AYK Buffalo Basher: Done!
Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:46 pm
I finished repairing and improving my buddy's Buffalo last night. I know it kind of looks a bit cobbled-together, but keep in mind it's for a runner/basher and he's not concerned about looks--just improved performance. I'll call it "FrankenBuff". 
I replaced many of the open ball-ends and tiny ball-studs with 4.8mm ball-studs and cups. I re-positioned the ball-ends on the steering linkage to eliminate the really bad bump-steer that was plaguing the car when I received it. I increased the tension of the spring on the servo saver as it was way too sloppy. That and the servo horn ball-stud I added removed almost all the slop from the steering.
I replaced the AYK front monoshock with a Kyosho Gold front shock. I reinstalled the ESC/receiver opposite to the way my friend had it; with the ESC on the floor between the frame rails and receiver on the small top deck. This should lower the center of gravity and improve handling while making everything look much tidier.
The front wheels are some unknown wheels that pargu2000 sells on eBay, they're a perfect fit and I was able to re-use the Buffalo's stock front bearings (4 x 8's). The tires are Schumacher spikes that happened to fit those wheels perfectly. The rear wheels are some 3Racing narrow 2.2" crawler wheels that I was able to mount after installing some clamp-on 12mm hexes onto the axles. The wheels are all positive offset, which is necessary because all the typical wheels out there these days go inwards instead of outwards, and are obstructed by the Buffalo chassis components.
The front camber links still have slop but there's nothing I can do about that without upgrading the plastic steering knuckles with something better. I don't really think it's necessary as the suspension works ten times better than it ever did.
One item that was broken was the little plastic piece that the motor guard plugs into and bolts onto the rear of the chassis between the rear arms. That part apparently breaks all the time, but it isn't that complex in appearance, I figured I could fabricate something to replace this part.
However, I have to give all the credit for the idea to RedScampi; Gary figured a two-armed servo horn might work. I had one lying around and decided to put the idea to the test. I reamed out the inner 'teeth' of the horn with a 6mm drill bit, so that the aluminum tube fits inside nice and snug. I cut off the excess of the servo horn arms. Surprisingly, the 2 inner-most holes practically lined up PERFECTLY with the mounting holes in the frame!
The substitute part fits just beautifully and if it breaks again, well...servo horns are cheap as dirt. However, I imagine upgrading it to an alloy part would be much more bulletproof, but I didn't have an alloy two-armed servo horn. It might not even be necessary anyway.
I replaced many of the open ball-ends and tiny ball-studs with 4.8mm ball-studs and cups. I re-positioned the ball-ends on the steering linkage to eliminate the really bad bump-steer that was plaguing the car when I received it. I increased the tension of the spring on the servo saver as it was way too sloppy. That and the servo horn ball-stud I added removed almost all the slop from the steering.I replaced the AYK front monoshock with a Kyosho Gold front shock. I reinstalled the ESC/receiver opposite to the way my friend had it; with the ESC on the floor between the frame rails and receiver on the small top deck. This should lower the center of gravity and improve handling while making everything look much tidier.
The front wheels are some unknown wheels that pargu2000 sells on eBay, they're a perfect fit and I was able to re-use the Buffalo's stock front bearings (4 x 8's). The tires are Schumacher spikes that happened to fit those wheels perfectly. The rear wheels are some 3Racing narrow 2.2" crawler wheels that I was able to mount after installing some clamp-on 12mm hexes onto the axles. The wheels are all positive offset, which is necessary because all the typical wheels out there these days go inwards instead of outwards, and are obstructed by the Buffalo chassis components.
The front camber links still have slop but there's nothing I can do about that without upgrading the plastic steering knuckles with something better. I don't really think it's necessary as the suspension works ten times better than it ever did.
One item that was broken was the little plastic piece that the motor guard plugs into and bolts onto the rear of the chassis between the rear arms. That part apparently breaks all the time, but it isn't that complex in appearance, I figured I could fabricate something to replace this part.
However, I have to give all the credit for the idea to RedScampi; Gary figured a two-armed servo horn might work. I had one lying around and decided to put the idea to the test. I reamed out the inner 'teeth' of the horn with a 6mm drill bit, so that the aluminum tube fits inside nice and snug. I cut off the excess of the servo horn arms. Surprisingly, the 2 inner-most holes practically lined up PERFECTLY with the mounting holes in the frame!
The substitute part fits just beautifully and if it breaks again, well...servo horns are cheap as dirt. However, I imagine upgrading it to an alloy part would be much more bulletproof, but I didn't have an alloy two-armed servo horn. It might not even be necessary anyway.
