Where to Begin? 20 year hiatus....

[Beedo]

Been out of the hobby since the 90's....I want to build my dream Clod and don't know where to begin. I want it similar to the Clodzilla 2 style but I guess with chassis parts that are readily available. Should I buy a built stock Clod and upgrade it myself or should I buy one in kit form and build with upgraded parts? I finally have the budget to build whatever I want but am lost as to where to begin.

[Diamond Dave]

Really good question, wish I had the answers. Aftermarket everything with Clod axles?

Aluminum chassis with some stock parts? Maybe buy an OG and build it and run it and then purchase a bunch of spare parts and build another one.

Brushless? yes imo. The original would not be. You have the funds, build a few. Make the runner bullet proof. Not going to be cheap finding parts.

[Dangeruss]

My thinking... rather than starting from stock and working up, it'd be simpler to start with your dream and work down. eBay has a lot of really awesomely built Clods, maybe one of them has your name on it?

If not, ESP has a facebook page:

www.facebook.com/esphobby/

His last batch of Clodzilla II chassis sold out but an email or phone call gets you the 411 on the next run. Some billet axles, shocks, etc. and you can build the Clod of your 1990's dreams.

Other options from Crawford Performance, Thunder Tech, UK Monsters or one of the Chinese eBay brands can net you a modern or classic style chassis you can build upon.

Why waste money modifying a stock Clod just to end up with a Ship of Theseus when you can put that cash towards what you really want.

Cool conundrum though... welcome!

[Frankentruck]

That's a tough decision to make. Do you plan to use OEM gears, axles, gearboxes, hubs, wheels, tires, body, etc? Getting a kit and using what you need, selling off the rest could be a plan. Chasing down the little stuff one by one could be frustrating and more expensive than expected. With a highly modified build, there probably is no perfect option.