Basket case Savage

[SMaxxin]

Last weekend I was browsing through some FS ads and came across an old Savage 25 that was listed pretty cheap and I couldn't resist! I had plans of going as cheap as possible to get it running but the thought of buying a used nitro engine brought back bad memories. At this point I could have bought a new RTR 4.6 for less than I have spend already, I love this hobby! The truck won't be here until Monday, it's coming USPS so thats a maybe. And since it's against the laws of RC to start a build thread without pics.....

 

[hulkmaxx]

Dang right LRP, power baby! What Lrp power plant you using on this build?

 

[SMaxxin]

Updated the pics. It will be paired with a JP-2 geared 17/49, should have enough power to get it going.

 

[savage24x]

Beautiful. Love that sticker on top. Favorite thing about a new engine.

 

[WoodiE]

Oh yeah, a Savage build!

 

[alien13]

Can't wait to see this one progress!

 

[NCNitro]

Sweet, a savage rescue, can't wait to see what you do with it. This will inspire me to tear mine down for a complete rebuild, it's been a looooong time.

 

[SMaxxin]

The truck showed up today and it was mostly what I expected, what I didn't expect and wasn't told is that the wheels hex's are rounded on two of the four wheels! The Mashers look new and I hope I can get them unglued without tearing them. It has massive wideners on it but one of them is bent (also not expected), bad wheel bearings and the diffs feel like they have gravel in them but I knew I would be replacing them. Enough BS here are some pics!

This mofo is 21 inches wide!

The body also showed up today!

6.6v life pack for the receiver should have enough juice for the servos...I hope

Haven't had a decent radio in years so I picked up a lower end Spektrum, not bad for $100.00

 

[alien13]

That's a good radio. Pretty easy to program and adjust, and mine had been reliable. Using it for racing as well as bashing.

 

[Racer 1966]

Sweet! You got one of my all time favorite bodies,can't wait to see how you paint it. I have a clear one in reserve for when I rebuild my Savage.

 

[SMaxxin]

Sweet! You got one of my all time favorite bodies,can't wait to see how you paint it. I have a clear one in reserve for when I rebuild my Savage.

I haven't decided on the paint scheme yet but it will have a Mopar feel to it, I couldn't find Hemi Orange so I got the next best thing



Over the weekend I went through everything on the truck and was surprised to find that it is in better condition than I thought, a few minor fixes and it's ready to go. Cleaned up the diffs with new gears and shims, the plastic cups might be a problem later but I have new aluminum cup diffs in the box for when that happens. The shocks were over filled and wouldn't fully compress, I removed a little oil and they are nice and smooth with no leaks. The tranny looked good and hopefully it will shift once it's running. Still waiting on a few things to show up before I can get it running.

Not what you want your diffs to look like!

Yesterday I removed the Mashers from the wheels....3 out of 4 came off perfect. On the last one I got in a rush and wasn't paying attention, also should have let it cool down a bit more.

 

[SMaxxin]

The truck is back together with the engine mounted and ready to go! I'm still waiting on tires/wheels, a couple of right hand thread axles, new brake pads, and the exhaust mount, all should be here by Thursday.

Once it was all back together I was looking at it and decided it needed to be a little bit lower. I pulled the shocks apart and added a short piece of fuel line under the pistons so the shocks wouldn't fully expand. The header I'm using has a wide bend for a truggy and wouldn't fit with the two shock setup, because it has the firm black springs and I just kept them slightly compressed I'm going to try to run with only four of them, from what I can tell the lower arms will sit level with all of the weight on it. If it doesn't work out i'll have to use a Savage header and go back to 8 shocks. Masking the body will start tomorrow!

 

[NCNitro]

Looking good, but I wanna see some paint!

 

[SMaxxin]

Looking good, but I wanna see some paint!

I had plans to start on the body today but I just haven't been in the mood to do it and I don't want to rush it....I really don't like painting!


In other news all my other parts showed up! I was going to start breaking in the engine but I'm not comfortable with the way the exhaust fits. Once I get a new exhaust I'll get it running.

 

[Racer 1966]

IMO if you start getting air,4 stock shocks and springs won't cut it. Some good triple rate springs might help but you really need big bores or the LST mod to go with 4 shocks.

 

[SMaxxin]

Randy thats why I put off running it, the suspension is sagging. As soon as I get the correct header I'll go back to 8 shocks and let it rip!

 

[NCNitro]

I get air all the time with my Savage SS, I have run mine hard for many years, and I still have the stock shocks with black springs and it has always worked fine for me, but I do have all 8.

 

[SMaxxin]

I finally decided on a paint scheme and actually got started on it! My painting skillz suck so I had to keep it simple although letters have proven to be anything but simple.

The inspiration

 

[NCNitro]

I love the color scheme!

Next time you do letters just print out the text in reverse and tape it to the outside of the body, then do your cutting in the lm, that way you don't have to do all that tracing first.

 

[SMaxxin]

Thanks Joe, I will definatly remember to do letters the easy way next time!