tuff1

hey gang!
i want to change the look / feel of my rustler (#3707) and have been OBSESSING with the idea of going the Baja Buggie route!!!!!!!!!!!!

ive found a couple threads with great info and inspiration. (from these forums right here: www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9162033/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm) but this one especially is the one that drew me further into the rabbit hole : www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/showthread.php ....

the person in the latter thread mentions "slash arms & shocks". Am i understanding correctly - that the person switched the A Arms all the way around and not just the front / or not just the backs on the rustler? Also - the switching to the slash shocks, will that be necessary or was thing something done for other reasons?

so with that said, is that all thats needed to achieve the stance / wheelbase & track width that the buggie in the attached pic has?
is there more to this than meets the eye?

Another thing that i would love help verifying, is if this is indeed the correct baja buggie shell that i need to be looking at? see here: prolineracing.com/bodies/volkswagen-maxx-short-chassis-revo-2-5-savage-tnx-flux-body/

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

That ain't the correct shell. This is; http://www.rcboca.com/pro-line-baja-...FeRZ7AodclAAAg

tuff1

some major confusion on my part about the actual correct one since ive seen people link to two or three different ones in other forums ive been to.
thanks for chiming collector1231!

Lars from Norway

Take a look in [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9455993/tm.htm]this thread[/link] to see how i did it. The extension pieces was actually made before STRC released theirs to the market, so they can be bought instead of you making them yourself as i did. The shell that collector1231 is linking to is the shell i used on my Rustler, originally meant to be used on Slash.

tuff1

WOW!!!!!!!!! Lars, that was OUTSTANDING!
i envy you guys with the skill and creativity to materialize such great projects!
BUT, i wonder if all this is still necessary snce the guy in this thread : http://www.scale4x4rc.org/forums/sho...hlight=rustler mentions that he used a "stock rustler chassis". so it leads meto beleive that there is a body that works without the stretching / enlongating of the chassis.
also any thoughts on the doubts that i have about the A-Arms?
thanks a bunch for the feedback!!!

Lars from Norway

Thanks a lot, tuff1

I think there was a Bug-body for shorter wheelbase earlier from ProLine that would fit Rustler/Stampede-wheelbase, but i can't find it on their website anymore. All i find is for the E-Revo (but this has a waay longer wheelbase than Rustler) and for Slash. The thread you are linking to is a bit aged aswell, so the best thing you can do is to ask Pastimesteve directly, i think you'll find him on the Traxxasforum too.

[link=http://www.teamstrc.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=991]Here[/link] is the kit from STRC i was talking about which lets you use bodies made to fit Slash, it also makes your car a bit more stable as it makes the wheelbase longer.

tuff1

you're too much! thanks Lars!!! ...

i think thats the jist of the whole body fitting mystery right there. the short wheelbase version of the body might is no longer be available. grrrr!
well let me just ponder a little more the strc kit.

im not exactly thrilled about it lowering the car though honestly. or do you have control over that aspect of the mod? can one simply use the kit to lengthen the wheelbase and not lower the car? or will not lowering the longer chassis, negatively affect performance too much?
not trying to get too technical, after all im not entering any legit racing competitions but dont want it running too sloppy either all for the sake of putting on the buggie shell - you know. just feel that those rustys are already pretty low. im sure you know what i mean.

EDIT:
looks like Pastimesteve hasnt been active on the traxxas forums since 2010 ...
struck out there. that link was to his thread in adifferent forum but honestly i dont want to sign up / creat another account

making my little shopping list!

Edit: / Edit:
just realized something right in line with what you were saying. here's what i found ....
this is only confirming that this is the body which would have been the one for me ..... again, has been discontued, as you already noted.
when i checked, those RCs, the e-maxx 2.5 & the revo 2.5 both have the wheelbase dimensions almost identical to the rusty's.
again, this is just for general purposes, as we have already concluded that the strc kit is the way to go for ease of finding a body that fits, its just that this will help bring a little closure to it for me.

Lars from Norway

Yo'welcome!

Nevermind making an account on the traxxasforum, i got enough of the strict (psycho) moderators and all the things you couldn't do there. Name another brand and the put your neck in a guillotine!

That is exactly the body i was thinking of. I was wondering about using this instead of the one for Slash, but i changed my mind. I simply think the one for Slash looks much nicer, and not that lumpy or what to say

tuff1

just ordered up the strc lcg kit, body, rear arms + camber links this afternoon. wil be a few days before any of it is here. only thing i have put much thought into yet is color / paint, etc...

ALSO!!! i would love to start lookinga little more seriously at some wheel / tire combo options. would like to be alittle wider than the ones in the pic i originally provided in my first post.
would like to have the look / feel more like these :

phmaximus

Yep I would have to agree the wider wheels look better.

Looks like one is running truggie wheel and the other is running 1/10 monster truck wheels.

