I have a M05v2 upgraded chassis; I recently found out that I needed the 1.6mm spacer for my diff of which I didn't have before.

Problem is; When I put the spacer in as per directons; the diff binds. My only assumption is the motor plate I am using is still the older M05 motor plate; not the V2.

Since it clearly fits; should I bother to get another motor plate?

Thanks Big Dee for the shims; I'll return them if I don't need to get another motor plate.

The M05 motor plate and the M05 VerII motor plate are different offsets.
You need to use the VerII plate with the VerII chassis.

Today I used some wire to stitch up the front of my Mini. I have no idea if/for how long this will hold up, but I sure do like the look!

I feel like it wasn't that long ago that we saw that shell in pristine condition

Nahh..! That was like.. over.. a month ago. Man, it has really taken some beating But, this is my first car and I guess it's to be expected. And I've got two other bodies waiting to get painted!

I think the hardest hits came just a week ago (not counting a couple of spectacular jumps out of the raceway), when I installed a differential stiffing kit, and I just couldn't control the car. It turned out it was mostly the controller settings that were making my driving so twitchy, and yesterday after a friend adjusted some settings, I was really able to keep up with the big boys. Even shaved almost a second off my previous PB lap time that was done with the default open diff! Still, got a lot to improve on my driving lines..

You should paint a mouth someplace on the front grill, oh man, Frankenmini!!!
Cool!

If you also coat the damaged area with ShoeGoo it should last a bit longer.

Gorilla Clear Repair tape! Clean the surface to be repaired with alcohol/brake cleaner/monkey spit first. Apply the tape to the flattest area first. Heat with a blow dryer or heat gun and mash it down into the curved areas. You might have to do a relief cut if it gets to a point where it's going to bunch up.

The stuff is strong as hell, flexes and sticks like there's no tomorrow.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I'll see how I'll go about patching it further if/when it disintegrates any further. Currently there's some tape used to patch steam pipes behind the cracks, and it seems to stick nicely. The application wasn't the best though, so the stitches have some actual function in addition to good looks!

I don't know if we have Shoe Goo or anything similar where I live, but I do know that we have Gorilla tapes. I have a roll of the basic black one myself, and have been really happy with it.

I use Goop. There is household and automotive versions. It's similar to Shoe Goo. You can get it at a hardware store.

So I've just been watching a build log of the Monte Carlo Mini M05 kit, and noticed that he had a serious issue where the body didn't actually fit on the chassis. It looks like the rear portion of the chassis has the version 2 droop brace added, even though it's a version 1 kit. Has anyone else noticed this kind of problem before?

Skip to the 16 minute mark if the link doesn't take you there directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SM4ELMYpUQ&t=16m00s

That's a v2 chassis for sure. The v2 doesn't come as anything other than a rolling chassis or as a spare part. Maybe the builder got it second hand or bought the v2 chassis without realising this limitation.

As said you definitely do need the v2 plate on a v2 or it doesn't offset the intermediate gear properly.

No, it's a v1 chassis. It has the rounded battery opening, not the square one. And he got it brand new. He mentioned in one of the earlier episodes that the car came with a manual correction for the back part of the chassis (servo mounting step). It looks like v1 kits and spares are coming with the v2 back section. Not a great idea when the v2 back section doesn't fit the body the kit came with, and the kits don't have any of the parts to make use of the droop brace.

Painted this yesterday. I'll add those window lining stickers and probably some others the next time time I work on it, but I'm not so satisfied with my painting that I'd order a custom sponsor sticker sheet for it. Again, I had some overspray, though not as bad as with my last one. The lines are a bit more wobbly than I'd like, and I completely forgot to do a gold line circulating the roof. Well, when/if Tamiya re-release the Mini Cooper body, I promise to buy another and do this properly, with JPS stickers and all! Now I'll just slap my racing numbers in there and don't feel too bad when I'll wreck it.

Some notes to self:
-My red paint marker doesn't work that well with lexan, and a black backing for it is a big no-no. Painted lights are better than stickers though!
-Cut the body after painting. Much tidier results.
-After masking, but before starting painting, sit down and drink a cup of coffee. Recheck the source photo/original plan, and make sure that everything is in place