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This was found in the trash in early 2017. Finally got around to making some small fixes and improvements.

Here is how it looked originally. Notice the custom motor mount. Took awhile to figure out, but the wheels and tires are for the old nitro Stampede/Rustler.

I would love to invest in a repro body and modern electronics but I do not think the SST gearbox can be sorted. I have watched/read about "fixes" and unfortunately I think mine is just bad. It is currently working but it is not smooth. It is smooth until I try to tighten the diff at all. This torques everything and the diff gears are no longer concentric.

Turnbuckles:

Two of the factory turnbuckles were bent. One in the rear and one of the front steering linkages. Secraft m3 turnbuckles seem to be a perfect replacement for both. 50mm rear and 70mm front.

Front wheels:

This was a pain and I bought a number of parts that ended up not working. The plan was to use Ultima 4mm axles and the GPM Tamiya adapters along with new 4x8 bearings. The problem is the factory Ultima axles are way to short. I am sure at some point longer aftermarket axles were available but I could not find them.

Ultimately, I arrived at a simple solution. Its not perfect, but it works. 6x12x4 bearings followed by JConcepts RC10 wheels drilled out to 6.1mm, followed by a 6x12x1.5 plastic plumbing spacer, followed by NON-serrated nylon locknuts. Most wheel nuts seem to be serrated. I used Axial AXIA1045 from AMain.

Motor Mount:

As pictured in my earlier post, the previous owner used a bent piece of aluminum for a motor mount. Attached with self tapping screws

I found a universal 540 mount on Amazon that I planned on modifying. However, it fits perfectly using two of the factory engine mount slots when used with an extended pinion. Kyosho makes extended pinions for the Fantom and Schumacher also makes extended pinions. They are both the exact same length.

I covered the self tapping screw holes with some carbon fiber vinyl. If I can't see it, its not there.

Battery Tray:

Made the battery tray out of a scrap piece of plastic and covered (poorly) in carbon fiber vinyl. Its mounted on black plastic spacers that I saved. I can't remember where, probably Ikea furniture or similar.

Where are people ordering the custom carbon fiber plates and shock towers that I keep seeing?

Shocks:

The shocks are in skyjacker mode thanks to what I believe is custom brass spacers. I would like to get the original spring clips but they are not easily found. Does anyone know of any spring clips or clamps that fit 12mm OD shock bodies?

Scottzone wrote: ↑Sun May 04, 2025 10:55 am Shocks:

The shocks are in skyjacker mode thanks to what I believe is custom brass spacers. I would like to get the original spring clips but they are not easily found. Does anyone know of any spring clips or clamps that fit 12mm OD shock bodies?

Maybe Traxxas Slash spring clips would work? I think they're around that size.

Slipper adjustment:

The manual indicates that the slipper spring should be set at 8mm and then tightened to 7mm to set the diff tension, then set back to 8mm. However, over the past 30 plus years, my spring must have taken a set. At 8mm there is almost no tension on the slipper. At 7mm the slipper is super tight. I have been out of the hobby for years and all of my past cars had gear diffs.

Any suggestions for setting the correct tension?

Any slipper springs that will fit this old car? The spring is approx 8mm OD with a 4mm ID and 7-8mm long (probably shorter than it was originally).

Scottzone wrote: ↑Sun May 04, 2025 11:49 am Slipper adjustment:

The manual indicates that the slipper spring should be set at 8mm and then tightened to 7mm to set the diff tension, then set back to 8mm. However, over the past 30 plus years, my spring must have taken a set. At 8mm there is almost no tension on the slipper. At 7mm the slipper is super tight. I have been out of the hobby for years and all of my past cars had gear diffs.

Any suggestions for setting the correct tension?

Any slipper springs that will fit this old car? The spring is approx 8mm OD with a 4mm ID and 7-8mm long (probably shorter than it was originally).

I've never set slippers by length. I just set them by putting them on the surface and gunning it till it has correct amount of slip i'm looking for. If you have a ball diff you also need to make sure the slipper is slipping and not the diff. If the car makes barking noises on heavy acceleration that's usually the diff slipping.

this is a good resource: https://site.petitrc.com/setup/HowToSlipper/