Maxximize

Hey guys, I posted about a body for this Maxx, but thought I should start another thread for this topic. First, a little history on my particular T Maxx. For those who don't want to read a story, go to the last paragraph. I bought this truck used from a guy at the LHS way back in 2001, it had a very seasoned Pro .15 in it, I installed an MIP Stinger pipe as the trucks first upgrade. I was 14 at the time. I ran it for quite a few years like that, until the engine finally ran completely out of compression around 2004 after God only knows how many gallons ran through it. I then installed an Orion Wasp .18 T Maxx engine. This engine was very powerful in it's day, but hard to tune and hated humidity changes so it needed to be retuned often. Eventually I got annoyed by it and kind of stopped driving the truck. Fast forward to 2008, I had been out of RC for a few years since the day the Wasp made me angry and all my bashing buddies sold their trucks off. I decided to get the beast up and running again when two friends bought 3.3 T Maxx's. I settled on using the TRX 2.5R as my engine. I bought an Integy T Maxx 2.5 length chassis, the engine, a THS 1 piece pipe, a forward only conversion, lightweight flywheel, and the T Maxx 3.3 slipper clutch kit. I ran the truck in this form for about a year, then got the itch to upgrade it.

I started to assemble a list of parts needed for a big block conversion. I bought the chassis first, I found a nice deal on E bay for an ACNCM chassis with the center skid plate, center braces, lengthened center rear dogbone, as well as the ACNCM bulkheads and their big block engine mount all for $75, shipped. I then went to the LHS for most of the the rest of my extensive list. I bought RPM bulkhead braces, shock towers, and a-arms in the 3.3 Maxx length. I also bought stock 3.3 spec axle knuckles with all new bearings, stock 3.3 length sway bars, a Traxxas aluminum steering servo saver kit, THS Racing 3.3 Maxx CVD's, and a 17mm hex hub conversion. For the wheels I bought a set of Ofna Monster Pirate red rims with tires with foam used from a friend for $20. Then I needed servos. I went with a Cirrus CDS751 metal geared servo for steering, and a Traxxas 2056 for the throttle. The transmission gears were again upgraded to the beefier 3.3 spec gears in forward only flavor, which somehow fit in the original trans case and the slipper clutch was replaced with a smaller 3.3 spec one of a tooth count I can't remember. The original diffs were taken apart, inspected and showing no signs of wear, so I simply re greased them. A Proline runtime 166cc fuel tank was then installed, as well as a new battery case. The original shocks were rebuilt using 2 hole pistons for the front and 3 for the rear, 4 Traxxas progressive springs, one on each corner were paired with 4 Losi 5160 springs on the remaining shocks. I used 50 weight oil in the front, 80 weight in the rear. The entire truck was assembled with stainless steel screws from RC Screwz. The 2.5R was put back in the truck for trial and error testing with a new Motor saver air filter installed on it.

I ran it this way for a short time, using no body as I didn't have on that fit, to see if anything broke. To my surprise, the Pro .15 spec diffs held up well, as did the stock center front drive shaft. I blew through 3 sets of the 2.5 spec clutch shoes, 1 of which grenaded when the spring broke apart from heat. I needed to upgrade the clutch bell and shoes to something stronger due to the massive tires and extreme amount of added weight. But alas, that's where this story ends. I moved shortly after the third clutch blew up, started work at a new job, and lost track of my project. That was in 2009 or 2010.

Fast forward to now. I again want to get this thing running. I have tested the electronics, and everything still works. The fuel tank needs to be cleaned out, and the whole truck needs a cleaning in general. Aside from that, the last part of the project is the engine and clutch bell assembly. This brings me to my questions. I have the mount already, so I really just need an engine. Back in 2010 I was going to use an O.S. .21 of some sort, but now I've found a few engines that are larger and much cheaper. I have basically narrowed it down to three choices within the same price range, the LRP Z.28R Spec 3, the Ofna .28 Hyper Mach, and The Associated AE Pro 4.6. Basically what I'm looking for is an engine that is easy to tune and can hold a tune well. Power output is less important to me than ease of use. I don't want to repeat my mistake of buying an engine that has to be retuned all the time with miniscule temperature changes like that old Orion engine I had did. Basically, I want to hear from guys who have had experience with these three engines on how they run and their durability. If they need a special engine mount, I will need to know that too. The holes on the mount I have appear to be about 13/16" (20.6375mm) from the hole centers, that's likely not an exact measurment and I have no idea if mounts are all the same size or not. I will also be needing a pipe for whatever engine I buy, so pipe recommendations are definitely welcome. And lastly, I need a good clutch bell that will hold up to this truck as well as recommendations on clutch bell and spur gear tooth count that will work well with this. Thanks in advance!

