Jam-ehz

iTrader: (6)

Thankfully the manuals are posted at Tamiyausa for both the Pro hereand Stock versions here, so that makes things MUCH easier

Yup, M05 trees A, B, C, D, and F.. they skipped E for some reason. My shop had one complete set left, so I lucked out. Seemed like I wasn't the only one with that idea..

There's actually very little you need to take from your old mini, I was very surprised. You'll need drivetrain parts.. gears, bearings, outdrives, dogbones, axles. Beyond that, 4 5x8mm bearings for steering, the camber link step screws (or the M-03R ball links, that's fine too - You'll need to decide which manual to use, the Pro if you have the ball links, the stock one otherwise.) You'll also need the suspension pins. Beyond that, the rest of the old car isn't used much. Edit - Forgot to include the ball connectors! Might be hard to attach shocks or steering shafts without them..

You get brand new arms and camber links, uprights and C-hubs from the trees, which is nice. You may need a new servo saver that's short enough, mine wasn't. Shocks are needed as well, though you're welcome to assemble the friction shocks the trees provide..

You just need to decide which uprights to go with. The new ones are 5x11 bearings, but still in the M-03M style. I had the old-school 5x11 uprights, so I just went with the plastic set supplied in the F tree. Their arms are set much higher, eliminating the need for spacers under the ball links. Don't skip the F tree even if you intend to use your own uprights, you need those little bearing holders it includes. I have a feeling they might release a new diff down the road, using different bearings in those larger holes..

I have a plethora of screws in my boxes, so I was fortunate enough to get through with the wacky lengths. The cap screws in the picture I posted earlier were 15mm SS (used at least 15), the rest were mainly 10mm SS button heads (too many to count). I was lucky enough to have spare short ball cups and grub screws for the steering links. I had to dig into my spare TA05 screws to find that one long countersunk screw that goes into the motor mount.

You have to ditch the turnbuckles for 12mm grub screws and short links, but 12mm just doesn't seem long enough. 3mm of space in between leaves only 2mm inside each adjuster, not very strong. I think I'll chop the old turnbuckles short so there's more screw in each adjuster, and the bolt bit in the middle should be just wide enough to accomodate that 3mm of space it needs between links. (I found the 2mm stated in the manual produced a bit too much toe out.)

The step screws for the steering linkage is a funny one, never seen it before.. part 50579.. It's commonly found in TG10/TGX cars, my hobby shop actually had a pack so I was fine. Not sure why they just make the hole bigger and use a regular step screw like we have for the uprights..

Just one build note, the steering posts have a bit of play vertically, allowing for some unwanted rotation of the steering arms making them sloppy. I added a few shims (.4 to .5) to the underside of each arm, just as much as it needs to be screwed down tight. The bottom shims (Tamiya ones, at least) and the bevel at the top mount clamp down on thee bearings' inner race, so there's no binding from overtightening. There's almost no play after that.

The older gear/ball diff outdrives are fine, you don't need the new ones it shows. Also don't worry about the 2.6 and 2mm screws it shows, BC4 and BC5. They're just for the servo and switch mount.

My previous post, http://www.rctech.net/forum/6213250-post9840.html shows the CF steering rod alternative, or there's the 3racing one, or just buy a 3mm threaded rod somewhere.. It might be a while before Tamiya releases the actual rod, but I don't care since my TCS season is done.

Instead of ball links for the steering rod I used those metal tubes you usually put into the shock ends. They come in a stock Mini kit. It just lets me screw it all down tight, and keep the slop to a minimum by not having to pop out the link from the cup.