Another update, lots of stuff done, pics coming tomorrow...
Since the last update I've done the following:
I made my Tall Irons, and from 6x flat irons, 4x hammers, and 1x rock lizard I got 4x 5.5" Tall Irons, and 1x 5.2" Spare Iron.
Then, I narrowed and painted some Axial 8-Hole beadlocks, painted them grey. Also cut some custom 5.5" x 1" foams and stuffed two per tire and mounted it all up. (No weight, for now, but I am thinking of putting 4 oz in each front and 2 oz in each rear...)
As mentioned before, I stuffed the ESC, BEC, and wires in between the frame rails, all hidden nice and neat. Also made a little box to mount the Winch in the rear under the bed, along with it's ESC (from an AX10) and it's battery. Also replaced the Mini LST 370 motor with a Titan 380 (from a Mini E-Revo) and ran some rod ends to guide the winch line to the front.
Now the main battery sits sideways under the hood, to try and keep weight up front.
I drilled out the Axial outputs and installed a solid 6mm rod so that I could install some E-Revo driveshafts (damn those things are huge, won't have to worry about breaking anything there.) I also drilled a 2.5mm hole in the Axle Input shaft so that I could use the traxxas screw that came with the E-Revo shafts.
Also, with the bigger tires, it was more apparant that the wheelbase was off, so I extended the rear about 1/4" or so, using some Revo rod ends and 4mm set screws, to center the tire in the wheel well. I still need to replace the rod ends for the front links, and get some black delrin rod (rear uppers are white since that's all I had left.) Also, I needed to raise the ride height a little to prevent the larger tires from getting in the body work, which was as easy as moving the shock mount holes.
I added some graphics to the body; a few Axial, Proline and JC Auto Design stickers, as well as a custom license plate. I want to go get some Race Numbers (Number 34...), and a few Traxxas decals to complete the graphics though.
Oh ya, also I got sorta lucky when I was trying to figure out an easier way to mount the body but leave it easy to remove to access the battery. I screwed in some coarse thread screws and the cut off the heads, and originally planned on using magnets or strong velcro (industrial strength) to keep it closed, but what I found out is the screws are just slightly off from lining up right in the holes in the frame, and the threads actually click in to secure the body. (Still using the rod-end hinge in the rear)
I still have some work to do on it:
Replace the front rod-ends with the revo ends
Re-do the electronics and winch plates
Add weight to the wheels
Finish adding the graphics
Make or buy a new skid plate
Modify the skeleton driver so his hand stays on the wheel (so it turns when the wheel turns)
Get some LEDs wired up and installed
Possibly upgrade to a Summit trans, maybe, still trying to decide...
I'm heading to Moab (on the way to Vegas) bright and early tomorrow, so I will try and take some pictures in the sunlight on the rocks and try to post them from the hotel room tomorrow night.
