Crawler Innovations "Big Blue" - 2.2 KOH Crawler; wraith based

[Nova's Ark]

I purchased this rig from Szczerba last year. He has a detailed build thread here:
Szczerba's Scramblin' KOH

I mailed my wraith axles, scx trans and electronics from the White Lightning Wraith to Szczerba. The build thread on that wraith is here:
--- Crawler Innovations "White Lightning Wraith" ---

Szczerba installed the parts and mailed me the rig. All it needed was wheels & tires, a battery and some minor tweaking. It's been to a number of National & local G6's. It's also been used as a test truck for Crawler Innovations products. The axles have seen better days, and the truck is due for a complete rebuild. I figured now would be a good time to create a build thread and share the truck.

[Nova's Ark]

More pics:

[Nova's Ark]

Specs as pictured above:

14" Wheelbase; custom chassis, wraith skid;

Axles:
Axial AR60 / Wraith Axle Cases
HD Axial Gears
Vanquish Wraith Chubs C-Hub
Vanquish Wraith Steering Knuckles
Vanquish Titanium Tie Rods
Vanquish Diff Cover for Wraiths
Axial Universal's front
Axial Straight Axles rear
Dinky RC "Dinky Link" S-Type (Front)
Dinky RC "Dinky Link" S-Type (Rear)
RC Bros weight holders and brass weights

Transmission:
Axial Transmission
RRP Steel idler gear
RRP aluminum output gear
Billet Works Designs Heavy Duty Axial Motor Plate
Crawler Innovations 4340 steel; 5mm - Axial Trans Output Pair; Long front/ short rear
MIP Driveshafts for Wraith
62T Spur / 32 pitch
12T pinions

Shocks:
RC4WD 110mm Dual Spring Shocks
RC4WD 110mm Ultimate Scale Shocks
Szczerba Innovations custom lower link/shock mounts for dual shocks welded to Dinky RC's 4 link mounts

Links:
Lunsford Titanium Links with Revo Rod ends

Electronics:
Mamba Max Pro
Tekin Pro4@ 3300kv
Servo: Hitec 5595th
Castle Creations BEC PRO
4s Lipo

Wheels/Tires/Foams:
Vanquish KMC 795 Re-machined Wheels
Pitbull 2.2 Rock Beast 2 Tires
Double Deuce 6.0 Foams; Front= comp cut inner / medium outer, no tuning rings. Rear= comp cut inner/ firm outer, no tuning rings

[Drail]

time to show it some love
and thank you for outstanding products

[the DMG]

seen thing in person & its one rig you don't to be in front of ! its a beast !

you need some DmG axle skids for that thing !!
pm me your shipping info buddy & ill send u some

The DmG

[Nova's Ark]

I have a number of upgrades planned for the rebuild. I have been collecting parts for over 6 months now. All new axles are up first:

A huge Thank you to Vanquish Products for their support. Thank you for allowing me to continue to be a Team VP driver. When you want the best in aftermarket quality, No One beats Vanquish Products.


We have come to learn the stock axle pinion bearings can't handle the load of 4S & 4 pole brushless. I will be installing bushings for the pinion. We have also come to learn that not all gear sets have the same gear mesh or teeth contact. The Axial Under Drive gear set has the best gear mesh and the lowest gearing @ 3.30 (IMO A gear set be offered in 4.30 or a ratio closer to a 1:1 crawler). The Kyosho steel shims are a must when setting ring and pinion back lash. The new axles will have these parts installed:

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by Drail

time to show it some love
and thank you for outstanding products

Thank you for your support! Without quality customers, C.I. could not produce quality products. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have. Thank you

Originally Posted by the DMG

seen thing in person & its one rig you don't to be in front of ! its a beast !

you need some DmG axle skids for that thing !!
pm me your shipping info buddy & ill send u some

The DmG

Thank you Jerry! PM coming

[Nova's Ark]

I like my builds to be clean and simple. The wiring under the hood of this rig is a mess. I lost the CC MMP 1Cell ESC last October at Crawlapalooza when the fast moving stream carried this rig down stream and deposited it in a four foot deep pool. The ESC had not been waterproofed and it fried the micro processor. I installed a MMP to keep it running for local events, but the wiring was a mess. Have you noticed how the Castle BEC's have 1 foot of RX wire? LOL

Welcome to OverkillRC -
Overkill RC has the fix for messy wiring:


The pair with blue handles is a ratcheting crimping tool for servo/RX wires. I have tried other cheaper tools and they suck. These tools I purchased from Austin at Overkill RC work amazing. I have used them to clean up the wiring on several drift cars and crawlers already. If you build a lot of rigs, these are tools worth buying.

[GIMME SAND]

Amazing Rig. Looks pretty dang real. What are you running for the upper links? Same as the lowers but with a bend?

