Griffin-XX : a clash of Losi and Academy, and some more...

[Mr. ED]

Last year I picked up a rather beaten Losi XX with a clean transmission and hydra drive.
This year: I got a sorry-looking XXT for spare parts to fix up the XX. But after cleaning the XXT up, it was in better shape than expected and I just restored it stealing parts of the XX.

So what to do with the leftover XX parts?
The chassis is of little use as it won't accept brick style li-po's and I don't have other ones.
The front arms are notoriously vulnerable and the whole front carrier, axle and steering knuckle combo had terrible wear and play going against it.
Rather than going out on the net and buying a bunch of NOS parts and paying loads of overseas shipping I dove into the basement looking for some alternatives.
This is what came up: I still have 2 Academy Griffin Pro's lying around idly, and the stadium truck version.
Unfortunately the truck didn't come with a slipper and the pro's... well they did, but the balldiffs slip a lot more.
So I tried the geardiff of the truck in the Pro, which was a lot better, but after a while the slipper disks started flaking and lost all grip.
Now, If I could somehow massage that sweet losi XX transmission into the Academy chassis for which I have plenty suspension spares etc...

Tadaa!

And even under the body you can barely tell this is not just some factory clone with Losi shocks added... you bet I'm proud

Up-close: Lucky fit for those 2 screws after some shaving on the Academy chassis

IMG_9407_0.30.jpg (97.43 KiB) Viewed 2059 times

IMG_9407_0.30.jpg (97.43 KiB) Viewed 2059 times

bottom side: 2 more lucky fits, and a little hack on the rear end of the chassis to drop the XX moterplate in place. (The large countersunk screw is tapped in the moterplate and gearbox housing)

IMG_9408.JPG (97.8 KiB) Viewed 2059 times

IMG_9408.JPG (97.8 KiB) Viewed 2059 times

The rear axles were giving me lots to worry about, but in the end all is good; with this combo of mainly losi, traxxas and yokomo parts

[Diamond Dave]

That all came together rather well, nice finished product. I would be proud to own it. (Round? wth..)

Now, to see it run....

[Mr. ED]

That all came together rather well, nice finished product. I would be round to own it.

Now, to see it run....

I've got a fresh gearcover coming for it and then... well, maybe.
the thing is I have a couple nice runners already and they have all the good electronics in them. But I'm considering to prepare this with some older electronics and a stock mabuchi: for my 6-year old daughter. And when that happens I'm sure I won't resist the temptation to give it a little spin myself

[Asso_man!]

Good job again there Ed! Do you still run your cars at race track from time to time? If so where? Would love to catch up with you, been a long time!

[Mr. ED]

Thanks. I switched clubs this year and drive in Kampenhout now.

[Asso_man!]

Thanks. I switched clubs this year and drive in Kampenhout now.

Wow Kampenhout, that's one of the best in the World probably! Would love to go there with you one day at practice. They switched to clay completely you said? Haven't been there for years.

[59burst]

academy rc cars are mixtures of some different brands like losi, AE, and yokomo. two guys were working for it. one guy left the company around 10 years ago.
Now the company declared they won't make any other rc model.
enjoy the cars while you can, Erik

[Chewbacca]

Now this is actually too nice to be called “Frankenbuggy” cool build!

[Mr. ED]

Thanks, still haven’t test-driven this one