Buggy/Truggy BL Conversion w/ Brakes & 2-Spd

[skeeler]

Hello there.

I'm relatively new to this forum, and I'm learning quite a bit just by lurking. Now, however, I have a couple of questions for the community. I'm considering doing a brushless/lipo conversion of a buggy or truggy. I'd like to keep the front/rear brakes to maintain control over the vehicle and to take the braking load off the motor. I might even try to shoe-horn a 2-speed transmission between the motor and the center diff in order to increase maximum speed and reduce current draw at any given speed. (Yes, I realize muli-speed transmissions aren't legal for buggy or truggy racing, but, I doubt I'll have the opportunity to race, anyway.) So, here are my quesitons.

1. Do you think it's possible to fit this all in a buggy, or would I have to go with a truggy? (I can't help but notice how tightly packed BrianG's buggy is.)
2. If I left out the 2-speed, do you think I could fit everything in a buggy?
3. How does one wire the brakes on an electric car? I can imagine just putting a Y cable between the Rx and the motor and brake servo, but then the brake servo would be pulling an imaginary throttle link when the motor was running.
4. Can anyone point me to photos of similar conversions?

Thank you, in advance, for any direction you can offer.