Monster Project: Tamiya Lunchbox Build/Upgrade Series - Episode 4

The stock suspension on a Lunchbox is pretty basic, very noisy and not great for stability. So I hit eBay and got some cheap shocks by Fastrax. This is the first project I have done with some custom modifications too.

First job was to fit the '5th Shock'. The stock springs to dampen the wheelie action of the rear axle had snapped in half. A simple mod that involves attaching a shock mount to the chassis, cutting out a section of the rear axle and setting up a new oil filled shock, in my case, one that measure 55mm in length. Then of course, assembling it all together.

Rear shocks came next. 85mm was the chosen length with some new Team Associated oil inside. Then some 75mm shocks were mounted to the front, again with some new oil.

The other modification was to fabricate a front shock tower brace. The standard shock towers are very flexible and with some stiff shock fitted, there's a bigger chance of breakage. So using an aluminium clipboard, a rectangular piece was cut out, edges where bent and holes where drilled. It was finally attached to the chassis using the mounting bolts for the front spring mounts.

The final upgrade was the aluminium body mounts due to the plastic ones being very weak. Not many upgrades to go. The motor is next so stay tuned.

After a quick test run, I found that the oil was a bit too thick and the springs, a bit too stiff. So it now runs with some 20wt oil all around and the stock black springs the shocks came with.

Hope you enjoyed this episode. If you have any questions or comment, please leave them down below. Thanks for watching.