Mato brass 3:1 gearbox mounting plate - advice needed

[midiman69]

Hi Guys
I bought some Mato gears from Ebay for my HL Panzer III - the gears are fine (apart from stripped grub screw but I expected that!!) but the mounting plate that was supplied is not wide enough to use the mounting holes on my tank - it appears to be approx 5-6 mm too short.
I can line either side up with the mounting holes, but it is not possible to mount the plate centrally so that each gear is mounted equally

The Ebay seller is not playing ball at the moment and the only way I can see to use the plate is to cut it half and would then be able to mount each gearbox, albeit on separate plates - Would this be ok or would it affect the rigidity of the tank?
I have trawled the net and can not find any one who sells mounting plates.
Any help would be me much appreciated.

[FreakyDude]

rctankwars.com
phil has mounting plates and they work very well. I personally do not know if cutting them in half would sacrifice rigidity. as long as they were screwed down tight enough I wouldn't see the problem. maybe make a plate that attaches to each half if that is a major concern.

[Dietrich]

Hi midiman69,
If the Ebay seller will not sort it out the.........Personally I would split the plate attach it together again, with an extension-piece. I also remove the little plastic posts that the gearbox mounts srew into. I then drill straight through the hull where the posts were and use a long 'Dome headed' M3 Bolt / set-screw pushed in from underneath I then use washers to space the gearbox mounts up to the correct height. It is MUCH stronger than the self tapping screws that are the standard fitment......I have also simply used 1 single thick piece of aluminium plate to replace the little plastic posts as per this thread...That is real overkill though ......There are also 2 x M5 Plaster board 'frame mount's made by 'Rawlplug' used to strenghen the mounts still further .....
http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... =38&t=3875" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[midiman69]

Thanks FreakyDude - just thought I'd check in case anyone knew if it cause problems, but I suppose it's only like the standard HL gearboxes. My tank is getting heavier and heavier and don't want this to push it over the edge!!

[midiman69]

Thanks guys,
If the Ebay guy comes up trumps then fine - but think I will split the plate I have.
I suppose this is a good time to carry out the 3mm drive sprocket mod - I like the M3 bolt solution - as you say will be much stronger.

Cheers