Build Thread Warby's Mugen MBX6 ECO buggy

[Littlemotor]

View attachment 245546

Have you talked to me before?!?

 

[Warby]

Ok, I got a first look at it last night.
I'm excited for this build.

I just need to decide whether to restore it and get it looking b.e.a.utiful or just fix and replace what's needed to get it up to a satisfactory state for bashing.

Current condition and thoughts.

Cons:
It's obvious that it's seen a lot of track time.
The chassis is worn down at least 1mm in some area's.
All the driveline pins are worn.
Rear gearbox housing is cracked
Body is not so nice up close. Bash body.
Turnbuckles are rusty
Dirty

Pros:
Feels like great quality
Looks easy to work on
Nice CF towers and other parts
No slop in steering and minimal in the suspension.
Springs and anti-roll bars still have the id tags.
Shocks/suspension feels lovely. Just dirty.
Hexs in good condition
The motor mount and other anodised parts look great.
All parts are present except for electronics which I knew.
Apart from worn parts, only one broken part.

I've already ordered a few parts which I know I'll need but I'm currently making a list of parts to order. Well, I was until Mr impatient @Littlemotor interrupted me
No doubt I'll need more parts once I've strip it down and inspected it.

I've decided to use titanium and/or stainless steel screws with this build as I'm annoyed that my other rigs are rusting. This may get expensive though.

I thought it had a M2C frt shock tower but it's actually a protector(bra) for the CF tower. Discontinued unfortunately.
It also has DE Racing skid plates. Worn.
Those are the only aftermarket parts I can see on this rig.

So I need to strip her down, inspect and do a lot of cleaning.

 

[Littlemotor]

Ok, I got a first look at it last night.
I'm excited for this build.

I just need to decide whether to restore it and get it looking b.e.a.utiful or just fix and replace what's needed to get it up to a satisfactory state for bashing.

Current Condition and thoughts.

Cons:
It's obvious that it's seen a lot of track time.
The chassis is worn down at least 1mm in some area's.
All the driveline pins are worn.
Rear gearbox housing is cracked
Body is not so nice up close. Bash body.
Turnbuckles are rusty
Dirty

Pros:
Feels like great quality
Looks easy to work on
Nice CF towers and other parts
No slop in steering and minimal in the suspension.
Springs and anti-roll bars still have the id tags.
Shocks/suspension feels lovely. Just dirty.
Hexs in good condition
The motor mount and other anodised parts look great.
All parts are present except for electronic which I knew.
Apart from worn parts, only one broken part.

View attachment 245553View attachment 245554View attachment 245555View attachment 245556View attachment 245557

I've already ordered a few parts which I know I'll need but I'm currently making a list of parts to order. Well I was until Mr impatient @Littlemotor interrupted me
No doubt I'll need more parts once I strip it down and inspected it.

I've decided to use titanium and/or stainless steel screws with this build as I'm annoyed that my other rigs are rusting. This may get expensive though.

I thought it had a M2C frt shock tower but it's actually a protector(bra) for the CF tower. Discontinued unfortunately.
It also has DE Racing skid plates. Worn.
Those are the only aftermarket parts I can see on this rig.
View attachment 245551View attachment 245552
View attachment 245559


So I need to strip her down, inspect and do a lot of cleaning.

Looks good for the money for sure. Couple things-I’d get used to coating your buggy after you blow it off each run-screws will never rust. This is common practice with 1/8 race bugs/truggs, and also prevents dirt from sticking to it, and eases dramatically in clean up & routine maintenance. This will also allow you to run (HIGHLY recommended) proper grade 12.9 hardware.

For every fastener that goes through the chassis at a minimum. You see what gets the most wear, right brothaman? Your new chassis will as well. That is a wear item, and is consumable. Same with those skids. If you wanna run Ti fasteners-run them up top where the only abuse they’ll see is from your drivers. They are only grade 5, and are not a good solution for the “below chassis” side of things.

Turnbuckles is easy-replace with Titanium. Lunsford, Flashpoint, Acer, T-Work’s, or J&T. Never have that issue again. Outdrives annd drive pins are another wear item for sure. Mugen makes a tool specifically for replacing those pins, and not wasting loot on axles. They offer the pins as well, and they’re very high quality. DC motors, and no clutch is SUPER hard on shiit. Nitro vehicles’ drivelines last FAR LONGER.

Plastic parts are cheap. Tony’s screws has about anything you’d need, and as I said before-if he won’t ship, you can order them, and have me ship your stuff. I’m kind of trustworthy.

