Tamiya MF-01x Jimny Bolt-On Build

[K.O.M.]

Hey everyone, it's been some time, but I'm back and hopefully staying a while. With the popularity of the Jimny, both in the RC and 1:1 scene (at least in other countries outside of the USA), I figured it was only a matter of time before I got sucked into building one too.

The intent is to make this a bolt-on affair with little fabrication; it is intended to get entry-level crawlers/trailers enticed into the modification and improvement of their rigs. There is already a wealth of parts available out there for this rig, you just have to know where to look.

Parts are ordered, and I'm waiting. In the meantime, here is one of the videos that inspired me to start this build.

[K.O.M.]

My stuff finally came in!



A lot of details here already about what's inside the kit, I'll just show some of the things I'm substituting instead of the stock parts.



3 Racing Spools for the M-05 should be a drop in fit instead of the stock diffs.





The stock gear ratio is around 9:1, so it will be fine on pavement and a little bumpy trail; but I want to have smooth crawling on something a bit steeper once I upsize the tires. So I'm going with a 4:1 RC4WD gear reduction unit, and using one of my Tamiya M-Special motors; it is shorter than stock and when combined with the reduction unit, is only 20mm longer than a stock silver can, so it should not rub the body or tires.









Starting the spool assembly, I have to file down 3 spots around the perimeter of the gear so the flat head screws that hold the spool to the main gear are flush.





Here's the completed spool. The outdrives are composite wrapped with an alloy sleeve. Durability may be a question, but this is not a hardcore crawler and I have had good luck with this spool for a few seasons in my Tamiya 'M' cars while racing.

[mtnbiker4evr13]

Following this, I'm planning on picking up one of these for a light duty trail rig. the M05 spools look like great additions.

[K.O.M.]

Originally Posted by mtnbiker4evr13

Following this, I'm planning on picking up one of these for a light duty trail rig. the M05 spools look like great additions.

Hold off on the M-05 spools for now. The front will drop into the case with the larger bearing, as the stock versions of the diff needs an adapter, but the rear case will not accept the oversized bearing.

You can use the ABC Hobby locker or Yeah Racing locker in the stock diff gear case though:

[JatoTheRipper]

I love the idea of the GRU and a shorter motor. I'm really anxious to see how this turns out.

[mtnbiker4evr13]

Originally Posted by K.O.M.

Hold off on the M-05 spools for now. The front will drop into the case with the larger bearing, as the stock versions of the diff needs an adapter, but the rear case will not accept the oversized bearing.

You can use the ABC Hobby locker or Yeah Racing locker in the stock diff gear case though:

That' pretty handy to know. Didn't see your suspension plans above, are you going to try to get more flex? Seems they can only scale a pebble in stock form and will probably bounce off with the stock shocks.

[metalry101]

I've been thinking about picking one of these things up as a little trail rig...I'm excited to see where you take this build. That little motor is super cool!

[K.O.M.]

Hello everyone, slow progress, I'm the first to admit it. I apologize for the pics; will do better next time.



Yeah Racing diff locker. Assembled both the front and rear diffs with this locker.





Rear Gear Box assembled.





Front Gear Box assembled. What an absolute pain in the ass to get the servo centered and set up in there. I knew this having had M-05 Tamiya Minis in the past, but this seemed a bit more tedious than normal.





Body is wrapped in plastic for protection; it's always a good idea to wrap it up in plastic for protection.

Sketching up a preliminary plan for a solid axle version of this little devil in the future. Having an iPad in the garage with the RC4WD page bookmarked leads to a lighter than usual wallet at the end of the month.

[chuckatruck]

I love mine i just run a 55t motor on 2s it dosent really bog down. im running 1.55 mtz's on it



It handles surprisingly well

[K.O.M.]

Originally Posted by chuckatruck

I love mine i just run a 55t motor on 2s it dosent really bog down. im running 1.55 mtz's on it
...
It handles surprisingly well

For general purpose running, I think a lot of people are happy with high-turn brushed motors in both this, and the CC-01.

Truth of the matter is, the gear ratio is 9:1 on the MF-01, and around 13 or 14:1 on the CC-01, which is fine if you want to just play with the truck--it can clear plenty of obstacles--but once you start filming and making scale videos, the movement is very jerky.

The only motor I've used on a stock non-crawler Tamiya off-roader that can deal with the higher gear ratios (12:1 on a TA/DF series, 9:1 on the MF-01, and 14:1 on the CC-01) with the results I want, is a Tekin ROC 412 500kv brushless.

Not that I'm using anything less costly, an M-Special motor is going for around $75 on eBay (if you can find them) and a 4:1 GRU is $40, but I already have these lying around.

[K.O.M.]

I've been behind this build, so doing a bit of catch-up:



Both front and rear ends finally together.




I had some Tamiya CVA shocks unused, so I'll just go with these for the time being.





The stock tires are Tamiya Rally Blocks, which really don't look right on this thing, so I temporarily borrowed some 1.55 wheels with the ubiquitous MTZ tires to see how things would look.





It almost looks right, just a tad big. Trimming the fender to the molded lip would do the trick. Since I do have another project on deck that could use the MTZs, I'll probably just order some 1.55 Dirt Grabbers for this little rig. Right at around 3" in diameter, it would be perfect (MTZs are 3.3").

[BORG]

thats a badass little rig

[K.O.M.]

Just a few more updates.



Installing the stubby motor with the 4:1 GRU. FYI, you'll need (2) 45mm 3mm x 0.5mm bolts to bolt everything together.




Everything bolted together. I didn't check if I can fit a standard 540 can with the GRU, but I can check the next time I have to disconnect the motor to clean. I mocked it up against the GRU, and it looks really tight. Possible that a Holmes Hobbies Stubby might work.




Can't even tell it's there.

[K.O.M.]

Decided to just use the existing wheel and tire combo, but it did need a very slight body trimming.





I don't really have a lot of patience with decals and painting, so I ruined the side mirrors by being impatient, so they will have to wait. I used the minimal amount of decals and instead opted for a medium point and fine point paint pen, as well as some pinstriping, to do detail the rubber window molding and body panel shut lines.











Some not so awesome "flex" shots.







Some size comparison when next to an SCX-10.

I'm calling this project done for the time being. Ready to shoot some running footage. In the meantime, I'm saying goodbye to my lackluster point-and-shoot camera and just shoot the photos with my DSLR from here on out.

[youngblood]

Looking forward to some footage of it crawling with that GRU. Nice work

[OSRC]

Just scored 2 of those motors, $35 each on Ebay. Been looking for one for about 3 years now! Doing the exact same to my rig, though going 3:1.

Looks great, looking forward to the video as well.

[nrooney21]

Looks like we have twins!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[txbart]

It would be great if one of the 3D design geniuses could design a rear gearbox that put the motor where the little receiver section is, & all of the suspension linkages in the back unencumbered.

[Mello_Yello]

Just the type of thread Ive been looking for. Snagged up one of these recently and started to build it last night. Gonna have to order some of those lockers for sure!

[daniels]

Hi,
have you seen my work from last year?
Those cars can work!!

daniels needs a home for a 500kv ROC 412 or Suzuki Jimney goes RECON G6

I plan to bring it back on 4S

LG
Daniel