OPERATION: Savage..............

[Londoner]

Greetings all,

Thought id do a little write up about my project iv been working on the past couple of weeks, and was hoping some of you savage guru's could tell me what you think?

I started off with a 4 month old savage x 4.6, pretty much stock with the exception of a HPI tuned polished pipe, ss chrome outdrive dogbones, hong nor red clutch shoes with a new 18t clutch bell to get a bit more top end speed and reduce the somewhat annoying tendency to wheelie everytime i touched the throttle, and a 6v hump pack.

It all started when i was looking for a 3 speed gearbox from a new broken up xl on ebay and, well, one thing led to another lol

This was my nearly stock X 4.6.............

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And this is the pretty much finished project, as the final pieces of the puzzle arrived today, my Axial 40 series beadlocks together with a set of proline big joe rubber to wrap around them, also my new k4.6 engine arrived yesterday, pulled from a new ss kit on ebay.

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Il try and take you through the journey of building this truck as best i can, i wish id started this thread at the beggining and added to it as i went along, but never mind, i did take pics as i went but after uploading all the pics off the cam and my phone and viewing all the pics most of them didnt turn out too great, low quality, so il post the best ones.

First things i got was the XL chassis plates, XL s/heavy duty extended axles, XL centre dogbone and drive cup set, ofna throttle/brake linkage kit and sliders, FLM servo mount set (which came with completely the wrong screws lol) x2, i wasnt sure of how id be mounting the servos so i got two sets, and all at a great price from the USA on ebay and an Innovatine RC LST shock kit for x lower arms.

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Next things i got were, an XL 3 speed box, XL s/heavy duty outdrive dogbones and an RPM rc10gt Rx box, again ebay, USA

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Then i fitted the xl tvp's, the 3 speed box, and xl centre dogbones, and turned the fuel inlet banjo round 180degrees for the upcoming mid-tank ;-)

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Then the I-RC shock kit went on and i won two auctions on ebay for a full set of LST XXL shocks, an a new hellfire tank both at an absolute steal of a price, even with the shocks coming from the USA!

I also made my first mock up of the throttle/brake linkage.

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The next lot of bits i got was a FLM servo plate kit, from SMFSTORE.com, many thanks to nick there for getting it across the pond to me so damn fast! Nice1

A set of I-RC hellfire tank mounts and a set of bearings to go in the steering posts.

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So, fitted the steering post bearings and chucked the shagged plastic bushes out the window, oh i also got a nice new alloy servo horn lol ;-)

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Fitted the FLM servo plate front front brace, the existing forward holes for the battery box just needed to be drilled out to 4mm to accomodate the m4 screws for the brace, and three washers were used to pack out a bit of space between the brace and plate to bring the plate up to a more level position, if id just bolted the plate down onto the brace as it is the plate would be slanting forward too much, i used i little CA to hold the washers in place while i was lining everything up.

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Then i marked out where i needed to drill the new 4mm holes in the tvp for the servo plate rear brace/mount, turned out ok really.

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All bolted up with the tank mounted on the I-RC hellfire tank mounts, and my hump pack just temporarily cable tied to the underside of the servo plate, i will get battery box and I-RC kit to hang it on the shock towers, but for now its there lol

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Then i made up my Rx box, i cut off the old antenna mount from the old Rx tray that sits in the old battery box, then drilled a hole the same size as the mount and CA'd the mount into the hole.

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Then put all the guts into it, fitted the power switch into the top,the failsafe is no longer in there now.

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I used two small screws and drilled into the front shock tower to mount the RX box, i don't think this has weakened the tower any, but if it has and it breaks, the towers are two a penny on ebay so il replace it and find another way to fit it, if it doesnt break, great!

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Then i turned my attention to the roll bar, as i now had the XL extended chassis i discovered the roll bar no longer reaches where it mounts to the body posts on the stock X chassis, so made up this crude but functional and strong as hell bracket, basically out of a spare engine plate brace, a piece of ally plate, some M6 threaded rod, locknuts and washers.

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From the underside, of course two new 4mm holes had to be drilled to mount the bracket to the tvp, but this was no biggie, just had to make sure i drilled them in the right place the first time.

