OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco

[OSRC]

Other TRX4 Builds:
Defender
Sport

Overview:

Picked up this new/used Bronco off Craigslist. PO had run it a bit in the house and decided trail trucks weren't his thing. Barely has a scratch on it!

Came with the sunset body and a clear body, and while I love the look of the sunset truck, my Fords are red. So I sold off the OG body and started piecing all the parts together to build up the clear one. Basically needed a spreadsheet for all the various pieces!

Planning to keep it fairly stock. I think the TRX4 is a darn good trail truck right out of the box, so not much needed to go out and have some fun. Can't leave anything completely stock though - what fun is that? So the first thing I added was a set of SSD wheels and TSL's. Pretty much a perfect combo with the Bronco body imo. I also had a set of portal weights I never installed on my Defender, so I bolted those on up front.

Ordered a Bowhouse battery tray while I was shopping for parts. Makes a huge difference on my Defender. Noted this one has a much better finish than the one I got previously for whatever reason.

Performance-wise, not planning anything else at the moment. Keeping the drivetrain and servo stock until something fails. I did add an ARB diff cover to my order...one of those deals where if I add something to the cart, I hit free shipping, so why not? Really like the look too....shame you won't really see it since the axle is tucked up so high. I know it's there though, that's all that matters.

SSD hubs look perfect, though the stub axles are so long, I added a 5x10 bushing in back so it could cinch down properly.

Nest is paint and starting to detail all the accessories. I wasn't all that impressed with the Traxxas light kit on my Defender, so I picked up a MyTrick light kit for this one, and the Traxxas spare tire and bumper guard. Lots to do!

 

[kincer]

Great start, I love my Bronco it just plain works without much modification. I'll be following this one!

 

[OSRC]

My Defender has been a tank, very happy with it. Haven't had to do anything to it mechanically, zero issues. Bronco should be a bit better performer with the lighter body and less overhang. Plus, it looks cooler. I'm a sucker for old Fords.

Got some paint on the body last night...traditional Bronco colors/scheme. Did the white cap on the outside for a little contrast.

Removing the overspray film from a freshly painted body is one of my little joys. Love seeing how it comes out.

 

[Adama]

Looks Great, I like the red body. "thumbsup"

For the stub axles, get a pair from a defender (Traxxas 8255) as they are shorter, and for the MyTrick lights, I went with a set of led light buckets from ebay. The headlight will be held in the bucket by the one screw and the front turn signal led will fit in the lower bucket also held in there by a screw. This eliminates the 3D printed parts that are used. I polished mine before installing just to help with the light output. Some trimming of the body is required.

 

[durok]

Sweet custom paint, perfect wheels as well... looking forward to seeing the finished product!

If you have a chance, could you do me a solid and measure max battery length for the BowHouse battery tray?

I am stuck with a loooonngg 4S (150mm+!) that I'm wanting to check fitment in stock vs aftermarket TRX-4 battery trays...

(for a possible Revolver 1800kv powered Defender in my future)

 

[OSRC]

For the stub axles, get a pair from a defender (Traxxas 8255) as they are shorter

Great tip, thank you!

If you have a chance, could you do me a solid and measure max battery length for the BowHouse battery tray?

126mm as it stands, can go up to 140mm with their rear brace, or just dremel out a little bit which is what I'll be doing eventually. Works fine on the Defender.

 

[svt923]

If you have a chance, could you do me a solid and measure max battery length for the BowHouse battery tray?

I am stuck with a loooonngg 4S (150mm+!) that I'm wanting to check fitment in stock vs aftermarket TRX-4 battery trays...

There is a Bowhouse XL rear brace that allows packs up to 158mm to fit should trimming of the stock brace not give you enough room.

https://bowhouserc.com/rear-chassis-brace-xl-for-trx-4-v1/

 

[durok]

Awesome - thanks very much for that nugget of information!

(sigh, I missed the eBay 15% off sale by 20min, we will have to wait and see what else the holiday season brings)

 

[soze]

Nice pick up! I have not touched my TRX4 Bronco since I bought it at the beginning of the year LOL! So preoccupied with my other trucks.

 

[JD and Beastlet]

I love those classic slotted mags. Fits the era of the truck perfectly.

 

[OSRC]

Making a little progress... This body is taking forever for a lexan body, but I'm loving the look.

First off, a little workshop upgrade...added a TV back so I could watch the t-giving parade while I wrench. In between cooking dinner for the family of course

I tried to paint the center of the trim. Being that it was 23 degrees out, I had to mask and brush paint with some plat black. Came out a complete disaster. The masking tape actually pulled some of the chrome off.

Doesn't look too bad from a few feet, but up close it's horrible. I'll eventually strip and re-paint, but since it's winter season, I'll leave it be for now.

I added a few zip ties under the front grill, and blacked out any red that was showing through. Nothing fancy, just a way to add some dimension to the grill area.

Door handles and wipers are on. I just scuffed them a bit with a green scrubbie - knocked down the chrome a bit.

Now onto the light kit...

 

[kincer]

Sucks about the side trim, everything else looks great though! I thought about painting that too but I ended up scraping the chrome off the center rib with a hobby knife, it's ok but not perfect.

 

[indybama]

Lookin good OS! Love the broncos!

Sent from my SM-J327VPP using Tapatalk

 

[JatoTheRipper]

That sucks about the trim! But after some use that will happen anyway so think of it that way. Kinda shitty quality though. I wonder if it was just a bad batch or if they are all that fragile.

 

[kincer]

I’m thinking it was maybe a bad batch of chrome because I had to do quite a bit of scraping with a xacto blade to scrape the center rib of chrome off of mine.


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[83trekker83]

My chrome came off easy just driving it around, is there any way to re chrome them to look like new again? Only paint i really see is a silver but doesntcome close to chrome look.

 

[kincer]

My chrome came off easy just driving it around, is there any way to re chrome them to look like new again? Only paint i really see is a silver but doesntcome close to chrome look.

I know there are places in the modeling world that rechrome plastic, I don't know how much it costs but I'm gonna take a wild guess that it would be more than buying new from Traxxas, in my opinion I would strip it in some purple power cleaner and repaint in a aluminum paint since the real trim was aluminum anyhow, I think that's what I'm gonna do.

 

[OSRC]

That's the plan, come summer. Just strip and spray with some silver/aluminum paint. The chrome is a bit too flashy in the first place. IMHO of course.

 

[kincer]

That's the plan, come summer. Just strip and spray with some silver/aluminum paint. The chrome is a bit too flashy in the first place. IMHO of course.

I agree, it's too shiny. I already stripped my wipers with purple power, I need a pic of actual wiper to detail them now.

 

[OSRC]

I'm going out to play for a bit today - too bad the Bronco's not ready. I got the light kit installed, but the headlights don't work. Have to look into it later. Might have to get hold of MyTrick and see what's going on.

I put my other TRX back to a Defender. Since we got another 3" of rain last night (bringing our 2018 total to 121,674 inches) it's going to be a muddy mess. Perfect Defender terrain! My TRX's are the only trucks I have that are waterproof.