Tale of 2 Wraiths

[OSRC]

Bought a Wraith kit when they first came out and had a ton of issues with it - so much so, I got frustrated and basically sat it on the shelf unfinished. A few weeks ago, i finally got off my duff and finished up and drove it once. Not bad. Then, a trade deal came up for my Slash, and I ended up with a second Wraith, came with a Timbuk2 system and a few other small mods. Ran the pants off that truck, and had a blast. Was run hard before I got, so it was in need of a teardown and inspection, and while I had it apart, I decided to mix and match parts from both rigs and do a rebuild on both. One will be for rocks/trails, and the other a little more high speed backward terror. 2 very different set-ups.

Enough blather, let's get some pics up: Here's where I was a week ago...



Busted out the wrenches and started tearing them down...So now let's get building - First: the rock rig.

Built up the bottom end. Lower links were replaced with 8/32 thread, uppers are standard Axial aluminum uppers, and all the plastic balls were replaced with metal upgrades. 3 Racing "CR01" shocks (VERY nice for the $$) with black Axial springs and 40wt oil. STRC steering links added and are swung by an 645MG - came on the truck will run it till it blows. Replaced the usual C hub screws with some machine screws, and shimmed up all the links. Not sure why Axial builds so much play into them - drives me crazy. No play now, nice and smooth!


Having blown my entire years budget pretty much on a Bruiser, won't be a lot of flash on these rigs. Don't expect a lot of aluminum porn here. Splurged in a few key places though Tekin ROC 3100 and MMP with field card.


Before going out and dropping some coin on new shafts, figured I'd give the stockers some beef and see how they hold up. 7/32 Brass tubing coated in JB Weld and shoved in there. Works well on other rigs, we'll see how it holds up here.


More to come

[OSRC]

Not much going on, been busy building decks....but getting a little done here and there.

For the rocker Wraith, I had planned to just swap the electronics and go, but of course, that never holds. Stripped it down and sprayed the chassis with some black metallic just to set it apart a little bit. Came out pretty nice imo. Ordered a new body as well.



And while the paint was drying, spent a little time on the basher. Swapped over the body panels that came on the other one and fast backed the rear. Swapped out the lockers for diffs front and rear, got a set of swaybars set up and pretty much get the chassis work done. Picked up an STRC motor plate and did a 32p conversion while I was in there.


Should have a bit lower stance when all is said and done.

[Awesome!]

How does that sway bar work? I think this is the first time I have noticed one on a Wraith.

[z50king]

The basher is sitting a bit high for a high speed basher. What motor is in the basher and what is it geared at? It looks fast and fun! What diffs are you running in the basher?

If you buy drive shafts, get the MIP shafts set for the ax10. They use bigger drive pins that you will need to buy from Traxxas. They are cheaper, too

[OSRC]

It may be, especially since I just swapped the shocks. We'll see once it's all weighted down. It's running a Castle 4pole SC 540, 18/54 and WK diff internals. Took a guess on the gearing, wanted a bit higher for more top end and figured the motor could pull a taller gear based off previous runs, but might be a bit too high.

[z50king]

That's some tall gearing but the 4 pike should handle it. Watch temps

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

[OSRC]

Got a driver in the crawler...Love it!! Austin 3:16 says we're gonna go stomp a mudhole in some rocks. Ah, the good old days. Anyway, had to make some mods to the wheel for him to be able to reach...will get painted and installed once the epoxy is dry.


Mounted the ESC in the back and wanted to hide it somewhat...so made a few mods to the battery tray with some styrene and closed it all in. Hides the ESC (leaves the fan exposed for some air) and leaves some room for some scale goodies. Came out pretty decent imo.

[tnt-salvage]

I like what your doing. ill be watching for sure.l

[OSRC]

OK, so I could not help myself. Couple goodies from RC4WD, VP, Junfac and STRC bolted on. That whole thing about not spending a lot of cash - right out the window! Went with the silver ilo black for a little show and go factor. Taking this rig camping in a few weeks, and it always get peoples eye. I've got 3-4 other people into RC over the years.

Pretty pleased with the parts fit- everything went together nice and smooth. Did add bushings on the pinion in the axle while I was in there, and did some shimming. From what I'm reading, stock gears won't last long anyway.



Next order will be beefier driveshafts, R&P's and lockers. But for now, ready to bolt it together and go play! The basher rig in the background got some new shoes on too, almost done with that one. Just have to add a servo and tidy up the wiring.

[OSRC]

Finally seeing the light at the tunnel for both rigs. Both are standing on their own finally.


The "basher" is coming along well. Electronics are in:


Driver installed:


Final stance...didn't like the orange on the body panels, so took it all off and they are getting a coat of black:


"Crawler" is finally standing as well, just waiting on a servo:




Has Pitbulls on now and really like them. Have some other wheel choices on standby:


Tight fit!! But the shocks feel great.

[OSRC]

Well, the "basher" Wraith is ready to go. Didn't bother with a ton of details, slapped on some paint and wheels and it was playtime. First time I've ever really beat on one of these.



Hauled pretty good....the Castle 4 pole was a pretty good match for this truck. 95 degrees with aggressive gearing and no thermals or any other problems. The diffs and swaybars made all the difference really, handled great all around. Much better than I expected for a solid axle rig. Wasn't very easy on it for sure...and it took to the air like a champ.




Carnage. After 2 packs, it was time to pack it in. I'm usually pretty gentle with my rigs, but I was having such a good time I pretty much let loose. Popped 2 beads, lost a swaybar, demolished the servo (used 645MG, knew that was going to happen) the slipper was really slipping towards the end, and the rear braces popped. Fun time though!

[OSRC]

Wraith # 2 is finally done. (Wraith 1 has already been torn to pieces, but that's another story)

Some last minute upgrades to handle the ROC.


Painted...I did a "texture" on the silver, think it came out pretty good. With the painted cage, looks a bit different from other wraiths. Subtle, but I like it.



And a few finished pics. Few more odds and ends to tie up (forgot to order the light set with the light bar) but I'm loving it. Baddest rig I've ever built, bar none.






Drove like a champ. The ROC is amazing...it's a straight up beast on 2S, I cannot imagine it on 3S.

[Japanwraith]

These rigs look amazing big fan of the basher wraith. it has a mad max kinda feel to it looks to be a beast. Truly enjoy the paint of the crawler looks amazing.

[2manyprojects]

Man best of both worlds!!!

[spartyman]

I had the same idea! I haven't started my build yet (collecting parts at this point) but since I just bought a steel cage and plan to do quite a few upgrades to the crawler, I figured I would make a basher with the leftovers. Thanks for convincing me.

[Yardracer]

Wow! What an awesome set of builds. Love the rock Wraith setup, I'd be afraid to go beat on it with all the shiny new-ness, but that couldn't stop me for long.