XX Transmission Brace (...and how to make one!)

[LosiXXkid]

Having missed out on one of Ben's (Jamin') eBay auctions for a Trinity XX transmission brace, I thought that I would have a go at making my own.

After looking through some of my XX spare parts, the solution quickly came to me and the original XX rear pivot plate, part number A-2110 provided me with the answer.

Here's a walk-through with some photo's for anyone that wants to have a go.....

You will need the following:

1x A-2110 XX Rear Pivot Plate / Support
an X-Acto Razor Saw
a hobby knife or scalpel
240-grit emery paper (what I had available)
800- to 1000-grit (super fine) emery paper

Use the X-Acto Razor Saw to remove the rear section of the A-2110 pivot plate. You need to remove the rear 'tab' with the two countersunk holes by cutting inside where the transmission case sits. You'll then need to cut and trim the excess material back until the correct size is achieved. If you don't do it this way and just cut it straight off, you won't be left with enough material around the countersunk holes for the screws - hopefully this will become apparent. Obviously the rear pivot plate will be sacrificed as it cannot be used again.

A-2110 Rear Pivot Support plus removal.

XX Chassis Brace 06.jpg (120.56 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

A-2110 Rear Pivot Support plus removal.

XX Chassis Brace 06.jpg (120.56 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Once you've done the hard work with the X-Acto Razor saw in removing the rear tab, use a hobby knife (be careful ) to cut the excess material away. Once you're done with the saw/knife, you can then move onto the 240-grit emery paper or coarser grit/grade if you have it at hand, to start straightening up the edge to end up with the tab that looks like this in profile (not to scale):

Transmission Brace Profile.

XX Chassis Brace 12.jpg (73.26 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Transmission Brace Profile.

XX Chassis Brace 12.jpg (73.26 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Here's what it should look like when you're done removing all the excess material.

All cleaned up.

XX Chassis Brace 07.jpg (114.58 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

All cleaned up.

XX Chassis Brace 07.jpg (114.58 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Flip side.

XX Chassis Brace 08.jpg (115.54 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Flip side.

XX Chassis Brace 08.jpg (115.54 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

You'll want to leave enough material so that you can create a 45 deg. chamfered edge so that the brace can clear the bottom of the shock tower when it's all screwed into place. This photo should help clarify this...

Chamfered edge.

XX Chassis Brace 09.jpg (104.3 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Chamfered edge.

XX Chassis Brace 09.jpg (104.3 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

...and here it is in place. When you're happy with the result, use the super-fine emery to clean and polish it up to make all the sanding marks disappear. How much time you spend doing this is up to you but if you're a perfectionist like me, then probably too long even though you never see it anyway!

All done.

XX Chassis Brace 01.jpg (131.13 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

All done.

XX Chassis Brace 01.jpg (131.13 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Close up.

XX Chassis Brace 04.jpg (126.91 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

Close up.

XX Chassis Brace 04.jpg (126.91 KiB) Viewed 2333 times

It took me a few, very satisfying, hours to do but it fits perfectly and should help prolong the life of the transmission case as we know they are very hard to find these days.

I know there are other transmission brace's out there from the likes of Fibre-Lyte, Trinity, Jammin' and maybe one or two others but this is probably the cheapest solution and as an added bonus, has a little bit of flex it in it which the others do not have.

Anyway, I hope you find this little mod useful. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them for you.

Enjoy!

[DHC6]

Nice Job! Looks very clean and factory. Now watch as everyone reads this post and there will be a shortage of rear pivot braces on eBay... LOL.

[minreg]

Nice mod and "how to".
You were not tempted to paint in blue?

[kjrell]

Nice tutorial, thanks a lot

[LosiXXkid]

Nice Job! Looks very clean and factory. Now watch as everyone reads this post and there will be a shortage of rear pivot braces on eBay... LOL.

Thank you!

That's exactly the phrase that I was looking for but couldn't think of it at the time.....'factory'. It's looks like it was always a Losi part.

Hopefully there's a good supply of rear pivot plates out there for everyone to try this that wants to.....(shhh....! best buy a couple of spares though)...

[LosiXXkid]

Nice mod and "how to".
You were not tempted to paint in blue?

No, not tempted but if it was natural, like the bulkhead, then quite possibly yes...!

[slapshot1979]

Nice job man, very ingenious .

Tranny cases are hard to get now?? Holy crap Im sitting on a gold mine!!!!!!

[LosiXXkid]

Nice job man, very ingenious .

Tranny cases are hard to get now?? Holy crap Im sitting on a gold mine!!!!!!

Thank you...

Apparently they are so if you have got a few of them, you are indeed likely to see a nice 'return' if you decide to sell any of them.

[slapshot1979]

Goodone
Now it will be $100 for an original kinwald case

[LosiXXkid]

I'm interested to know if anyone has tried this out yet?

[FasterLouder]

Nice job!
Always nice to see people make use of something it wasn't designed for.

Yeah,XX tranny cases are getting tough to find,as are front arms,bumpers,rear wheel discs and motor plates.
Without a tranny brace,the front mounts are vulnerable to breaking off,I've come across a few cases that suffered that fate.

[LosiXXkid]

Anyone ever try this mod?

So far it looks like a big fat NO!