Tommy R's XXX-SCB

[Tommy R]

Hey folks,

Well, two race rigs evidently just wasn't enough so I picked up an SCB. This one I picked up used as a roller. It was in decent shape, but I'm having to address some things along the way. Since our local track is now outdoors with bigger jumps, my Spec SCT is just a bit underpowered. The wind wreaks havoc on that poor thing! The stock SCBs, however, can make all the big jumps pretty handily! So I decided to convert my SCT to Mod and I'm going to make the SCB my new Spec class rig.

FYI, our Spec class is limited to RTR electronics (most run Slash brushed stuff) and allows any rx/servo, any SC tire, any fluids, and a couple other mods. So not too many changes are allowed in order to keep costs in check.

The buggy came with a Pro-Line front hub conversion and a stock servo, but no other electronics and it needed some TLC. I rebuilt the diff with 3000 WT and rebuilt the shocks with 30 WT all around. I suspect the rear may need thicker oil, but we'll see. Other than that, I've installed the Slash electronics, painted up a new body, and it's nearly ready to race. I did notice that the Futaba 2104 receiver I use is an awkward size for this buggy. It's too large to fit directly to the chassis and due to the roll cage, the locations to install it were limited. I'll post pics later with my solution.

Anyway, no one ever reads posts so here's a couple pics. As with all my racing rigs, I've kept a vintage racing paint scheme on this one, too.







Hard to tell, but I added some gauges on the dash and a monster tach near the steering wheel.

[Toypainter]

Love the Big Oly paint scheme! Great job!

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Toypainter

Love the Big Oly paint scheme! Great job!

Thanks a lot!


So here's my solution for mounting the receiver. Like I said, it's too large to mount down low on the chassis so I mounted it in front of the ESC. I cut some styrene and used two-sided tape to secure it to the underside of the ESC mounting plate. You can also see how I secured the styrene directly to the bottom of the ESC for more support. Lastly, I added some tape between the ESC and rx for more security. It holds very firmly and doesn't have any "diving board" effect cantilevering out there.

[Toypainter]

I did pretty much the same thing with my rx

[SnoopMaxx]

Love the paint job
Where did you get the gages from ??
I saw your photo in the gallery, when I painted my Losi body but couldn't find those gages on the decal sheet



Morten

[Tommy R]

Hi Morten,

I bought the gauges from a friend on RCCrawler.com who sells sticker sheets with tons of miscellaneous stickers on it. If you look up "BOWTIE" on RCC you should be able to find his stuff. RPPHobby.com may also have some under their RC Scaler section.

[SnoopMaxx]

Thanks Tommy


Morten

[Tommy R]

Happy to help, Morten!


So today I finally got chance to race the buggy at our big outdoor track. We only had about 3-4 SCBs show up so we raced in a "bucket class" including a Mod 2WD SCT, stock buggy, and a Stadium Truck.

First heat it did okay, but was rather unpredictable. I figured I was just getting used to it, but still managed a mid-pack finish. It had quite a bit of negative camber on the left front, which I found odd.

Just before the second heat I saw that one of the front hub carriers (the Pro-Line hex conversion) had broken! Not Pro-Line's fault. I hit something HARD in practice earlier. I had my Losi SCT with me in case I needed to scavenge parts from it, but had no time to replace the parts so I just used some CA on the carrier and hoped for the best. It broke on the first lap and I could see the LF wheel flopping around. It was quite a handful to drive! But I somehow managed to come in 3rd place as the first SCB.

I rushed and swapped in a good front hub carrier to get the truck running just before the 3rd heat. I buttoned it all up and walked off to the track. I blipped the throttle like I usually do to make sure everything was okay and heard a nasty noise. Turns out a set screw in the rear axle CVD loosened and the drive pin was coming out! CRAP! I even had it covered with heatshrink, but to no avail. I frantically got everything back in place, tightened it all up, and barely made it to the start before the timer began! The buggy finally held together for the whole heat and ran like a champ! I did very well and managed to finish 1st overall (the buggy broke) and took the TQ spot. Schwing!

In the main things went very well and I pulled off a solid win. I was pretty darn excited considering all the stress and headache throughout the day.

I can't say enough good things about this buggy! It was so much fun! Honestly, I can easily see me selling my SCT and making a Mod SCB to replace it. I love this thing!!

[SnoopMaxx]

Congratulations on your win

[CptKaos]

Great race Tommy. These things are a blast.

Larry

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by SnoopMaxx

Congratulations on your win

Thanks!

