it doesn't look bad at all.

(Phone pics... sorry. Tomorrow I'll get some decent photos outside.)

[Nobbi1977]

That looks great. Almost could be a real car to that scale

[markbt73]

I think I have a new favorite runner!

(this is the only time it actually got stuck)

DT-02 + Wild WIlly 2 wheels & front uprights + lexan Brat body + 2S lipo, still using the RS380 motor and pogo sticks =  WIN! Just fast enough for my side yard, plenty of clearance so it doesn't drag on the gravel, but low enough to be stable (didn't even come close to flipping it over). Fun, fun, fun.

(And yes, I know I have some weeds to pull.)

[Granddad Stinky]

Great job! I'm looking at my Dt03 in a whole new light. 🤔