cbaker65

Not sure of the Lrp,but heard they power houses,an dont know on the ease of tune.
Nor the 28 hyper,I have a 21 hyper,an love it,but dont like composite carb.s on them.

However,I absolutely love the Ae./Thunder tiger 28 engine.They are so easy to tune,especially with
the 1st gen carb. which I just installed a carb. from one of my old Ae 28 engines on my Hyper 21.

Oh,you should be able to pick up an a new Ae .28 for less than a 100 bucks on ebay.

Maxximize

Yea that's what I've been hearing about the LRP's too. I've heard they are faster than most any entry level to mid grade engine of the same size. But I've also heard the stock pull starters are crap. Who makes Ofna's engines these days? Is it Picco yet?

As of right now I think it's between the LRP and the AE 4.6. I also prefer metal carbs over composite, less leaking in my experience. I'm not sure if the LRP has metal or not, it looks like its colored metal but it's kind of hard to tell. I may have to take the truck to the LHS to see about the engine mounts for these engines, too. I'll keep a lookout for the $100 AE mill, If I find that I'm gong that route

cbaker65

Yea I dont know if they hypers any more,all of mine are old.
I had bought my Mgt. 4.6 about nearly 10 years ago.The 4.6 lasted about 5 of those years,an did right by me with out
no issues.It always kept a good tune.If I ever want to buy another decent 28,I would most certainly buy another for
it reliability.
I wanted an engine with alittle more ump,so I bought an Hpi 5.9 ,an had it for about 5 years,It still runs sweet with out
no issues.Oh,yea there is,I could never get the carb off.I think it swelled on....But still runs good with out issues...

Maxximize

I think they still are called hypers, at leat the .28 I was looking at was. The AE engine I'm looking at is a factory MGT engine if I remember correctly, it has a blue head on it anyways and looks identical. Glad to hear about the reliability report on that one, it sounds like it runs like the stock TRX engines do for tuning, which is a huge plus for me. All I can find pricing wise is $145 shipped, which is still awesome! I have been looking at HPI big blocks too, I had a nitro rush with an HPI nitor star .18 in it years ago and that thing was excellent for both power and tuning, so I suppose an HPI 4.6 would be another option. I'm still not ruling out the LRP quite yet, I've seen a few videos of it in a T Maxx and it appears to have quite a bit more lower end punch than most other budget .28 engines do. The tuning aspect of it is the only worry I have with that one. If I can't find anything, the AE 4.6 will be the winner. What kind of a clutch would be good for the AE 4.6? Also, what pipes does it like best?

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

I 2nd the comments about the AE 4.6, it's a real easy engine to live with. I had a HPI K4.1 (.25) that was also nice and easy but they're out of production. I haven't heard the best things about the HPI 5.9, some need to be sealed with silicone due to air leaks. No experience with LRP's but they are supposed to be pretty darn good, I'll check the other forum I'm on for the model that's best, I think it's the z30x or something like that.

As for clutches, the easiest thing is to get a 3 shoe conversion clutch for Traxxas engines. M2C racing, Integy, STRC all have 3 show conversion kits. It will fit the big block, you use the stock clutchbell and it will line up with the spur without much effort. If you go with a 1/8 flywheel then you have to change the spur gear to mod1 pitch as all 1/8 clutchbells are mod1 pitch. The TMaxx is 32 pitch stock.

FYI your diffs are going to hate big block power, I know I've been there. They can be made to live with aluminum outer cases and proper shimming but you're halfway to an upgrade by then. I'd look into getting the newer 3.3 diffs or better yet EMaxx 3903, 3905, 3908 style diffs. They're much stronger.

