I have not been to Leisure yet. :grrrrrr:

It's an hour and a half from home and maybe 45min - 1 hour from work so it's not exactly close. I want to go though. Maybe in a few weeks....some time in October probably, after things settle down a little a work & home.

I have a number of friends that go regularly though. Let's keep in touch. Maybe we can meet down there sometime.

made some pretty big progress this weekend on the build. mainly, i mounted the MM esc and spektrum rx, soldered the 5.5mm bullet connectors to the Lehner motor and MM, connected it all, and it runs like a champ.

the good things i found out:
* the Lightning chassis really doesn't conduct current - at ALL. zilch. nothing showed up on the voltometer when i ran a current through every part of the chassis and braces. supposedly robin had them clear anodized for this purpose.
* the MM esc isn't one of the newer ones - it ran 14 cells like a champ (with a rx pack and BEC eliminated, of course). thank GOD - i was sweating that one!

the bad thing i found out:
* ni-mh cells must have grown in size since the Lightning was designed, as the 7 cell packs don't line up in the tray, and the battery holder doesn't line up across the top. which really stinks.

i still have to completely adjust the suspension - right now i just threw the supershocks on to support the truck, but everything has to be tweaked: ride height, camber, toe... all of it. i also need to die the proline wheels (the tires aren't glued on yet), and figure out a place for my rx pack. oh - and get the body post mounts on, as well as paint and install a body.

some pics. :mdr:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../277309173.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../277309179.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../277309182.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../277309185.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../277309191.jpg

That's really really nice, how do you dye the wheels? I'm thinking of purchasing the same wheels but would like them chrome black if possible.

i'm not sure how you would get chrome, but they're easy to dye. just get some RIT fabric dye. i've never dyed wheels before, but from the research i've done you just need to get an old pan and bring the water to a boil, add the dye and let each wheel sit completely submerged for at least 15 minutes. some won't go that long if they don't want a deep color.

the wheels are sort of shiny, so making them deep black could have a 'glossy' effect - but it won't be chrome black.

also: i weighed it last night with the rx pack and dual 7 cell battery packs. 12 lbs. 12 ozs.! i still have to install a DD VBS wing mount and proline high downforce wing, and strobe limiters. plus the body mounts and body. she'll be just over 13 pounds, RTR.

Excuse my ignorance, but what slipper and what rims/tires are you using?

it's a strobe slipper and strobe sprong, and the wheels are 40 series proline wabash with 40 series proline mulchers. they're 23mm wheels, and i have dace 23mm black adapters for them.

Thanks.
Scott that is one incredible. Excellent build.

mark

thanks mark. i was reading your thread, and yours is pretty sweet too. :great:

I do believe I read somewhere once that Nimh batteries are a few mm 'fatter' than the older generation of Nimh & Nicads, so that why they wont line up with the slots- major bummer. Are the battery clamps bar things flat on one side and ridged on the other, if so you could always use the flat side facing down to help hold the batteries still, but the only other option is to get some new bars machines to fit the cells more closely.

It does look very nice, and potent with that Lehner on board.

the packs fit better in the chassis than they do with the battery brace over the top. you're right - the other side of the brace is flat, and i can just barely fit the clips into the posts to hold it down with the flat side toward the packs. <whew>

if i ever go with m1 or lipo packs someday, it could present an entirely different complication. but for now, it works.

What I have done on mine ClodMaxx is put shock pistons (white plastic things that go in your shocks) under the bars, the screw fits through the middle of the piston thing into the strap bar great. So it acts like a spacer.

So I can fit Lipo on it now.

done! (mostly)
 

finally got all the pieces put back together, adjusted, added loctite, and took her out for some final shots today. the *only* things left are adding the new strobe limiters i have (gotta order longer shock tower screws...they're not the stand-alone limiters) and get a couple bodies painted. right now i have a trashed second-hand body i'm using for general bashing.

here's a list of everything on it:
- Lehner 1940/7 hi-amp brushless motor w/RC-Monster heatsink
- Mamba Max ESC w/5.5mm gold connectors
- UE Lightning chassis
- UE EXT Pro suspension
- UE towered VBS with 8 spider diff gears (titanium VBS skid plates, titanium jounces, VBS aluminum bumpers)
- UE Monobloc extension w/custom stainless steel rear center dogbone driveshaft made due to extended length
- UE titanium front center dogbone driveshaft
- UE front/rear 8mm hardened steel driveshafts (w/boots)
- UE genIV servo saver
- UE RacerX supershocks (8)
- UE hardened steel idler (stock tranny converted to single speed)
- UE SuperMaxx Racing Wheels (Sun 7 design) on IMEX Trail Dawg tires
- Pro-line 40-series Wabash wheels mounted on Pro-Line 40-series Mulcher tires
- Dace 23mm wheel adapters
- Strobe slipper
- Strobe sprong
- Strobe limiters
- DD VBS wing mount w/Mugen MBX5 wing mount and stay & Pro-Line high downforce wing
- Hitec 5955 steering servo
- Spektrum DX 3.0 radio/receiver

shots with the SM Racing Wheels:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557041.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557028.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557033.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557037.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557040.jpg

i also used a combination of 'orange sunshine' and 'scarlet' RIT dye last night on my wabash wheels. the color scheme will match a true-fire body i plan to paint - they certainly don't go with the crappy basher body. :grrrrrr:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557050.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557048.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL127.../279557044.jpg

sweet looking truck. i bet its a blast to beat on ($$$$$$$flush$$$$$$) alot of people would retire that thing on the display shelf.

well i don't beat on it, but i didn't build it to be a shelf queen either...

What a beauty. That thing should be driving down the red carpet. :lol:

How is the Lehner 1940/7 and MM doing? It should run normal because it is a 2 pole motor.... Does the MM heat up a lot in such a big MT? I have only tried the MM in a 1/8 buggy which is quite a bit smaller than yours, and it heats up quite a bit, which is why I added a fan. Is yours similar in terms of heat?