Rc Driver Dudes Merv!

[rc driver dude]

The wait for me is finally over. I just bought my friends merv for $150. It came with rpm arms, trx metal toe links and pushrods, hr knuckles, and a proline body and wheels. I am really excited to start working on it. Today I will order some of the parts. Here they are:
A-main
Ofna 1/12 wing
Shims
1/16 summit bumpers
Rcsrewz
Hpi 2.2 mesh wheels
Proline 2.2 speed hawg
Canyon 2.2 tires
Hpi 2.2 classic king truck wheel
Slipper clutch
Strc metal rcokers front and rear
Proline raptor body
The Toyz
New Era racing shock leveling brace
Blue 4mm lock nuts
Rc Mart
Yeah Racing shocks
Avid Rc
Bearings for rockers and steering
H-King
390 servo

Here are some pics of the truck in current condition


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X...0/IMG_0681.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i...2/IMG_0682.jpg
The body my friend and I tried to paint 2 years ago

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t...0/IMG_0684.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-T...0/IMG_0685.JPG
Are the front body posts supposed to be this angled back?

I also plan on dying the chassis black. What else do you recommend for upgrades?

[50togo]

T bone!...

[Stolliv]

t-bone for sure. i put mine on yesterday .... i dont think i can break the car now (once i get the front chassis brace installed properly) cuz everything is very well protected.

the t-bone should be a stock part.

[rc driver dude]

Would anyone trade a un opened traxxas clear body and used wheels for a proline raptor body?

[rc driver dude]

Update:

I ordered the amain order except for the mesh wheels and speed hawgs, the toyz, avid rc, and rc mart.

So far here it is

[rc driver dude]

Dyed the chassis black, installed stainless scews (there awesome), shimmed the diffs, cleaned the car, installed summit front and rear bumpers, and installed strc aluminum rockers fron and rear with bearings.

[rc driver dude]

More pics
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...0/IMG_0690.JPG

[rc driver dude]

[Daddykins]

Looks really clean rc driver dude.

[rc driver dude]

Thanks.
So I want to get led lights for the truck and I have a question. Are the 1/10 summit front lights bright, or if I buy individual lights would they be brighter?

[rc driver dude]

Anyone know?

[Daddykins]

Don't think you'll notice a big difference between the 2.
It's not bright enough to light the road
But you'll see where it's at

[Carbonrevo33]

You might have more options if you build them from scratch, such as power, color, size, etc.

[50togo]

Too bad they haven't made a focused q5 beam!

[rc driver dude]

Alright, thanks. I am going to buy the pre made traxxas summit lights.

[rc driver dude]

Update:
Very frustrated with the new yeah racing shocks. They look amazing, but barely fit and now the car doesn't bottom out and skyrockets back up when I push it down. Here are some pics

[ptsdisntfun]

the shocks look nice, have you tried thicker shock oil to increase dampining

[rc driver dude]

I realized that I have 4 extra steel hollow ball ends. Where do they go?

[50togo]

they would be spares. And yes and not supposed to mention that servo

[JimmyNeutron]

Update:
Very frustrated with the new yeah racing shocks. They look amazing, but barely fit and now the car doesn't bottom out and skyrockets back up when I push it down.

I run the same shock... I admit that they are tight!
I have them mounted without the leveling bar so I don't know if that makes a difference. I also don't have any issues with it not bottoming out. Did you shorten the shock ends? They need to be shortened down to 8mm long.

What weight oil are you using?

[CMD-J]

Mhm, i run the the same shocks too. Installed with the NewEra leveling brace ontop of 3mm spacers in the rear and the brace on a alumnium chassis brace from thetoyz in the front.
With this setup my MERV bottoms out pretty good in the rear and a little bit in the front.
I did not shorten the shock ends (btw, quite a good idea Jimmie!). But i run the T-Bone 2-piece skidplates and i think slightly shorter TiNi shock shafts from 3Racing. I use the stock plastic rockers.
I use one o-ring inside the shock under the piston as limiter to get the car sit lower. But this will no affect how "deep" the car goes when pressed down.

I could imagine without the TBones it would not bottom out that well.
But the "gap" would be certainly smaller than at your car, judging from your pics.
That makes me wonder, i noticed your running alloy rockers, maybe they have a slightly different geometry vs the stockers?

For oil i started with Losi 100, went to Schumacher 120 and now run Kyosho 3000cps diffoil and the silver springs in the front and longer 3Racing springs in the back.

[rc driver dude]

Thanks Jimmie for the advice. I have to shorten the shocks 8mm. I didn't think it would matter, but it does. How do you take off the shock shaft ends without scratching the shafts? I am running 70 weight oil front and rear. I also filled the shocks and even put them in a stand to make sure the air bubbles were gone. When I installed them there was a little oil that leaked from the cap. I tightened them all the way too.

[JimmyNeutron]

I have used a few wraps of tape to get a good grip on the shaft.
A rag wrapped around a pair of pliers works too.

I am running 50wt... guess I am on the light side. lol

Here is my review/install thread:
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...w+installation

[Daddykins]

I believe you'll have to dump all that 70wt oil
Use some side cutter to hold the shaft
The lower the better, towards the shaft ends, you don't wanna scratch them all up
Then use needle nose to unscrew the shaft ends off

[rc driver dude]

Thanks for the help. I have to finish writing an english essay now, so I will get back to you guys in a few days. Hopefully I will have this figured out.

[rc driver dude]

Update:

Shortened the shocks and installed them. I also installed some led lights! Just waiting for the new servo in the mail.




https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...0/IMG_0719.jpg

maybe I'm doing something wrong with the shocks because the stance is so much lower and there is barely any travel. I think I will eventually switch back to the traxxas gtr's with hr bodies

[rc driver dude]

Jimmie have you had a similar experience with the yeah racing shocks limiting travel? Like I said before

[JimmyNeutron]

If they do, it isn't enough for me to notice.

[rc driver dude]

Ok, but in the first picture doesn't the rear look much lower?

[rc driver dude]

P.S. Go Giants!

[50togo]

Looks like when I put limiters in mine to lower it for speed runs

[rc driver dude]

I took off the rears and there was a ton of oil that had leaked. Eventually I will buy some hr bodies and build them with my gtr's.

[50togo]

I have hr shock bodies on my other merv. Good idea!
pu some green shock slime and when you assemble use 2 of your old seals and 1 new seal on top of them and coat them with the slime

[airmaxx23]

I took off the rears and there was a ton of oil that had leaked. Eventually I will buy some hr bodies and build them with my gtr's.

Do not use the seals that come with the Hot Racing shock bodies, they will cause the lower end of the shock to leak very badly. Just use the stock seals.

[rc driver dude]

Ok, thanks for the input. I will do an update in a little bit

[rc driver dude]

Done!!!!!





I test drove it and I absolutely love it. The things rips and all of the mods and upgrades are amazing. One question: What is a good all around gearing for 2s? Right now I have the speed pinion and I'm afraid it will overheat.

[50togo]

Looks sweet!
You do have a temp.gun right? Do your normal driving style check every 5 minutes until you know how it runs
With the canyons on 2s you might getaway with 23/50 depending on your terrain.
Another good thing with the neu 1110 I ran 27/45 with them!

[rc driver dude]

Thanks. How would the car perform with a 25t pinion?

[Mr.Bill]

The led's look awesome!!!!! Sweet build rc dude!!!!!!

[50togo]

Might be pushing it with a 3.87" tall tire! That's a bit of rotating weight there