My new driver !

[m2fit4u2]

From the help of bearrickster and aconsola, I have been able to piece together a car I have been wanting to build since 1990. Why I didnt start sooner I do not know. I guess I got cought up with other areas of interest.

(Short corny story follows)

I can remember when I was 10 years old, reading about the new latest and greatest car from Team Losi, it was the Jrx-Pro at the time. My mother took me up to the local hobby store and I could not believe my eyes, they had a freshly built Jrx-Pro on the counter that exactly matched the way it looked on the box; Black paint and all the factory stripe purple and orange stickers. Of course I did not hesitate to walk right over and see how silky smooth the suspension felt (keep in mind the only kit built car I had at the time was a Tamiya Lunch Box). Even today, the suspension on this car is just as smooth if not smoother than my XXX and XXXT. I am not completely finished beeing that I would like to add a Plastic red antenna holder, RPM gear cover and of course try to find a body. I do have the factory red Losi rims and tires but I enjoy looking at the older cars with some modern pieces as well.

I am not sure about the gearing with the XX trans. I started off with 19/84, that seemed a bit tall so I am going to try 19/86 next. Feel free to offer gearing suggestions that have worked for you !

Thanks for looking !

[Momo5]

Thats looking pretty awesome...nice job. Now the really fun part begins...finding a body...

[Bongo Fury]

Pretty sweet start. I always liked those 5 spoke rims, and the old rounded carcass step pins on the 2.0 or whatever rims.

[m2fit4u2]

Thanks for the compliments !

Yes you are right, 2.0's they are. I actually like the 2.0 rims with a little taller tire, I do most my driving in rough terrain so this setup works better than a low profile tire.

I am just a little nervous about running a brushless with the XX trans. The SS5800 is not a power monster by any means.. Does anybody have experience with running a little extra power in this transmission? Will it hold up?

[bearrickster]

WOW!! that looks great. run it I run a LRP 10.5 with a Lipo in mine with a XXretro fit they will take anything you can through at them. mine would go down the Front straight with the tires looking like a funny car doing a burnout and never hurt it and ran it all summer with no maintance at all! great job with that box of parts I sent you!! I mean it great job

[JK Racing]

My buddy recently ran a whole race day (on a very high bite blue groove track) with the XX buggy tranny in the LXT running brushless lipo all day. He was running 17.5, which may have low revs, but pulls some huge torque. He was able to lift the front tires more than a few times running that combo. In my XXT days, it was common place for me to run a 10X1 fat wire (same tranny internals) on the high bite Ranch Pit Shop track.

I have my truck ready to roll, and I may drop my Mamba in there while I get my 17.5 repaired. Get that thing on a track and thrash on it some.

On the third picture down, the front looks quite narrow...did you do anything to widen the track before converting to the XX carriers?

[FasterLouder]

2fit-I may be coming into possesion of some mint condition red logo Pro rims soon,if I do I'll donate 'em to you for this gorgeous ride.
I agree with the Losi suspension-It's as smooth,or smoother thana lot of modern day cars.
I am a Losi addict.

[aconsola]

looks good, nice job on the build.

[m2fit4u2]

JK Racing - The front does look narrow compared to the back. According to 1990 Car Action the front track is supposed to be 8.5 inches and the rear 8. I am thinking this is measured from the edge of the hub carriers. Right now, it reads 8 1/8 inches up front and 8 in the rear. So you are right, I need to increase the front width by 3/8 inch. What are my options for doing this? Also, thank you for pointing that out.

I will tell you what, I have a Mamba in my XXXT and it is a wheelie king. No good for racing, but very fun for gravil pits and beaches.

FasterLouder - I have a set of new red logo rims, but thank you very much for that generous offer ! On the other hand I do not own a pair the front staggered rib tires that came with the kits.

[Brandon G]

Get you a set of the RPM wide JRXT front a arms to widen the stance in the front. Make up for the difference in the XX front spindles.

[m2fit4u2]

I figuard it would have to be some sort of front A arm swap.

Anyone out there have Wide RPM JRXT front arms that they are willing to sell or make trades??

[m2fit4u2]

I just discovered that you can use XXX front spindle carriers on the front. This widens the front track 1/2 inch above stock to a total of 9 inches.

The best part about this is that these items are plentiful compared to the RPM wide arms (thank you for the suggestion bngiles)

Let me know what you guys think..

[DHC6]

Looks great! Now you just need to cover it up and take it out to the track and have some fun! Looks good with the XX parts in front, and should give you some extra stability on the rougher stuff. I am on a vintage Losi kick as well, have been putting the finishing touches on a JRX2 5 link. I made a lexan chassis protector so I don't feel bad scratching it up out on the track. I might try your idea with the XX parts up front for some extra width. As far as the transmission, it can take some serious power. I have a XX as well that I got when it was new, and I still have the original gear set installed in it. I have had every thing from a 19T to a Mamba Max 5700 in it, and have never had a problem. So I am sure you will be fine.

[m2fit4u2]

Well it looks like I do not have to worry about tranny issues Thanks for all of your replys.

DHC6 - The XX carriers narrow the front end, but like I mentioned above, I discovered that the XXX carriers will work too, this setup will make it 1/2 inch wider than stock. The XX front end you lose almost 1/2 inch. You do need to use the XXX king pins and drill out the lower carrier hole to 1/8 inch.

How did you mount the lexan to your chassis? That is a good idea. I would like to know more about how you went about doing this.

[DHC6]

xx, oops, I meant XXX.

I got the lexan from my LHS, I am sure you can order some from your LHS. It comes in sheets of different thickness, and for me the length was not quite long enough so I had to make it in two parts. The first part goes from the front to the last 2" of the chassis, then I just make a short piece to cover the last 2". I use a sharpie marker to trace the chassis, then just cut it out. Give your self just little extra length (1/8th-1/4") to account for the bend in the front of the chassis. I use a heat gun to heat up the lexan where it bends up for the front of the chassis. I gave it a few more degrees of bend to ensure it stays close to the chassis. I use Velcro to attach it to the chassis, the Velcro I use is extremely strong, and the adhesive is very good. I can't remember off the top of my head what brand it is, I got it at Home Depot. I go back home tomorrow night (away for work right now), when I get home I will see what brand it is and post it here. It's the only Velcro and seems to last driving though dirt, dust sand etc... I will also post some pics so you can see it and get a better idea of how I did it.