Traxxas T-Maxx .15 Classic Revival (Rebuild log)

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WT119

RC Newbie
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13
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Location
Delaware
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
  2. Racing
Hello, I started working on this thread a month ago but got caught up in life and waiting on parts. Now its time to share, Sorry for the mess your about to read.

I recently got back into Nitro after years away from it/missing it and I'm rebuilding my trucks.
I just rebuilt my SavageXL with a LRR .32 . I was thinking of making a similar thread for that too.

SO Now its time to rebuild my dads 20 year old Traxxas TMaxx Pro.15 Classic, Classic.
Ill leave a short backstory to the truck at the bottom for those who are interested.
It has sat in storage for the past 12-15 years. Maybe 2-3 times over that course of time I tried to get it running but it could barley move under its own power, So back into storage it went each time. It only has a aftermarket Engine. a "Megatech M16" Paired to a unknown exhaust.


"WHO CARES ABOUT ALL THAT! What about the truck, Whats wrong with it?"

Okay okay - Well the Engine is shot. It would never hold a tune and couldnt move under its own weight..
(I pulled it apart and its destroyed. Scratches on piston. Somthing came into engine during combustion. must have been when no airfilter was ran.
- All the Servos are weak, (Servos are weak in a 20 year-old truck? who would of thought.)
- Fuel Tank is broken in multiple places.
- Steering is loose
- Tires have cracks in them, Guessing due to age and environment.
- Fuel lines cracked from age
- Thing is 3 Wheel-Drive for some reason.
- Thing is covered in 20 year old dirt and grime.

Pics Attached & Below
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"Well That sucks. What are you gonna do to it?"

- New Engine. A Vertex VX.18 Engine
- New Stock Fuel Tank
- New HighTQ Throttle & Steering Servo
- New Transmitter & RX.
- Clean Black Gunk off Header & Exhaust
- Clean Chassis of old grime.

"Well get to it!"

Duh, I am... . . . . . . . . . *one Month Later*
Done. I did all of that and got it up and running.
I shaved down the crankshaft of the new engine and got it in with a brand new clutch set for traxxas.
The engines tune was off horribly so i tore the web of my fingers up on first start. but i finally got it going and tuned.
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YOUTUBE LINKS OF IT RUNNING
Backyard light testing of drivetrain and clutch. REVERSE WORKS! Youtube
ON-ROAD TESTING: Youtube
. ITS FINISHED!


So its all finished. Its running, Running pretty good actually. Over the course of the month, i forgot to include a few things in this post but who cares.
if you guys have any questions, then feel free to ask. I put about 300$ into rebuilding this. and for the sentimental value, its def worth it.
This truck has seen some crazy poop in my family and i dont want it rotting in a corner anymore. it WILL be used and it will be upkept.

This is the truck that got me into RC's when i was roughly 6-7.
I was looking through a Toys R'Us' Magazine and saw a "Huge 4WD All terrain monstertruck" and thought it was cool. I showed it to my dad and he scoffed at it. he said he would show me somthing cool later that day, and he did. We went to our storage unit and he pulled this out.
He pulled out other unkown things and he started it right infront of me and i was immediatly baffled.
We played with it for a few years. then one day it started running poopy after the airfilter fell off going through a thick field.
My dad said it was toast for a while, and he put it away promising to get it fixed.
Flash forward many years later. I have multiple other trucks of my own, but this has sat on the shelf watching us and basicly being a family arloom/paperweight.
It was there for every family fight, every relationship, and every step of recovery. It has held onto those childhood memories and brought a smile when just looking at it.
I've always wanted to get it up and running again, atleast as a tribute to my father, but didnt have the time or money. Time OR money for any of my trucks.

But recently i got some time on my hands. so i rebuilt my Savage XL.
Now this.
Next is my CEN MT2.
Then maybe my Redcat. Who knows.

Thanks for reading. post any questions and ill try to answer.
 
How do you like the engine? I got my 2.5 whole and my .15 has been in a box broken down.

Do you have a body in mind for it?
 
I have a soft spot in my heart for the old school t-maxx as it was my first rc . It got me into the addiction we call rc life . Now I call it shelf princess as nitro is difficult to get here . It looks nothing like the original maxx I had . I will say the O.S .30 I have in it screems lol . Good job on the restoration . Its good to see some love for the old t-maxx
 
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Nice job. I'm rebuilding a t-max 2.5 myself. My sister showed up at my door with it and gave it to me.
 
