My SCX10 II build

[HurricaneSpike]

Hey guys, I figured I would start a thread to show off my truck I’ve been working on. I’ve been a member here for a long time, but it’s been several years since I used or built any crawlers. I’ve been busy with SxS stuff, and Jeeping. My kids are getting old enough now to run these trucks with me so I decided to dive back into it a little bit.

I started out with a brand new SCX10 II CRC Jeep Rubicon RTR. I liked the fact that it already had metal links and metal transmission gears.


I immediately mounted up some Pro Line Hyrax XLs in Predator compound with Pro Line dual stage foams on SSD beadlocks. I knew from previous experience that Pro Line tires worked well, and that I generally didn’t care for supplied RTR tires.


My initial plan was to take the truck out for a run and see how it felt before I got too involved with the mods. I’ve done a lot of reading on here and the general opinion seems to be that these trucks crawl very well in nearly stock form. I’d have to say I agree with that opinion, because the truck did do decent with just the tire upgrade.

I should note that I am only interested in crawling, and not so much in doing trail runs or mud. No mud or water for me. So my focus has been and will continue to be building this thing to get over ledges and obstacles that come with strictly rock crawling.

I have added a ton of parts over the past couple weeks. I will list them and more pics in the next post. Thanks for reading!


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[HurricaneSpike]

My first order of business was to swap out the stock radio and replace it with my old trusty Futaba 4PKS setup. I also added some super heavy SSD brass knuckles to the truck, and replaced the stock servo with a Savox SA1230SG unit. I really like this servo, so far.

I made another trip out with the truck after installing these mods. The knuckles definitely helped plant the front end over ledges better. The servo kept the truck pointed exactly where I aimed it. The Futaba radio added a lot more finesse into my ability to control the truck.

I spent about 5 or 6 hours crawling that day with 5 or 6 guys I know, so I got a really good impression of what the truck was capable of. I decided I wanted to go ahead and try to get everything done to this rig that I can to make it as capable as possible. My main concerns with it were lowering the center of gravity, moving the weight bias toward the front, and making it as reliable as possible.




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[HurricaneSpike]

I knew my quest for a low CG had to start by getting rid of the Rubicon body. I was forced to raise the mounts up two holes for the XL tires to have proper clearance between the fenders at full flex. So I located a pre finished Deadbolt body from an OG SCX10 that was brand new. That body allows me to have the tires outside the fenders, so clearance is no longer an issue. I can run the body really low now. Plus, the body and roll cage itself is considerably shorter in height than the Rubicon body is. I’ve always liked the Deadbolt look, anyway.


I also ditched the stock metal links and installed a set of Incision 1/4” stainless links. This added quite a bit more weight down low where I want it. The links look really stout compared to the stock ones.


Next up was a set of Hot Racing shock towers. These towers provide the ability to have the upper shock mount located higher on the chassis than the stock mounts, therefore lowering the entire chassis closer to the axles. My panhard link has about 1/16” clearance at the top of my front diff housing under full compression, so all is well clearance wise.

I also added STRC brass c-hubs and a set of Hot Racing overdrive gears in the front axle, and that rounds out the front end build so far.

I added a BowHouse RC battery tray in place of the stock unit. It is 3D printed ( I think) and also has an integrated servo mount on it. This battery tray allows me to use a 2200MAH 3s battery laid down flat, instead of up on its edge. I added a retainer screw to it the tray to keep my battery in place. The front of the battery contacts the front bumper and the rear contacts the screw, and it’s Velcro’d in. It’s not going anywhere.

[HurricaneSpike]

I went with Tekin electronics. They have always served me well and I’ve never had a single failure out of anything I’ve owned from them. I chose the RX4 esc and paired it with a ROC412 3100kv motor. I didn’t feel like the HD motor was necessary on a 1.9 truck, and this motor has more than enough power. Gearing is set up at 11/56, using a Robinson hardened spur gear and Robinson pinion. I also added MIP driveshafts to handle the power of the new setup.


I also went with a new set of Locked Up RC beadlocks and mounted up some PitBull RB XL alien tires on them. I’ve heard nothing but good things about these tires.

