Wraithzilla Texas U4 Style Build

[WesTX]

Got a few things in trade and drained my paypal acct of the other money I had left from selling stuff to end up with this pile of parts:

- Wraithzilla Chassis from Mattzilla
- Came with VP Ti Links and Body panels
- Gearhead Axles - Built with VP Chubs, Knuckles and VVD's, UD and OD gearing
- RC4WD 2 Speed Wraith Transmission w/ Hitec HS 645 MG Shift Servo
- Castle MMP ESC
- Tekin Redline Gen2 Sensored Brushless Motor - 13.5T
- Castle BEC
- Futaba Radio
- Axial Trail Ready HD Beadlock IFD Wheels
- Proline SS TSL XL tires with CI Foam

Still have to sort out shocks, steering servo, drivelines, etc. but was going to wait until I have it all mocked up to do that.

Parts should start rolling in this week, will update this as I start to piece it together.

Wes

[Ballistic17]

Sounds like a good build. Some nice parts to.

[STANG KILLA SS]

[WesTX]

Some teasers of the chassis from the previous owner.

I think I will go with some aluminum panels (carter fab or AMF) including hood. Then install a freqeskinz wrap.

Will get more pics on Monday when I am with the pile of parts.

Wes

[WesTX]

And so it begins

Waiting on some hardware kits from Team KNK to get started assembling.

Also still waiting on RC4WD transmission, steering Servo, some other misc parts.

Wes

[Crank]

Should be a beast

[WesTX]

Thanks, I think it'll be a nice rig when done. Definitely looking forward to the build.

Wes

[WesTX]

Got some work done on it tonight after I put my daughter to bed, wife is at a friends house for a girls night.

Got the axles stripped down, changed out the gearing to stock 38/13 front and rear with Axial HD gear sets. Didn't want to get the motor and ESC super hot with the UD/OD gearing.

Also got the servo mounted to the RC4WD 2 speed transmission, set it in chassis for now.

I am waiting on the hardware from Team KNK, it was delivered to my office today but I had already left so I will get it on Monday so I can really get some work done. The wire to solder onto the motor, SLW screw kits, and VP steering links will also be there Monday when I get there.

Still TONS of work to do, but it's a start. Waiting on some parts from BMRC as well, including some 4 link riser kits from DMC so a lot of assembly will be held up until that is done. I can't do my rear trailing arm setup without the 4 link risers. Explanation on that to come.

Here's a pic or two of the slow progress.

Wes

[WesTX]

2nd pic of the axles. The diff covers aren't on because I need to pick up some grease for them before I put the cover on.

Wes

[northkona]

I love those Metal head axles , beautiful machine work and fine tolerances. The only criticism I have about them is you really need to put a bash guard over the screws holding the front diff cover on , mainly the bottom ones . After a bit of a beating it's a PITA to get those tiny screws out when they're bashed out of shape.

[WesTX]

I think I have a solution for that Northkona, stay tuned for more details.

Wes

[WesTX]

Couldn't resist, had to grab some random screws I had and slap the wheels on and slide a screw into the link mounts to mock them up.

Looks really good. Maybe a hair wide, some new VP SLW hubs can fix that. The rear axle will also get moved back about 1/2" once I get the trailing arm setup in.

Oh, and TSL XL's are HUGE!

Wes

[WesTX]

Got the hardware in yesterday along with some VP steering links, shocks, and other misc stuff.

The VP tie rod seems to be a bit long though, so I dont know how I am going to measure to get a shorter Ti link that still has the bend in it. Have to think through that. Shocks should be good with some spring tuning, still dont have the trailing arms mounted up for the rear, so we will see how that affects things.

If anyone has any ideas on the tie rod I am open to some help!

Wes

[Crank]

It could be that the steering links aren't for the zero Ackerman ends try swapping for the shorter ones mounted on the back of the knuckles

[WesTX]

That must be it, Im a dummy and didnt realize they were the zero ackerman arms...... Ill have to get the VP zero ackerman link.

There isnt the clearance to run them behind the axle from what I can tell, Ill check again tonight.

Wes

[WesTX]

I also have a set of Axial AR60 aluminum knuckles, may swap to those and get the tie rod in double shear at the same time and that would solve the zero ackerman issue as well I think.

Only concern is them not working with the VP VVD's

Wes

[WesTX]

Left work early today cause I wasn't feeling so hot. Took a nap and felt a little better so put some work in to the wraithzilla. Got the steering sorted and ended up having to use a link from a slash front end I believe to hook up the servo to the drag link. Will get a VP Ti rod to improve on that in the next week or two.

Also got the motor wires soldered on and the servo for the RC4WD transmission hooked up (had to get a new arm). Got the wrong pinion (got some for 5mm shaft) for the new RR Slash slipper unit so ordered a new pinion that should be here tomorrow so I can get the motor and transmission bolted up and on the skid.

Got the side panels mocked up too, not sure what I'm gonna do with the back, will sort that out later. The extra holes will be covered by the freqeskinz wrap.

Will hopefully get some parts in from BMRC this week so I can hook this thing up and run it around. That shipment has my MIP's in it.

Wes

[WesTX]

Another pic

[WesTX]

One last pic for today

[WesTX]

Also forgot to mention I found an HPI Apache Painted interior in eBay and ordered it. Will be here tomorrow per the tracking info.

Wes