Maxximize

Awesome, that sounds like the engine I'm going to go with, unless you can find anything out about the LRP's. A friend of mine says they are made by the same company that makes the AE MGT engnine, but I'm not sure about that. I've heard great things about their raw power and most say they hold a tune well from what I've found so far, but the info is a bit dated. Any advice on the pipe to use if I go with the AE 4.6?

Would it be beneficial to switch to a larger tooth count T Maxx clutch bell and lower spur gear? I'm wondering if that might take some of the strain off the drive line.

Yea, I figure those old diffs will blow out eventually, when they do I'll look into the Emaxx diffs for a replacement, thanks for the tip there! I'm glad to hear there are factory replacement parts that will work, I really don't want to drop a load of cash on diff cases if I don't have to.

Maxximize

Well, I did a bit of digging on the LRP and AE engines. It appears that LRP engines used to be distributed by AE a while back, they even looked like AE Pro .28 engines. The LRP engine has a metal carb, with composite on the outside of the main body of the carb. I don't know why it's built that way though. The lower part that seats in the engine block is only metal, though. I have yet to hear any real complaints about any of the LRP big blocks, but it seems the zr .30x spec 2 and the z .28r spec 3 are well liked for large monster trucks, I even found some people that used them to replace the stock MGT 4.6, with no complaints. It seems to be the go to 1/8 scale budget monster truck engine these days. Every post I managed to find reported easy break in and tuning, with a very wide tuning window for all three of LRP the big blocks. I also found some independent dyno results for the AE .28 Pro and the LRP z .28r. The lowest number the LRP made was 1.54 hp, and the highest for the AE was 1.3 at similar peak RPMs, both used 20% O'Donnell fuel for the lower numbers. LRP recommends using 25% nitro, not to exceed 35%, and of course recommends their own monster truck pipe, but I've also found people reporting it runs well on Losi, HPI, Jammin and Ofna big block pipes tuned for low to mid range power. If I can find a pipe for a Savage, that would be ideal as they run on the same side of the truck. Everything else seems to have left side exhaust on it these days.

In all, LRP engines seem to be very versatile and well rounded mills. I'm thinking their .28 is the best way to go for me. I'm not sure I'd need anything bigger than a .28, and a .32 looks like it would be too powerful for the truck, though I like the looks of the zr .32 cooling head better than the .28

Maxximize

One other question before I forget, do the E Maxx diffs fit into T Maxx bulkheads? I can mod the diff case if needed, but I can't do anything to the bulks as they are billet aluminum. I found fully assemble E Maxx brushless diffs on E bay for around $20. For that I may as well upgrade them now as well as the remaining center front drive shaft. Other than those parts, I can't think of anything that will break too easily except tmaybe the tranny gears.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

EMaxx and TMaxx bulkheads are the same. Any diff will fit any bulkhead and the outputs are the same so any diff works with any axle or cvd deigned for a Maxx. There are two basic styles of diff. The old style with 2 screws holding the outer diff case together that came in the TMaxx pro15, TMaxx 2.5 and EMaxx 3906. The other is the newer 4 screw design that comes in the TMaxx 3.3 and EMaxx 3903, 3905, and 3908 models. Although the two diff assemblies are interchangeable, the parts within them are not so you can't mix and match parts. 2.5 style internals won't fit in 3.3 style diff cases and vice versa. The EMaxx 3903/5/8 diffs are slightly different than 3.3 nitro versions as they have a brace inside the diff cup making them a little stronger.

I wouldn't bother upgrading the center front shaft as it doesn't see much abuse. The center rear shaft is what sees the most abuse.