I went with WertyMade front and rear bumpers, as well as their body capture sliders.

The shocks are stock TRX-4 shocks with beef tips installed, no stripe springs on the front and white stripe springs on the rear. These shocks are buttery smooth and haven’t leaked a drop yet. I’m impressed with them.

That’s pretty much it so far. I do have a few more things on the way for it. I got a chance to take it out Sunday for about an hour, and try out all the mods I’ve done so far. It’s like a different truck now.. it climbs extremely well. If you can get the front tires over the crest of something, it will climb it. Definitely happy with it so far. Let me know what you guys think!






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[Stray]

Looking good mate!

[indybama]

Good lookin truck buddy! Ive got pitbull rb on my scx10 ii n love them. Ive got the CI lil nova 4.50" standard/soft foams in front n standard/medium in rears.

Got my 5yr old the raw builders kit for his bday. He loves the OG deadbolt body like wat u went with. We goina start buildin it here soon wen rest of parts get here.

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[HurricaneSpike]

Thanks guys!! I went with CI 4.75 comp cut/soft foams for both front and rear. I’m kind of new at all the foam choices so I just went with what I knew would work for the diameter of the tires I chose. I wouldn’t mind to try some mediums in the rear.

Best of luck on the kit build with your 5 year old.. it’ll be something he remembers for a long time I’m sure!

My boy is 5 and my girl is 7 and they love going to crawl with me. I’ve got an OG SCX10 with a few mods and I bought one of the Vaterra Ascender RTR Suburbans. I let them run those two trucks with me.

[indybama]

The soft foams do great on the front of mine. They get good grip over everything n the med on the rear push it along wonderfully.

I cant wait to build it with him. Hes all about doin wat daddy n papa do. But hes also a mommy n nanas boy lol. My inlaws live with us.

I was lookin at the vattera suburban myself. Got my father-in-law a OG e-revo for christmas. Lookin to get him a crawler for fathers day or just cause lol. They help us alot. So many choices n not enuf money. At tax time im gettin the trx4 bronco, wifey promised.

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[HurricaneSpike]

I hear that man, never enough money for everything. And plenty of good choices. The Vaterra is surprisingly capable. If I had it to do over, I’d probably buy a honcho or deadbolt instead. Just to keep my parts stock relevant to one brand. It’s a decent rig for stock though.

[HurricaneSpike]

A few more parts showed up yesterday.




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[HurricaneSpike]

VP transmission housing, VP idler shaft, Robinson gears, Fast Eddy bearings, SuperShafty motor plate. Locked Up RC slipper eliminator. Assembled and ready to go back in the truck. Lubed up with Maxima water proof grease. Feels pretty smooth!





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[B-MOW71]

Nice looking rig! I like how the Bowhouse battery tray looks in there. I may have to get one for mine. I already have one for my TRX-4 and it works really well.

Great choice on the GTS shocks. I run them on all of my rigs. They are super smooth and have never leaked a drop of oil. I did switch to 20W shock oil. It wasn't as stiff as the 30W that comes in them. I bought the Samix brass spring cups for mine. Adds a little bit of weight low and they slide over the shock shaft so that they will not pop off.

Nice looking trans. You should not have any problems with it.

Subscribed! Can't wait to see more.

[team green]

Originally Posted by HurricaneSpike

VP transmission housing, VP idler shaft, Robinson gears, Fast Eddy bearings, SuperShafty motor plate. Locked Up RC slipper eliminator. Assembled and ready to go back in the truck. Lubed up with Maxima water proof grease. Feels pretty smooth!





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Same setup I’m running except I added a Vanquish Hurtz dig V2

[pyroM!KE]

Originally Posted by HurricaneSpike

VP transmission housing, VP idler shaft, Robinson gears, Fast Eddy bearings, SuperShafty motor plate. Locked Up RC slipper eliminator. Assembled and ready to go back in the truck. Lubed up with Maxima water proof grease. Feels pretty smooth!





