FLM Bullet Proof Build

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8

88gtanotchback

SAVAHOLIC
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Alright so it may not be bullet proof but at least its finally finished. My goal was to build a basher that should be able to take some punishment. I haven't tested the truck yet as i just finished tonight and when i went to use it i noticed the rolling selector on my spektrum is broke. so i cant fine tune or set the failsafe or anything till that is taken care of.
Details of the build are:

FLM Ext TVP's
FLM engine plate
FLM shock towers
FLM steering link
FLM servo plate
as well as a few other FLM parts.

I gotta say everything fit together so nicely and i was very impressed with the quality. also Nick at SMF is the man. great to deal with and quick shipping even up here to Canada.

For shocks i decided to try the Baja shocks. mounting them was a bit of a pain but with some help from mega and looking at whip's set up (thanks guys) i rigged something up. i really like the stance the truck gets from the baja's, but hope the rollovers are to a minimum.

I mounted the picco in and matched it to the three speed. Before i took it apart it used to rip with the macs pipe. love this motor with a three speed. not enough power to blow them apart like banks but still ok. lol

I used a 7995 servo for steering and a 5645 for the throttle brake and tried to mimick banks better throttle mod. it works good but not as cosmetically pleasing as some ive seen.

I went for the mugen tank and cen radio box as i liked the clean look it has. Looking forward to no more or minimal HTL problems.

I had alot of fun doing this build and cant wait to drive this beast. Thanks to everyone on the board, i spent a lot of time researching and "borrowing" ideas. excellent resources here. Heck frddyj even sent me gaskets FREE no shipping charges or nothing. couldn't have done it w/o ya guys. now onto pics.

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i just used a standard body since i had a new one laying around, and for tires i went with the zombies. thanks again to all who helped, let me know what you think.
 
thanks max. ya rollovers may be a common thing but I'm kinda hoping the width counters it. only one way to find out.:dunno:
 
Sweet truck and very clean build, don't forget to secure your air filter, that could be horrible.
 
thanks for the words guys.

Robin I'm gonna secure it for sure but since the remotes down i figure its due for a cleaning anyways. thanks for looking out tho i've heard horror stories.

Ill let you know how i like the shocks prophet but as for the feel even just compressing them i think there gonna work great.

Max ill definitely have some dialing in to do all over the truck luckily like you said suspension is an easy one.
 
That thing looks like a beast with that ride height! LOL! Hopefully it doesn't roll too much on you. What issues came up when installing the Baja shocks? Other than the clearance for the mounting bolts to the shock towers were there other fitment issues with the stock suspension? I want to upgrade my XL but have not decided what kind of shocks to use.
 
Nice truck! If you want to ensure that you'll have minimal rollovers with that high ride height I would recommend SPI aluminum wheels. They are a little lighter than stock and have a 1 1/2 offset.

http://www.spiracingwheels.com/2009/index.htm


Other than that you have a seriously good looking truck on your hands.
 
mike- with the shocks how i did it myself is i used standoffs, then mounted the whole bolt thru the arm. I'm hoping that this is tough enough but ill have to get her flying before i can recommend this method. mega recommended that i get the yellow springs for the set up i just haven't got around to ordering them yet so ill see how these work first now that there installed.

thanks for the comments guys, and fx those wheels are sick. i like them a lot. i have a set of dirt hawgs on different rims that have a crazy offset so i could try those but there's a lot of rotating mass on a big tire like that so i figured id try the zombies first.
 
sweet build 88. +rep for your work. i like those rims? what are they?

would you mind pounding the crap out of them & reporting back? they might looks sweet on a b/l truck.
 
If you break those baja shocks I will personally give you a buffalo nickel. Anyone ever think about using the smaller front Baja shocks on a savy?
 
I was going to ask about that when I noticed that the Baja has two different sized shocks. Which are you using, the front or the back?

Also, I noticed the tires are really bulged on the sidewalls. The Zombies aren't really meant for a wheel that large are they? It seems as though you got them glued on though, let us know if they work well like that. If they do then that opens up more tire options to use with those larger HPI wheels. I thought there were only a couple different tires that would work with the 115mm wheels.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MikeK1981 said:
Also, I noticed the tires are really bulged on the sidewalls. The Zombies aren't really meant for a wheel that large are they? It seems as though you got them glued on though, let us know if they work well like that. If they do then that opens up more tire options to use with those larger HPI wheels. I thought there were only a couple different tires that would work with the 115mm wheels.
Click to expand...

zombies are made for Width: 2.2" (56mm) Diameter: 3.3" (83mm)

Gluing must have been tough but I like the look!
 
texasavage said:
I thought those were the front shocks? cornfused
Click to expand...
Yup there front. good catch

MikeK1981 said:
I was going to ask about that when I noticed that the Baja has two different sized shocks. Which are you using, the front or the back?

Also, I noticed the tires are really bulged on the sidewalls. The Zombies aren't really meant for a wheel that large are they? It seems as though you got them glued on though, let us know if they work well like that. If they do then that opens up more tire options to use with those larger HPI wheels. I thought there were only a couple different tires that would work with the 115mm wheels.
Click to expand...

I'm running the front shocks mike. 127-187mm. the sidewalls are budged but they actually work very well. barely any ballooning and still nice cushioning on landings. On the old set up anyways, haven't tested on the tank model yet. lol. so ill get back to you on more testing but i think your correct in it opening more doors for different choices.


Bankrupter said:
zombies are made for Width: 2.2" (56mm) Diameter: 3.3" (83mm)

Gluing must have been tough but I like the look!
Click to expand...
i cant take credit bank i got these tires in a lil bulk purchase i made and really liked the look of them as well. I'm sure they were a pain tho.

heres a few more shots of her guys with the aluminum steering components and tie rod eliminators. i dremeled a bit off for extra turning but want to test it before i go any further, so ill continue waiting for the speky i guess.:duh:

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close up of tires.

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and the passenger side view just since i haven't:drunk:

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man that truck is impressive. What kind of travel are you getting with the baja shocks? I really like the look of the ride height. the only thing that is close to the ground is the wheel assemblies. BTW it is too clean go outside and give that girl a good run in the dirt!!
 
ya I'm thinking I'm just gonna switch over to one of my hpi radios and hook a failsafe up for now so i can get her running. i should be able to get a camera man but it will still be just the old cell phone quality. but i do agree its far to clean sitting there, soon enough ill fix that. i don't know the ground clearance off hand magoo but I'm gonna go with lots.:dunno:
 
hey guys i just took it for the first run. i had a little trouble getting it going but it was the throttle trim just needed a little tweaking. i finally got it going, and going good. i was super impressed by my picco. this is a heavy truck and ext to boot, and it was ripping wheelies amazing. every time the throttle was blipped the tires came up with a few right overs, lol. lots of fun, so i was just about to fire up the camera when all the sudden i noticed the front tire dangling. the stupid lil pin (each side has a c clip) fell out of the steering knuckle. lil upsetting that i only got a half a tank of enjoyment out of it. ill head home soon from my testing grounds (parents acreage) and get her back in her prime and hopefully go out tonight with a buddy for the real bashing. sorry about there being no video or pictures but i thought id give you an update on the shake down run anyways.
 
oh yeah bank your throttle mod rules! breaks will pull a stoppie and the control is unreal even w/o my speky (which is getting sent in today. i just gotta pay one way shipping.
p.s no side roll overs at all pretty pumped mind you thats just half a tank.
 
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