Project Cheap-O-Maxx...DONE!!

[NCNitro]

Just throw a foc in it and be done with that reverse junk.

 

[billym9]

me and my brother both got tmaxxes for christmas a couple years ago. the reverse only worked for a bit then it would get stuck everyonce and a while and we had to hold he truck in the air and shift it with no weight on it. i really want to change over to forward only soon.

 

[Racer 1966]

Well I thought I would try it out. My son thinks the reverse is cool, but if it's a constant hassle the trans from the second truck already has the FOC.

 

[Racer 1966]

The Body

You guys didn't think I'd leave out the body painting part of this did you?

The weather has been too wet and cold for the last 2 days so we decided to start on the paint job. Just to be clear, I am NOT a top notch body painter and I don't even claim to be a good painter. This body when it's done should remove all doubt of that!

After a little talking it over with my son and digging out what decals/masks I have on hand and noting my skill limitations,we decided on how he wants it to look. It's just going to be a rattle can job since I do not have an airbrush yet. Luckily I had everything on hand except we're going to try the Spaz Stix chrome on part of it. We had to make trip to the lhs for that.

First we cleaned the inside of the body and prepped it for the paint. Then we laid out what we wanted and applied the masks. I had a sheet of preformed masks from Parma to help us along some. Next we masked off everything that we didn't want painted for the first color, black. The lhs was out of liquid mask so I went old school on it! The liquid would have been nice for the blower scoop.

Time to head for the garage and spray the first color. I tried to keep it in thin coats so it wouldn't soak through the paper and tape. After letting it dry a little, we peeled of the extra masking and we're now ready for the next color but I want it to dry thoroughly and it was my son's bedtime so that's where we ended today.

 

[LosiLST]

It's coming along nicely Racer. What color do you plan om making the main color of the truck be?

 

[Rolex]

That's one happy kid. I know he can't wait to show it off to his friends and say, "Me and my dad painted it."

That's teamwork! Good for you!

 

[Racer 1966]

Using my usual slow and patient technique :nono:, tonight after work we finished the painting on the lid.

First up for today, the main body color, RED! Not my first choice, but this isn't MY truck so if red is what he wants then red it is.

Next we peeled off the yellow zig-zag masks and painted those areas Blue.

Then for the final part, the bumpers and blower scoop are chromed, SpazStix of course!

Overall it's nothing super special, but it turned out ok and most of all my son loves it. Tomorrow we'll trim it and add a few decals, mount it on the chassis and this build will be history.

 

[powerbar]

hey, thats a project a son will remember forever. good parenting dude. question for ya though, i've never painted a lid before but why would'nt you trim and cut mounting holes first?

 

[Racer 1966]

hey, thats a project a son will remember forever. good parenting dude. question for ya though, i've never painted a lid before but why would'nt you trim and cut mounting holes first?

Well I not really patient with the painting, I'm more of a mechanical guy. So I leave it untrimmed to help make sure I don't get overspray on the outside of the body.

Here's short vid of running the truck today. Not running too hard yet, only on 4th tank.

 

[Racer 1966]

Done!

Guys, it looks like we've reached the end. Here's the final pics of the painted and trimmed body mounted on the truck.

Well, I had a lot of fun building the truck and an immeasurable joy seeing my son open it on Christmas day. I hope you guys liked following the build, I ceretainly enjoyed sharing it here.

I've got another project truck in the works, but I have a few other items to work on first, but I will post it once I get started on it again. Just for a teaser, I'll let you know I call it Project Aftershock-Fully Loaded.

Happy Nitro Burnin'!!

 

[LosiLST]

Project Aftershock-Fully Loaded.

Herby? lol


Thats looks awesome racer. You did a really great job for your kid and he is really blessed to have a caring loving father like you. Looking forward to the next one.

 

[Rolex]

Well done!! Now wax it and find a nice glass shelf for it.

 

[neobart]

What a freaking excellent present. :bow:

Nomination for dad of the year is in the mail.

 

[ohmygahitscoby]

Wow, great job! You're son should be very proud to have a Dad like you.

 

[Hyster]

But I had 2 obsticles, 1 my wife and 2 I have project that isn't done yet(ok, that's really only 1 problem!). You married guys will understand this dilemma.