Maxximize

Excellent news there! There's a reputable seller on Ebay that sells two complete E Maxx 3908 diffs for $60 shipped. As for the shafts i have a steel dogbone for the rear one, so no worries there. The last thing I need is a clutch. I found out that the Revo uses 1/8 scale pitch gears, so I think I'll just get a Revo spur gear. It should bolt to my existing 3.3 style slipper clutch, I think. The only thing I'm not sure about is how I want to gear this thing. It looks like the Revo 1 pitch spurs come in 36 to 40 tooth sizes. If I were to buy a 40 tooth one, what would be a good clutch bell gear size to buy? I was thinking 17 or 18 tooth Savage clutch bell with a Savage flywheel and aluminum shoes would go well with a spur that small. I don't want to go with too low a ratio for now as I'm sure this engine will be very powerful and I want it to still be somewhat manageable, at least until I get used to it

Also, I've been trying to settle on a good pipe to use with the LRP .28. A lot of people recommend Ofna, Losi, and Jammin pipes for it. But I noticed they are set up for a left side exhaust buggy. I did a bit of digging, and found a THS Racing pipe for the Savage 4.6, # THS825H. It is set to point downward on the right side of the truck, so better than running one with the fuel pressure fitting on the bottom of the pipe like I would have to do with a buggy pipe. I have used THS pipes before and love them! The one for the TRX 2.5R made such a difference that my Maxx with it on almost kept up with the TRX 3.3 my buddy had with it's stock pipe! Are there any other pipes that would work well with a .28 that will sit right in a T Maxx, either exiting out of the bottom or the side without the fitting having to be on the bottom?

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

First, take a look at your current spur gear and slipper clutch. Is there 3 screws holding the spur to the slipper assembly? If so then you have the Revo style slipper kit (part #5351x) Traxxas made for the old black 2.5 trans. If there aren't 3 screws then you don't have the Revo style slipper. Either way I highly doubt a 40T mod1 spur is going to work, it's simply too small for the clutchbell to reach without doing something drastic like elongating the motor mount holes in the chassis and/or raising the engine up. Traxxas moved the input shaft of the grey 3.3 trans closer to the engine and they use a 58t 32p spur on that trans compared to 72t 32p for the black trans.

If you have the Revo style slipper kit and really want mod1 then go for a 54T E-Revo spur and pair it with a 15t clutchbell. The 54t mod1 spur is already smaller than the stock 72t 32p so you'll be geared for a higher top speed than stock even though a 15t mod1 clutchbell is about the same size as the stock 20t 32p clutchbell. This is the gearing I would choose, it'll make up for the fact the big block doesn't rev as high and still give you a higher top speed. I think a 16t mod1 clutchbell would be too high with a 54t mod1 spur but it is an option if 15t ends up too small for you.

Maxximize

Yea I do have the Revo style slipper, I converted it after frying the old peg one due to switching to 1/8 scale tires and being unable ti tighten it enough to work properly. I was still using the 72 tooth size, with the old school Pro .15 engine mount and a small (15 tooth?) clutch bell. I think the newer T Maxx 3.3 uses a smaller spur though, something like 54 teeth rings a bell. In doing a bit of digging, I found that the 40 tooth Revo gear is about the same size as the 54 tooth T Maxx gear. the people in most of the threads I could find on the subject were saying they were running 16 to 18 tooth Savage 3 shoe clutch bells with 40 tooth Revo spurs on the stock slipper, at least the ones with actual big block conversion chassis were. That's where I came up with that combo anyways. Some others were using the old peg style and a Monster GT 50 tooth spur as they are identical in the way they mount, but I don't want to swap back to that style of set up if I don't have to. Either way though, I think I am going to order the engine first, get it mounted on there, and take the whole truck to the LHS for test fitting.

Here are a few pics of one I found with the exact same chassis and engine mount as I have. It looks like he still has the old spur on there, but that engine looks very close to it going by the pictures, and there is quite a lot of play in the big block mount holes in the chassis. I think the 17/18 tooth clutch and 40 tooth might actually fit!

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

I'm going by memory for a lot of this stuff as I no longer own either of my big block Maxx's. I had one with the black trans and another with the grey trans. When I say the input shaft of the grey trans is closer to engine I meant they lowered it slightly. Remember the clutchbell is slightly under the spur not right next to it so lowering the input shaft still puts it closer to the engine. This is just a concern of mine, if you've found info the 40t works I'm not going to doubt it.

Traxxas list 58t 32p as stock for the grey trans, 54t is available and I thought that was stock too. I know I had a 54t on my grew trans big block. That pic is the old peg style slipper with what looks like a 32p spur.

