RC10B4 Sand Rail Project

[iVTEC4LIFE]

Hi guys,
I'm looking to take my B4 Team Car to the beach this summer and have some fun in the sun.
SO
I'm going to convert it to the 12mm hex set up first and then out fit it with Proline Sling Shots in the rear mounted on black Desperado's.
My first issue arises when it comes time to choose front wheels. I like my wheels to match so I'll be running REAR Desperado's with a spiked rear tire up front. (That makes sense, right? Lol) NOW, do I use the SC10 front axles for this set up? Looking at the axles, I'm thinking yes.
My next question regards the motor. Does anyone make those foam motor covers anymore? Brushed or brushless, I'd like to protect the motor from sand.
The starting point. ....

[iVTEC4LIFE]

So.....
Budget constraints hit hard this installation. I was not able to get the Desperado wheel set up so the whole hex conversion fell thru as well. This is what comes from owning too many rc's. They break and need fixing.
So instead of the Desperados I simply mounted the Sling Shot tires on the original wheels.

Next up....
I was thinking about mounting the ESC on a shelf above battery tray but AE wants $15..... uh.... no.

[ca-rj]

The Proline sand paddles match up well with some front ribs.

As for the motor, unless it's a sealed can, you're going to get sand in it and fowl it up. The only motor I've ever run without any issues is a Castle 3800. The can is completely sealed. We took a couple of RC10''s, one brushed and one with a 17.5 brushless and both got sand in the motors and stopped them from running.

[iVTEC4LIFE]

Thanks for the info ca-rj. I think I'm going to try the Outerwears motor covers. This year I may be stuck with an older brushed set up since a new revelation hit me with this build.

[iVTEC4LIFE]

So I was cruising Amain Hobbies for parts and came across an FTW body. The Night Fox XL. It seems that the folks over at FTW "Frankenstein-ed" a T4 chassis onto a B4 set up and found it to be a very nice set up so they stretched the regular Night Fox body to fit.

Along those lines I'm figuring that, like the HPI Baja's, sand rails tend to be long and lean. The T4 chassis and XL body would definitely stretch my B4 out. More so that the +8mm chassis. And since FTW makes a body to accommodate this. ....why not?

I might even run the T4 tires front and rear. .... on the hex conversion... hmmmm

[iVTEC4LIFE]

Update, 4/9/14

The T4.1 chassis arrived along with the XL body. It's gonna stretch the car by over an inch.
I also made my own ESC shelf out of an old Kyosho Triumph chassis (fear not, it was already broken at the front YEARS ago. I knew I could use the material some day) I trimmed the battery strap the to fit snugly before I decided on the B/T4.1 so I'll probing have to replace that.

I'm still on the fence about widening though. .......

[iVTEC4LIFE]

First pics..... 19mm extension. Nice. Just what this ride needed. The cab forward FTW body is sweet!!!

And painted....

Questions: Should I paint the wheels? Black? Red?
Should I go wide with the T4.1 arms? It would open up a lot of tire options.....

[Typicray@rainmans]

I like your progress! T4 arms would definitely be beneficial when running in sand. Personally I would throw some shrouds over the shocks, put a balloon over the radio and call it.

[iVTEC4LIFE]

Thanks!!! The balloon idea is genius!!! Red for sure.
The Rx is a Spektrum and mounted under the shelf, behind the battery. I have Velcro all the way down the sides. It's a pain to get the body off but I'm hoping for less sand getting in so I'll deal with it.
I'm about to drop the hammer on 2.2" x 2.0" stadium truck and paddles in the back and then go crazy and mount 2.2" buggy REAR tires up front. All hex converted. I'm just unsure of which front axle to run. The B4's? The SC10's? Or the T4's?
I have two months to get this together. Still holding on the T4 wide stance.

[iVTEC4LIFE]

Generations......

[spydur23]

I really like that body! you know jconcepts had a conversion kit that made the t4 into an 1/8 scale buggy. You may be able to get the narrow, truck sized ribbed tires still if you think that would be beneficial. they are similar to the original narrow 10t wheels. JC8? I think that's what it was called.

[spydur23]

Sorry J82 not JC8 here's the link
http://www.jconcepts.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=228

[iVTEC4LIFE]

I actually tried the 10T narrows up front. They work but I'm gunning for running the rear wheels up front. AE helped some so I wouldn't have to waste money. Them I'll run full size stadium truck rears in the back .... This, AFTER I've converted the whole suspension to the T4 set up.

[knucklebuster]

Nice buggy... or truck

I ran a brushless T3 with Bar Codes on all four corners. The rears hooked up well. Paddles might have too much bite with a brushless motor. You may want to turn them around if you begin doing back flips.

I ended up swapping the fronts for ribbed truck tires. The difference was night and day in terms of control during high speed runs across the sand.

All that too say bring several tire options

[iVTEC4LIFE]

Yeah, I thought about that today as a matter of fact. I started brain storming some sort of "wheelie bar" for it. Also in my favor are my ancient NIMH batteries and forward mounting of them in the chassis. I can also play with gearing to reduce torque and adjust the GTB2 for exponential throttle response.