I have a Bachman Doodlebug that is begging for a decoder. HOW DO YOU GET THE BODY OFF? It appears to be snapped on with tabs, and looks like breaking a few off will be quite easy. There must be some tricks.
How about some advice from those who have done it???
Thanks
The roof comes away from the shell, exposing the electrics. There are several plastic clips that hold the roof in place.
I used a sharp blade inserted between the shell and roof, then eased the shell outwards slightly. If you draw the blade along the tops of the windows, easing outwards as you go, the clips will come undone - better to use the blunt back of the blade to avoid accidents.
Jon
Mine came off real hard, as I think it was clued on in spots, use care with blade, i used toothpicks to keep the shell away from the frame as I worked my way around. Before installing a decoder make sure motor is isolated, I found mine had connection to frame via copper motor leads, which had to be trimmed off so they no longer made contact with the frame. Also mine contained a caution note on a jumper wire which was on the back side of the dummy plug which had to be cut. Ck with an ohm meter for isolation before installing. There is or was a trace between pins 3 and 7 on the back which has to be cut. Again ck isolation with an ohm meter to assure isolation of the motor.
Jim
Getting the shell off was something of a pain, but it only took five or ten minutes. A TCS decoder dropped right in (I don’t remember the model, but I can look tonight if I remember) and the shell went back on very easily.
Here she is, all fired up (still stock, though - someday I’ll add more detail):
(unusual cloud formations in the sky that day…)[:-^]