Rust: How to repair and upgrade Modular Vehicles

Guide by Lauren Aitken Contributor

Published on July 8, 2020

Modular Vehicles have finally been added to Rust, but where can you find them and, more importantly, how do you build them?

Alongside the addition of Modular Vehicles, the road topography in Rust has been updated to make driving a lot smoother. It's still no Forza Horizon 4, but it'll be a damn sight easier to manoeuvre your new car around.

You'll be able to modify your new vehicle to suit your needs and play style by adding new functions such as better storage or passenger capacity, as well as customise them and upgrade the engine.

Rust: Where to find Modular Vehicles

The Rusty chassis of different types of vehicles can be found at the roadside in Rust, and you'll be able to identify them by all the smoke and sparks flying out of them. The chassis will usually have various modules attached to them already which can be removed or repaired using the likes of Metal Fragments, high-quality Metal and Wood.

To get them moving, you can use low-grade fuel to run Modular Vehicles or push them yourself but be warned: if a car rolls back and hits you, you're gonna have a bad time.

Rust: How to repair and upgrade a Modular Vehicle

Before you can drive off with a Modular Vehicle, you'll need to repair its engine. There a few basic components you'll need for this which you can source from vendors, find in toolboxes or craft yourself. You'll also be able to craft low, medium and high-quality variants of each component which will influence its effectiveness and durability. You can research engine parts at the research table, too. You'll need:

A spark plug
A carburator
A shift stick/ crankshaft
Valves
Some pistons

Select the engine part of the vehicle to add them in. You'll need a significant amount of scrap to blueprint and craft the parts, so loot whatever you can. Putting in higher grade parts will increase its max power, fuel efficiency and acceleration, which will make a big difference.

Where to find the Air Wolf vendor

You can purchase medium-quality components from the new Air Wolf vendor in the Bandit camp, which is nice. They also sell vehicle lifts for scrap, too, and building medium-quality blueprints will cost around 125 scrap per item. You won't be able to research high-quality components but you can get them from vending machines in the outpost.

Build a car lift

To repair the engine and add modules to your vehicle, you can use your Hammer to smash in the new parts. To modify your vehicle, however, you'll need to make a vehicle lift and a source of power.

You can get one from the Air Wolf vendor for around 175 scrap, and you can research it for 125 scrap if you have Workbench Level 2. It can be crafted for 1000 metal fragments, 10 high-quality metal and three gears. You'll need to place it on a fairly large foundation - it requires a 6x3 space minimum - requires one power to run, as well as place it in an area thats accessible for vehicles.

Use the vehicle lift's power station to begin adding modular components or removing some from vehicles you don't plan on using. Once you've crafted or collected all the modules you're looking for, go ahead and bash them together to make a new souped-up car. You can also craft a metal key for 15 scraps to make sure no unauthorised players drive your car, which is handy. You'll need to keep the key on your person though, so don't leave it lying around.

Vehicle modules

As for what modules you can create, we've found 10 so far and will add to this list as we discover more. You'll need a substantial amount of metal fragments, high-quality metal and wood to craft them all, so it's quite a resource-heavy endeavour:

Vehicle module	Crafting cost	Research cost	Workbench level required
Armored Cockpit	250 metal fragments, five high-quality and 50 wood	125 scrap	Level 3
Cockpit	250 meal fragments, five high-quality metal and 100 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Cockpit with Engine	250 metal fragments, eight high-quality metal and 100 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Engine	250 metal fragments and five high-quality metal	125 scrap	Level 2
Fuel Tank	400 metal fragments, five high-quality metal and 100 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Passenger module	500 metal fragments, five high-quality metal and 250 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Rear Seats	250 metal fragments, five high-quality metal and 100 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Flatbed	250 metal fragments, five high-quality metal and 100 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Large Flatbed	400 metal fragments, five high-quality metal and 250 wood	125 scrap	Level 2
Storage	250 metal fragments, five high-quality metal and 250 wood	125 scrap	Level 2

One thing to remember is that your components will decay over time if left outside, so upkeep is essential. The chassis come in three sizes and will take up two, three and four Sockets respectively. If you'd like to see a visual guide to the new modular vehicles, check out this video from TheMeemishGamer.