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My Junior 2 is ALIVE! (updated, new pics of the re-re-build)

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:56 am
by pmathews924
After gathering a ton of info and parts over the last couple weeks and relearning all this 20+ year old technology (and some of the new stuff) I was ready to start my build (thanks to some help from highwayracer!).

Started with a junior 2 chassis, LRM tranny with a slipper, pro shock tower and shocks in the front, h-arms and a jrx2 shock tower in the back, and a 1 degree anti-squat spacer. I wanted to install the pro rear shock tower, but I'm waiting on a spacer to show up in the mail so I just threw the jrx2 tower in there to get it running.
build1.JPG
Slipper installed
build2.JPG
Finished car...I've yet to buy a lipo charger for the batteries I'm going to run, so just for fun I threw a Shark 1500mah nicad in there and a stock B&R motor that was freshly rebuilt. Traxxas XL5 esc and servo that came from a slash, and paired em' with a FlySky GT3B transmitter/receiver. New wheel bearings from Boca, and I haven't bought 2.2" rubber yet so I threw some old tires/rims on there.
build3.JPG
Old Jrx2 body fits, but it's a little tight...
build4.JPG
And then...I drove the hell out of it and it's MUCH faster than I thought it was going to be. I was missing the top brace and bumper, but figured I wouldn't hurt much just driving around the street. The first night I had it running I took it over to a buddy's house to drag race against his bone stock Kyosho Ultima. First run he beat the crap out of me, so I changed shocks, adjusted the shock positions, changed my camber/toe/etc...and I beat him pretty good. It was late and he thought he was keeping up, so I gave him a rematch last night. After beating him badly 3 or 4 times, we decided to set up a little oval course in the street in front of his house...beer can at one end of the oval and a jump at the other end. Start, 3 times around the beer can and jump, and on your last lap you have to hit the jump to win.

I was beating him pretty easily, but after 6 PBR tall boys, a couple shots of whiskey, and a ton of smack talk out of him, I wanted to make a statement. So...I'm about half a lap ahead and floored it towards the jump for the win. I missed the jump by about a foot and just past the jump was a patch of gravel on the side of the road...so when I tried to stop/turn, the car just skidded across the gravel...straight into the base of a basketball goal filled with concrete. I hit it perfectly on the corner with the dead center of my bulkhead.

Remember my other post where I was asking why you shouldn't run without a chassis brace and front bumper? This is why my friends. The crazy thing is absolutely nothing else broke...just the chassis.
brokenchassis1.jpg
I had fun for a few days, but now I'm down and out until I track down another chassis, and this time it's not hitting the road until I have a top brace and bumper on it!

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:23 pm
by scr8p
pmathews924 wrote:Remember my other post where I was asking why you shouldn't run without a chassis brace and front bumper?
brokenchassis1.jpg
oh ya, the lack of a chassis brace is completely to blame. :wink:
pmathews924 wrote:I was beating him pretty easily, but after 6 PBR tall boys, a couple shots of whiskey, and a ton of smack talk out of him, I wanted to make a statement.
i'll bet here, hold my beer or watch this was said right before the trigger was yanked too. :lol:

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:29 pm
by pmathews924
Haha...I'm also going to put some blame on the sun for going down, because it was dusk/almost dark and it was a little tough to see my car. Yup, sun's fault.

I don't know if those were my exact words, but I did tell him to pour me a victory shot of Crown before the race started...

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:44 pm
by uniquenamehere
You shouldn't drink and drive!

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:51 pm
by pmathews924
Yeah...haha...I was good driving in a straight line, but then we introduced turns and jumps into the equation and things went downhill in about 30 seconds.

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 1:30 pm
by Coelacanth
scr8p wrote:
pmathews924 wrote:Remember my other post where I was asking why you shouldn't run without a chassis brace and front bumper?
brokenchassis1.jpg
oh ya, the lack of a chassis brace is completely to blame. :wink:
LOL Yeah, if you were a top-notch perfect driver, you wouldn't need THOSE paltry items! :lol:

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 2:38 pm
by pmathews924
I texted a few pics to my dad b/c he's been pretty interested in the build, and when he saw the broken chassis his response was, "Well, you used to be a hell of a driver, but it looks like you're going to learn how to be one hell of a mechanic."

That XL5 esc has a "training mode" that I should probably be using, haha.

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 4:33 pm
by mytimac
I have nothing constructive to add, but this was my reaction. That truly sucks.

[youtube]95SYdjRVCR0[/youtube]

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:36 pm
by pmathews924
We all the heard the loud crack noise it made when it collided and I thought (or hoped) it was just an a-arm because I have plenty of those...and then I noticed the middle of the car was sagging and touching the ground.

I took that "victory shot" of Crown, but for different reasons.

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:07 pm
by Incredible_Serious
Top braces are cheap (there's a new in pack one for sale in the BST section for $3 at the moment), not sure about bumpers..... I'm guessing chassis might be a bit more pricey!

Still.... you guys enjoyed yourselves...... which is the best thing.

Alex

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:10 pm
by pmathews924
Damn...I'm 5 days short of gaining BST access...hopefully it'll still be there!

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:19 pm
by Incredible_Serious
pmathews924 wrote:Damn...I'm 5 days short of gaining BST access...hopefully it'll still be there!
Pretty sure it will be..... been listed for quite a while..... :shock:

Alex

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:11 pm
by pmathews924
Right on...thanks buddy.

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:23 pm
by biff85ta
PM me when you are approved for BST. I think I can help you out with a chassis.

Re: My Junior 2 is ALIVE!!! Well...it was. Lessons learned!

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 5:03 pm
by pmathews924
Already tracked one down, and a bumper too so I'm good to go...thanks though!

Car's all put together sitting on an x2 chassis this time, everything works, and the battery has a full charge...now if the rain would stop, I could go outside and run into something with my new front bumper, lol!