Scratch-E Built SCX24

[high plains drifter]

Looking good , I love the front grill work very nice .

Much appreciated! There was so little room to work with on the backside so it took a really long time. The tedium and frustration was unreal lol. Just glad that I was able to make a Deadbolt front-end that was one of a kind.

Good looking rig. ... With the passenger decapitation device ;-)

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Yeah.. not sure why I wanted to add that accessory but it's pretty fitting given the driver lol. Thanks for taking a look.

I was looking for a red Deadbolt for my first mini rock crawler , I ended up walking out of the store with a AX-24 because they had no red Deadbolts.
That AX24 has been modded to my liking so there will be a red Deadbolt in my future.
There is just something about the Deadbolts I like over all the other Scx24 models.

I'd rather have 4w steering but the original scx24 is still pretty fun. I agree though... I liked both the red and green Deadbolt bodies on these little platforms the first time I saw em. Seems that a lot of people don't care for the Deadbolt but I think it looks pretty cool.

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

I have seen several You Tube videos where people think the Deadbolt is the most capable SCX24 out of the box . Plus it almost looks like the Early Bronco I have in my garage . I would have one already but I just picked up a FCX Smasher on sale at Amain a few weeks back . I figured my AX24 is pretty capable as a crawler and going to mod the Smasher as a little “Go Fast” truck .
Of course the deadbolt build was going to be a go faster but the Smasher came along and thwarted that idea .

 

[high plains drifter]

I have seen several You Tube videos where people think the Deadbolt is the most capable SCX24 out of the box . Plus it almost looks like the Early Bronco I have in my garage . I would have one already but I just picked up a FCX Smasher on sale at Amain a few weeks back . I figured my AX24 is pretty capable as a crawler and going to mod the Smasher as a little “Go Fast” truck .
Of course the deadbolt build was going to be a go faster but the Smasher came along and thwarted that idea .

Funny how plans often get diverted upon new releases of vehicles and upgrades lol. I can't count how many times I've bought something or modded something just to say to myself "wish I had waited". Oh well. One thing I like about the original scx24 and the ax24 are the bodies with ample wheel clearance. Yeah it does have the early Bronco/ Scout vibe to it.

 

[Ynad]

Deadbolt is good for mods. Easy body to get your own look/style. It would be nice to see more modded deadbolts.

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[NWCT24CRAWL]

There is a Deadbolt in my future , I have a some brass links and diff covers that I didn’t use on the AX , Also Amazon sent me two sets of shocks for the price of one . They need to go on something . I am waiting for parts from Amain to become available in June , will most likely order one then .

 

[high plains drifter]

Deadbolt is good for mods. Easy body to get your own look/style. It would be nice to see more modded deadbolts.

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Man that is over the top! Definitely one of a kind... very cool.

There is a Deadbolt in my future , I have a some brass links and diff covers that I didn’t use on the AX , Also Amazon sent me two sets of shocks for the price of one . They need to go on something . I am waiting for parts from Amain to become available in June , will most likely order one then .

I understand how that happens. Sweet that you were able to get a two-for one deal from Amazon. Happens ever so often. Also nice that a lot of 1/24 parts are relatively inexpensive... at least compared to 1/10 scale stuff.

By the time that I had two rc10 gt's built, I had so many extra parts left that I figured since I only needed an engine and a couple other small parts, that a third one just HAD to happen.. I wasn't going to let all those parts go to waste.

Side note/ off topic... We actually wound up with two dining room tables from Wayfair.. for free. They wanted to send a third one but I declined and told them to make it right, I would fix the issues between the first two but I wanted my money back because it had been such a hassle and that it would be even more of a hassle to send anything back. They accepted my request.

 

[high plains drifter]

Update fwiw-

Smoked the stock AE-6 in glorious fashion. Melted both ph 2.0 connectors in the process. HR 66t motor was also blistering hot. Pulled out all the toasted parts and decided to keep things budget friendly and start replacing things. Motor would barely spin and had a rough spot every rotation so glad I purchased a new motor already.

Not a great radio by any means but I already had a cheap Tactic tx/ rx so went ahead and used them for this ( note that the receiver is not very scx24 friendly but with some serious stuffing and squeezing, I got it to work). Tx is honestly pretty satisfactory for this application imo.

Went with a HH 66t and HW1625 ESC to keep things cheap and brushed. Got rid of the bullets on the 1625 and straight soldered to the motor. As for the battery leads, went with JST.

So current electronics set-up:

Tactic TTX300 radio/ TR325 receiver
Hobbywing Quicrun 1625 ESC
Holmes Hobbies TM Sport Micro 050 66t motor
Bluebird BMS - 373MG 1.6kg servo
Ovonic Air 450 mAh 50c 2S lipo

Also decided while the rig was down to address the foams, wheels, and springs. Took a LOT of the bounce out of the tires by venting the inner ring ( four equally spaced holes. I forget what size drill bit but you can see in pics). Then cut the foams around the perimeter spaced about 1/8' apart and about half-way through. Finally swapped the factory soft front springs out for Treal firm springs. This was an improvement as the rig is now a bit heavier than it was before.

I think that's it. Few pics...

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

I see you have Treal shocks , are those the original springs ?
I purchased Treal shocks for my FCX Smasher and the stiffest springs sat way low and ended up swapping the shock ends on to 43mm Power Hobby shocks .

And on another note , my thoughts of a deadbolt build are on the back burner . I’m starting a JLU build for the wife , she drives a full scale one so I think she will enjoy a small one too .

 

[high plains drifter]

I see you have Treal shocks , are those the original springs ?
I purchased Treal shocks for my FCX Smasher and the stiffest springs sat way low and ended up swapping the shock ends on to 43mm Power Hobby shocks .

And on another note , my thoughts of a deadbolt build are on the back burner . I’m starting a JLU build for the wife , she drives a full scale one so I think she will enjoy a small one too .

I removed the original Axial springs and shocks when I installed the Treals. The Treal 32mm shocks come with two sets of springs... soft and firm. The soft springs are just about ( if not exactly) the same rate as the stock scx24 springs. They were pretty much perfect with the weight increase of the mods that I had done initially ( brass diff covers, heavier servo, aluminum control arms, etc ) but with the new ESC, rx, etc... the soft Treal springs in the front were compressing a bit too much... no matter where I adjusted the collars to. So I swapped them out with the Treal firm springs ( Kept the Treal soft springs in the rear). Really glad that Treal includes both a soft and firm set although as light and sensitive as these rigs are, a medium set could be beneficial too.

Always cool to have a mini version of the vehicles that sit in our driveways. I'm sure your wife will like driving a scaled-down JLU. My wife drives a Camry though, so I'm safe there!

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

My FCX Treal shocks came with the 3 sets of springs. All to light for the front of the Smasher. The springs also were getting cought up and threaded into the preload adjustment collar . I was bummed but the ends screwed right onto Power Hobby double barrels that provided some awesome travel . Treal makes some nice stuff but I don’t think I’m going to buy their shocks again .

 

[high plains drifter]

My FCX Treal shocks came with the 3 sets of springs. All to light for the front of the Smasher. The springs also were getting cought up and threaded into the preload adjustment collar . I was bummed but the ends screwed right onto Power Hobby double barrels that provided some awesome travel . Treal makes some nice stuff but I don’t think I’m going to buy their shocks again .

Interesting that you had that issue with the collars. I forgot to mention that I had issues at the other end of one of mine. The retaining cups aren't designed with a deep enough or defined enough slot for the spring to sit in. The result is that the spring slips out of the cup and then slides down to the end of the shaft... resting upon the shock mount on the axle. Part of it is the cup design for sure but part of it is also how flimsy the soft springs are.

So, yeah... I guess we've both had issues with these Treal shocks. I'll keep mine and just periodically check em but If I get another micro rig, I doubt I'll buy another set of Treal shocks.. not these particular ones anyway.