Papa's Wraith Re-Build

[papabash]

Have to work today, but woke up early so went on down to the shop and got a little done. Mike (90Finder) showed me how he had done this on his rig, and I really liked the look and the added function of the sliders. Very easy mod using SCX parts:





Once the body is on it will give a better feel for how they look.

[blinkme]

The sliders on the wraith chassis look good

[papabash]

Tiny bit of progress after church today - made a set of high clearance Delrin lowers, drilled out the Axial rod ends and tapped to M4:

[Tgreer]

Nice slider idea there! Are you spying on my builds that I haven't posted?

[papabash]

Originally Posted by Tgreer

Nice slider idea there! Are you spying on my builds that I haven't posted?

Hmmmmm, no, but maybe I should be!

[papabash]

Got a package today from Robert at KMS Winches - the new K2 Free Spool winch coupled with the HeyOK Yellow Jacket fused controller. I knew when I saw these posted the other day that I had to have one, and Robert got it to me super-fast. The free spool feature is great, can't wait to get it mounted and powered up.

Sorry if there's still a little drool in the picture, I tried to clean it all up.

[Tgreer]

I'm jelouse!

[Mighty1]

lookin good mAN

[papabash]

Originally Posted by Mighty1

lookin good mAN

Thanks Steve!

[papabash]

Got my electronics plate installed, along with the winch. It's a tight fit, but I was able to put it right where I wanted it. The free spool shaft sticks out right behind the shock so it's easy to reach in and push it when needed, yet is out of the way. Also made some Lexan inner fenders and got them painted and installed.

[gsrcivic]

more info on the slider mod?

[90Finder]

Looking good Dave! Can't wait to see it finished. Doing some really neat stuff!

[papabash]

Originally Posted by gsrcivic

more info on the slider mod?

Sure, it's pretty straight forward actually, I just used a pair of sliders from an SCX10 kit, cut the mounting rods off at the 3rd hole, positioned them where I wanted them and drilled the first hole through the bottom of the cage (I used a body reamer to make a dimple in the top of the tube so my drill bit didn't slip off center). Then I used a M3 x 12mm button head screw to attach. Then I repeated for the 2nd hole. After I had them mounted, I drilled 2 more holes on the outer skid parts so I could attach them to the cage as well. With the 2nd set of screws (I used M3 x 12mm set screws here so I wouldn't have heads sticking out), the sliders are very solid and secure. Make sure to have the skid in place when deciding where you are going to mount them. I did not, and now they are in line with the rear lower link mounts, so I can't get those screws out easily if I break a rod end on the link. I'll be moving mine forward a 1/4" or so later. Anyway, here are a couple more pics showing how I did it:

Rear set screws in place:



Outer set screws ready to be screwed in:



Let me know if you have any more questions.

[papabash]

Originally Posted by 90Finder

Looking good Dave! Can't wait to see it finished. Doing some really neat stuff!

Thanks Mike, I'm having a lot of fun with this one.

[gsrcivic]

Originally Posted by papabash

Sure, it's pretty straight forward actually, I just used a pair of sliders from an SCX10 kit, cut the mounting rods off at the 3rd hole, positioned them where I wanted them and drilled the first hole through the bottom of the cage (I used a body reamer to make a dimple in the top of the tube so my drill bit didn't slip off center). Then I used a M3 x 12mm button head screw to attach. Then I repeated for the 2nd hole. After I had them mounted, I drilled 2 more holes on the outer skid parts so I could attach them to the cage as well. With the 2nd set of screws (I used M3 x 12mm set screws here so I wouldn't have heads sticking out), the sliders are very solid and secure. Make sure to have the skid in place when deciding where you are going to mount them. I did not, and now they are in line with the rear lower link mounts, so I can't get those screws out easily if I break a rod end on the link. I'll be moving mine forward a 1/4" or so later. Anyway, here are a couple more pics showing how I did it:

Rear set screws in place:



Outer set screws ready to be screwed in:



Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks man great build

[papabash]

Originally Posted by gsrcivic

Thanks man great build

You're welcome, and thanks.

[papabash]

Tore the transmission down today and gave it the once over. Nothing exciting going on here yet, but for good reason. Since the Recon G6 rules now allow dig and 4WS, our local club has opted to follow suit. The Wraith came with the Axial dig unit and a Hitec HS625MG servo when I bought it. My first thought was to take it off, but with our club allowing them now, I thought I'd give it a try and see what I think. I know it's just one more thing to worry about breaking down, but it's not costing me anything to give it a trial. I had some concerns about the longevity of the Axial unit, but after opening it up and inspecting it, it appears to actually be pretty decent quality. I had intentions of replacing it with a Vanquish dig unit (which would require switching to an SCX tranny) if I decide to keep a dig, but maybe this one will surprise me, we'll see. Anyone out there have the Axial dig unit in long enough to give me a good opinion on it?
Anyway, as it stands now, the tranny has all steel gears and heavy duty outputs. Still running the plastic spur until I settle on what gearing I want to run (right now it's at 56/14).
I'm not a member of the "motor of the month" club, and this one came with a barely-used Tekin 13.5 Redline, so I think I'll just keep it for a while. It has the power to pull wheelies, and some pretty decent top end, so I don't see a need to change it out just yet. Anyway, here are a couple of pics just because:

[papabash]

For whatever reason, the previous owner had stripped the black anodizing off of the VP diff covers, leaving them a not-so-attractive bare aluminum. Not being happy with the look, I took them off, sanded down the worst of the rock rash, shot them with a self-etching primer, then sprayed a coat of deep red followed by a coat of clear. I was hoping the red I picked out would be a close match to the red on the VP knuckles, and it's pretty close. I'm MUCH happier with the look now.

[2manyprojects]

Omg they look good!!!!!!!


Sent from the lazy guy on the hard working phone.

[papabash]

Got a bit more done today...
Removing the passenger seat left a big hole in the back of the cockpit that needed to be filled, so I made a quick Lexan panel for it:



Inside shot:



Got the rear deck finished and buttoned down. Added a Delrin brace between the shock towers to stiffen the rear end up a bit:



And lastly, I got the decal for the nitrous tank... makes a big difference!



It's finally time to start putting the electronics back in.