Flux on LST shocks w/FLM towers
 

Hey all - just got back from my vacation trip to the ocean. I managed to get ALL of the parts I ordered at the last second in before we left, so I was able to spend the first day tearing apart the Flux, and installing the new parts.
I bought the FLM shock towers, the FLM LST shock adapters, Integy rear bearing carriers, a full set of the blue aluminum LST shocks.

I started on the front, and was actually suprised how much I had to take off to get the stock parts out. I found that some of the screws holding the shocks and shock towers were all bent, but the hinge pins were all straight. Other than that, it was in fairly decent condition.

The FLM's were a snug fit and required a strong arming to get them in. All fairly straight forward, except of course the left over parts. I always have this sinking feeling when I've put something together, and have this handful of leftover parts. But per the instructions....oh wait - THERE ARENT ANY!!! You can see some of them off to the side in some of the first pics - the left over's are the four spacers, and this large dia shim/washer. I assume the machined AL spacers are for mounting Savage shocks, but I have no idea what that big shim washer is for.

Unlike others, I found the Integy bearing carriers to be an easy install, and didn't require any alteration. Nice clean finished look.

I also bought a set of yellow springs, mostly 'cause I like the look of them, but in the end, I found them to be too stiff for the front, and possibly for the rear.

I have say, it LOOKS damn good all done. Big, beefy, and bad. However, after the first run, all four upper shock attach points had bent inward - looks like first the screws bent, then the actual shock towers bent. I locktited and replaced the screws, switched the springs (backed the adjusters way back, and put silver springs on all the way around), and went for another run. This time I broke the lower diff housing where the tower attaches.

Yes, I run it hard, but the stock plastics held up since January when I first got this thing. The jumps I took with it on the beach were not anywhere near as high/long as those I put this through here at home. So there's some proof in the pudding here that plastics help absorb those impacts, and keep you from damaging the inner workings of your truck.

Now I have to figure out if there is an aluminum diff housing that I need to install, or take it all off and go back to stock.......kinda sad, but for me, this truck is my "take it all" basher.

Here's the pics of the conversion.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst6.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst7.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst8.jpg[/IMG]

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...x-flm-lst9.jpg

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst10.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst11.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst12.jpg[/IMG]

Lookin' Great Bro ! You'll be really happy with those LST shocks.

Now for the carnage pics:

Bent towers:
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst19.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ux-flm-lst.jpg[/IMG]

Cracked rear diff cover:
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst14.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst16.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...-flm-lst18.jpg[/IMG]

Crap, That sucks. I rekon the only way to fix that is FLM aluminum diff cases/bulkheads ?

Yeah, its either throw another buck twenty at it (http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...LM40000&cat=31, or go back to stock......
I also saw that mike has an FLM rear carrier - but it doesnt say what its for. I would rather of bought that than the integy, if its for the Savage.

How the hell did you bend your tower? Its like 8mm thick! Wow...

i think when it comes to things like shock towers, there needs to be room to flex. i went for the same FLM shock towers to mount up some Baja shocks on my savage, and they bent bad. not to impressed with the quality. I recommend you get the a720 big bores. there tough, fit with no modification, and work really well.

Was it landing a big jump that bent the tower?
I've had mine nearly a year and have not done thing like that. I'm not reckless with the truck, but its had its share of wrecks. The most damage I do is bend shock shafts now and then. I do notice you have your shocks mounted way up higher than I have mine. Might be a leverage issue..?

Kindofa weird pic, but shows the mounting:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...f/IMG_6206.jpg

stock nitro shocks FTW!

they are dirt cheap, perfect stiffness, react very well to oil changes (i prefer 35wt) and the y are pretty smooth.

once the flux shocks go down in price, i might just run 8 of them on my BL savage.

heh.....well, ya know....I guess I'll say that I am a bit reckless with it.:intello:

I have a set of ten-eighty launch ramps that I use as jumps (mostly since we dont have any tracks in our area). You can catch some good air off those.