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Ok, so then the next things i got was an I-RC one piece engine plate/brace, 3mm plate, 9mm thick inc the brace, the XL super heavy duty diff outdrive cups and I-RC diff case gaskets.

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Stripped down the diffs, which id previously shimmed, and fitted the XL diff cups to complete the XL super heavy duty drivetrain, re-shimmed and re-filled with 30.000w silicon diff oil, greased then re-assembled the bulks.

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Fitted the I-RC one piece engine plate/braces, and used large flat steel washers under the heads of the engine mount screws, 1 to prevent the screw heads damaging the nice engine plate and 2 because my first original engine plate cracked after the first gallon or so and stripped a spur, it cracked right across the centre of between two screw heads, i replaced it with another stock piece but with the flat washers, and il continue to use the washers even with this stronger plate.

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And changed the throttle servo mounting slightly and added the FLM mounts, i will make up a nicer looking plate for the servo mounts in the future but this one i quickly knocked up works fine for now.

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Then she was pretty much done, i got a nice new XL body, all that was left to do was take her for a run. (and put the wheels back on the right way around with all the treads facing the right way lol)

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So, took it for the first run since the mods and the difference in handling was noticable straight away, hardly any body roll, no more wheelies but all four wheels on the ground putting the power down where it should be, not up in the air facing the sky lol.

Continued in next post.........................

 

[Londoner]

Only thing was i couldnt hear any gear shifting, she was getting up to speed ok but sounded like a single speed buggy lol

Anyway after much thought i came to the conclusion that it was down to my CB/SG the xl uses 16/52 i believe, and I'm using 18/47, therefore my CB/SG gearing was spinning the gearbox so fast it was just going through all the gears so fast i couldnt hear or notice any shifting.

After screwing in the 2nd-3rd adjustment screw i got a noticeable 2nd-3rd shift, only for me to hit the brake a lil too hard, forward roll it, only gently and break a rear shock cap!!!!! The eye snapped clean off the shock cap as the rear rolled over and only gently tapping the ground Grrrrrrrrrrrr

Ordered a set of LST alloy caps from a USA ebay store as they don't seem to have them anywhere over here?? lol what a joke!

Managed to get a set of replacement plastic caps from an RC shop in the uk for now but il have to wait another week or so for the alloy jobbies from the US.

i stumbled upon a brand new pullstart k4.6 from an ss kit.

Here it is after fitting flywheel and clutch assembly and sealing backplate, carb, carb fitting screw/mount thing, and sealing the needles with green slime.

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I also bought the k series rotostart backplate and the longer xl rotostart shaft for if i decide to be lazy lol

 

[Larsenracing]

Very nice build there buddy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[frddyj]

sweet truck Londoner :resp: got a link to that steer-servo arm?

 

[Scott]

Sweet build there Lodoner....

 

[Londoner]

And last but not least was my wheels..........

After much thought my son and i decided on a set of 40 series Axial 8 spoke white bead locks and a set of pro-line big Joe tires.

Ive also de-anodized most of the tacky looking purple by using wet n dry paper, looks nice i think, iv done both the plates that sit under the skids and all four lower arm braces so far.

And the wheels all mounted up, new engine fitted, i also stripped down the gearbox and wound down the 1st-2nd screw maybe just over half a turn.

My eldest son and i took her out to the local park today to break in the new engine, she fired up on second pull on the pull start, idled her for three tanks, then done some small half throttle ovals up and down the field for two more tanks, then tuned the HSN a little, and i must say i am well impressed with the k4.6, i was a little worried it would be a bit underpowered with the extra weight of the xl tvp's, drive train and all the other weight adding extras, but no she HAULS A$$ man!

The X was no small beast but now its just seems gargantuan in comparison with the extended axles and I'm not sure of what the offset is on the axial rims but its quite a bit and pushes the width out further, i can now take turns at speeds i couldnt even dream of with the stock X, she hardly rolls over at all, only really rolling forward if i hit the anchors a bit too hard on a high grip surface.

The gearbox still needs further adjustment as its still shifting far two early and going through all three in like 2 seconds!

