Hi everyone,
As I mentioned in my introduction thread, I'm building a basher and a crawler for my 2 sons for Christmas.
I'll add some more details about the crawler build in this thread.
It started out as a Laegendary Grando 1:10 that I got an insanely good price on. What I learned is that the Grando is built on the same platform as an Axial SCX10 II. I also learned that Laegendary - seems to have license to resell RiverHobby (VRX / FTX) RC's in the US - like the VRX RH-1052 - which is the exact same as a Grando - minus the shell design.
Anyway, the thing's got a decent 550 motor in it, a 2 speed transmission, triangulated 4 link suspension, steel frame, etc - a decent place to start in my books - especially since my plan was to upgrade lots of stuff right away.
So I started with this Grando:
and I've arrived at this point in the build for how I'll gift it to my kids at xmas:
Here's the full list of what I've done to it that I'll post more details about in the thread over the next few days:
All parts purchased were aftermarket upgrades for an Axial SCX10 II (long wheelbase)
As I mentioned in my introduction thread, I'm building a basher and a crawler for my 2 sons for Christmas.
I'll add some more details about the crawler build in this thread.
It started out as a Laegendary Grando 1:10 that I got an insanely good price on. What I learned is that the Grando is built on the same platform as an Axial SCX10 II. I also learned that Laegendary - seems to have license to resell RiverHobby (VRX / FTX) RC's in the US - like the VRX RH-1052 - which is the exact same as a Grando - minus the shell design.
Anyway, the thing's got a decent 550 motor in it, a 2 speed transmission, triangulated 4 link suspension, steel frame, etc - a decent place to start in my books - especially since my plan was to upgrade lots of stuff right away.
So I started with this Grando:
and I've arrived at this point in the build for how I'll gift it to my kids at xmas:
Here's the full list of what I've done to it that I'll post more details about in the thread over the next few days:
All parts purchased were aftermarket upgrades for an Axial SCX10 II (long wheelbase)
- 1/4" lift using TREAL aluminum shock hoops
- Replaced the plastic body mounts with aluminum / carbon fiber ones
- Replaced the plastic front / rear bumpers and replaced them with aluminum ones, hitch receiver on the rear
- Added rock sliders to both sides
- Replaced the plastic drive shafts with aluminum ones
- Replaced the stock 6kg plastic steering servo with a 35kg brushless metal one: SPT5835w-180.
- Moved the steering servo off-axle onto the chassis to increase suspension travel / be more realistic
- Had to swap out the stock steering link with a metal adjustable one to get the geometry correct
- Had to use spacers on the aftermarket servo mount to get the horn low enough that I only needed one spacer on each side of the steering link connection points to maintain full steering range
- Replaced the plastic servo horn with a hard anodized aluminum one from Axial
- Upgraded the H/L Servo from 3kg to 6kg
- Improved ground stability by adding 50gram 12mm brass hex drive adapters
- Improved ground stability by swapping out the plastic wheels / tires with 3 piece aluminum bead lock wheels and Duratrax Showdown CR3 Tires
- Lowered the COG by moving the H/L Servo that was attached above the transmission case to the surface of the rock sliders using a custom mount I came up with using some spare pieces.
- Lowered the COG / improved balance by relocating the battery in front of the rear axle on a carbon fiber plate
- Relocated the electronics to an elevated carbon fiber plate near the front axle to make room for a waterproof box for the winch / aux light switch boards.
- Lots and lots of wire routing / protection / etc to make it rock proof, water proof, etc.
- Added switched ground effects lighting to the rock sliders and both body support cross-beams
- Added switched headlights, tail lights, and down-firing rock lights in the front bumper
- Hand painted diff covers (for now until I grow impatient and buy portal axles)
- Shaved the body in key areas to make the giant tires not rub
- Cleaned out the peanut butter from the diff cases and loaded up LucasOil FT 60k diff fluid in the rear, 10k in the front
- Made custom mounts for roof rack accessories
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