LST CVDs on a non Losi MT eh! Whar dju git dat crazy idea eh? I like it. I'm not a fan of the truck but the mod is awesome. And it looks fairly easy to do. Very ingenious. Very cool that you can use the Losi hubs too.

Thanks MC, I know you like the lst.

Yeah, the losi hubs are much better design than the savvy stuff. In fact i think the lst is just better all ways round, save for the steering setup.

I just got the cen hubs in, and the hingepins. Arms and cvds are still in transit.

The cen hubs would not be a good choice to mod for use with the savage arms, both the arm and the hub would have to be trimmed and not enough meat would be left on either.

So hopefully the cen arms will fit the savvy bulks well. And looking at the cen lower bulk hingepin length I think the cen arms will fit perfectly between the stock savage hingepin braces. I am crossing my fingers.

I also received another shorter 4mm hingepin with the cen pins. Must be used for the upper arm to hold it to the bulkhead. It is 4mm diameter and has a nice locknut to hold it one. And it is the perfect length to hold the lst2 hub to the savvy lower arm. Nice, as I was going to have to find a 50mm long 4mm pin with eclips or something to hold that area together.

I will have to make a parts list when I am done, should someone else want to attempt this mod! Pretty easy to do, trimming the pins and making the braces is all of the fab work.

Really? I thought the steering in Savage is bullocks... I'm tempted to use a truggy steering in my 5T conversion...

The lst steering is just weird. 2 belcranks that one servo acts on each, then a thin wire thingy connects them. The servo savers are mounted to the servos, and are kinda weak. People use mgt servo savers and a mixture of other parts to make the lst steering better. I only bash so I do not really care, seems to work fine to me with the stock stuff.

The main thing you have to change for durability purposes are the steering knuckles. The new era ones are considered the best. Most people leave the plastic c hubs on the front and stock hubs on the rear. The stock front c hub on the lst2 can serve as the weak point, as it is cheap and easy to change. I have never broken one, but I have broken lst2 arms. Rpm arms cure that issue.

Linc! have you tried fitting the tvps? it looks like the tvps may hit on the extended alloy hinge pin brace?????

Have you tried fitting the rest of the hubs, cvds etc??? im interested to see how much lock you get when turning?

To me... if i cannot maintain a tight turning circle like i get with my savage suspension conversion kit, then i am not sure i would benefit much... Unless the LST hubs are modifyable to increase the steering throw?

Do you think the hinge pin could bend as it is not supported in the middle by the bulk?
is it worth putting a piece of alloy tubing the right size around the hinge pin to reinforce it?

edit...
i know that the LST CVDs are too small for the SHD savage axles... i am just wondering.. .do you think the vorza diff axles would work? the only reason i say, is because i just got a pair of vorza diffs and considering they use the tougher Hotbodies internals than the stock savage spider gears, i was just going to install the BP ring and pinion and be done with it... ???

It might, but it might even with the bulkhead there. Most of the truggies I've seen don't have the pin through a bulkhead but rather are mounted like Linc put it together as it allows you to adjust the toe-in for the rears and some other settings.

Unless I miss my guess the LST CVDs probably have a 8mm ball which is fairly standard on 8th scale vehicles so should work without any issues. The "SHD" axles use a 9mm ball.

thanks bud... thats true regarding the truggies... but they all tend to have arms that cover the entire hinge pin rather than just at points like the savage. Im sure it will be plenty strong enough... and if an arm fails, there is now no need to remove the plastic bumper to access the pin as it protrudes from the truck.

I hope Linc can show us if the lst cvd can use the savage diff axle, as it looks like he has put some HD axles which are not SHD...

Nice job linc but I have one question. Wouldn't it have been easier to modify the cvd shaft? Cut the shaft and take out a piece 6mm and then get some tubing that has an ID the same as the OD of the shaft and weld it together. That should result in a shaft that is plenty strong and wouldn't have been much work

imagine everytime you bend a shaft from a bad cartwheel or bad landing... you can not just replace with a new cvd... you would need to mod it.
It would be so much effort.

In 4 years I have bent one cvd, it was with my truggy two years ago on it's maiden voyage. That CVD is still in the truggy after two years of racing

impressive!!! i usually bend 1 or 2 shafts an outing from jumping and cartwheels at WOT... my stock length savage never had these problems... but since going xxl (wheelbase 17") i bend them much more often
also i think it is because truggy arms have less flex... but savage arms flex quite a bit before breaking, so shafts bend but arms are fine...???

Christ, lots of questions!!!!

Thats all good, I have the answers

Ok, 1st up the thickness of the braces, sorry about the inch measurements, seem to have lost my metric dial calipers, but found my missing inch ones:

Stock : 0.118"
Bumper : 0.155"
Pinion : 0.250"

Yes the tvp will require some trimming, about 16th of an inch or so. Not much and noting mounts there anyways. These bulks will be going on my 15" wb truck, so the tvps are custom anyways.

No idea on turning yet, waiting on the turnbukles so I can assemble the upper arms correctly.

There are mods that increase the stock lst2 turning ability. I will look that up and post a link. It is on lstforums if you want to look. In the tuning section IIRC.

I doubt the hingepin will bend, the arm will tear off first. I see no benefit in sleeving the pin, but it can't hurt anything.

As for the cvd bone end. I am measuring the size of the ball at its widest point.

Lst2: 0.306 (7.7mm)
Bone from X ss kit : 0.345 (8.7)

The crosspins are the same size, but the lst2 shaft is a bit of a loose fit, and if used with the X ss kit diff output cups it would wobble.

No idea on the vorza diffs, you can be the guinea pig on that! I will try the lst2 diff cups on a savage x ss kit diff and see how they fit. Hope it works or this will have been a waste of time.

Yes, being a welder this would have been alot easier for me.

However I want as amany off the shelf items as possible. And the cvds are a wear item, the braces should last the life of the truck.

I wish your post number would stay with your post. This right here Linc, is post 11,111. You're a super star!

the vorza diff cups look narrow enough to fit the lst2 cvds perfectly... i will only really know once i see how well the steering throw works out so i can purhcase all the parts necessary from the states.

im still interested about the upper arms... obviously not difficult, but interested what spacers you use and whether the turn buckle you have chosen works.

What size is the turnbuckle on the stock lst2 upper arm??? could you fit the lower part of the upper arm off the lst2 attached to the upper arm of the savage? do they both accept the same turnbuckle for that?

btw... it looks like it is 4mm alloy and 6.5mm alloy... do you think it would be ok just using 4mm front and back? or do you really believe the 6.5mm benefits it and would you have gone 7mm if you had the alloy lying around?