The k engine isnt anywhere near fully broken in yet nor properly tuned yet but i am very impressed with the results so far.

 

[Londoner]

Very nice build there buddy. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Larsen, I'm gonna be bugging you soon for one of your wing mount kits, just need to let the bank balance stabalize a bit first, its taken a bit of a hammering of late, Mrs Londoner isnt happy but hey lol

sweet truck Londoner :resp: got a link to that steer-servo arm?

Thanks frddyj, yea sure here ya go my man

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=300286676682

just looked and it says 0 available now, but maybe taheyll get more in soon?

Sweet build there Lodoner....

Thanks Scott mate, I'm gonna be building another soon, I'm halfway there with all the stock bits removed for this build, but il do another mid tank, but standard length, maybe with Larsons carbon servo and engine plate ;-) tasty lol

 

[wildchild27]

thats a sick truck man nice job

 

[Mickey]

nice looking truck londoner almost the same set up i am running with a k4.6 and a 2 speed

 

[Os.savageboy]

sweet truck!

 

[soulja]

nice buils........all i would do next is throw a shagg nasty body on it .....heheheheheh

 

[gash100]

very nice truck i never get tired of seeing losi shocks on a savage

 

[Londoner]

thats a sick truck man nice job

nice looking truck londoner almost the same set up i am running with a k4.6 and a 2 speed

sweet truck!

nice buils........all i would do next is throw a shagg nasty body on it .....heheheheheh

very nice truck i never get tired of seeing losi shocks on a savage

Thanks for the kind words guys!

I'm soooooooo tempted to order these http://storefront.smfstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=31_183_204&products_id=861 looking through other builds ive decided i don't like my XL TVP's anymore lol

They look so much better and i think id really benefit from the LCG set-up especially with the widened track, she'd resist rolling even more.

Ive noticed I-RC have more of their 4mm extended TVP sets back in stock, and while i think they are the best looking TVP's available, especially the black anodised set, they don't suit what I'm doing with my truck, 1 they don't have the throttle servo mount that the FLM's have, i don't really like the Rx/steer servo bracket from I-RC which their TVP is designed to accomodate, and it seems to be permenently out of stock even if i did like it.

The throttle servo mount on the I-RC TVP is designed to take their own servo mounts which also seem to be out of stock indefinately.

Getting the FLM set would allow me to mount my throttle/brake servo with my mounts i already have and do away with the ugly ally plate iv had to use to mount the servo mounts lol

Also i could mount my steer servo onto the TVP, i already have a spare set of FLM mounts, then with the servo moved from the servo plate i could use the ofna 250cc tank for extended run time............ Hmmmmmm, bit of a no brainer really lol

Cant wait now, il order them today, i think everything i have already on the truck would just swap straight over?

I'm pretty sure i have some button head screws for the engine mount for SG/CB meshing problems associated with FLM TVP's and larger CB configurations.

 

[soulja]

whatever you do just make sure you are satisfied with the way you have it. nobody drives it but you!

 

[Londoner]

Yea your right there Soulja, i think il be much happier with the FLM set-up, itl make the build that bit cleaner and tidier looking too.

Well i took her out for a run late this afternoon as it was a lovely day (rare in the uk lol), and waited for my son to finish school, looking forward to getting a few more tanks tanks through the new k4.6 and half a tank in, my son at the control, forward rolled it again a lil too hard on the brake, i really need to adjust it, and the same shock cap broke again!!!!!!!!!!! @@*$###!!!!!!!!

:smilie8:

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I don't believe it! was just the silliest of little slow roll-overs! The same corner shock!

Am i missing something here guys? :dunno: Have i installed something wrong or are these LST XXL shocks just a waste of time?

I even moved the top shock position in a hole so the shock cap sits in the I-RC frame and isnt quite so exposed!?!?

Ive got another three spare plastic caps left because i bought a pack of four and the alloy caps are on their way but with the cost of shocks, the replacement plastic caps plus the alloy caps i could have got a full alloy set!

I liked the idea of the plastic version because of the weight saving i thought would offset some of the extra weight added, but now I'm wishing i got an alloy set!

