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Tamiya M-Chassis Body Guide compatibility M01 M02 M03 M04 M05 M06 M07 M08 MB01 XM01

Tamiya M-Chassis cars have been a firm favourite for many since the release of the M01 in 1994! Over three decades ago.. There have been many variations of M-Chassis and along the way, Tamiya has also released other chassis that share the same basic dimensions and wheelbases.
 
One of the most endearing things about these cars has been the bodyshells that are available. Starting with the timeless Mini Cooper, the M-Chassis range of bodyshells have been very diverse and interesting.    

With that in mind, I thought it would be good to provide a guide for the Tamiya shells that you can hunt down if you want to stand out at the race track, or just look cool racing around the local carpark.

When choosing your shell you need to consider a few things. The most important one is the wheelbase.

There are three wheelbases
The three wheelbases are Short (210mm), Medium (225mm) and Long (239mm). To make things confusing, not all M-Chassis cars are able to be configured to all three wheelbases. The Tamiya MB-01 is the latest entry level M-Chassis and it able to be configured to all three.

This chart shows the available wheelbases for all chassis. Note the MF-01X chassis need different prop shafts to be able to change wheelbases, these are a separate part.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as just choosing the wheelbase. There has been a  lot of variation in the chassis layouts. The MF01X and the M06 have a motor that hangs out quite some distance at the back for example.  So I will provide a chart with each shell... I will fill these out where I think I have the answer, but if I don't it will be in an amber colour.. essentially it should fit, but not verified. Here you can help, if you have knowledge of the shell / chassis combo please send me a message and I can update the chart. This is something for the community, so any help will be appreciated :) 

The other thing that I will not verify is the bodyposts. The  shell might fit, but you may need to drill new holes to fit the shell. Mostly they will align, and Tamiya usually provides some spacers in the kits, but it is something to be noted. 

I have also tried to add the part numbers where available, sometimes the bodykit, sometimes the actual model kit. There are also some variations, for example you may get the Alfa Romeo Giulia in the std and Club versions. I wont always cover those, essentially they are the same, so you know they will fit, you choose the colour. (Or preferably paint them in your own colours anyway)

Also a disclaimer, this is a guide, and I've done my best to be accurate, but there are literally thousands of combinations of chassis and shells, so there may be some unforeseen issues such as not being able to mount them low enough etc.

So with that in mind.. let's go..

210mm  Short Wheelbase

The original M-01 came with the 210mm wheelbase and the legendary Mini Cooper shell. The short wheelbase provides the M-Chassis cars with very nimble handling. As you would expect, a nimble car is not always the most stable, so you need to determine  how much grip you need. 

Tamiya Mini Cooper racing 50795 (Lightweight 49483) 
There is the original Tamiya Mini Cooper shell with the plastic grill, but I cannot find the part number for this. It shares the same dimensions although the wheel arches on the original body (with the plastic grill), are smaller, so you can only use the smaller M-Chassis wheels, not he 60D ones.

Note this can fit the MF-01X if the body is quite high and the rear bumper will protrude from the rear.

Tamiya Mini Cooper Monte Carlo 84186 Finish body 85258

Tamiya Alpine A110 Jaeger Body 51690

Tamiya Alpine A110 Body 50688

Tamiya Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR Belina Corsa 51709 50667
This only fits the M06 if you dont install the plastic rear engine. I think this will also be the same with the MF01X but I am unable to confirm

Tamiya Volkswagen Golf Mk1 Grp.2 Only available in Kit 84316

Tamiya Honda S800 Racing 84030 51402




Tamiya Datsun 280ZX sports 92213 lightweight 92214

Tamiya Nissan Silvia S15 51478

The S15 is a great shell. It however is 215mm wheelbase, so can look a bit odd od if you cannot tweak the wheelbase slightly.

Tamiya Renault 5 turbo (Kit no 47435)
The rear wheel arches are wider, you will need to use longer  wheel axles or wider wheel Hex's to try to make it look correct.


Tamiya Suzuki Wagon R RR 58234
Image from Tamiyabase.

225mm Medium wheelbase

The 225mm wheelbase is usually the go to wheelbase for most M-Chassis racers. It provides a good compromise between stability and nimble cornering. 

