My 08 comp build

[joesbruiser]

I started my build for 08 a couple of days ago. I do not know how well it is going to work and if i do not like the finished product i will turn it into my basher and build a black jack.

Here is a list of what i started with and some pics of where i am know. Money is kind of tight (the wife lost her job) so it is going to take a few weeks to finish.:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(


AX-10 kit
MX-3 radio
R2D trans
65t lathe
13t pinion
645mg servos.
TCS allum.knuckles and C's
TCS high clearence lower links
TCS front servo/4-link mount
Losi rock claw tires
1/8 inch solid rod
1/8 inch x 3 inch flat stock
One peice of delrin for the skid plate
One can oven cleaner
One buffing wheel
A bench grinder
Plasma Cutter
Mig Welder



I cut a set of side plates with my plasma cutter that mimic the AX-10 Side plates.
I then cut the delrin material to size for the skid and notched it so the links could be placed inside the chassis.

After a few rough sketches i started bending and welding the solid rod and this is what i ended up with.


I wanted to get rid of the green on all the allum. parts so i drooped the parts in a plastic bag and sprayed them down with oven cleaner and this is how the turned out.

[Flatcrawlr]

Nice to see something different.

[joesbruiser]

I wanted to polish the links,shocks,and bead lock rings.I have a cotton wheel on my bench grinder and several different types of polishing compounds.
After about a 30 mins. all the dull parts were nice and shiny.

[joesbruiser]

When i put the wheels together i used the losi foams that came with the rock claws and added 11 ounces to each front wheel and 8 ounces to each rear wheel using stick on wheel weights. I most likely will have to play around with the weight but i figured this was a good starting point based off of my sons rig.






Here is a pick of my hot bodies shocks polished and setup for full droop.
I cut the end off of the shock cap and installed a traxxas rod end with a 3mm screw through the cap.It makes the shock body longer and easier to mount with the chain half links i am using on the chassis.
Before



And after

[Trimmy]

Looking good. I did the same thing to my blue hotbodies shocks but I painted the threads black!!!

[joesbruiser]

Well i was able to get the axles together and under the chassis so i could finish the shock mounts. I must say this thing is going together smooth i have to hit a snag other than the lack of money before this thing is finished.
Here are a few pics of the chassis with the axles under it.
I was able to bring the front of the chassis down some after it was together i think it was a nice change.

[Stormin2u]

Nice work. Will you have some body work panels?

[winkscrawler]

Very cool and inspirational to me and I imagine others. With a little bit of imagination anything can be built.

[Kamikaze]

Looks sweet Joe! Come see me tommorrow............

[joesbruiser]

It will have panels. It gets a hood.roof,and side panels it also came in just under the 12.5 inch wheelbase rule so it will be comp legal.Now if it was only legal to run rear steer in 2.2 that would be the bomb.

[joesbruiser]

Well it did not take as long as i thought to gather enough parts to finish my rig. There are a few parts i need to change mainly the 65t lathe motor to a 45t or mabe a 35t or even better a 10t cobalt. I also want a better steering servo.The only other parts changes i see that need to be considered is to change the springs in the shocks to a stiffer spring rate.

But for know it is finished and i am starting a narrower version to swap everything into.

Here are the pics.

[Stormin2u]

I see you added a three position switch to your MX-3 do you hit all three dig positions now?

[joesbruiser]

I picked the radio up from Kamikaze already set up. It does go from 4 wheel drive to free wheel rear to locked rear. It works great.
The only thing i did not like was the short reverse throw the radio has.It took a little while but i was able to get a throttle curve dialed in the MM that works well.

[joesbruiser]

I must say this truck worked great at the SERCRC comp yesterday.
I need a little more wheelspeed and torque. And the cells i used just would not hold up to the cold.Other than that the truck was perfect.

I finished in 7th place overall out of a very large group of competitors.
I think that is pretty good for a homebuilt rig that has only been tested for a couple of weeks.
I think with a few changes it will be even more competitive