Maxximize

Yea this is new ground for me, so I really have no clue if it will work. Interesting info on the gray tranny, I didn't know that they changed the position of the output shaft. I have the old black one so if it is a little off, maybe a swap to the gray case would make it work. I could also slot the engine mounts if need be, that's not too difficult a procedure. I could also make some shims to put under the engine and jack it up I suppose. I had found a post on the Traxxas forums about this, and one guy posted measured gear sizes of the T Maxx and Revo spurs and clutch bells so that's what I was going off. According to the measurements, an 18 tooth 1m clutch bell is larger than a 22 tooth .8m one if I remember correctly. From there he got into final drive ratios and all that stuff I get lost on lol. I also have my doubts that it will work though too. Same deal with the spurs of course.

Anyways, I went ahead and ordered a complete Savage flywheel and clutch bell assembly, 17 tooth, and a 40 tooth Revo spur. When I get the engine, we'll find out for sure if it will work Worst case scenario I have to mod the engine mount slots, or I'm out $26 for the Savage parts and $3 for the spur, which isn't too bad for the sake of knowledge I suppose.

One things for sure, this type of build does not seem to be well documented on any forums I've ran across, and when it is it's really dated info. That's what kind of surprises me about the whole big block Maxx thing. There are quite a few chassis for it, and a fair amount of youtube videos as well. But nobody really explains how they did what they did. When I get the parts in, I plan on some good pictures of everything in different stages. Hopefully, with a little luck this setup will work and all of us can learn something I'm also planning on some videos of the truck running next to my borther's bone stock 3.3 Maxx for some good comparison on what a big block does vs. stock. Of course at the stage my truck is, I basically have a Traxxas built Ofna Pirate, which outweighs a stock Maxx by at least 5 pounds so it may be kind of close in performance. I'm really not sure what to expect of how this will work, so that's making it even more exciting!

cbaker65

I think that you can work with that,I really dont know what type of motor mount the Tmaxx uses,but it looks like an adjustable
engine mount,were the engine slides on the mount itself,so you got foward & backward adjustment on the engine.

I know that you can acheive this custom build.Im ancious to see it after your done..

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

Big block TMaxx's used to be pretty popular. But then monster trucks started fading as truggies became more popular racers. When mid blocks (big block displacement in a small block footprint) like the Ofna .26max came out they made it way easier to add power to a TMaxx than a big block conversion. Most big block conversions also don't include everything needed, only the Dynamite kit came with everything and I think your ANCM is the only one besides the dynamite one to include a metal center shaft.

So now most of the big block kits have long been discontinued and conversions aren't that popular anymore resulting in old info. I believe the only current big block kit in production is RD Logics kit. Discontinued kits include Dynamite, Hardcore Racing, Racers Edge, XTM, New Era, FLM, Unlimited Engineering and I'm sure I'm missing at least one or two others.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

My other concern with the 40T Revo gear is the final drive ratio as the 40t is alot smaller than the 72T. Pretty sure the Revo uses 15-18T clutchbells with 15t and 38T spur being stock. The Revo trans is internally the same as the grey 3.3 TMaxx trans, and the diffs are the same ratio as the TMaxx as well. The black trans has a different ratio than the grey though. The grey has 3 available ratios but comes stock with the "wide" ratio. I think the black trans ratio is roughly equal to the "normal" ratio for the grey trans. But you have to look at the ratio of the spur to clutchbell then add the internal trans ratio for final drive ratio. I really don't feel like doing the math to figure out if 17/40 is acceptable compared to 22/72. yes you can lower the ratio (numerically) because a big block doesn't rev quite as high and has more power to pull the gearing but if you go too far it can burn up the clutch.

I know now you said you put 3.3 grey trans internals into your black trans but I doubt that. I've had both apart next to each other and couldn't see how to do so even when modifying or mixing and matching parts. I've also never read any postings about it being done except for the Traxxas input shaft/slipper upgrade kit. Both black and grey trans did have upgrades available from Robinson racing in the form of metal gears. OTB made metal gears including the 2spd (rare and valuable!!) and UE made metal forward only kits. One of these is more likely. Sorry but this is one of those times I'd need pics and more details to believe it.

These are just my concerns and are for discussion. Not set in stone fact or anything. Even if the 17/40 isn't the best ratio there are options in the spur gear to change the ratio and keep the Savage parts.