 

[gash100]

wait for the alloy ones to turn up i have run losi shocks with the irc mounts for ages and never had that happen, also you might want to pack each side of the shock mounting cone with some fuel tube to stop the top of the shock moving about

 

[Os.savageboy]

Thats great that you guys are enjoying the truck! I think that you would benifit from the Flm Tvps and stuff. Very nice truck but to bad ya broke that shock shaft. Good luck with what u do!

 

[Londoner]

Cheers guys, i think i might put the tie bars back on the rear, ditch the I-RC tie bar relocating arm brace and put the shocks and the I-RC frame work on the front of the tower and arms, the shock caps will be a bit closer to the body posts and my roll bar mount bracket and hopefully be a bit more shielded there and see how that goes.

 

[Londoner]

FLM LCG ext TVP set just ordered at SMF bevis

 

[soulja]

do your thing!!!!!!!

 

[Londoner]

Now thats a record! Order for my TVP's placed with SMF at 20:02 uk time, email received at 20:41 saying my order has been shipped!

39mins to process and ship an international order!!!!!! WOW

 

[Os.savageboy]

very cool they are great to deal with!

 

[Londoner]

sweet truck Londoner :resp: got a link to that steer-servo arm?

Forgot to mention that i only ordered/payed for one servo horn and there was two in the envelope they sent!! Sweet or what lol

They also do them for JR/KO servos (23t) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270305751578

And for futaba servos (25t) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=290310836004

Might order a futaba one for my throttle/brake servo if I'm correct in thinking that thats the size for HPI servo's too?

 

[frddyj]

Forgot to mention that i only ordered/payed for one servo horn and there was two in the envelope they sent!! Sweet or what lol

They also do them for JR/KO servos (23t) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270305751578

And for futaba servos (25t) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=290310836004

Might order a futaba one for my throttle/brake servo if I'm correct in thinking that thats the size for HPI servo's too?

thanks for the links, great info. +rep

 

[Londoner]

Cool, cheers man :resp:

Just ordered these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250436247926

 

[frddyj]

Cool, cheers man :resp:

Just ordered these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250436247926

i had those, theyre sweet.

 

[Londoner]

Cheers man, glad to know they are tested, they were actually a bit cheaper than the standard non heavy duty ones.

Well my alloy shock caps arrived today, a bit unsure of the gold colour, but it was either them, blue or red, I'm hoping the gold will grow on me or they will be getting the wet n dry treatment too lol

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[soulja]

nice....maybe you can keep those on!!!! cool deal!

 

[Os.savageboy]

Those caps are sure different. Cool look tho!

 

[Londoner]

nice....maybe you can keep those on!!!! cool deal!

Lol! Well i took her out and put a few more tanks through the new engine, rolled her a couple of times and no more shock cap breakages so all is good, for now lol

Those caps are sure different. Cool look tho!

Yea, thats what i thought, different, i like different lol think they are growing on me now so they will be staying gold i think.

Well down the park driving away i thought i could hear another nitro engine and it sounded familiarly like a savvy, 2 mins later a savage 25 comes screaming through under the railway tunnel, lean as hell lol

The owner instantly fell in love with mine, he wanted a race and i couldnt say no, lol i already kinda knew id win but i havnt ever had anything to compare mine to, and also this would be the first real test of my build, also the k4.6 was still only on 6-7 tanks from new, HSN only leaned maybe just over 1/4 turn in, very rich n smokey still and barely getting into the 200's so i was a little reluctant to gun it.

Anyway up to the football field white line we went, his son counted 1-2-3 go, and there was no comparison, left him for dust while he was struggling to get any power down for wheelying off the line!!

RC car owners are few and far between here in London, so to randomly see another savvy down the park and win my first ever race (albeit only against a stock and extremely lean 25) really made my day lol wish i had someone with me filming it.

I think I'm getting some clutch slippage, i remember seeing my clutch bell looking a bit glazed and the shoes were well burred up around the edges when i swapped them from the F to the K engine so il sort those out when my FLM TVP's arrive and i do the swap of everything over.