Whew... I am so glade that I am not the only one here with this kind of problem... They have this subtle way of making you feel that you need to grow up. lol

 

[sweetdiesel]

What a freaking excellent present. :bow:

Nomination for dad of the year is in the mail.

Ditto....great job Racer!

 

[Lessen]

Randy, that turned out absolutely spectacular. I'm just now getting caught up on this thread since my PC was down for a bit but those pictures of your boy and his truck are priceless. I think the fact that you built that truck makes it's 100x more special than a NIB rig. I'm REALLY happy for you and your son, I think that's just great. Someday very soon my boy will be old enough for a nitro and I can't wait (actually I can, he's growin' up fast enough as it is already )

So check it out. I got a body that I don't have any use for. It doesn't fit look for my wife's EMaxx, it's too short for my longer Bling-A-Thon Maxx, and it's too big for my son's Wheelie King. I'd like to give it to your son. Kind of a welcome to r/c gift from me. Just think of it as a little extra thank you for all of your help so far with my builds. So anyways, congrats on a great Christmas! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Racer 1966]

Randy, that turned out absolutely spectacular. I'm just now getting caught up on this thread since my PC was down for a bit but those pictures of your boy and his truck are priceless. I think the fact that you built that truck makes it's 100x more special than a NIB rig. I'm REALLY happy for you and your son, I think that's just great. Someday very soon my boy will be old enough for a nitro and I can't wait (actually I can, he's growin' up fast enough as it is already )

So check it out. I got a body that I don't have any use for. It doesn't fit look for my wife's EMaxx, it's too short for my longer Bling-A-Thon Maxx, and it's too big for my son's Wheelie King. I'd like to give it to your son. Kind of a welcome to r/c gift from me. Just think of it as a little extra thank you for all of your help so far with my builds. So anyways, congrats on a great Christmas! :thumbup::thumbup:

I agree with the idea of it being better than buying new, I try to teach my kids that the price tag is NOT what's important. With great help from my ex, I have failed to get that point through to my other 2 kids and she has successfully bought them out of my life which is another reason I was trying for something extra special for my remaining son.

About the body you want to give him, all I can say is thank you! I'm blown away by your kindness.

 

[Racer 1966]

The Cost and Credits

I just remembered I promised to let you guys know how much this project actually cost. For the final post here are the cost and credits :

2 Well used trucks $70.00
New Front Bulkheads $7.75
New Bulkhead Braces $3.77
Used Steel Skids $15.00
New Cooling Head $10.49
New Pipe Coupler $2.15
Used Aluminum Chassis Braces $15.00
Used Primerless Fuel Tank $5.00
New Steering Servo $5.00
New Body $25.00
New Fuel Bottle $5.00
New Glow Ignitor $5.00
Paint $12.39

Total Cost = $181.55

Of course there were a few items used I already had like cleaners, rtv sealant and some paint.

I'm sure some of you are thinking that's a little high for .15 Maxx, but look at it this way. Several items were purchased for looks only since it was for a Christmas gift, deduct the cooling head, steel skids(I did need skids but plastic new would have been $6.50),aluminum chassis braces,fuel tank,body(also came with other parts/tools including brand new wheels) and paint. The fuel bottle and ignitor are extra for any truck if it's your first so deduct them too. That leaves us with $95.17 for a running truck with a ton of extra parts and 3 basher bodies were included with the trucks. I beleive this proves Lessen's theory correct, a Maxx for under $100. Add in the time I spent doing this, which I did for personal enjoyment(you can't put a price on that), and the priceless memories my son and I will have of this Christmas and I think it becomes very clear this was truely the bargain of the year!

Special thanks to those RCNT members who helped make this possible:

Mayhem for the deal on the trucks.
Lessen for the steel skids and tech advice
ChipCross for the servo, fuel bottle and ignitor
revomaxx24 for the aluminum braces and fuel tank
NCNitro for tech advice
Rolex for buying extra tools to keep the body cost down
ohmygahitscoby for buying extra tools to keep the body cost down

I hope I remembered everyone, THANK YOU to all of you!

The End!

 

[Mayhem]

how did I miss this.. The truck looks great!! I'm happy your son loved it and now it will get some use!