Tamiya Opel Kadett GT/E on the MB-01 Chassis - Steps 1 to 3 - The Motor Mount and the Spur Gear

I have been wanting to bring an MB-01 to the channel for quite some time and now it's finally here! The new Tamiya Opel Kadett GT/E which was only just released in April 2024.
The MB-01 Chassis is quite similar to the newly released BT-01 chassis. In fact not only are a lot of the parts exactly the same, the first 23 steps in the build are identical! The main difference is the MB-01, like all M Series kits, is smaller.
Like the BT-01, the MB-01 can be built as a front motor front wheel drive car or a mid motor rear wheel drive. However, unlike the BT-01 chassis, you cannot build the kit as a front motor rear wheel drive car.
But there is one nice surprise with this kit as you can choose to place the gearbox vertically meaning that not only is the motor installed in a high position but it means the motor is placed in the center of the chassis. This “high position” setting means the car is more stable and equalizes weight distribution across the rear wheels meaning it’s more balanced and the power to the rear wheels will be more equalized.
In this video we will do steps 1 to 3. The first step is charging the battery so we won't spend any time on that one as I don't usually do this until a fully charged battery is needed. So most of this video will concentrate on Step 2, where we will build the motor mount in preparation for the "high position" motor, and we will put together the spur gear in the main gear box.
And on a last note, be sure to subscribe and hit that notification button if you'd like to follow along. There may be some frustrating moments in the build series and I intend to show you everything I experience along the way.
Wish me luck!

[@RCBirds]

Great job. I'm really curious how the high motor influences the running later.

[@FastFreddyRC]

Thanks Dirk! I agree with you 100% once the electronic deck etc are installed it doesn’t actually look that high and the chassis seems quite balanced.