I just bought a used Savage and need some advice..

[Guðmundur B. Gíslason]

this is a copy paste from http://www.savage-central.com/ where I didn't get any response. I am hoping for more love here

Hi all!
I am new here and new to the savage world of savages, I just bought a used Savage X or at least I think it's an X since there is a huge X on the chassis. I am not sure what model it is nor how old it is.
The motor was dead, witch didn't really matter since I plan to put a brushless motor into the beast. Is the kershawdesigns brushless conversion kit the way to go or should I use something else?
The shocks sound like the oil has been replaced with sand, so I might have to either clean them and put in new oil but I want to have 4 shocks instead of 8.
What should I have in mind when I take it apart to see what I need to replace or upgrade?
Also I recently bought a Summit so my next buy wasn't supposed to be a monstertruck I had planned to buy a 1/8 buggy but I got this one for a pretty good price, so what are my options in making the savage into a buggy/truggy type of vehicle?
Here are some pic's of the beast.

there are some updates though, I took it apart and the chassis plates where bent and broken in two places and there where quite a lot of missing and non stock screws in the truck so I bought new plates and screws off ebay.

 

[X]

Welcome to the site!

Judging from the pics, my best guess is that you have a savage x 4.1 rtr. That's assuming that certain parts are stock.
http://www.hpiracing.com/en/kit/859

If going brushless, the kershaw direct drive setup appears to be your best bet. Nice part is they pretty much stock everything to make the conversion.

If you want to rebuild the shocks, it's not difficult. From your description either the oil has leaked out or the o-rings have allowed debris to get inside the shock bodies. I would look at the shock shaft and check for scrapes and wear. Then replace if necessary. Either way, replacing the o-rings is a smart move. If you do want to upgrade to a four shock setup the big bores are a popular and relatively cheap upgrade.

Replacing the TVPs is cheap aswell, so no issue there. If you choose to upgrade the cost goes up a bit. We can help you find what you need if you do.

Finally, the buggy/ truggy thing. There are certainly ways to make the savage more nimble, but you sacrifice bashing ability to do so. Just know that whatever you do, the savage will never truly be a racer.

If you want to give us your goals we can probably help you find parts.

 

[Guðmundur B. Gíslason]

If going brushless, the kershaw direct drive setup appears to be your best bet. Nice part is they pretty much stock everything to make the conversion.

Jeah I think I might go with it since I get the parts to convert the transmission with that kit.

If you do want to upgrade to a four shock setup the big bores are a popular and relatively cheap upgrade.

Would this set fit with out any extra parts/mods? http://www.ebay.com/itm/HPI-RACING-...456?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d57d74200

Replacing the TVPs is cheap aswell, so no issue there. If you choose to upgrade the cost goes up a bit.

I´ll stick with the stock replacement for now

Finally, the buggy/ truggy thing. There are certainly ways to make the savage more nimble, but you sacrifice bashing ability to do so. Just know that whatever uou do, the savage will never truly be a racer.

I won't be doing any racing I just want to lower it a bit and use it as a speedy basher (more speed than my summit)

If you want to give us your goals we can probably help you find parts.

My goals for now is to get it up and running and later on install my fpv and just goof around

 

[Jam Racing 1]

Yes those Big Bore shocks will fit without any mods needed...

 

[rcnut14]

The cheapest place ive found shocks is dollarhobbyz. 35bux with free shipping

 

[Guðmundur B. Gíslason]

The cheapest place ive found shocks is dollarhobbyz. 35bux with free shipping

I presume that would be the plastic ones. Are the aluminium ones worth it ir should I stick with the plastic?

[Edit] fixed quote

 

[Jam Racing 1]

I have a set of plastic ones and I recently got a set of Integy Alloy shocks for my savage and built them up, I like the alloy ones much better

 

[rcnut14]

I too am yhinking about the alloy ones. But the plastic ones work fine for the money.

 

[Guðmundur B. Gíslason]

Slight update, I finished tearing it apart and noticed a few more issues starting to see why I got it cheap

The transmission gears where completely dry almost as if they had never been lubed and some of them where in not so great shape should work though, and 3 of the shocks almost didn't have any threads left on top of them so they leaked from the top. The front differential box was broken and needs to be replaced also I have a feeling that the bevel gear there will also need replacing soon two dog bone shafts where bent and the atleast one 4mm shaft was bent.

But all in all I managed to salvage more than I had to trow away but I have to throw in more money to start with than I had planed, I was going to buy a new steering servo but it has a Futaba S3305 and it seems to be in ok shape I might try to waterproof it and use it to start with.

Any tips on water proofing the receiverbox?