Towers you can replace with Mugen 7075 units, or grab CF to have on hand for spares. I’d hang that old M2C guard on the wall, or put it on a gold chain so you can rock it like Chopper..

JConcepts, Leadfinger Racing, VP-Pro, and COUGH!pro-lineCOUGH! all make bodies for it. JConcepts, and LFR will look the best for sure. The Pro-line/Mugen factory lid is horrendous IMO..

I’d say you’ve definitely gotten your money’s worth, and I’m sure you’ll do it justice-I’ve seen what you do with an old Traxxas “bag of parts build”…

 

[Littlemotor]

And FWIW-I am NOT knocking your latest build. I remember you saying something along the lines of it just being spares, and you didn’t really care-so it would turn out how it would turn out.. What you spit out after that was freakin KILLER bro.

 

[Warby]

If you wanna run Ti fasteners-run them up top where the only abuse they’ll see is from your drivers

I was considering this too.

drive pins are another wear item for sure. Mugen makes a tool specifically for replacing those pins, and not wasting loot on axles. They offer the pins as well, and they’re very high quality.

This too. I was considering either ordering complete MBX8 driveshafts/axles sets from Jenny’s RC (if they are compatible) or just replace with mugen pins. I've done it before on my K6s.
I have a tool. It worked well.

Towers you can replace with Mugen 7075 units, or grab CF to have on hand for spares.

I'll stick with CF where possible.

JConcepts, Leadfinger Racing, VP-Pro, and COUGH!pro-lineCOUGH! all make bodies for it. JConcepts, and LFR will look the best for sure. The Pro-line/Mugen factory lid is horrendous IMO..

I like the Mugen 6 body shape. It's unfortunate the body supplied is damaged and bad paint job.

I'm not really into to square bodies. I have found a new clear MBX6 body in Italy.

Would the MBX8 body fit?



Thanks for the advice @Littlemotor

 

[Littlemotor]

I was considering this too.


This too. I was considering either ordering complete MBX8 driveshafts/axles sets from Jenny’s RC (if they are compatible) or just replace with mugen pins. I've done it before on my K6s.
I have a tool. It worked well.
View attachment 245564


I'll stick with CF where possible.


I like the Mugen 6 body shape. It's unfortunate the body supplied is damaged and bad paint job.

I'm not really into to square bodies. I have found a new clear MBX6 body in Italy.

Would the MBX8 body fit?



Thanks for the advice @Littlemotor

Awesome on having the tool, and some experience. I’d be prepared to use it-I do know the 6, and 8 do not carry the same part number, and the 8’s are very likely longer due to the progression of RC over 12-15yrs time.

Righty-O on the CF towers. The good thing about it being a Mugen; I.E.-pilllllllllow ball car, is that the towers are short, and narrow. Obviously with CF, the smaller the part-the more abuse it can take. -and it’s incredibly resilient..

If you don’t care for such defined “lines”, stay away from LFR. JConcepts older stuff isn’t as “sharp” as their current offerings, and you’ll likely be able to turn one up on eGay, or an old hobby shop.. Look at Bitty Designs as well-he always went with very flowing, fluid looking curves. You can look at some Team Associated stuff too-though I’m not entirely sure of which model that far back. Their RC8B3.x stuff (B3, .2, etc.) were a DIRECT ripoff of the MBX buggy, so even if the aftermarket doesn’t offer what you like, then try crossing it over to what they offer for an older 1/8 Associated.

I don’t believe the MBX8 lid will fit though, as they did indeed change up the chassis size, and layout.

-and you’re very welcome @Warby -whatever I can do to help steer you where you wanna be.

 

[Warby]

And unfortunately I've got a busy R&R week so not sure how much hobby time I'll get.

 

[Warby]

Righty-O on the CF towers. The good thing about it being a Mugen; I.E.-pilllllllllow ball car, is that the towers are short, and narrow. Obviously with CF, the smaller the part-the more abuse it can take. -and it’s incredibly resilient..

The CF parts on it seem in good condition so hopefully i can clean and reuse. I think they will clean up well.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Current Condition and thoughts.

Cons:
It's obvious that it's seen a lot of track time.
The chassis is worn down at least 1mm in some area's.
All the driveline pins are worn.
Rear gearbox housing is cracked
Body is not so nice up close. Bash body.
Turnbuckles are rusty
Dirty

Pros:
Feels like great quality
Looks easy to work on
Nice CF towers and other parts
No slop in steering and minimal in the suspension.
Springs and anti-roll bars still have the id tags.
Shocks/suspension feels lovely. Just dirty.
Hexs in good condition
The motor mount and other anodised parts look great.
All parts are present except for electronic which I knew.
Apart from worn parts, only one broken part.

