You can upgrade to a side exit pipe. In fact most performance pipes are side exit for truggies. Just turn the tip down and the pressure nipple will be on the side. Tons of trucks here set up that way.
Nobody makes knock off trans gears. I belive that hd upper is discontinued. My gurss is its a flux tranny parted out. You still have what you ordered. What would ofgicial hpi baggies do?
There is no magic number of years for experation.
No personally i hate blue thunder. I think its trash new and 4yrs old. Why take a chance a new gallon is $30. Apparantly it will last uou a while.
First make sure youre linkage esp rod to carb is straight with no binding. Then adjust your throttle servo return point. Turn the trim towards brake until its at full idle stop in neutral. You may have to recenter the servo arm to allow adjudtment without throwing the brakes off.
Once you have...
I used to have similar tie rods gpm a while back. I had issues with them coming loose. That securement nut will need some loctite. I may still have them in my tool box. I have to check. Running lunsfords now. Cant get them anymore.
I have had issues with front bones popping out as well both reg and shd when the orings wear out. I put some small plastic bushings in the cups to take up the slop. I run them in the front of all 3 of my savages now. No more popping bones.
I don't know why hpi changed the pin keeper design to that stupid looping brace that requires tie straps. I have the original short braces from the originsl s25. They screw into the bulk head and the stops are close enough to hold the pins but plyable enough as not to bend the pins on front...
I have a stock .32 and one from neal. Both run great on the ofna 086 or nova 9886 pipe. That engine is a torque monster so a low end pipe 053 or jp1 will make it a wheelie monster that will peak and fall quickly. The top end pipes will shift the power curve towards the middle to upper rpm range.