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the concept - build a modern track capable truck based on the LS2 chassis thats actually competitive, tall order i know .. anyway not much of the bling in the photo will be utilized .. weight and function is the goal on this build there will likely be another 'bling' build later nother story, but theres multiple tranny, steering, and suspension options depending on what 'feels' best as its built, and 3mil carbon fiber will produce the chassis, top plate, and towers ... planning it out and the chassis will get cut soon ... see how it goes

cut the chassis out, attached the rear end and proline trans, the front isnt drilled and screwed on yet ... the chassis had to be modified from the original in several ways which made it complicated ...
-first, the front end will utilize the modern bulkhead which has a built-in kickup vs the old chassis which came with a kickup molded in, so to keep the wheelbase within 11.5 roar spec took some mocking up and figuring .. for a race build aluminum parts really dont figure, but one major problem with all traxxas trucks are suspension arms that are like wet noodles on the track so that had to be addressed .. rpms arnt much better imo, so aluminum they shall be ..front caster blocks will be aluminum also but only because they clearance the arms and knuckles better, carriers are rpm all around, front block is rpm ..
-next, the width was adjusted so theres more room for electronics mounted next to the battery box, so it grew about 1/2" each side.
-the rear mount/trans took some effort, the problem is we need toe-in the rear and to get it with 'any' aftermarket arms requires some work .. .the mount for the proline got split in the back and spread about 2.5mm and holes were drilled to match that AND the chassis was widened and angled in the back so the mount keyed solidly on it .. not an easy order and took alot of hand sanding and careful fitting .. its not perfect but close enough i think, and a couple of degrees of toe were achieved .. slightly more can be 'bought' with 1 or 1.5 degree carriers, but by themselves theres not enough toe for offroad racing imo .. 'several' degrees of toe in the rear are needed imo ...
- screw holes were all countersunk and care was taken not to scratch the chassis, edges were dressed after cutting .. it looks good .. next order of business is attaching the rear shock tower bulkhead and making a brace to tie it to the trans, and the front end will be drilled and countersunk to attach the front block ..

Do the rear arms have any toe engineered into them? I know the TRX-1 rears have 3 degrees built in. It's in the assembly manual and tuning guide. I'm looking forward to the top plate addition. You gonna use the LSII/SRT battery box or go with some "custom" standoffs? Like some of those long nylon spacers. I always thought it'd be sweet to run the top plate all the way to the rear bulkhead but then tying it in to the rear bulkhead presents an issue. Unless you use the factory rear battery box bracket. But if you are gonna run it hard, maybe the factory battery box is the beefiest best option.

TRX-1-3 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 1:15 am Do the rear arms have any toe engineered into them? I know the TRX-1 rears have 3 degrees built in. It's in the assembly manual and tuning guide. I'm looking forward to the top plate addition. You gonna use the LSII/SRT battery box or go with some "custom" standoffs? Like some of those long nylon spacers. I always thought it'd be sweet to run the top plate all the way to the rear bulkhead but then tying it in to the rear bulkhead presents an issue. Unless you use the factory rear battery box bracket. But if you are gonna run it hard, maybe the factory battery box is the beefiest best option.

.. as far as i know any aftermarket arms are gonna be zero toe, except maybe something from a nitro stampede or something .. theyre mostly chinese, so data is obscure at best .. for the top plate it mostly strengthens the front end, the battery box actually does a jamb-up job of bracing the rear and strengthening the length of the chassis, the original blue eagle ls2 chassis is an awesome design, why i wanted to do this build really .. the rest of the stock truck is basher/tonka toy material though never was race worthy ..

-battery box is installed, shock towers are cut, front end is bolted on and a rear brace was made and screwed in.
-brace, shock tower and chassis are all cut from the 3mm cf sheet.
- things have literally been screwed and unscrewed 20 times to get fitment right and to get things on the drill press .. one mistake i made was pushing my drill bits, they need to be new and sharp to make a clean hole and the cf seems to dull them real fast .. shoulda bought some extra quality bits, only need like 3 sizes, woulda been less than 10 bucks to get a couple each ..
-top plate is the last thing i need to cut, should be simple, size shape and screw holes of the original will work except for the front of the battery box area which will have to be moved up, and hole in the middle is uneeded ..

Are you using Rustler arms all the way around?

therigliveson wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:19 pm Are you using Rustler arms all the way around?

it was a hobbypark kit i got on amazon -
Hobbypark Aluminum Front & Rear Suspension A-Arms Set,Tie Bar for 1/10 Traxxas Slash 2WD RC Car Upgrade Parts Hop Ups, Replacement of 2555 3631 2532

got the body trimmed and ready for paint, the suspension and steering has all been mocked up and figured out, but nothing is final or finished on that, the links shown are just for setup and way too heavy and bind up too quickly imo for a race application, rpm ends on ball studs and lunsford rods will be in it when they get here .. body is 'jconcepts chevy'
-front control rod and steering placement are all worked out to give minimal bump steer and bump camber ...steering is hot racing, servo is a turnigy ts411mg ..
- decided on short lipo packs so a 'rear' battery box bulkhead will be fitted and then the top plate can be cut .. 'if' it works out the esc can mounted behind the battery in the box ..
-proline shocks fit well and look sharp with only minimal adjustment to the front shock tower height to place droop adjustability in a good spot, the rear LS2 tower was about perfect as-is ... both towers are 'copied' from the originals in 3mm cf with the front being a hybrid of the ls2 and the new style tower that fit the new style front bulkhead ..
-so its moving along, waiting on parts and paint ..

'phase 4' - got the control rods done in traditional traxxas white rpm ends of course ... and got the top plate finished, drilling a perfect hole is a skill i dont possess even with a drill press .. so it was slow going, but turned out well.
- made a battery hold down out of 3 pieces of 3mm cf stacked and glued ..
- made a little antenna mast, the rx will be underneath next to the servo.
- the 3 holes running down the left side of the top plate are for tie straps to guide the esc wire to the front .. esc wire will have to be extended to reach
- main chassis is about done except for a tweak here and there, i have some cap head screws for the shock mounts i want to switch those out, and i have some steel hex screws in 4mm i want to switch those out as well .. so no phillips and all hex is the plan ..
- onward to the suspension, finish that up, oil the shocks etc, work on the electrics and wiring ..

Looks great!

I think it's Rad too!! Nice bit with the separated battery box and speedo nook. I love all the space these shorties and tiny receivers free up these days.

got the body painted today and did the soldering, waiting on a longer sensor wire, went with bullets on the motor for now until i know what i want to run in it that will make things more simple at the track but adds some weight, main wiring is some old vintage 'stage III super 13' i had, me likes it ... its gettin closer ...

.. just heard some bad news today - proline discontinued the trans, literally before i could even get this completed .. the idea was to have a truck with ready parts availability .. it 'will' be finished though and run as-is ...

mcdze wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:36 pm .. just heard some bad news today - proline discontinued the trans........

You can still find them on eBay!!!

See below.....

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=45176&start=15#p512252

TRX-1-3 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:10 pm

mcdze wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:36 pm .. just heard some bad news today - proline discontinued the trans........

You can still find them on eBay!!!

See below.....

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=45176&start=15#p512252

thanks for the tip, thats a nice looking truck over there to ... theres lots of options with a traxxas for sure ..