is this a good cage/chassis design?

[mike5721947]

its for a maxx based crawler (diffs and knuckles are only thing maxx. maybe shafts but dont know yet)

do you think it is a good cage design for a first timers cage?

ive got a metalshop class next year so any problems i get i can always have my teacher help with them. (its all going to be brazed 1/4 inch brakeline.)

also whats a good tube bender that can bend 2 peices at once. (so i can make everything symetrical.

[Reflection]

Looks good to me. It's got a few simularities to Jeremy's(TC) maxx based tube rig. When buying a tube bender,get one that'll allow you to bend 180* bends. I bought a cheapie that'll only go to 90* and it sucks. I've now got one that will go to 180* and you can do alot more with it.

[mike5721947]

so what dimensions should i build this chassis to (length, width, height) its going to be running maxx axles (same width as stock) its also probly going to be running jumbomaxx clawdawgs (i just love the look of them, plus i can get them used cheap) also whats a good motor and final drive ratio to run in a basher/crawler. (i still want to keep some speed)

[Reflection]

You say maxx axles,are you running the old or new maxx width?

As far as the chassis,if it were mine,I'd go with a length of about 20" and a wheelbase of 17". I'd then build the chassis to about 5" wide and 4 or 5" tall. Coarse these are just rough geusses,once I got into it they might change a little.

As far as motor and gearing,for a crawler/basher it's hard to do. To slow and you can't bash around,jump,do doughnuts and such,to fast and it's harder to crawl and your runtimes go downhill FAST. If I was to try it though,a lathe motor is popular for crawlers but would be to slow for you. I might try a MM with no gear reduction and a 9t pinion and 72t spur. You could then add a 2.5 gear reduction and you'd be pretty dang slow if you'd want to go strickley crawler