Rock Pirates Interceptor Chassis

[1fox2go]

Picked up one of the Rock Pirate Interceptor Chassis to refresh/rebuild my well beat up SCX10.2 XJ Kit:

https://rockpiratesrc.com/products/interceptor-chassis-free-shipping

I also got their Servo/Winch tray which they recommend for the 10.2 platform. As well as their body mounts and crossmembers.

News to me, after much trying and not wanting to try and drill holes, this chassis does not work with the SCX10.2 kit trans. After emailing them its pretty much "Sorry about your luck, we run and recommend the 3 gear transmission."

Ok...

So I scrapped a roller Wraith for the trans, found the transmission crossmember/skid that works with a 3 gear trans in the parts bin. (This was included with the kit btw)

And now here I am...I completely tore this thing back apart last night in a bout of frustration. I've built this thing 3 or 4 times trying to get things right. Driveshafts were at a horrible angle left to right, ok rotated skid/trans mount to try and more center the drive shafts. That worked, but the rear upper links rub the drive shaft. Tried other mounting options and still no luck. Either the driveshafts are at a bad angle and the links are good, or the links are terrible and the driveshafts are better. Also the upper front link is brutal to install. Its impossible to use a 550 can motor, it barely works with the 540 cans. Even with the 540 can, you cant put a m3 lock nut on the bolt.

Has anyone on here built this chassis? I've been watching as many videos I can find and using their pictures on the website to make sure I am building this correctly but I am at a loss now.

Is the RTR 10.2 Skid/trans mount different than what comes with my kit? Is the 3 gear trans in the 10.2 RTR different than a Wraith?

Really want this build to work but I don't want to be buying more parts to throw at it that aren't going to solve the issues I have.

 

[Goro Majima]

I have the Interceptor rails for an Element V2 kit though. But I didn't use the stock trans or skid so I had to rework that on my own which wasn't an issue to me as it was expected.

Is there any chance you can lower the trans by doing some trimming so you have the proper driveshaft angles?

 

[indybama]

If memory serves me right, n i could be wrong, but i think the 10.2 3 gear is different than the wraith 3 gear. The wraith 3 gear i have has a bigger section on the back side for the 2 speed option. The 10.2 trans doesnt have the 2 speed optional trans. So that could be causing your link issue. Ill get a pic posted up here in a few of the wraith trans i have

 

[indybama]

The trans with the motor is the 10.2, the other is the wraith trans

Sent from my SM-A516V using Tapatalk

 

[OSRC]

"The Interceptor Chassis is designed to allow Axial SCX10-II, Axial Base Camp or Element builder kits" - those kits all use the three gear transmission (Except the Element, but that's another story). I knew it by reading it, but a distinct heads up would be helpful.

Indybama is correct, the Wraith trans is thicker than the SCX trans by a lot. It houses the dig unit inside and is what is creating the mounting issues. A standard 3 gear trans will fix the issue, takeoffs and cheap chinese versions are all over ebay. Uses the same skid you have, AXIC3379, with the 4 holes on the same side. The Wraith and standard 3 gear have the same mounts on the bottom.

Good luck with the build

 

[JimInMiami]

Bummer that you’re having problems with your build. I’m using one of these no-name three-gear transmissions from eBay to good effect. It’s hauling around my fairly heavy custom 6 x 6 build with no issues.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3140390584...q69rC6EHYhaR/UMVcUNzgJFSWf|tkp:Bk9SR-DCyY37YA

 

[1fox2go]

Ok that makes sense. The dig unit on the Wraith trans.

The issue with the driveshafts is not the angle up and down but how its left and right as the axles are centered in the rear, and I have the SSD housings for the front which makes the front off center compared to a stock front axle.

Im looking into the Element Stealth trans. I would prefer that over buying an scx10 lcx trans. It has options for overdrive in the $56 package for the whole transmission.

Thanks for the tips and motivation. Ill keep this build moving forward

 

[1fox2go]

I still have not built this. Last time I was so frustrated I simply packed everything in a box and threw it in a closet corner. Now, I think I want to give this another go.

Before I venture too far down frustration lane again. Is there any real advantage running this chassis over say stock scx10.2 frame rails? My rigs are mostly trail trucks, and I got the Interceptor chassis believing it would be more tuneable for more technical crawling. I also grabbed a Willys Truck cab only, the Rock Pirates sliders, and a few other things needed to build the chassis. I was planning to get or build a bed similar to the Rock Pirates Hard Line Bed (it was out of stock when I bought the chassis and other needed components). I was going to try and make my bed mostly out of wood to match the old school 40s-50s Willys style cab.

If I am not gaining much in performance Ill just slap together the 10.2 raw builders kit I snagged when the huge sales were going on a year or so ago.

Otherwise if anyone on here has any pics of their Interceptor Chassis builds that would be awesome. I can see if any of the trans and skid plates you all are running are in my spare parts bin. Maybe thats why I am having issues. Not using the recommended parts. I do believe the standard 3 gear axial transmission skid should work though. Which I have. I did opt for the Element Stealth Trans, It bolted up just fine.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Goro Majima]

You probably wouldn't notice a difference, as differences would be realistically minimal. The rails would be lighter, which is always better for center of gravity (probably the notable part would be sidehilling). But also you can lean your shocks forth and back to lower the chassis and allow more articulation.

One gripe that I've seen is front upper link geometry when it comes to flat skids. People just bolt it to the frame even though it's not the correct setting. So if you don't want to deal with correcting that (probably still works fine otherwise), try to use a stock skid.

 

[ferp420]

have you tryed wraith upper links or links bent like the wraith links

 

[Col_Sanders]

For your upper link and motor interference problem, insert the screw from the inside of the chassis so that the nut is on the outside. That might give you enough clearance. That little bit of offset from the front axle to center output of the transmission should not give you any problems with binding unless you got something weird going on with your links or crappy driveshaft. Post pics.

 

[1fox2go]

Got this back together and so far seems to be much better using the Element Stealth Trans. Still some tweaking and tuning but moving along much better.

Now Im looking into shocks. Decent ones. My Original 10.2 kit shocks have seen some miles and abuse and are just worn out.

Whats the current shock hottness? I was looking into the Element Shocks that came with my Gatekeeper kit. Those have been really good, really smooth, and havent leaked. Sticker shock, pun intended, but they actually have been nice shocks.

If there are better choices or recommendations let me know

Thanks