Coincidently, this is how Mrs Certified desctibed me when we first met.

Buggy looks awesome!!! Another fun project and runner!!!

Not too bad of condition considering all the abuse I've ...errr its taken over its lifetime.

 

[Warby]

I've got too many chores that need doing, to be tinkering with RC's but I couldn’t resist.

I pulled the rear assembly off to inspect further. It's clean inside the bulkhead housing which is great and the diff and bearings feel really smooooth. Curved spiral/helical gears.

@Littlemotor
I looked into the MBX8 shafts. The front/rear axles share the same part numbers as the MBX6 so I'll probably order 2 sets from Jenny’s when I can.

The front/rear centre driveshaft(dogbones) are different between models, as the MBX6 has CVA's at the diff but the MBX8 has dogbone ends both end. So I'll just replace the pins on those.

 

[Littlemotor]

I've got too many chores that need doing, to be tinkering with RC's but I couldn’t resist.

I pulled the rear assembly off to inspect further. It's clean inside the bulkhead housing which is great and the diff and bearings feel really smooooth. Curved spiral/helical gears.

View attachment 245709
View attachment 245710

@Littlemotor
I looked into the MBX8 shafts. The front/rear axles share the same part numbers as the MBX6 so I'll probably order 2 sets from Jenny’s when I can.

The front/rear centre driveshaft(dogbones) are different between models, as the MBX6 has CVA's at the diff but the MBX8 has dogbone ends both end. So I'll just replace the pins on those.

View attachment 245711

Good deal man! Apparently I misread-or was digging up info crosseyed and saw the centers didn’t match while the left & rights were fine. My bad bro. Good news for you though!

 

[Warby]

the centers didn’t match while the left & rights were fine.

That's correct. Centers shafts are different between the models. Left and rights are the same.

MBX6 centers:

MBX8 centers (dogbones):

MBX6/8 L&R, F&R shafts:

 

[Littlemotor]

That's correct. Centers shafts are different between the models. Left and rights are the same.

MBX6 centers:
View attachment 245713

MBX8 centers (dogbones):
View attachment 245714

MBX6/8 L&R, F&R shafts:
View attachment 245712

You can compare prices & options with T-Work’s as well. Don’t be afraid of universals-they are lighter, smoother, and last longer (whether you use graphite or not, and FAR longer than any greased CVD). They’re just not rebuildable. I prefer them in all my stuff over CVD’s-but it depends on the person. They’ll have your titanium turnbuckles too.

 

[Warby]

Pay day can't come sooner

 

[Littlemotor]

Pay day can't come sooner

 

[Warby]

View attachment 245715

 

[TeknoJ]

OFF-ROAD competition race buggy.

I love running street tires in dirt cmon man!

 

[TeknoJ]

View attachment 245716

Me too!

 

[Warby]

I found a few minutes after getting home today to break down the MBX6 further.

The chassis top side cleaned up well apart from the droop screw wear.
As I mentioned previously the underside is quite worn, but still usable. Just doesn't look pretty.

I haven't managed to find a new one(E0415) in Australia and the couple I've found overseas are too expensive, not even including shipping.
All else fails, I'll reuse it.

Front diff is clean and smooth, as the rear is.

Once the motor mount was removed, I noticed that the adjusting mounting plate has a piece broken off, were one of the securing screws goes through. It'll need to be replaced.

I haven't managed to find one anywhere. The later model mounts are different.

Can I ask you guys to please keep a look out for me?
Part # E0187B for the plate or E0187 for the complete mount.

 

[RustyUs]

I found a few minutes after getting home today to break down the MBX6 further.

View attachment 246074

The chassis top side cleaned up well apart from the droop screw wear.
As I mentioned previously the underside is quite worn, but still usable. Just doesn't look pretty.

I haven't managed to find a new one(E0415) in Australia and the couple I've found overseas are too expensive, not even including shipping.
All else fails, I'll reuse it.
View attachment 246071View attachment 246072

Front diff is clean and smooth, as the rear is.
View attachment 246073

Once the motor mount was removed, I noticed that the adjusting mounting plate has a piece broken off, were one of the securing screws goes through. It'll need to be replaced.
View attachment 246076View attachment 246077

I haven't managed to find one anywhere. The later model mounts are different.

Can I ask you guys to please keep a look out for me?
Part # E0187B for the plate or E0187 for the complete mount.
View attachment 246075

Oh, dude. I hope a replacement motor mount can be found. And no mention of the part being broken in the listing?