Maxximize

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm hoping it all goes somewhat smoothly at least. It has quite a lot of travel room to move side to side on the big block mount, so it may not have to be modified I'm hoping! Anyways, there will be quite a few pictures of this thing as I put it together so everyone can enjoy it

Maxximize

Man that sucks they don't make many of the extended chassis anymore! All the new Maxx owners are pretty much stuck with what they get. Kind of takes all the fun and uniqueness away from modding a truck when everything is cookie cutter made and drops into stock parts. Hell even when I still had the 2.5R on mine with the ACNCM chassis, I loved all the extra room in the back. That was always a complaint of mine with the Maxx, it always seemed so cramped.

I agree on the final drive ratio concerns, I really have no idea what my final drive is now, and I really won't know if I install these parts and they work. Aside from clearance issues on the Revo chassis, I wonder why it's geared so much differently than the Maxx is. Anyways, as far as the tranny is concerned, it's more likely you're right on this one. I am going off memory on that one and don't want to gut it again unless I have to hahaha. I remember it was a drop in forward only kit that Traxxas made at the time the 2.5 and 3.3 were both sold and the T Maxx Classic was a re release of the original Pro .15 Maxx. They also had a Sport Maxx at that time too. Anyways, the rest of the upgraded parts were 3.3 spec and it's most likely that my brain remembers that and not what my tranny gears were.

Also, I was scrounging the net for 1/8 spur gears again to see what else there is available, and came across the Associated Monster GT 8.0 spur gear. That thing looks awfully close to the Traxxas style spur gear, just as the 4.6 MGT spur looked like the old school Traxxas peg slipper. I know for sure the peg style one fits directly onto a Traxxas peg style output shaft, but I'm not sure if the 8.0 one interchanges with the newer style slipper. The entire unit looks like a modified Traxxas slipper, the 3 shoes are replaced with a friction pad, but other than that it looks the same. That spur in the pic is a 49 tooth one, which would probably be a better bet for my truck. Man I might just have to buy one and see if it will bolt up to the Traxxas unit. It's kind of strange, even the tranny on the MGT looks like a black 2.5 T Maxx tranny, is Associated owned by Traxxas? Even if the 40 tooth gear worked, I'd rather use the 49 tooth one for sure, it just sounds better to me. I'll probably go ahead and buy one of the Associated gears too and see if that will work. Spur gears are cheap enough so it's not a big deal if it won't. The only thing that sucks about that spur gear is its metal, and I can't seem to find any plastic ones that look like the newer Traxxas ones.

Edit: I went ahead and ordered a Monster GT 8.0 slipper clutch and spur gear, $21 for the whole package. If it mounts on the Traxxas shaft, I may just use the whole MGT setup in place of the Traxxas one. I may run into trouble with the stock HPI Clutch bell on the metal spur as it is not hardened, but I can always buy one if I need to. If that thing fits, I'll have a 49 tooth spur with a 17 tooth clutch bell. If the 40 tooth Revo one works, I can experiment with it too to see what the difference is

Here are some pics of the MGT 8.0 slipper parts

Maxximize

Wow this thread is getting long! Anyways, a quick update for everyone! Some parts are beginning to filter in day by day. I got my new Proline body shell, Futaba 3PRKA radio, and THS Savage pipe. Also got some spandex red shock covers in today. There are still a few more things that are on the way yet. The Revo 40 tooth spur gear, AE MGT 8.0 slipper kit, the Savage flywheel and 17 tooth clutch bell, and of course the most important thing, the engine. I also need some paint for the body and possibly a new fuel tank, along with some miscellaneous stuff like a new glow starter. I am thinking of getting some MGT 8.0 rims and tires so I have an option on vehicle width. I am also considering a new steering servo to replace my aging Cirrus CDS 751 MG, which still works well but makes strange noises when it moves. I think I should replace those four Traxxas progressive springs as well with some beefier 1/8 scale springs to go with the Losi blue ones, so if anybody has recommendations for good springs that are on the stiffer side, let me know. The truck seems a bit too heavy for the current set up and will likely be way to heavy with the big block mounted on it. On to the radio. I charged up my old NiMH AA batteries, and tested the Futaba radio. To my surprise, it came already bound to the receiver and worked flawlessly right out of the box! It has a nice balanced feel to it and a nice grip as well. I'm very impressed with this radio, especially at such a low price. Anyways, without further ado, here are some pics of the stuff I have so far.



