Ok so i am kind of thinking of building my very own 1/8 scale buggy, which will be similar to a truggy. Not for racing (but would be nice to have the speed/handling) but for bashing. To me monster trucks seem extremely tipsy and bulky, and not as attractive as buggies so I am thinking to get some .30 engine, truggy wheels, good longer suspension (truggy/mt like) and maybe customize the buggy to double suspension on each side. Hoping to have an aluminum bottom plate and carbon fiber upper late with rubber+plastic front bumper. Hopefully to get a tranny that will be able to reverse. On top of that I'll get a 3pm, 1 free channel for mods.

Do you think this is a dumbass idea? What would you recommend? or maybe i should just buy a buggy and mod that, whould that be cheaper?

trust me MTs are not tipsy, get a Traxxas Revo its everything your looking for. Some ppl swear it handles better than a truggy, but we all kno thats not the case. Its probably the best handleing MT there is and its super durable, and you wont have to worry about setting it up or all that diff mantanice and that stuff that comes with a trugg/bugg.

Revo 3.3: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...1p?&I=LXMHP1**
Revo 3.3 Promo Vid: http://www.traxxas.com/ftp/revo33_mo...o_revo3301.htm

If have the foundry, machine shop and money go for it. But you could buy something a WHOLE lot cheaper. If it has a transmission and reverse it will not be a buggy or a truggy but a monster truck. Buggies and Truggies have center differentials. There have been a few that have talked about doing something similar but yet have I seen any thing being done.
Good luck and have fun.

I own both a monster truck set up for racing and a buggy. I assure you there is no way to get one to handle as well as a buggy or truggy and are not as durable. I run some fairly big series and none of the monster trucks are as fast or handle near as well. Yes you can get a monster truck to handle fairly well but nowhere near as well as a buggy and is why I do not race my monster truck near as much.

I have no experience with truggies or monster trucks but i think ill go with 46u's opinion. I know i need speed+handling+endurance. I think the best possible way to achieve this is by building a customized buggy. Besides i am looking for some fun building the car so i am not sure that i want to buy Revo and just play with it . 46u, do you think i can steal MT's drive train(reverse tranny) and put it on buggy frame?

well lets think of this, hmm do you wanna go the best possible way?
do you have custom machining tools.
how expensive do you wanna get.

the first thing that comes to my mind is, take a truggy chassis, and get radio tray posts (the mounts) or wing stay post http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMVT6&P=Z and attact 8 or 12 (i cant remember) to a tmaxx chassis and drill out custom holes to a chassis and attact that to the chassis. but this will make a extremely high center of gravity and many more problems.

i still vote revo 3.3 =\ but i will be glad to help you in anyway possible! =]]

If you have the tools, machines, know how and money you can do just about anything. Buggies make great racers and decent bashers. Monster truck are much better bashers. Why not look in to a Savage X SS Kit and then lower it. To makes something from scratch which can be done but will be VERY expansive and take maybe years of work. A buggy was not design for transmissions even thaw a few have them or can be installed but not your true racer. I do not know of any that have reverse.

I am really looking into bashing, but I really like to play around at high speeds with durability too. I have common tools at home such as drills, grinders, vices, files, etc.. But i also have access to a machine shop: lath, mill, band saw, etc... I am kind of poor so i think ill buy a used chassis, throw out the engine, replace it with .30 and go from there. What do you say?
p.s. lol, i am not a true racer and i dont think ill be one any time soon. I just want something fun and special to play around with. I do know how to use machine shop tools and i guess thats all i will need for construction. I guess better start saving money now then
Thanks big time for your help folks

If money is a factor then I recommend buy a kit build it and be done with it. Or you can spend much money as well as time which could take years and build something. Fast are you driving on road or off road? You can only go so fast off road and still be able to control it. If you are going to drive on road then I recommend an on road car. I am truly trying to help and not give you a hard time.

I have a small machine shop here at my house but do not have the time to scratch build a vehicle and sitll race. I know some home machinist that build really nice things like ¼ scale running V eights engines but it takes YEARS.

Hmm, I guess I wont scratch build a buggy, more like machine minor parts and assemble the rest from time-to-time. I am thinking of spending half a year on this project. Maybe buying a used revo and a used 1/8 scale buggy, mix both with other machined parts and a .30 engine like... maybe this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/STS-30-PullStart...QQcmdZViewItem
or maybe this guy right here: http://cgi.ebay.com/NIB-Infinity-Mon...ayphotohosting
p.s. Ill spend my 1/2 my time offroad 1/2 time offroad

Post pictures and up dates.

If you want to make a custom buggy go for it. I have seen some fantastic stuff made by people with little previous experience using what most people throw away. The thing you MUST do is plan exactly what you want to do before you start building. Once you start you can make changes if you need to but if you plan properly you wont heed to make many if any. Look around for 2nd hand stuff if you are like me (broke), you might even get some stuff for nothing from people that have parts they dont want or cars they dont use. I was just given a 1/8 Kyosho Mp6 by a mate. It needed a fair bit of work and cost about $50 in parts but it is now like new (except for a tired engine) it might be old but it is a ton of fun and it even beats some later stuff at out club.
Terry

Would you say that most nitro 1/8 scale buggy racers use one speed or two speed transmission?

its not even a transmission, its a differential and its single speed, hope this helps.

^then dont even try, your probably looking at upwards of 1000-2000 dollars, and easily over 80 labor hrs if not more.

I am fine with 900 and i dont need all new stuff, the engine must be new, thats all
edit: labour hours are nothing. I am more than happy to spend time on this hobby

haha ok your a hard one to crack. if you have your mind set then ill be happy to help you in anyway possible. if you'd like when i get my matrix pro, ill messure stuff for you, its pretty cheap it could be your starting point.

are there usually 2 steering servos on heavy cars?

dont go with the two servo thing, companies do that to make it seem more powerful when actually they throw in two crapy servos, it dont work. more revo/lst2 owners opt for the one set up, theres less linkage.

servo wise id say the new JR King 8711 or the Hitec Robo servo

Jr(403oz/in) Hitec(333oz/in)

This is the only 2 speed buggy I have found yet. It is only 1/10 scale though. At least it shows that there is such a thing as a 2 speed buggy.

Ebay

Nitro Gas 2 speed 4WD Remote Radio Control RC Buggy Car
Aus seller-100% feedback -Not traxxas,Team Losi,CEN,HPI Item number: 130097281707
1:10 Scale Smartech Nitro Gas 4WD 2Speed Radio Control RC Buggy Car RTR - Winner Sports
End time: 10-Apr-07 21:07:14 AEST (1 day 6 hours)
Posts to: Worldwide
Item location: Sydney, NSW, Australia

dude, lol, i own that car. But are there any 'racers' that use 2 speed?
edit:how very ironic. I actually bought the car off the same seller, bahahah

ok, ill go for a good quality torque servo, thanks for the tip

would you recommend metal geared? I saw titanium geared setup, one word---fascinating---[&o] its worth 150US

So you bought one. Whats it like? By your comment it's not race quallity but is it any good for stuffing around with?

no a two speed is illegal to use in racing, no body uses it. i would recommend agains plastic geared servos and eitehr get metal or titiamum. and that smart tech buggy is horrible.