Here is one I did a while back with a slash with SCT wheels.
I never was a fan on the rear bar with that body, oh well lol

tuff1

hi phmaximus !!!,
long time no see! doesnt suprise me - that thing looks sweeeet! i like how the back looks personally, mud flaps and all!
real nice !

tuff1

wow! that was pretty fast!, just got the body this afternoon. this thing looks ginormous! for a second there i thought i might have bought one for a bigger scale RC!
probably cause 1st time buying a body.
i also have decided on a color scheme too!! : ) so gonna shop 'round for the paints ....

edit:
7-17, just got the rear a-arms in ...

tuff1

not abandoning the thread or the project. just been progressing slowly is all, and learning a bit as i go along ...
so heres where im at so far. the strc kit, rear camber links, and rear body mount are installed. still a little on the fence about the colors for paint job, and would really love to see some wheel / tire combo suggestions guys!

phmaximus

Im a huge fan of the Jconcepts Tense wheels.... they look soo good...

they are avaliable in SCT and MT/Staduim truck sizes

have u thought about that size? 2.2x3? 2.2? 2.8?

nitrosportsandrunner

im working on this....
but its a hornet with a custom chassis, as the stock chassis broke.
Redcat body.
proline sand paw tires on rpm stampede wheels.

tuff1

bravo nitrosportsandrunner, wow! i thought i had a lot on my hands with what im doing but you my friend have like an evil laboratory going over there with bits and peices of everything over there to boot!

@phmaximus,
ill be honest i'm love'n the scale look that the 2.2 give BUT will also consider 2.8 ...
- whats 2.2x3 though?
P.S.
i know that wasnt much of answer buit its just that ive seen a few that look so good - its hard to decide.
i also looked up the ones you mentioned and saw a few different "variations". could you post a link please for me to have a look for the sake of being on the same page as you.
also - which ones should i be looking at to keep the wide look that we talked about previously? should i be looking at fronts solely to run on all four corners? or is it rears? a little confused here ..
as it is at the moment, with the rear slash arms, the rear wheels now are closer to the body where as the fronts now have a wider stance. what should i do there?
if you will please, let me know about the tense wheels you were referring to and what you think about the wide stance we both agreed feel looks much nicer.
thanks again phmaximus, and everyone else whos contributed up to this point.

phmaximus

ahhh 2.2/3 is SCT wheels and tyres. they are a little bit narrower than a standard 2.2 and the inner diameter is 3". so basickly the outside tyres sidewall looks scale but the inner sidewall is a low profile..... hopes this makes sence?

one of the Proline Protrack Slash kits will defiantly give it that wide look.... check this out [link=http://www.prolineracing.com/blog/pro-line-protrac-rustler-project/]Click here[/link]

or a cheaper option put the rustler rear arms back on and just get the front protrack arms and turnbuckles. that will make the front and rear track very close to being the same. Then u could run any 4 of the same wheels.... so u could run the Jconcepts Tense 2.2 rustler front wheels for a even wider stance with some Subcultures tyres

even check out these for 2.8 wheels... IMO they retain there scale look
its the 3055-3140 2.8" Subcultures Pre-mounted E-Stampede & E-Rustler

tuff1

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
i never got a notice of a reply to the thread after my last post and so i took initiative and ordered up some wheels and tires last night !!!!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
i never saw your reply come through so i spent the better part of the afternoon trying to research a few options before finally deciding on the following ....

heres what i went with.
decided to run fronts all the way around because i put both rear wheels on the rusty on one side and both fronts on the other side. after observing it for a little while i felt that the fronts had a nicer look to them because the rears just seems closer to the body / chassis as opposed to the fronts. so with that said,

i went with the
• Pro-Line Dirt Hawg II 2.2"


• JConcepts Tense 2.2 Wheel (Black) (2) (Stampede, Rustler/Front) which i found after your suggestion. (not sure if these were the same ones you were referring to)


please tell me i did good. if not - i guess its not too late to cancel an order or return them for an exchnage.

phmaximus

Looks good mate. Ya gotta Love the look of the tread pattern on those tyres.

All u will need is some medium CA glue and some rubber bands.

tuff1

phew! i was sweating bullets there for a second ....
thanks for the reassurance!
pretty excited now thats its all really coming together. all thats left is to finally start picking up is the paints.
will post pics as soon as i get the wheels and tires on ...

tuff1

still working on this and just trying to have fun with it. im actually in the middle of a slash MT build as well thats taken up a bunch of my time.

• wheels / tires are mounted.
• body is cut out
• just fitting / sizing up. ...
very far from a perfect fit unfortunately. i mean not a great deal but definitely gotta think up something for the rear body mount holes. (they're forward a tad bit more than they should be) already working on something, but we'll see.

wheels :


test fitting shell:


i ordered some paint the other day but no word yet on being shipped out !???

BMKTW2

+1

BMKTW2

Looks good!
i bet if you flip it over, you can just hit the throttle and it will go back onto the wheels again

Stryker USMC

This build is looking great! Threads like yours inspired me to make my own Baja. Looking forward to seeing yours completed.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-e...-blackout.html

tuff1

thanks!
that thing is looking great too!
ive been taking it easy and focusing on a slash mt that i finally "finished". i say "finished" because im considering the body that i finally found for it, temporary. its an emaxx body but im still on the hunt for something a little more to my liking and that will be a better look / fit. otherwise its all done.
now for the rusty / baja, I FINALLY RECEIVED THE PAINT. seemed to take forever for it to get here but i finally got'em. only other little thing that im still trying to work on before painting is modifying the body mount so that its back a little further towards the rear. im working on something using some little spacers, but now find that im gonna need longer bolts so i have to try and get to one of my local fastenal locations so they can order me up a set. will take some pics to better / further explain what i mean. in the meantime, perhaps this snapshot you'll know what i mean ....