And here is a breakdown of the parts and what they cost:
THS Racing Tuned Savage 4.6 pipe with hard coating #THS825H: $56.80 list price was $90
Futaba 3PRKA radio system #FUTK3100: $70
Proline Ford F150 SVT Raptor 1/8 scale body #PRO334500: $38
Unknown shock covers: $8

I'm planning on going with a fire engine red on the body to match my red Ofna Pirate wheels and red shock covers. I think the red blue and silver will look pretty damn nice! I can't wait to see this engine in person, it should be getting here on Monday and the rest of the parts should filter in throughout the week.

Maxximize

On to another topic, the fuel tank. I took my old Proline tank off the truck to clean it, and discovered it was leaking from the feed nipple and from the cap. I don't really think it is worth it to try and fix it. This leads me to another question, what's a good option for a fuel tank? I hate the stock T Maxx tanks, and don't like the aluminum ones made for the Maxx either. I have seen several people putting Ofna 9.5 Violator tanks on T Maxx's before, but I don't want to rearrange the whole chassis just for a fuel tank. Now I noticed there are two 9.5 fuel tanks, the Pro one and the Violator one. The violator is listed as being a 145cc tank, but I can't find anything on the capacity of the Pro one. The 9.5 pro tank dimensions are listed as 3.31" long, 1.575" wide, and 2.757" high, which would fit behind my battery box easily and would only require me to drill the mounting holes for it. The Violator tank is longer at 3.75" and is also wider and taller by a slight amount, so it would be a much harder fit in the stock location. Does anybody know what the capacity of the 9.5 Pro tank is? If it is 125cc or bigger I'd be fine with using it. My issue with Maxx tanks has always been half tank leaning, and I've heard the Ofna tanks all but eliminate that. I've also heard they are tougher, have built in fuel filters, and they are cheaper too. The part number for the Pro tank is OFN40066. Anther one I found is an Ofna 125cc tank for the Ultra GTI think it was. It's number is OFN30280.

cbaker65

Ofna tanks are good! I think t-max tanks are more sqaure,I seen some tanks that are more oblong,but you definitly
need a bigger tank for a big block..I have a 290cc on my mgt...Lol..its massive!..I had to make spacers to mount it
over the top of the servo...

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

I had a Savage tank on one of my TMaxx big block conversions. A couple stand offs was all it took to install, it fits in roughly the same footprint and if memory serves is 150cc too.

If you don't have a servo or throttle arm in front of the tank definitely look into a buggy or Truggy tank. Buggy tanks are 125cc while truggy are 150cc. My pick would be the Ofna Hyper One Seven 1/7 250cc tank. It's a bit taller than a regular buggy/truggy tank but not tall enough to cause the half tank lean problem.

The stock TMaxx tank has the half tank lean problem because it's so tall. At half tank there's a lot less fuel pushing down on the remaining fuel which means there's less fuel pressure causing the engine to run more lean. Buggy/truggy tanks are long instead of tall so fuel pressure is more constant.

@CBaker 290cc? What tank is that? I didn't know of anything bigger than the Ofna 250cc tank that still had a flip top fill lid.

Maxximize

Wow, CBaker that tank is huge! You must get some extreme run times on that thing I like the idea of the Savage tank too. Unfortunately, the Ofna 250cc tank is too long to fit in the stock location without removing the battery box. I am limited to about 4" max length in the stock location from the battery box to the end of the machined out area of the chassis. Any longer and I'd be drilling into 1/4" thick billet aluminum. So I'm pretty much limited to the 9.5 pro tank, but I have no clue how much fuel it holds, just know that it will fit. If all else fails, I can always go with a Monster Pirate tank or the 30280 tank, both are 125cc but will easily fit in the stock location. Also, my throttle servo is in the stock location right now and I think I want to leave it there. CBaker how big is a Monster GT stock fuel tank externally? Also, how well did it work for you before upgrading to that massive one you have?