The BL Monster BUGGY. He He He
 

So I wanted a new project, but wanted to do one I had not seen before. This combined with a recent introduction to parking lot racing led me to this silly looking thing as my next BL project.

Its the XTM XLB. Its basically a cross between a Buggy and a Monster Truck. Its huge! 16.25" center to center wheel base, runs Maxx size wheels on 17mm savage stlye hubs, has a 2 speed tranny and runs nice and low to the ground. It comes w/ a nitro engine that they advertize as 3.5hp(yea right) so Im hoping the drivetrain will hold up OK under brushless power.

So here is what I am planning right now. But, it will probably change by the time I get done w/ it.

Nue 1512/2.5d on 5s 8000mah and a Quark 125. I am planning on keeping the 2 speed, at least to start with. I'm estimating that the weight should be around 8.5-9.5 lbs when finished. WHich is not light, but not bad for something this size.

Anyway, This is what I am starting on now. Its not going to be a work of art, just something a little diferent for me to thrash. I'm posting up a few pictures so you all can see it, and as usual.... Any comments, sugestions or goofy remarks are always welcome.

For scale, here it is next to my my gmaxx w/extended chassis. That little thing next to it is my Mini-T(so cute)
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1431.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1429.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1430.jpg

This is with the top off as I recieved it. Still has all the nitro gear in it. Anyone want to buy a realy nice condition SH .28. The guy I got this from says it has only the break in and 4 tanks run. Looks like it too.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1425.jpg

And here it is in its current state. Just working on the layout and seeing how it all fits. This I'm sure will change. I don't really like it, but I need to think about it more. As you can see. PLENTY of room. :)
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1446.jpg

I'll keep updating this as I make progress. Its not going to be a work of art, just something a little diferent for me to thrash.

That thing is big! I'd be surprised if you could keep the weight under 9.5 pounds. I think most 1/8 brushless buggies weigh about 8.5 pounds. Looks like a fun project, though!

Very BIG!!
Try not to hit someone with it.

Huge man!

the quark won't be pleased with 6S.

Yea. I know the quark wont like 6s. I am planning on running 5s for the most part. Just want to lay it out so I can run 6s if I want to.

very nice! I like it a lot. Should be a very nice project!!!

With that car, you can fit a schulze 40.170 without finding it back..

You need a map to locate it.. LOL

Yeah... I love the Schulze 40.160 Pancake... it would suite that buggy very nicely... great job..!!! I was thinking of doin' that... but never did..

Like Mike says; it's not about the plans, it's about those that launch them the first...

Absolutely!!....

:eek: the 40.160 is a little more than I was planning on spending for this project. Though it would be nice in a unlimited world, but probably overkill.

After I stripped all of the nitro stuff off of it, I piled everything up that I think will go into it and it came in right about 8.5 lbs I am assuming it will go up slightly due to additional screws that werent on there yet and all the minor stuff. I used a set of 6s 4200mah lipos for my weight also. so I added a pound to go to the 8000mah lipos. Even if it does go over the 9.5lbs, I dont think it will be a problem. I run my revo at a shade over 11lbs.

Just a little update on this project.

Done:

-I've got the XLB stripped, and cleaned up.

-The chassis looked like swiss cheese with all the holes so I took a sheet of .020 in. carbon fiber I had sitting here and just created a skin over the top of the aluminum chassis to cover all the ugly and make a better dirt barrier. (I like the way it looks. Its like a cheater CF Chassis:) )

-After doing a little research I found that the weakpoint of these things (and the mammoths) is the way the hinge pins are tied to the diff case and chassis. So I beefed them up with a set of RCvisions hinge pin retainers for the mammoth st. Nice 7075 solid retainer blocks.

-Then I designed up a motor mount in solidworks to replace one of the center diff supports. Mike machined it up for me and it turned out nice (Thanks Mike, Props to you on another job well done!) I'm setting this up to run either the 2 speed tranny or the hyper8 center diff w/ plastic spur. It will be an easy swap out to run either one.

Because I am still going to run the 2 speed, I am leaving the mechanical brakes on it. If I decide to switch to the center diff full time I will probably pull the servo and brakes to get rid of the weight.

-For some reason the rear suspension on this thing was super soft. I changed out the shock oil and springs trying to stiffen it up, but it still felt like mush so it got a pair of LST2 Shocks off ebay and mounted those up on the rear. They were the perfect length and just took a little spacer on the top shock mounts and they went right in place. I did have to swap the upper arms for the Mammoth ST upper arms to make room for the bigger dia. shocks. That was a direct bolt on replacement so that was simple. I will probably do the fronts with the LST shocks eventually.

-Final thing done so far on this is the battery trays. I used carbon fiber angle stock and some epoxy I had around and fabricated 2 battery trays that are big enough to hold 2x 3s 8000 lipos. They fit up pretty easily on the chassis. I put one up front and one in back to try and keep some weight balance. Then just used some foam to line the bottom of the battery trays and some gmaxx straps to hold the battery down.


Still to do:

-I have the Neu 1512 2.5d (2000kv) motor that I'm planning on running 5s with the Quark125. Its all here, It just needs to be wired up.

-Need to finish my modified clutch bell to mount it to the 5mm motor shaft so I can run the 2 speed. I'm doing this on lunch hours and such in the machine shop at work so its a little slow going. I should have it finished up next week though.


Its getting close now. I should have this wrapped up just in time for winter. :005:

Anyway. Thats where I'm at with it now. Heres a few pictures. What do ya think so far?

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1454.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1456.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1457.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1458.jpg

Great to see such a nice conversion!! are you going to stick with the mechanical brake?

the carbon fiber gives it a nice clean look. also how much does he charge for a motor mount like that?

Thanks.

Mikes prices are very reasonable. Its different depending on the part so your better off talking to him. But trust me its not bad at all for a custom part.