[frdtrkguy]

Thanks for posting those shims. I have been looking for a good source for the 10x12's.

[Szczerba]

Nice to see the rebuild. It needed some TLC.

[AZINDY]

Looks like a killer rig, great styling too. I'll be lurking around following this rebuild for sure.

[XS NOIZ]

Killer looking rig

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by GIMME SAND

Amazing Rig. Looks pretty dang real. What are you running for the upper links? Same as the lowers but with a bend?

Thank you. The links are all straight Titanium. I have some Chaotic Crawlers links I am going to test fit to see if more clearance can be gained.

Originally Posted by frdtrkguy

Thanks for posting those shims. I have been looking for a good source for the 10x12's.

I plan to offer all the Kyosho steel shims in the web store once I get time to add them. They offer seven different sizes.

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Nice to see the rebuild. It needed some TLC.

Yes it did. I'm gonna bring this one to St Louis with us.

Originally Posted by AZINDY

Looks like a killer rig, great styling too. I'll be lurking around following this rebuild for sure.

Originally Posted by XS NOIZ

Killer looking rig

Thanks for the kind words guys.

[Nova's Ark]

Let's get started:



I decided to build an all new trans for Big Blue instead of a rebuild of the old one. I'm going to use the build up of the trans to demonstrate some mods that can be done to any SCX / AX Trans.

Parts List:
VP Trans Housing
BWD FOFF Motor Plate
Axial Top Gear & Shaft
RRP Steel Idler Gear
RRP Steel Output Gear
C.I. 5mm Steel Lightened Long Front Output
C.I. 5mm Steel Lightened Long Rear Output
RRP Steel 60T / 32P Spur Gear (For Traxxas E Revo) combined with
RRP Steel 88T / 48P Spur Assembly (For Axial SCX/ AX)

[Nova's Ark]

The previous trans in Big Blue used an Axial plastic trans case and Kimbrough 62T 32P Spur gear. Although they never gave me a problem, if and when an errant pebble got in there to destroy the plastic spur, it was an hour to R&R the part. I knew on the rebuild I wanted a steel pinion and spur. I also wanted to gear down from before.

On the final trans, I used the backing plate from this kit:


The stock plastic housing is cheap and effective, but for tight tolerances...
As an example, the previous trans is pictured below, notice how the RRP Axial Slipper plate hits the BWD motor plate:



Same trans, but with the Axial slipper unit:


Same trans, but with the RRP #7960 60T Steel gear for the Traxxas E Revo Modified to the stock Axial Slipper:




Here is the gear modified to fit the stock Axial Spur Gear Assembly:



I modifed the gear using my dremel and a diamond wheel point. It cuts very quickly: A link to the bit is here:
7122 Diamond Wheel Point / Model: 7122
I have also done this mod using a small round hand file.

It's a cheap and easy way to get more steel spur gear gearing options. I use a modified 56T steel spur gear on my AR60 based Monster Truck that is a pure basher on 3S lipo and 4 pole 3800KV brushless. Here's a video of the MT in action:


With Big Blue it was important to me to gear down for a smoother start up and greater drag break. The 60T E revo gear will accomplish that a lot more than the 56T from the slash.

If you do this mod, you will need three custom length bolts to mount the spur gear to the slipper unit. I used 10mm length with 3mm aluminum spacers to get the exact length I wanted. The spacers also help to hold the spur gear securely.

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

Looking good Eddie!!

Hmmm...wonder how much $$$ will be riding in the car this weekend??

[Nova's Ark]

Continuing on with Big Blue:

RRP which is short for Robinson Racing Products; finally released a New Steel Output gear this year For years now I have used the Hard Anodized Aluminum gear with no real failures to report. I have always wanted steel from an American Made company and now we have it.


Here's the aluminum version:


RRP released a Wraith part # Steel idler gear last year that is a couple dollars more than the existing SCX / SX part # Steel idler gear.
Steel Wraith:


Steel AX:



In laymen terms, they are the same gear. So if you are a baller on a budget, the AX version is the one to buy.

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by ROLANDROCKSHOP

Looking good Eddie!!

Hmmm...wonder how much $$$ will be riding in the car this weekend??

Priceless... I'll be in there

[Nova's Ark]

Although I am leaning towards not making the 5mm Transmission Outputs again (and I am currently sold out of them; so please do not ask), I still want to put the information out there. I'm using long front and rear trans outputs on Big Blue. The 14" wheel base basically requires it. I'm using 5mm outputs because the axles have 5mm pinions. The previous trans had 6mm outputs.



The dimensions of the outputs are identical.
It does not matter which direction the outputs stick out of the trans.

The C.I. Long Front output design has:


The C.I. Long Rear output design has:



Nice, Strong & all Steel;



All the gears inside the new VP Trans housing ready for grease and final assembly:



The BWD Motor Plate:


.