Rear Rustler chassis extension

[Metalhead Matt]

My good buddy bergoff inspired me to get off my rear and do something rc related for the first time this winter. I extended the rear end of my rusty by just under 2" with some old parts from the junk drawer.

I cut the braces off of a rear stampede skid plate/tranny mount and used it to bridge the gap on the bottom. A couple old Maxx body post, cut down and drilled, bridged the gap on the top. I drilled 2 holes behind all the original holes in the rusty chassis. These holes line up with the front holes in the tranny. Then attached the pede skid plate, using the holes I drilled in the rusty chassis. I used a short shock preload clip to fill in the space between the bottom of the tranny and the pede skid plate behind where the rusty chassis ends. Longer screws are needed to reach the holes in the tranny and get a good bite. My explanation is whacky, I know, but the pictures should tell the tale well enough for somebody that is interested in doing such a mod to there Rustler.
Here's the chassis layout after the mod. Notice my awesome waterproofing job of the battery on the front deck.

I'll get some better shots of the bottom of the chassis up today sometime. It's just the pede skid that I mentioned, with a taper ground into the front of it.

 

[LBSinGTX]

I can't get the videos to load. Are they working for anyone else?
Sounds cool though.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

Yeah, that didn't link up the way I was intending. They work for me if I click the top of them. My posting skills need improved vastly. There we go! Wrong order, but I'm gettin' er now!.

 

[bergoff]

Looks nice. Does it have any flex? And those rear shocks are sexy. They also look familiar.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

Well, one of the shocks should look familiar. Thrashed the other one. There's no flex at all. It's as stout as stock. I need to get some new posts for the top and redo them. Both the ones I used are tweaked. This is definitely a poor man's Rusty. I'm almost embarrassed to show it to people. Good thing it's pretty fast.

 

[bergoff]

Who cares what shape its in as long as it runs. My pede is nothing special but I love it.

 

[LBSinGTX]

Nice man. I almost have a whole spare rustler vxl that would be fun to modify. Is there much of an effect on turning? Also, there is that 2nd battery on the upper chassis. Is that for front end weight? Or are you running that battery in parallel or series?

 

[Metalhead Matt]

The only esc I had laying around was an evx 1 out of an old E Maxx. All 14+ volts get to the motor. I used to have the battery mounted perpendicular to the stock location, on top of the other battery. The extra weight is harder on the shafts, but the vxl shafts hold up fine. I haven't ran it in this configuration yet due to the snow. The front end was always light in the past, so I'm expecting this to setup to help with that problem. The motor is a half shot 21 turn. I'm gonna replace it with a Thunder Tiger 19t, just because I haven't found too many options. Right now it's geared to top out at about 30mph, and run times are close to 45 minutes with the 2 4200 Tenergys.

Who cares what shape its in as long as it runs. My pede is nothing special but I love it.

Your pede's a rocker bro. I can't wait to see it in action.

 

[hamz9561]

Have fun with your newly modded Rusty, Matt!

 

[Metalhead Matt]

The waiting's the hardest part hamz. I'd rather wait until I throw another motor and some newer batteries in it anyways. You know, change everything so I have no idea what to expect.

 

[HPIguy]

Nice work Matt. And I'm with Bergoff, who cares what it looks like as long as it's fun to drive.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

Every hole in the chassis brings back memories. I've had this thing since 1996. Edit: I think.

 

[HPIguy]

Every hole in the chassis brings back memories. I've had this thing since 1996. Edit: I think.

That's awesome to me. I have a nitro RS4 I've had since around 2000, just can't bring myself to sell it off, even though I never drive it. It's there if anybody wants to race. Been thinking of making a drift car out of it.

 

[bergoff]

Every hole in the chassis brings back memories. I've had this thing since 1996. Edit: I think.

That it awesome. I wish I still had my first one. And some good thinking out or the box always works and saves some cash. Next you need to widen it if you haven't already.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

You can see how little of offset the rims I'm running have. Those tires are off of an old Duratrax mt. So it's pretty wide. But this isn't the way you really want to achieve it. I know it handles funny. It'd be much better to get some longer arms on it and some deeper wheels.