Serj22's Mini-Vibe

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:28 pm

Monster garage build-up:The build: Turn an E-bay $1.25 find into a small 1/64 scale R/C car.The Vehicle:2004 Pontiac Vibe GT Matchbox CarThe plan: Ordered $25.00 zipzap micro RC car (not in radio shack anymore, had to be Ebay)Annoy seller with questions about the wheel-base to make sure matchbox body would fit on the electric chassis. Once that was succeeded commenced tear down and "gutting". To get an idea of the size, that's a pocket knife and a stubby screwdriver in the background. Now waiting on zipzap car to get here... it's a long wait. The matchbox car itself I considered a lucky find, and I made sure it wasnt rare before I cut it apart, there were 10,000 made and they weren't popular at all. I will post the entire build as it happens, and post a video of me playing with it when it's done. I wanted something that would fit in the car and I could play with it in the parking lot, fold the seats down, and drive it around in the back of the car.

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:51 pm

So YOU were that bidder on that Superfast Matchbox Vibe I saw on Ebay the other day... I wondered if it was a Genvibe member.You could have gotten an 1/18 scale Vibe and gotten a bigger R/C chassis for it. I'm not sure if some toy-grade chassis would fit it, but I'm sure there is a hobby-grade chassis that it would fit over.I'm thinking I'll try to find a 1/24 Vibe, and R/C that. Biggest issue, finding one.Good luck! I'll be watching this, since I'm a bit of an R/C enthusiast.

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 1:49 pm

Well, they have tons of the diecast ones that are all modded out, and have the spoilers and everything. I may do that one as well. I was trying to make it so I could play with it inside the car on the plastic surface.

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:59 am

Hmmm...not a bad idea. I've often wondered what to do with those.

A Psycho Martyr · Post by **A Psycho Martyr** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:24 pm

clever idea! If you ever mod a slightly bigger...WHITE one, i'd be interested in purchasing it

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:45 am

I'm going to follow you, and I bought one of those ugly Batman ones, since I don't want to take apart the one I already have. I'll be repainting it for sure.

epcIII · Post by **epcIII** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:35 am

I think this is really cool. Would be fun for playing driving around on your desk.

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:03 am

I saw those too, the purple joker ones. Make sure you buy a Mitsubishi Evolution XMOD mini-RC (they actually do have different wheel bases, this one is the closest), or if you're going with the char-g version, whatever size is closest to a 1/64 scale of a corolla. Still waiting on package to come in mail...

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 5:50 am

Interesting you say that, because coincidentally almost a year ago I got an Evo Xmods mini, and was just sizing it up using my existing one. I thought I may have to invert the board. It isn't here yet, so I'll wait as you wait.

NascarXprt · Post by **NascarXprt** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:14 pm

oh yea, this reminds me, If any of yall are looking for a die cast Vibe, there is a 5 pack set from matchbox that is the "Batman: The Brave and The Bold Series" themed set and the vibe is the joker in purple. normally the set i believe is $8 at any target or walmart or toysRus.

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:59 am

Ok, so here's the Mitsubishi Xmods Mini that you need for it, from what the seller said, the wheel base was perfect.Pull the Mitsubishi Out, then I took the bumper on the front and back, pull apart gently, and the chassis slips out. (very easy) Pulled the harness out of the board block that goes to the headlights (may get creative and keep them) and you get the chassis ready to go. Did a quick fit check before I took it apart, it couldn't be any more perfect, look at the wheel base. If the wheels are too big, I'll just raise the body a little on the chassis.After that, I fit the vibe body down on the electric chassis to see what would need to be adjusted, the body wraps perfectly onto the base, but the wheel holder in the front bears down too far, so it will need to be cut, (the little fork that holds the axle on the matchbox chassis) and the back portion that was riveted to the bottom of the chassis originally will need to be shaved down a little more, otherwise there is plenty of clearance inside, After that, I'll drill a hole in the roof for the antenna and figure a way to mount the body securely but still be able to take it off.

epcIII · Post by **epcIII** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:14 am

Looking pretty cool! Are you using a dremel to do all the shaving?

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:03 am

Looks good so far. The wheels even look good with the Vibe body. To attach the body you could use velcro or snaps of some sort. Does the 'performance' of the Xmod Micro go down any with the metal body?

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:58 am

As for the dremel question, yes. For part of the shaving, but for the back part where the body connected i used a drill bit on a power drill since it was circular. way easier (for me) since I just used a drill bit that had a larger diameter than the mount and that kept it centered and didn't allow any walking either way. The velcro is actually a prime idea. The metal body has almost 0 effect on the performance, it doesn't weigh much more than the plastic, especially after shaving the rear part of the mount off. The front part is the thickest metal on the car and cutting it off will probably set it at exactly the same weight as the Mitsubishi body.

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:19 pm

No updates yet, but on Ebay, there is another black superfast vibe up for $7.50. There are 2 bids so far, just letting you guys know if you wanted to try this too,.

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:14 am

I accidentally moved into a new house while i was doing this and forgot about it. I am still tooling the body and have gotten it back out of storage. I didn;t even know it was in there. I am adding the HID kit that zipzaps used to have. too bad they dont maek these littel cars anymore. Thinking about starting the larger diecast model when I'm done. If they had a plastic 1/24 or 1/25 revell model I would buy that too...

A Psycho Martyr · Post by **A Psycho Martyr** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:38 am

just found this'nhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontia...b4301

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:26 am

They;re on a lot of sites for about $20. They're either the red or the yellow GT with spoilers. I'll have to repaint it. IF I can find a chassis to match Ill eb happy.

Serj22 · Post by **Serj22** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:07 am

I have the chassis mostly mated to the body the way I want, just need to drill holes for the HID's. (blue/white leds) I repainted the body with some modeling paint, just mixed black and chrome metallic together till I got the shadow-like shade, then painted the cladding black, and painted the inside of the plastic windows black instead of clear since there is no more interior and it would look funky. Still a W.I.P. but I feel confident moving up to the 1/18 scale soon. I will probably make a regular red one first, then I may be able to respray one in white for ya psycho, and then work out a price later. I may have found a donor chassis though for the first one...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Offici...ee68aHere she is sitting on the charger/remote

Serj22's Mini-Vibe

Serj22's Mini-Vibe

Re: (KITT222)

Re: (Serj22)

Re: (lovemyraffe)

Re: Serj22's Mini-Vibe (Serj22)

Re: Serj22's Mini-Vibe (epcIII)

Re: (KITT222)

Re: (Serj22)

Re: (Serj22)

Re: (epcIII)

Re: (Serj22)

Re: (Serj22)

Re: Serj22's Mini-Vibe (Serj22)

Re: Serj22's Mini-Vibe (A Psycho Martyr)

Re: Serj22's Mini-Vibe (Serj22)