Hello,
First a little backstory... Ever since I have gotten my bandit, I had wanted to do the midmotor mod and have a better chassis with a more forward SoG. I researched tons of threads and almost all of them were either kits that were expensive (I'm on a budget here) and had to run a shorty battery. Since I already have non-shorty batteries that I am happy with and don't have anything else to use them with, I decided to try to make mine the first I have seen to keep the original wheelbase, have mid-motor, and run full sized packs.
I started by taking my Bandit apart to get to the chassis, once I got there I studied it and realized that it would be impossible to keep the original geometry keeping the original chassis, so I thought. I put the chassis down and took a break, later I went back into the shop, the way I had put the chassis down was backwards, then I realized that the chassis almost looked exactly the same as high-end buggies and truggies. I started doing some math then drilling holes for the rear gearbox, I found that with light filing and some small hand saw cuts, it fit perfectly with even the right anti-squat (No RPM gearbox needed!).
I moved on to the front, found out the ESC plate screw pattern is the same as a servos, than began prototyping a steering linkage, I found out that with the original steering linkage there was no possible way to make it work without the servo sticking out hugely. I hit a wall and worked on it for a solid 3 days, I tried over 10 different methods and none of them worked, I originally wanted reverse-bellcrank but there is no way to do that with the original bulkhead so that was a bust from the start. I started to dig around my parts and found my 2.5 T-Maxx steering linkage, I started to work with that and discovered that if I cut them down and made a vertical bellcrank system, similar to reverse, it worked perfectly, with a few mm to spare. Granted it has a little less steering lock, but for using cobbled up aluminum angle of unknown grade, I think I did OK.

Enough talking-writing, here are the pictures
The final weight is around 3ibs, there is plenty of weight to take off of the transmission case, front chassis brace, and chassis. I am thinking of buying a carbon front tower, and making my own rear tower out of aluminum or plastic to lower the shock profile because they are way too long (SCT shocks) I also need a wing mount, I was thinking an 8ight 4.0 wing and mount because I hate the stock one.
I will make a follow up post of the build pictures, and diagrams of how to make it.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a body? don't care which brand since this is going to be a mashup. I also plan on making a custom body for it, any suggestions on body styles?

WOW.

This is totally incredible. I got a Rustler a few year ago and became quite obsessed with the mid-motor conversion (turns out, MM makes a huge difference and is much better).

I read 100s of threads/posts, and your idea is absolutely the most clever by far!
I went down the route of buying a chuckworks chassis, and it is fine - works well, etc. But your solution is so much more clever and elegant.

Please do post more details on the steering linkage, in particular, as I don't quite see how that all works, and of course, please do post running videos.

As for bodies, you might start with Rustler bodies (either stock or aftermarket) as they are cheap, easy to get, and give you lots of extra space to work around those mods.

Awesome work!

Thank you! I will take some more pictures, steering is a vertical bellcrank, the left side where the turnbuckles are connected had another tie rod linked directly to the steering servo horn, it's basically the same as a Tekno EB410, but a different axis or rotation.
I might try a rustler, was hoping for something that is more formed to the chassis, but I guess a cheap beater body would be nice.

This is really cool and I'm glad that you have made this post. I just picked up a Bandit last week and haven't yet figured out which direction I'm going to take it. You have really given me some fuel for thought. The Associated T6 has a similar wheelbase and rear-shock configuration so I wonder whether bodies for that will work?

Here's the tutorial on how to make it.
I started with JB welding some of the old bolt holes
I then drilled holes for the transmission
Countersinking the holes
You can add and subtract washers to adjust the anti-squad (caster angle)
File down the taps in the rear of the chassis and cut off some material.
Sand down servo holes, don't do as much as I did, I would just shave off enough to fit the servo horn.
skipped ahead a bit here, just mounted the rear trans, and made the front steering brackets, I made a diagram, but it's completely wrong, I need to make a new one. Also made a top plate, it's the original top plate but I filed the lines off it and cut it down.
Here are the diagrams of the rear, front, and steering. You can use the physical pictures and these as references
The steering rack is right, just the angles measurements are wrong.
Hopefully this is enough, if you need any more pictures just ask and I will take some more

Does anyone know why the pictures are double posting? it has never done this on any other forum

Did you use something like a body reamer to countersink the chassis holes? I like the level of detail that you've provided with this write-up. Thanks. I'm thinking about getting a Rustler and doing this conversion.

I used a 1/2in counterbore, you could use a reamer, but it would not match up as well to the angle of the screw countersink. I think a metric counterbore would be better, but I just used what I had. You could even get a large drill bit, put it into a drill press, limit the stroke, then use the drill bit tip as a counterbore, but that would be a little risky.
Cool, if you have any questions, shoot me a PM. By the way I forgot to mention it, the turnbuckles I used to brace the chassis are form the front end of a bandit. They really lock up the chassis and make it very solid

Great job! A clean mid motor build with the materials at your disposal. Curious to hear about the durability of this project long term. As for a body, I really enjoyed the Jconcepts BAJR on my slash project, and I like the look of the Jconcepts Illuzion Raptor SVT SCT-R as well, not sure how they match up with the dimensions of your project though.

Also, when posting pics from Flickr, only use the portion of the url that actually has the image url and not all the surrounding info. And usually you only need to post one because it automatically allows viewers to click through your entire photostream. To stop that you can make separate albums dedicated to the topic's project, and just link the album url.

I like those bodies, but I don't think the BAJR will sit right on mine, and I do not want a SCT body, too might drag when it's in the air.
Thank you, I fixed the pictures, I just did it individually because its more in tune with the text making it a little easier to understand

What kind of Ackerman and bump steer do you get with the steering rack that is 90° to the spindle pivot plane?

Are you doing all of this to make your car faster on the track? Are you concerned that if you break any of your modified/custom parts that your car will be out of commission until you can make new ones? Trading durability and ease of maintenance for maybe a little better handling seems like a step sideways at best if you are running the car on track. If you are not running on a track, it seems like a step backwards in terms of what you would want out of a basher car (durability and ease of maintenance).

​​​​​​I guess all that matters is that you are having fun.

There is a small amount of bump steer, but I arranged it through trial and error to have the least. I don't think I will break the chassis or top plate, I'm on the fence about the aluminum because it's low grade, I will let you guys know if anything breaks. It is still very easy to work on, the whole front assembly comes off with 5 bolts and the rear 8, its actually a little easier than stock because of the rear tower has easier to access bolts. I am leaning more towards performance, I don't hard bash much at all, I'm more about hitting the jumps and having fun with driving. I am going to start buying spring kits and oil to hopefully start tuning the suspension better.

Here's the running video, I'm sorry for the potato camera, I just got a cheap action camera and wanted to test it out. Also, forgive my hamfisted driving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWNQ...ature=youtu.be

I can't wait to see what it looks like once you figure out what kind of body to run. A buddy and I tried to convert our Kyosho Turbo Ultimas to mid-motor back in the late 80's, but since we didn't have your fabrication skills it turned out to be a disaster. That's why I always like to see guys achieve some degree of success with such endeavors.

I am thinking the proline enforcer body, the body choices are a little limited right now since the way the servo sticks up, I might invest in a low-profile servo so I can run any body I want.