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What is the benefit of this transmission setup? Sorry Im a bit of a newb..
On a sidenote Im more of a slow crawler than a trail guy so Ill be using a brushed 30t motor if that helps..

[HurricaneSpike]

Thanks for your interest guys! It is coming along nicely, I think.

PyroMIKE, my main objective when building this transmission was to improve durability. And reliability. I don’t want to feel like I have to baby my truck because of the extra power it makes over the stock electronics. I’m generally pretty easy on stuff, I don’t have a lot of failures with my trucks. I wanted a stronger housing than the stock plastic one. I feel like the combination of an aluminum housing and a hardened gear set will keep me from having to worry about stripping the trans gears out. The stock transmissions are prone to stripping those gears out, especially the models with plastic internal gears. My stock internal gears are sintered metal, which is a step up from plastic, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re housed in a plastic case still.

My advice to you is to stick with your stock transmission until it gives you a reason to upgrade it. Your 30t brushed motor should not tax the stock transmission unless you’re doing some really serious crawling and getting the truck in a lot of binding situations. I would expect your stock driveshafts to fail before your internal trans gears fail.

[HurricaneSpike]

A few more parts trickled in over the past couple days. We’ve had some terrible weather here in northern Oklahoma. It’s either been cold, raining, or both, for the past couple of weeks. I haven’t driven the truck much since the majority of these parts were installed. This round of stuff will likely be all my parts for a while, until I can get some packs ran through it and see how it crawls. I’ve been ordering parts to build up my OG SCX10 as a backup truck for myself, in case this truck has a failure on an outing. Which will force me to buy another rig for the kids to use. Lol. Anyway, after much reading and debate, I’ve decided to stay with plastic axle housings for the performance aspect of it. I thought really hard about a set of VPs. Money isn’t a problem, I just really don’t see a major performance gain from them at this point.

So I went ahead and got some brass link mounts. I chose the STRCs since they came in a pack of 4 and were a few bucks cheaper than Beef Tube’s offering.. and put those few bucks toward Beef Tube brass diff covers. I also picked up a set of VP spools. This truck should have more than enough weight down low once I get these parts installed, it’s all up to me to drive the truck to its potential now. Haha.




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[HurricaneSpike]

Everything went together smoothly. The VP spools took up a TON of slack in the drivetrain vs the stock ones. I’ve never been a fan of gold anything but I’ll say that the diff covers will go better with the build than the stock red plastic ones did. And they added a considerable amount of weight where it’s most important to me. Can’t wait to get this thing outside and run it.


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[Bix]

Fantastic looking rig with some great parts fitted to it

I’ll make my sons Deadbolt look and perform this good one day

Just out of interest what shock oil are you running in your shocks? I’ve just got a set of TRX4 shocks for mine and my sons rigs, need to order some springs too. You still happy with the unmarked up front and white in the rear?


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[HurricaneSpike]

Thank you! I am currently at 30 weight. If I make a change in oil, it will be a move to 20 weight. But the 30 feels really good. I just don’t have a lot of time on the truck yet. And I am definitely saitisfied with that spring setup so far. The only variable I can see is if you’re running a larger battery than me. You’d want to go heavier on the front spring, since the battery is sprung weight. Both ends of the suspension are to the point that the preload rings are near the upper threaded portion of the shock body in their adjustments. So there is some room to raise the front to compensate for a heavier battery with these spring rates.

[Bix]

Originally Posted by HurricaneSpike

Thank you! I am currently at 30 weight. If I make a change in oil, it will be a move to 20 weight. But the 30 feels really good. I just don’t have a lot of time on the truck yet. And I am definitely saitisfied with that spring setup so far. The only variable I can see is if you’re running a larger battery than me. You’d want to go heavier on the front spring, since the battery is sprung weight. Both ends of the suspension are to the point that the preload rings are near the upper threaded portion of the shock body in their adjustments. So there is some room to raise the front to compensate for a heavier battery with these spring rates.

Thanks for the detailed info, I’m gonna go for your spring setup I think as I’ll only need to buy 2 springs and I can always buy more if required. I’m not using a ridiculously heavy 3S pack so should be all good


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