I think I'm only mounted one set of holes higher than yours - but yes, I think going down another set would have helped in that regards. But this thing handles so poorly as it was, I would rather go up with it. The last set of pics doesnt show it very well, but I changed the orientation of the shock mount by rotating the upper screw hole down/inwards to the only hole that it would fit into. This seemed to put the stiff direction of the mount more in line with the load path, although I would have liked to rotate it just a little further. These shocks are mounted a long ways off the face of the tower, thus they can impart a very large moment on that plate, and in the area where the holes are, its not 8mm thick - more like 4-5mm (but I'd have to mic it to verify that). And with all those holes, its not a very stiff cross section. It appears that with the angle the mount was originally situated, combined with the likelyhood that the screws loosened some, it was very easy to bend it.

I've never been a big fan of aluminum parts for this very reason.

I blew out my ankle last night playing basketball, and couldn't do the 3/4 mile walk into work (yes, its that far - worlds largest building by volume). So after watching as many hunting shows on TV as I could possibly stand, I figured I could manage to sit on my stool in front of the work bench and start fixin' on the Flux. I have the extended TVP's to install, the FLM diff cases, and the new Flux diff gears. I also needed to get it all apart and get the rest of the sand out of it (not familiar enough with the Savage yet to know where the tricky dirt hiding spots are).

First thing I noticed while taking it apart was that I sheared the upper shock tower mounting screws off. That sand must be a heck of a lot harder than one thinks. Hopefully, the FLM cases will take the loads better (knock on wood).
Next thing I noticed is that there is a ton of grease in the output cups, both on the diff's and on the tranny. So they were packed with dirt and grease - definitely something to monitor - anything that is metal to metal and holds dirt in place is a bad thing.

Putting the new TVP's one was quick and easy.
First shot shows the length difference - much more than I was expecting!
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0056.jpg[/IMG]

These TVP's actually raise the tranny/motor/esc slightly - stock, the center shafts sit level. You can see the angle they sit at now. Might be about a quarter inch difference.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0058.jpg[/IMG]

After getting those installed, I moved on to the diffs. This pic shows the sheared off screws, and the greasy mess inside the housing. Very easy for dirt to get in, and must not be the best gaskets in the diff.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0061.jpg[/IMG]

While trying to pull the diff apart, I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing and stripped one of those damn phillips head screws. I managed to drill out the head, and pull it apart. But...I couldnt get the vise grips on what remained of the screw. So now I gotta order up a new cup (nobody carried any in stock locally).

So thats pretty much where it sits now. Will update as I progress....or digress....

Which TVP's are those? Looks pretty good so far. As for the LST shocks, just not my thing I guess. I like the idea of them being stronger, but I also think there has to be a mix of using your shocks and your skidplates to soften a landing. I ordered some alum. big bores with the TI shafts, hopefully they hold up a little better. Stock shafts break quite a bit.

Also, your truck is not dirty enough. Take it out and beat the shit out of it haha.

They are the 1offRC plates.

You should be fine with those big bores. Trust me, the LST shocks are not a performance improvement - I just REALLY like the look of them. Everytime I considered converting an LST, it was only so I could have those shocks.

Yeah, its not very dirty, but I definitley have beat the crap out of it - if you count the number of broken parts so far - bumper braces front and rear, diff housing, shock tower - and the body is 90 percent duct tape.

Cool, my 1off tvp's are in the mail.

Aren't lst shocks pretty pricey?

And that is what I like to hear, my body is zip-tied together. What are you going to use as a body with the new TVP's? There is not many options for an XL?

I got my shocks off flea bay for about 50 bucks total. The expensive part was the towers, the LST mounts, and having to switch the rear hubs out.

As for bodies, I'm not certain yet. I like the HPI GT Gigante body IMG]http://www.rceasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/img_0796k.jpg[/IMG]

I got the shock towers straightened out today at work. Put them in the hydraulic press with a couple shims below and above, and took out most of the bend. Then on the bench vise, I just pushed it by hand. I was shocked how easy they bent - these really should have been made from 70 series aluminum. BTW, the area that bent was where all the mounting holes are, and its only about 5 or 6 mm thick there. Very soft.

So I fabbed up a brace to mount across the backside of the shocks. I used some AL .5" channel. Might not look great - but it should take out the bending moment due to the huge offset of the LST mounts. I'll wait to post pics when I get it all stuck back together.

I tore apart the front diff last night, and stripped ANOTHER screw. This time I was paying attention, and used a brand new tip on the driver. I really despise these guys using soft cheap screws in things like this. So I had to order another cup.

While I was on the HPI site tonight, I saw that they have a sway bar kit for the Savage line. Anyone ever use them on a Savage?

Hmmm.. I've looked back at this and I'm still a bit suprized, but I see where it could happen.
The only real trouble I've had w/ mine is that I murder body mounts. They all shear off where they go into the tower. I've even lowered them as much as possible. The stock towers may flex more, but I didn't run them that long (3mos maybe.)

The other issue is the lower mounts. They only mount to a 3mm screw, and hangs off the arm for clearance reasons. They tend to bend after a while. I'll have to replace, but so far I've left it.

I did get RC raven progressive springs tho, and I do absolutely love the feel of the shocks. As plush as you can get, and far better than stock XL shocks.



I've been bashing at a local park where they've piled all the mulch 20ft high in a huge mount lately. Awesome for hill climbs and jumping, and soft enough when you crash or roll down the hill. Body is trashed tho. Had some great jumps climbing up the hill, then leaping off. Truck just lands and plants. No bounce, no complaints. Just sticks.

Generally I'm not a big jumper tho, jumping always breaks stuff. I would not send the Sav off some of the jumps I've pulled off w/ my truggy. Its wrecked its good share of times w/o much carnage, but my truck is really big and quite heavy. Its at least 50% heavier than my truggy and Revo, and the arms and bulks are not really any stronger than trug arms, so its going to break quicker.
I do love the big beast tho flying up the hills, across fields, and trashing thru the brush. 8S on a 1521 motor is a lot of power even in such a hvy tank. Going over to the Revo feels like driving a rustler lol.

We'll see how it goes. The tower really should be 7075, and needs a couple design tweaks. Mostly good overall. I would be curious to see how 8 Flux shocks would do. I think mine's just to hvy for just 4.

IOW, I wonder if our diff experience w/ the setup is due to our use of the truck. Here's what I want from my Sav, more or less:

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5YfU8pQugmA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5YfU8pQugmA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

Powerful, but not necc fast. For driving up, over and/or thru sh!t. Some good jumps, but won't be jumping any buildings anytime soon.
I've nearly got all the parts to convert it to 4WS. The ext chassis and the higher motor mount from KD will allow a rear servo saver and servo mounted in back. Def not the setup you want to make speed records, but that what I got a trug for.

I love the freestyle events! Nobody does it better than Dennis Miller....

Finnster - your gonna have to change the colors of your avatar. If they keep winning, they are gonna go back to the old colors permanently!

I think I'm going to call FLM and talk to them about the possibility of making some out of 7075, or making a set without all the holes in it. I can only use possibly three different mounting positions on it, so no reason to have all of them.

In reality, I'm kinda with you on the driving style. If I had spots to run that offered more than just a flat baseball diamond, I'd be doing a whole lot less jumping.

I had purchased the FLM40000 bulkheads. But when I tried to install the diffs, the outdrive cups wouldn't fit through the holes in the diff (I have a thread in the FLM section on this). Upon further review, I think I should have ordered the FLM40010, for the XL, which are exactly the same, except they come with drive cups. I called FLM today, and luckily Mike was there with them. So instead of me having to send them back, FLM is going to ship me the drive cups that come with the XL kit.

I did notice while researching these that FLM's extended TVP's are listed now for 57 bucks - seems a good price compared to the 80 I paid for 1OFFRC's. Dont know if the FLM's come with the XL rear shaft or not, though (1Off's does).

While rebuilding the diffs, I found that one of the pins that turns the bevel gear inside the diff was broke in half. Gotta stop and pick up a pin and a gear on the way home tonight.

I filled the diff's with the grease supplied by HPI - still kinda second guessing that. I've always used 30 or 50K oil in my MT diff's. Maybe I'll leave the rear with the grease, and use a lighter oil in the front.

Ah ha, that's what the differences are in the bulkheads. I saw your thread and I looked at the site, but had no idea and the desc on the website we less than helpful.

Makes sense now, as the flux and the XL have the larger drivecups and dogbone ends.

I'm mostly done w/ my 4WS steering setup. Just need to mod the motor mount for the 4mm screws for the 1521 and find a place for the esc. Getting pretty crowded in there.

Will post pics when I'm done. The increased str will be welcome. I think I should be able to control the R str w/ the 3rd channel. Either enabled, disabled, or reversed for some crabwalking.

lol.. they are about the ugliest uniforms that have ever been created. I almost want to get a hoodie like it its so fugly.

I'm just glad to see them have a solid team again (least for now.) Like last year, they had this really good offense and a horrendous defence. The season went like most of their games, off to a fast start for the first half, then hanging on for dear life in the 2nd. W00t, we scored 40points!!! Oh damn, they scored 50. :(:( :sad: :dumbasses:

These comeback from behind wins are almost like the old Elway days. He was the king of the 4th Q comebacks.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done with yours.

Apparently that's the only difference. I'll know for sure once I get the new cups and try installing them. I wonder though if that means I'm going to have to go to a CVD with a smaller end on it??

I have to state right up front - as a tired and true Raider fan, and someone who has come to love my Seaflops, I'm a die hard Bronco hater....there's only two teams I consistantly cheer against - its Denver and the Patriots (again as a Raider fan...I can't even mention THAT game...). But I gotta say this - that coach you have now has an enthusiasm that seems to have brought out something rarely seen at the pro level - those players look like they are having fun and enjoying coming out for the game.
And personally - I'm sooooo happy to see that orange dissappear!!!!:na:

My condolences on being a Raiders fan. ;)

Mile High Stadium (the old one) used to have a giant mural 70ft of one Broncos lineman fighting and shoving a Raiders lineman on one end of the stadium. Being a Raider Hater was a natural born right of every CO citizen. :)

Used to be a Raider Hater, but they have sucked so bad for so long its just taken all the fun out of it. Now everyone hates SD instead.

Being in Philly, I catch mostly Eagles games now. Never even paid attention to them before, but they are inconsistant and disappointing enough that it feels like being a Broncos fan. Plus I get to watch them beat up on Dallas, and more often than not, the Giants. If there is one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that the Cowboys suck. lol.

but anyway...

OT (sorta):

I finished the 4WS today and ran it and it works awesome. Turns nearly as well as my Hyper St, which is a steering God. Even have it keyed on/off on my radio w/ a push button. I was hoping to be able to just reverse CH3 in order to do crabwalk manuvers, but the subtrim needed quite a bit of adjusting, and it gets screwed on the REV.

Lot more work tho to get everything aligned. I'm still pulling to the L alot under hard accel. I'll have to post a thread soon when I can get some pix, maybe some vid.

While I was doing this mod, I was thinking about tower braces and setting something up like chassis braces on an 'uggy.

Tower mount, or maybe this used along with a rod style brace like this or this

Basically the idea would be to mount a flanged ball to the TVP, then the other end on the shock tower. Since the FLM towers already have 3mm holes for a wing mount, all you would need is a 90* mount. Since I don't have a stock radio box, I would mount mine inside the TVPs. Obviously it would be nicer to not have to do this, but might be an easy and inexpensive way to boost the str of the tower from impacts.

This could be done in the rear as well, also I am thinking about getting a roll bar like the new era one which would mount to the rear tower (assuming it fits.) It should brace the rear tower, and more importantly, protect my motor.

I talked to New Era about possibly making a full length bar that would also attach to the F tower. No dice. The only do what they do, no custom stuff. (RCM FTW.) Thus the chassis brace idea. You could even do two to make it symetrical, or mount in the center and mount flat onto FLMs servo plate/radio tray.

Interesting thoughts on the braces - should be simple to do. Once I get mine put back together, I should be able to get a better feel for what it might look like on the flux.
I got the Gigante body in last night - the thing is HUGE! Got it scuffed and washed and ready for paint. I'm thinking I might deviate from my standard black "Outkast" paint job on it though. Might do the white/grey two tone....I hate getting a new body 'cause I really want to test my skills with the airbrush, but I always have to convince myself to just grab the rattle can - a body typically only lasts me two to three months.

My cups should be here tomorrow or Monday......cant do a darn thing on it till they get here. Picked up an LST roller this afternoon to start my LST/Muggy truck, so that might keep me a little busy in the meantime. It was kind of a bummer though when I bought it - the guys last name was the same as a guy I worked with back in the late 90's. I asked him if he was related, and it turned out they were brother's. But he died in a dirt biking accident back in '02. The guy was truely one of the good ones - I had thought he was upper managment by now. Was kind of a sobering moment. R.I.P. Bert.

If/when you find something on a center diff set up, I'm VERY interested in trying to fit one up also. Should help the handling of this beast tremendously.

ps... You know the team you cheer for sucks when the networks switch to a different game by the second quarter.... ;(

teaser pic:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...yXL4wsmod1.jpg

Update: I got the outdrive cups from FLM today. Redid the rear diff (I hadn't put grease in that one yet!). And once again started playing the FLM blind puzzle game with the pack of screws they included with the diffs. Would it really kill them to include some kind of instruction sheet....I think they get a kick out us...
Anyway, diff went together ok - had to do a little filing on the shock tower to get the screws to go in - but it was minor.
Tried to install the diff in the rear - no go - only one of the hole lined up. I ovaled out the lower hole a little and still no go. Grabbed the stock TVP and it fit the FLM's perfect. Took a closer comparison of the 1OFFRC TVP and the stock one - it appears she missed on the contour of the rear mount. You can see in the pics how it is different. So I filed down the TVP enough to get the screws in without putting them in at an angle.

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0065.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0064.jpg[/IMG]

Next step was to mount the lower plate - no go. Looking at the pic, you can see its off by almost half a hole. Looks to me like another symptom of the contour above.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0063.jpg

THis is with the plate lined up with the holes, and shows the mismatch.
[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...6/PICT0071.jpg[/IMG]

I sent an email off to Janeth, and hinted that I would be returning her TVP's - we'll see what she has to say.

I also got the Gigante body painted today - not the best paint job in the world, but in a few months you wont even be able to tell I even tried!

Gotta love daylight savings time....or dogs and women....wife got up at 4:30 this morning to do volunteer work at one of the local rest stops (they do coffee and cookies). Well, her new yappy kickin' dog spent the first hour of her being gone wimpering and whinning - so it was obvious I wasn't going to be able to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep.
So I got going early to get the Flux XL (original, huh!) done.

First thing I did was cut up my old TVP so i could clamp it on and see where the differences were. In the pics you can kinda see where the pen is pointing where the majority was. There was also a little mismatch on the upper side and around the upper radius. Spent about an hour or so filing both sides down and tried bolting it up - but it still had about 1/4 hole difference, but with a little leverage I was able to get the screws in.

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux31.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux29.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux28.jpg[/IMG]

I had about 6 #3 screws left from the rear FLM kit.....hmmmmm.....double checked everything, couldnt find anything missing - must be part of their ploy to mess with our heads.
Here's the rear installed:

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux27.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux26.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux25.jpg[/IMG]


BTW, it looks like I should be able to make a plate that will retain the pins since the FLM bulks have some screw holes just to the side of the pins (must be where those screws were supposed to go.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux23.jpg

Took the dogs out for a crap, had some breakfast (still only 7:30 or 8:00 now...) and started on the front diff (remember, I had it done already - so it was full of grease). Got it all shimmed and tried to stick it in the diff. Too wide....dang! Had to pull it apart and redo the shimming to move one of the bearings inboard. Voila! it fit. Then for some strange reason....my experience actually kicked in. I decided to double check the diff rotation direction. Of course it was backwards, but I'm soooo happy I remembered to do it - would've been a lot of work after the fact.

By now it was about 10 and I had to take a break and watch some Talledegah. Only took a half hour to figure out that they were going to play follow the leader, and decided to just watch the rest in the garage on the "little" TV.

The front fit very well compared to the rear. However, right before I stated the final bolt up, that experience thing hit again (its very weird!) and I looked things over one more time. The steering cross link was riding hard on the bulkhead. I pulled it apart and did some dremeling on both the bulkhead and the link and achieved full articulation without sacrificing too much of either. I'll have to make sure I let FLM know about that riding.

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux21.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux20.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux19.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux18.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux16.jpg[/IMG]


From there out, it was fairly straightforward assembly. You can see in the pics the brace I made for the rear shocks - hopefully that will keep the shocks from bending inwards. Speaking with FLM, they might be including something like this in their FLM shock mount kit - obviously not something as crude as mine.

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux15.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux14.jpg[/IMG]

So here are the final pics. Just sitting on the bench without tires, this thing looks really long now. At the end, there is a pic of my fleet - shows the size of this Monster now.

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ngtheflux3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ngtheflux4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ngtheflux5.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux13.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux12.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...gtheflux10.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ngtheflux9.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ngtheflux2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ingtheflux.jpg[/IMG]

Nice trucks man! For the new body holes on the flux xl, did you just use janeths "jig"?

No - I did it old school. Put a dab of red paint on the posts, set the body down, then drill those holes, then do the same for the other holes. I would have drilled them before painting, but since I didn't have the truck together I had to do it the hard way.

I have to do some more trimming on the body - the front "bumper" area hits the springs a little.

Nice work. Whats the wheel base on the Flux now?

Ya know, I was thinking on the way in to work this morning that I should have measured that. Comparing it to the LST, its about a 3/4" or so longer in wheelbase, so its probably right at 15" or so -

Looks good man. Lots of shiney bits and the shell looks great too. My body is completely trashed, I should paint one up soon.
I really like the longer wheelbase on these. Its easy enough to do backflips w/ the XL, can't imagine trying to control the shorter version. Do you have a final weight? Wondering how all that alu adds up.

I was pondering how I could get a weight on it. I might have a fish scale in my tackle box - but those tend be as accurate as the tale your telling...

Yeah, I've never been an advocate of bling. I kinda felt as though I was on a slippery slope when I started picking "heavy duty" parts.....we'll know soon enough how it holds up.

Bah, nothing wrong with bling, just so long as its not pointless bling- FLM bulks and towers look very nice, yet completely functional :yes:

If you have kitchen scales, thats what I use to weigh my trucks with..

Was i the only person to notice the little cartoon character covering the LST's nitro setup on the last picture posted on the 2nd page?!?! -lmao-

I had the same issue with the bulks and the steering arm - i tried fitting the stock, and a GPM arm and both had the rubbing - i just used the FLM part instead of filing it down...

I also have had a few extra screws in my FLM packages... I've been thinking that maybe they weigh the screws, and as long as it's over (and probably under also) a certain weight, then they probably just bag them... Just to save time counting the suckers... i dunno...

:party::party::party: You win the award!!! Unfortunately, shipping to AUS ate up all the proceeds, so all you have left is the bragging rights!

I was wondering how long it was going to take someone to notice that. I just picked up that LST last week. Its next on the "chopping" block for conversion. Other than being stripped of a few parts, its in really good condition.

Looks great, Body is nice and clean.
The Flux looks good posing on the rocks.
Nice job ! ! !