Rover Mini Cooper Racing M03 rally conversion chassis

TAMIYA Mini Cooper Rally

Mini Rally Mega-Pics site is here!

Mini Rally movie1 (Tamiya Mini Rally) MP4 360MB
Mini Rally movie2 (Ahiru Mini Rally) WMV 14MB
How to make Mini Rally Tyre
FREE Mini Rally Decals
How to print Rally Decals

Special thanks to Ivan-san!

Introduction

Tamiya M-03 is an versatile fwd chassis.
It can run well on offroad if you make a few modifiactions.
Mini rally is easy to operate and it is faster than you might expect.
It is a lot of fun and will be so exciting for you and your friends.


I saw a lot of tiny cars were racing on the dirt, in the "Ringo-jam Offroad Meet"
at Madarao Nagano in 1999.
I was thinking such small cars can not run well at offroad maybe, before that event. But soon I noticed I was wrong.
the race was alot of fun and the MO-3 was an exciting offroad racer.
So, I started my Mini Rally project soon after the event.
M-03 would show its true performance on offroad also,
if you make your settings correctly
you will enjoy it very much.

M-03 Rally is a small offroader,it will have more offroad character
if you attach some offroad style accessories to it.

Both bodies and lenses of this fog light pod
were got from Lancia 037 Rally's kit.
I bought this spare parts from Tamiya customer service.
3mm LED bulbs can be installed in the cases easly if you like.

I made Underguard from 2.0t polycarbonate sheet.
It is fixed to chassis and upper side of the front bumper
by Scotch's double-stick tape.
This cheap "kid's work" Underguard was stronger than I expected,
and it showed the great merit against stack.

I made them from rubber wing set which is an option
for the Yokomo drift-car,
and fixed them on the bodyshell by super glue.
Of course, these are not canard-wings but just mud flaps!

Above all, a roof rack needs toughness against accidents.
I thought it must not break even if car rolls over at the jumps.
so i made all of the parts from 2.0t polycarbonate sheet and painted it with Tamiya`s polycarbonate spray paint.

The Mini`s tie-down belt is a cell phone strap.
all parts are flexible but were glued strongly together.
Finally the rack is fixed on the roof with double sided tape.

it was unexpextedly hard, but
I wanted to put mud flaps on my Mini no matter what.

I found that the TT-01`s urethane bumper is shaped
almost the same as the rear of the old Mini.
sliced it and glued it with Shoe-goo to the inside of the Mini.
I then attached the mud flaps with Shoe-goo and glass mesh to the flat spots in the bumper.
The two pieces of mud flap are 0.5t polycarbonate sheet.

NOTE

It is better for you to reinforce
some points of your bodyshell.
It will prolong your bodyshell's life.

I recommend that you reinforce the inside of
the radiator and both insides of the doors.
because at these places the paint
may be scraped off by chassis parts.

It is very interesting to set up Rally Mini.
HOP UP OPTIONS which are available for high end touring cars
will match your M-03 Rally also.

There is no difference much in performances
between original chassis and this chassis.
But, I came up with various ideas
and made it easy to use on the field.
Please check the details out.

I had to race with the other competitors with my Mini
which has top-heavy bodyshell with roof rack and spare tyres.
So, i tried to make a low center of gravity chassis
to fight against the law of inertia.

Fortunately, M-03 has almost smooth lower surface.
I think this is an necessary factor for a good offroader,
and it is an answer of why Mini can run well at offroad
even if its tyre is too small.
So,it would be a better offroader
if you also attach an underguard to your M-03.

All wires hide away into chassis.
Its chassis can clean up easily after running.

14gauge of plus-wire connect straightly to the motor
from battery connector for minimum electric loss.
16gauge wire of branch line is wired
for only power supply of ESC.

I chose TRF FLUORINE COATED DAMPER
but I think also CVA damper is as good as it.
I tried both of them but I can not explain difference between them well.
It seems CVA damper is enough for Mini Rally if it is set correctly,
except its durability.

NOTE: Please refer to the following setting chart
if you want to know Mini rally's setting tips.

I don't use standard brass long-necked pillowballs
because sometimes it broke easily.

So, I think it is the best way which use steel-screw
to this point even if it become heavy.

.

Especially I cared to the steering servo fixing.
They are TG10's servo post.

C-ring was reinforced by steel outer ring for sure steering response.
its C-ring I got from the TAMIYA HIGH TORQUE SERVO SAVER kit.

All the step screws of upper arm pivots were changed
to Titanium screws and bushes.

Shock-shafts were replaced to Titanium coated shafts for durability.

My ESC is a KEYENCE EXTRAIGHT.
It is not so expensive one
but it's a very powerful ESC.

Polycarbonate seal guards radio systems from mud and dust.
Receiver and ESC are floating on sponge blocks and guarded from landing shocks.

This is a simple holder
but it can hold a transponder strongly
and it can be changed quickly.

Setting of Mini rally shocks

CVA Super Mini

(Super) Low friction series

TRF Damper series

Inner spacer

-

2 O-rings or 3.0mm spacer

-

Piston

F: 2hole /R: 3hole

F: 2hole / R: 2hole

F: 2hole / R: 3hole

Oil

900 or 1000 (F/R)
F:400 or 500 / R:200 or 300

400 or 500 (F/R)

Spring

OP.163 Yellow (F/R)

Ride hight

F: 2mm / R: 2mm

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