Tamiya Suzuki Swift Super 1600 51236


Tamiya Monster Super Swift 51545

Tamiya Mazda Roadster MX-5 51583  Lightweight Body 47323

On the XM01 it is a tight fit over the front towers, but is is acceptable (You need shorter springs).

Tamiya Fiat 500 51363

Tamiya Lotus Europa 51672
On MF01-X the rear bumper will stick out from below the rear of the  car

Tamiya Honda S-MX Lowdown 50753 84362
Note, this shell was actually really good, and handled much better than you would expect.

Tamiya Honda Ballade Sports Mugen CR-X Pro 51467 Lightweight 84363
This is one of the best bodies for M-Chassis.. also its a FWD sports car so it even makes sense if you want to run it on the M07...

Tamiya Eunos Roadster -47309-  Lightweight 47434 
This may be too low to fit on the XM01.. The MX5 roadster fits, so this might.

Tamiya Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Club version 51729 STD 84125

A great looking shell. There is also the non club version. Its the same but with less stickers..

Tamiya Suzuki Jimny (JB23)

239mm Long wheelbase 

The long wheelbase setting provides the most stability for the M-chassis cars. It makes the car easier to drive but if you have tight and twisty infield track sections you may lose out to the M-Chassis cars that run a shorter wheelbase. It must be noted, that because of the wheelbase, some of the longer shells are about the same actual length as 1/10 onroad cars.
 

Tamiya MINI JCW Coupe 51489 lightweight 84364

One of the best looking and also a great handling body. I just hope Tamiya and BMW make up sometime and bring us these classic  shells..  and a BMW i8 one as well.

Tamiya Alfa Romeo MiTo 51404 lightweight 84148

Tamiya made several bodykits for this, in black, yellow and silver.. Maybe it was popular in Japan. It's not too bad in the handling stakes.

Tamiya Mazda Demio / Mazda 2 51591

Tamiya Mini Cooper S 2006 51335



Tamiya NSU TT Jägermeister 51594


Tamiya Volkswagen Karman Ghia 51635


Tamiya Toyota Yaris GR 51656 lightweight 47463
A fantastic handling shell, it has a good front end and whilst it is tall, it is still lower than most. It is excellent in the lightweight version, although like all lightweight M-Chassis bodies, it is hard to find.

Note this can fit a MF-01X but the rear bumper will protrude past  the back of the shell..

Here is a version I made for collecting cars and Tamiya :) 

Tamiya Ford Escort Mk.II Rally 51658

A beautiful scale shell. I would pair it with an M08 for the ultimate fast ford experience :) I reviewed this on the MF01X (Click link here) 

Tamiya Citroen 2CV Charlston 51605

Tamiya Citroen 2CV Rally 51657

The meaner, heavier version of the Dolly.. looks incredible going around..

Tamiya Volkswagen Golf Mk.II Rally 51706

The Golf rally on the M06, the rear of the shell rests on the rear of the chassis, so it does rub the paint off. It may even bow it our a little. 

Tamiya Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) 51616

This classic shell is also available as a flower power version  (basically a different decal set, but I have  not really seen that available as a separate body.

Tamiya Fiat 131 Abarth Rally Olio 51710


Tamiya Citroen DS 51730


Tamiya Suzuki Swift Sport 58679


Tamiya Volkswagen Beetle  84185   

There is also a Rally version of the VW beetle that comes with a MF01X  chassis. The body kit does not seem to be available separately.

Tamiya BMW Z3 Roadster 50848


Tamiya Honda S2000 50836


Tamiya Nissan S13 51496 Lightweight 84313


Tamiya Mercedes Benz SLK 50756


Tamiya Mercedes Benz G 320 Cabrio 50635


Tamiya Porsche Boxster 50754



Tamiya Porsche 911 Carrera 50774

This shell looked fantastic, didn't handle very well from what I recall. Image from Tamiyabase.

Tamiya RX-7 Savanna (1st Gen Body) 51451



Tamiya Opel Kadett GT/E 51727


Phew.. so there you have over 30 years of Tamiya bodies.. I will keep updating this list when new bodies come out. Again, thanks for the help, if you spot any mistakes please message me.. 
tamiya 5656947942142075484

Post a Comment

  1. That's the best M-chassis body shell review. I spend so much time comparing bodies for different wheelbases. Thank you

    ReplyDelete

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