Originally Posted by CptKaos

Great race Tommy. These things are a blast.

Larry

Thanks, Larry! Yeah, these things are a blast!

[JKRacing37]

Found this post while searching for other methods to mount my receiver. I hope you don't mind of I borrow your idea. Nice job with the buggy - love the "classic" paint job!

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by JKRacing37

Found this post while searching for other methods to mount my receiver. I hope you don't mind of I borrow your idea. Nice job with the buggy - love the "classic" paint job!

I don't mind at all. In fact, that's why I try to post detailed pics. And thanks for the compliment!

[MojaveMonster]

Awesome paint. Are you the guy who has the Big Oly Bronco too?
I'm from Olympia and collect Oly beer stuff so I get pretty excited when ever I see stuff.

I found out through a friend that the bottom chassis plate shaped kinda like a T can be bolted to replace the esc plate and is big enough for your rx up there.....if your styrene ever brakes that is.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by MojaveMonster

Awesome paint. Are you the guy who has the Big Oly Bronco too?
I'm from Olympia and collect Oly beer stuff so I get pretty excited when ever I see stuff.

I found out through a friend that the bottom chassis plate shaped kinda like a T can be bolted to replace the esc plate and is big enough for your rx up there.....if your styrene ever brakes that is.

Are you referring to this Bronco?



If so, yeah, that was me. Unfortunately, I sold it over the summer and it's now in Illinois, I think. I also painted my XXX-SCT in the Big Oly scheme.

What chassis plate are you referring to? So far, the styrene is holding up well, though.

[Tommy R]

Hey y'all,

Well this weekend I went to Temple, TX with some buddies and raced at Temple R/C Speedway. Great track! During practice, however, I got pulled by a few car lengths on a short straight by another buggy and I knew something was wrong. So I pulled it back to the pits and swapped in a newly purchased HPI Blitz motor since I'd heard good things about it. Wow, did it make a difference! The SCB was quite a bit quicker than with the Slash motor. I don't suspect the HPI motor is THAT much faster, though. My Slash motor was just likely due for some long overdue maintenance!

So I went out for some more practice and an E-buggy landed on me and broke me! I couldn't tell what happened other than the rear suspension was collapsed. Got it back to the pits and saw it was a rear, lower shock endlink that broke. But I also noticed a camber link on the passenger side loosened up right in front of the motor. Had to so a bunch of disassembling to get access to it. Ugh! This was a ton of work already and we hadn't even started racing yet!

But fortunately, the buggy ran great the rest of the day! I finished 1st, 1st, and 2nd in the qualifiers and took the win in the Main. I was pretty stoked. And best yet, a buddy got some video of the Main. Mine is the gold/white SCB with black wheels. I had to chase down a Turnigy buggy (copy of the Kyosho) after a 1st lap mishap. He's running brushless, but turned down the endpoints for the Spec class.

Anyway, here's the video!

Spec SCB A-Main - YouTube

[JKRacing37]

Nice race!

WOW is that track huge!!!

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by JKRacing37

Nice race!

WOW is that track huge!!!

Thanks! Yeah, it's a great track. They're tearing it down to rebuild it after this weekend. They're building a dedicated oval track so this one will become strictly offroad.

I noticed I had some loose steering. It appears a nut in the bell crank loosened. What a pain to fix 'cause the entire front end needed to be disassembled. I also noticed the chassis nose piece had a crack in it so I replaced it while it was apart.

I removed the motor to clean it last night and when I spin the wheels it didn't spin as freely as I'd expected. So it turns out the screws that clamp the transmission together were too tight. I backed them out just a tad and it spins much more freely now. I wonder if that's why my SCB has always seemed a bit slower than everyone elses? I guess we'll find out at tomorrow's race.

[Losi Ross]

Tommy what side is the screw on for your diff when you tightened it up. I ask because I just got done putting in the tuning kit and now my buggy seems alittle slower now.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Losi Ross

Tommy what side is the screw on for your diff when you tightened it up. I ask because I just got done putting in the tuning kit and now my buggy seems alittle slower now.

The screws I'm referring to are screwed in from the driver's side of the buggy and are used to clamp the transmission case halves together. In my case, it was possible to tighten them too much causing a bit of drag.

Hope that helps!


BTW, I had another successful race last weekend in the SCB. The track was SUPER slick and dusty resulting in lap times that were about 2-2.5 seconds slower than last week!! My slipper pads were glazed over so I had to run it cranked down.....needless to say, I got lots of good practice using my finger for precise throttle control.