Cheap SOB Crawler Build

[HPIguy]

I had a ton of stuff leftover from my Wraith build, and found this on another site as a roller for $100. I knew I was going to take the motor and ESC out of the Wraith also, and my trans would bolt right up, so why not. This will be all about what I can scrounge from stuff taken from the Wraith, and out of my parts bin, and I'll be keeping track of total cost as I go. I hope to have it going by weeks end.

So far, here's where I'm at;

The roller; Bender SWX chassis, AX10 axles, beadlocks, HB Rovers, Losi alloy shocks, bug body and all links and mounts = $100 shipped

Wraith trans with Robinson 13/87 gearing and HH 35T torquemaster pro / BR-XL ESC = free, already had them that I removed from the Wraith

Savox SC-0251 servo = $39.99, bought for the SC10, didn't fit

So I'm at $140 so far, and shooting to keep it under $200 if possible. It's an older chassis, but should still be good fun on the rocks, and more importantly the AX10 axles still have parts availability. My old TLT axled rig, parts are getting hard to find.

 

[rollinlow]

Great find u got should be tons of fun

 

[slowngreen]

can't beat that price.

 

[hamz9561]

Cheap is good.

 

[Rolex]

Very cool, you cheap S O......

 

[HPIguy]

^^LOL, thanks guys, I hit the hardware store today. Got an el cheapo mod planned for this evening after dinner.

 

[HPIguy]

I've been under the weather all week, and haven't fooled with this thing much. But I get back at it tonight. I also bought some parts, that pretty much blew the $200 budget, but they'll be worth it in the end.

I found this trick online, find a piece of all thread that slides into the WB8 shafts snugly

Put some epoxy on it

And once it cures, they should last a good long time without twisting for dirt cheap

I also started work on my home brew bombproof front axle tonight

Take an AR60 housing and cut the splines off

Make sure they're straight and clean cut

Take some measurements

Got to the hardware store and pick up some 1/8 x 4" MIP plumbing fittings and machine them down to use as beef tubes. I don't have a lathe so I used a dremel in a dremel drill press with a carbide cutting bit and went slowly.

I then chucked them in a drill and used a hand file to clean them up and make sure the AR60 ends fit

More to come...

 

[Rolex]

Nice bomb proofing. We do the research and development and companies produce our ideas without royalties.

 

[frickenjoey]

You cheap bastard. I have used the same trick on driveshaft before on crawlers and a Traxxas plastic sliders

 

[HPIguy]

Nice bomb proofing. We do the research and development and companies produce our ideas without royalties.

Yep, but I can't take credit for these ideas Ralph, found them on crawler forums.

You cheap bastard. I have used the same trick on driveshaft before on crawlers and a Traxxas plastic sliders

Yessir, that's me. Hoping they hold up for a while, we'll see.

 

[HPIguy]

Got a bit more done tonight.

I splurged a bit on some Locked UP RC F1 spools. I run them in my Wraith, and as my old man used to say "If that kid can't break it, it can't be broke." Beefy, machined wholesomey goodness, I love these things. Unfortunately, I forgot to order shorter screws, so I just dremeled these down once I installed the ring gear.

I then turned my attention to the housings, and shaved them down to accept the breef tubes (they're brass, so that sounds right to me)

Checking fit before cutting the tubes

Cutting...

And done. I'll drill some holes in the housings, then mark, drill & tap the tubes one night this week. Once that's done, things should move faster from there.

 

[Rolex]

Nice work and nice closeups.

 

[HPIguy]

Thank you Rolex, it's been mostly enjoyable.



I made a goof and had the housings a bit wide, but I fixed that goof up and made some headway tonight on the front axle. Got one side all mocked up, and just ran out of gas, been sick for about a week now. It will be torn down one more time to clean any plastic / brass shavings out also.

Drilled and tapped my breef tubes (it was cleaned with a file after the pic)

I re-used my Wraith knucks and chubs,which was the whole point of all this work, for way more steering (could barely turn this thing around in the yard ) due to the clocked chubs. 2.2s class doesn't allow dig anymore, so I'll need all the steering I can get next season.

Did my bolts a bit different too

Kingpins lined up, holy crap, I did something right. :lmao:

 

[HPIguy]

Well

me right? There goes $40 down the drain, never even ran 'em.

 

[hamz9561]

Well, that sucks. Looks like you need to find another bomb-proofing technique for that now.

 

[HPIguy]

Well, that sucks. Looks like you need to find another bomb-proofing technique for that now.

Simple, keep me away from it.

 

[HPIguy]

Time to get back to this one...

A friend shaved some unis down for me for more steering

I cut down some button heads for the housings

Got the axle tang to spool fit the way I wanted, and of course, a good coat of red 'n tacky

Gave the cut down bolts going into the breef tubes a good coat of this stuff (love the stick BTW!)

And put a dab of CA on each button head to secure them further

Tomorrow will be finishing the front axle, and tear down on the rear

 

[HPIguy]

Got the front end almost done tonight.

Rather than keep up with those tiny bushing axial likes to use in their knucks, I drilled mine out just a hair, and used these traxxas screws, voila no more bushings to keep up with

Got the knucks installed, and running a gear head RC plate for my servo and battery up front

Making the tie rod was what I dreaded most, but I'm happy with the outcome. Steering arm bottoms out just as the tie rod touches the housing. Tie rod will sit well above centerline

That $15 tubing bender paid for itself tonight

And here's why I did all this work on the front end; since digs are no longer allowed, you want a LOT of steering. That should do

 

[HPIguy]

Just got done shaving all the rovers, lots of work, but I think it will pay off.

Started with these

Ended up with these

 

[Rolex]

Wow, that's some serious turnage.