Yeah, I saw it and it was a cheap price. It won't have the torque of the 20t, but the 20t motors that I saw were about $20 less than a 4-Pole Dynamite Brushless set up.
I use the black 1.9 RC4WD wagon wheels on my Ascender and they are really well-made and should last. The only part of mine that isn't painted are the lugs and locking rings. I'd also recommend the 12mm hex-adapters for them (they used a drive-pin style originally on mine).
Get some of the Vanquish wheels since you already have the hubs. If I decide to upgrade the wheels on the SCX-10/JK, I'm going with the Vanquish stuff. I love the CNC work on the axles, especially the Curries.
The 3-link would not really hamper the off-road driving. Most of the rigs I've seen use either a triangulated 4-link or a 3-link with a Panhard.
I also thought that I read that you were having problems getting LiPos shipped to you in the U.K. Have you tried Hobby King's local warehouse?
The picture I posted was the Chassis mounted steering servo. The CVDs attach from the transmission to the axles. I'll try and get some better pics of them on my rig.
I use the MIP splined center CVD on my SCX-10/JK project as well as the RC4WD Chassis mount steering servo to0 keep it more stock looking.
Here's a pic of the 1st Gen CMS on my SCX-10/JK: