MRC E-Thunder King Re-juvination
 

MRC Electric Thunder King. Built in 1991. World Scale (1/8+). Awaiting parts to complete project. I have one vlx system installed, awaiting the 2nd system. Rebuilt stock aluminum shocks and polished all stock aluminum chassis parts.Will be removing stock body post towers and replacing with aluminum extended body posts. Final weight will be in the upper 10lb range with dual lipo. Here is a partial list of componenets:

Dual VXL 3500kv motor and esc's
Dual 208oz TowerPro MG995's - Traxxas Servo Connector Y Adapter
HPI Savage aluminum suspension arms- front and back - Savage X Axles, Wheel Output Hub Shafts
HPI Savage Aluminum C-Hub Steering Block
HPI Savage Silver Extended 23mm Hex Wheel Adapter Set
XTM Mammoth real axle dogbones 138.6mm
RC4WD All Steel Gears
40 Series 23MM Cheyenne Chrome Wheels
Pro-Line/Proline Masher 40 Series Tires
Deans 12 Gauge Wet Noodle Wire Set
Spektrum DX3.0 DSM Radio w/ 1 SR3000 Rx
2 - 3S/6350 ZIPPY-H 5000mAh 3S1P 20-30C Lipos
Dual Gorilla Battery Straps

More pics.

I will post updated pics as the project progresses.

Very nice truck!!! Glad to see people building trucks that aren't main stream.
Keep up the good work.


Promod

Looks great!! HUGE difference since the original. Nice job.

Boy, your just duplicating alot of my work huh?lol. Looks good. get rid of them crappy shocks. and change the direction of your shock mounts on the A Arms.
You'll get better control.
Good luck.

Always Imitated, never Duplicated.
team3six EVOLUTION®.
http://www.rc411.com/forum/showthrea...3&page=1&pp=10

Thanks for the positive comments. Still have some work to do but the build went fairly fast. I like the stock shocks as they are very beefy and in new condition. I used associated 40w fluid. I will try them out and see how it goes. Team3six. One of the things I changed about my build is not using an elevated deck for the electronics as I wanted a lower center of gravity. I also used xtm mammoth rear dogbones as they are much stronger than grafting the two halves together. I should be receiving the 2nd vxl motor and esc in a day or two. I will post performance numbers once everything is sorted out. Thanks once again.

I know those shocks are beefy, but they are really bad. They wont hold up and the seals will take a dump on you. I say this because if your going to do that thing up right you dont want the bottom scraping its way and then you end up stripping a gear, folding an A Arm, or something else. remember my friend the MRC is not in supply of consistant parts availablity. And for the price of the shocks I mentioned to you. A set of 4 cost less then a set of 8 maxx shocks. Been using them for years and I will vouch for their stability. realize that I have been building and designing RC's for years so I do have alot of experiance in this. I cant say that money is a big problem for you since you are spending money on the other parts. On that dog bone, Well im going to have to check that out, I never really tied it. Mine is already titanium bones, they just braised them together at a machine shop using a plasma torch. Its pretty strong. I can bend them at all. But it's nmice to know there is another oppertunity out there. As far as the upper deck. Well the reason for that is because of the center of gravity. You know there was alreasy a mount for a single battey of that truck to begin with. if you removed that and the other end that held the mechanicle speedo, then you have now room to place 2 batteries side by side. They will weigh more than the ESC and the reciever combined even if they are lipo's and placed like that will leave no room for the speed control or reciever to sit. You dont even have to make a full deck like I did, there is another reason for the deck then just to place the controls. it acts like a control rod, keeps the truck from twisting too much upon impact with the ground. The stronger you make your chassis, the better the control. If you ever look at most 1/8th RC's you will notice they all have that feature. 4WD's have the bar for protection as well as stability. So though I like what your doing, I assure you I have been there done that for 5 years now.
Not trying to change your mind, just trying to insure that not only can you run that with todays equiptment, but that you can continue to run it and not have to find away to manufacture a part or have one made for you.

here are some of my other MRC's in the past.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...27/MRC/101.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...27/MRC/102.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...27/MRC/103.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...27/MRC/363.jpg

Ahh the good old days when electric vehicles came with real chassis's, metal.:yipi:

Good job on the build, show us more when you have time.

Thanks for the input. My first MRC was the MT-10S I purchased about 12 years ago. It's gone through several transformations. It now houses a 13 turn motor with a super rooster esc. Chasis has been stretched 2" and has a Proline Hummer body. The chasis on th TK is roomy enough to hold 2-5000mah lipos, 2 esc's, 2 vxl motors and receiver with out problems. I will look into upgrading to some big bore shocks. I prefer not using piggy back style shocks. These TK's are very simple in design. Super easy for anyone interested to upgrade and modernize. I usually work with 1/8 nitros which are more complex. This project is just a basher as I do not race. There are hardly any tracks in socal. I prefer to complete my projects in a week or two. I am a type A. Once I get started I don't like to stop. :)

Cool Stuff.
 

That is one tough looking truck and teh apidemy of simple design. very uncomplicated setup, and with that you should have more time running it instead of working on it. Great build.:lol:

I think I saw this truck in a magazine.

Thanks. My thoughts exactly. Received my Spektrum system today as well as my Traxxas high current connectors. I will be building a dual harness to connect both lipos in parallel. Still waiting on a few items.

Here are some updated pics. I received the 40 series tires, 2nd VXL system, 32P pinions as well as the Spektrum DX3 system. I threw the new parts on and did a quick run. I am very happy with the system. It has a ton of torque and great speed. Wasn't able to open it up all the way as it was dark out and the tires are not yet glued. I blew both rear tires clen out of the rims. I have to finish setting up the spektrum and fine tune the suspension. I am still waiting for the steel gears and 2 - 5000mah lipos to arrive. I also ordered the JConcepts Illuzion MGT Heavy Duty Body. Will keep updating. Thanks

A few more pics.

The rig without dual lipos came in at 9lbs - 3ozs. With dual lipost and minor missing parts it will come in right at 11 pounds.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...4556Medium.jpg

Cool Stuff.
 

That rig looks pretty cool. It will be interesting to hear how it handles and what kind of speeds you get with the duel VXL3 and teh lipos. Great looking truck and something a little bit different for a change. :lol:

Small update while I wait for new lipos, Kyosho aluminum shocks and steel gears. I added aluminum body posts, heat sinks for the motors and vxl fans to both escs. Need to paint the JConcepts Illuzions MGT lid. Also replacing remaining phillips head screws with hexes. Having some "Twin VXL" decals made.

A few more.

Looks nice man. Gonna be a crazy 2 wheel drive setup. :yes: Should be fun to drive. Make sure you get some video of that thing.

Added the dual 11.1v 3S 20c-30c 5000mah lipos. They fit perfect. I also made a dual battery harness/connector using the pics and drawings provided by UNSLOW and Suicideneil. Thanks fellas. I should get my tranny gears late this week as well as my new shocks. The complete rig with lid came in at 11lbs and 6ozs. Once I have everything shaken out and runs smooth I will lighten the rig by a couple of pounds and see how fast she can go. I plan on using one battery (12ozs), one steering servo (2ozs), smaller wheels and high speed tires or 1/8 foams. Vids coming soon.

A couple pics more.

killer killer killer, dude i wanted one of those so bad when they came out, glad to see you brought it back to life, that should be a class of truck 1/8 stadium

Almost complete. Added kyosho threaded aluminum shocks. Installed steel tranny/diff gears. Here are some pics of the MRC TK with the XTM Mammoth body I received when I purchased the roller. I have yet to paint the JConcepts body. The rig is ready to roll. Been raining all day here. I will report results as soon as I have some. I am starting a second MRC Thunder King project. This second project will be a high speed racer. Low to the ground and using all lightweight RPM arms and suspension components. All ready got all the parts. :yes:

A couple more for the road.

Is there a word that comes after WOW. If there isn't one, they should add this truck to a dictionary and make it mean more than a WOW.

Wowzers!

Yep, if you cross breed a Rustler and Emaxx, this is the result.....

It really did turn out well, should make for an incredible basher with show-truck looks.

Update: After replacing a broken bulkhead, I decided to lighten up the MRC by replacing the aluminum arms with RPM plastics. I also replaced the castor and knuckles with plastic. I also switched to a lighter wheel and tire (road rages) combo. In all I save about 470 grams. I have 2 new controllers on the way to allow me to run on dual 4S with the velineon motors and some new energy 4100mah 4S lipos. My setup is down to 10.5lbs (4762g).

Very nice. Man I hope you belted those tires! You may also want a front wing...

Awsome truck!!! take a video of it!! great job man :smile:

TK Project
 

WOW! I am inspired to try to revive my old Baja King. I was just curious are the Mammoth dogbones a direct fit with the Savage ams and carriers or do they need to be modified at all? Thanks!

You will have to grind down the ball ends slightly to make them slide into the drive cups.

TK Project
 

Thanks, I was thinking about going with the aluminum arm and plastic hub set-up. I had a couple more questions if you don't mind...

Will the original turnbuckles/cups still work or would I need to buy new ones to go w/ the Savage arm/hub conversion?

I understand the heavy duty axles, is the extended 23mm hex needed or will the 17mm hex work?

Also, I see that you changed your body mounts several times. I really like the simplicity of the final set-up. Where could I buy that type of set-up?

Thanks again for the info.