We emailed many ideas and spent a few dollars on long distance call. We came to the conclusion that we can do more to the conversion, especially the rear suspension department.
The rc-lohas (suzuki clone) body is amazing, excellent quality lexan, detail is not as good as tamiya (but who is??) but the fit, quality, clarity are first class.
The main difference between minimini and mine is that he likes those fancy airbrush bodies and I simply cannot afford those and have to settle for something low tech...
I know I am being cheap 
With a ton of items:
(1) after market one-way, slipper+universal mid-shaft, all the way from Japan, minimini got it for me from there, we have no idea exactly who is the manufacturer, most likely from a small shop call Phoenix (which I think has been making a few semi-functional 'hop-ups'
)(2) rc-lohas red-hotshot (hot-trick clone) chassis and suspension http://www.rc-lohas.com
(3) DF03 CVA dampers, thanks to minimini (in my view, CVA shocks is the easiest to build and marginally worse than those 501 type aeration shocks in performance)
(4) some hand made items as described in the posting below
(5) m05 rear hub from 3racing, 2 degree toe in, minimini de-anodised them for me (same treatment also for the wheel hex).
(6) DF02 front CVD, I use dogbones at the back, me being cheap
(7) TA01 aluminium front hub, too bad, rc-lohas only marketed their aluminium front hubs months later...
(8) rc10 worlds car steering bellcrank (why? I simply have a set and no use for it otherwise
)(9) custom rear graphite camber mount
(10) clear rear gearbox for direct visual check of gear mesh
(11) mid shaft support to reduce sway and stay true
(12) reduce inner rim of the front to make the car look wider
(13) enhanced mounting of the front shock tower
(14) Lunsford turnbuckles at the front (thanks to minimini)
(15) DF?? front and rear tires + wheels
(16) polished front original hotshot diff and used some super sticky 'MIP diff lube' that come with the Legend 410 4WD kit (see the link below)
(17) modified paranoia rear ball diff http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=14584&start=30
(18) rc-lohas front steering ball joints were used in the rear as camber links
(19) 0.5mm spacer at the hex
(20) rubber sealed ball bearings
All metal to metal screw joint are blue loctite to avoid loosening