Great project! Glad to see you return to nitro as well! There is definitely a movement afoot :D

I have a pair of TMax 2.5's, and I love them both. One is heavily modded, the other mostly stock, and they are just flat out so much fun to drive and take a pretty good beating.
 
How do you like the engine? I got my 2.5 whole and my .15 has been in a box broken down.

Do you have a body in mind for it?
Well, the engine is “aight”.
It’s got enough power for the truck and enough RPM for easy second gear.
It’s not a wheelie monster for sure but it’s enough to race round and have some moderate bashing. it also seems like a slight bumb-up from the 2.5 that my friend has. It also seems to be opening up more and more as I run it, gaining some power as it goes.
The VX.18 is found in Chinese Cars like HSP and Redcats.
And it’s available a lot on eBay as a cheap .18 engine. (I got it for like 70$ shipped)
Once you shave down the crank, it fits like a dream with the original clutch setup with the original engine mounts.
It seems this engine is perfect for the 20year old truck.
Enough power to have fun, but not enough to harm the drivetrain, which was my exact goal.
I wanted this to last to the next generation Since parts will become more scarce for nitro as time goes on.

As to a body.
I actually still have the original!
It’s cracked all to hell but I managed to help it with some red duct-tape.
I’ll attach some pics.
I didn’t want to make the body worse and I wasn’t sure how the engine would run with the body so I held off putting it on in the videos.
Once I have the tune perfect then I normally put bodies on, since I’m paranoid all the time about temperature.

Do you have a body for your 2.5? What body’s do you recommend, I’m always open to suggestion!
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Nice job. I'm rebuilding a t-max 2.5 myself. My sister showed up at my door with it and gave it to me.
Oh how nice!
It was def a fun project and i want to do more to it possibly in the future.
I’m sure you will enjoy it once it’s finished!

Great project! Glad to see you return to nitro as well! There is definitely a movement afoot :D

I have a pair of TMax 2.5's, and I love them both. One is heavily modded, the other mostly stock, and they are just flat out so much fun to drive and take a pretty good beating.
The look and feel of the TMaxx’s just scream nostalgia for nitro and honestly I really hope it starts making a heavy comeback.
I want to modify this to make it stronger and hopefully last longer, so what upgrades should I do to this to help improve longevity? At the moment, I’m focused on durability and not performance. I’m defiantly open to suggestions from someone who has experience with this truck.


I have 4 Nitro trucks And just rebuilt 2. Next is my CEN MT2. Needs new servos and a remote aswell as other small things like a clutch bell and spur gear, but I’ll prob do a build log of it too.
I have a soft spot in my heart for the old school t-maxx as it was my first rc . It got me into the addiction we call rc life . Now I call it shelf princess as nitro is difficult to get here . It looks nothing like the original maxx I had . I will say the O.S .30 I have in it screems lol . Good job on the restoration . Its good to see some love for the old t-maxx
Yes! This truck has a soft spot in my heart because it is literally the one that got me into any RC!
It’s been my Dirty shelf princesss for the last 12 years, and I’m so happy to see it moving under its own power again.
I'm never Going to get rid of this or any nitro I have.
hopefully it will make a small comeback at least and things might look up.

what upgrades did you do to yours?
Mind sharing a pic? That O.S probably looks sexy on the Maxx
 
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The look and feel of the TMaxx’s just scream nostalgia for nitro and honestly I really hope it starts making a heavy comeback.
I want to modify this to make it stronger and hopefully last longer, so what upgrades should I do to this to help improve longevity? At the moment, I’m focused on durability and not performance. I’m defiantly open to suggestions from someone who has experience with this truck.

Aluminum bulkheads/shocktowers/cross braces. Probably no need for upgrading the drivetrain since you're sticking to smaller engine.
 
Now that’s an awesome project! It’s great that it belonged to your Dad. I’m a big fan of the VX-18 engine. The ones I’ve had ran great and were easy to tune. Thnx for sharing pics and videos 😁
 
Now that’s an awesome project! It’s great that it belonged to your Dad. I’m a big fan of the VX-18 engine. The ones I’ve had ran great and were easy to tune. Thnx for sharing pics and videos 😁
Thanks, yea i had one in my redcat so i knew it was atleast decent. but now I'm seeing that its actually pretty good. starts right up now and runs pretty good for being so cheap.

I just put a new CEN NT.16 in a FunFactor MT2. it was $120 but it was rare.
Now I'm waiting on a throttle servo and ill make a thread about that.
 
Here is one of the pics I found . I need to get a few new pics .. no integy shocks anymore .. different battery pack that kinda thing . I went full RC-solutions cyber-maxx conversion . RPM everything I could .
 

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