Traxxas Tmaxx 3.3 4909 build

[TenTlover12]

Hey everyone, I'm slowly getting through all my cars, and showing them on here(have about 10) and figured I’d show my second nitro and and the car I’ve put the most money into

This truck was bought by my grandpa in 2006, it’s the 3.3 4909 model, which is actually pretty rare, they weren't made for very long before Traxxas changed to the 4907 with the longer wheel base and no reverse. These were made for probably a year or 2, if you want to know if you have one, a good pointer is the wheels and tires, body(if you still have the stock one) and if you have opti drive or the gray trans with reverse, as it’s highly unlikely someone swapped a 3.3 trans with the reverse conversion into a short wheelbase 2.5. Also the driveshafts are 3.3 sized in the shorter chassis

He blew it up pretty quickly after getting it(runaway) and got the big bore shock kit and rpm a arms for just the front..? He didn’t put the big bores on the rear though, and he put a rb tm523 engine in it, pretty good engine, hard to tune though.

It sat for many years, and in 2018 I got my hands on it and started work on it, got it working good, changed servos pretty quickly after, had my dad tune it because I didn’t know how to tune at the time(he’s by far the best tuner I’ve ever seen, he’s literally magic with these engines)

I put a lot of stupid poop on it that I ended up taking off, rpm bumpers, truggy wheels, etc

At some point I put rear rpm an arms on, and a rear tower as well. I installed the big bores on the rear, which in the obsession of the ride height of this truck, removed shortly after because I couldn’t tune them right in the rear, the fronts retained them though

Radio box wise I have a spectrum receiver with a dx4s radio, I removed the opti drive electronics out of the optidrive box and put it back in because I like how it looks, also installed a duratrax fail safe, again just for looks…

Did a lot of different mods to this truck, it’s been through a lot of different stages, it’s had a 3.3, the rb 523, the 2.5, a Losi 3.4, and now another 3.3. Tried some other tires, but I really like the talons.

Couple different body’s, but in the end the body on apparence of this truck is totally stock

Current mod list is

-Traxxas resonator pipe, drilled out
-big bores in just the front
-integy blue springs all around
-cheapo servos
-hump pack with custom switch
-bigger air filter
Optidrive box striped of electronics and reinstalled
- optidrive sensor removed
Dx4s radio
Aluminum axles
Rear and front rpm a arms
Rear rpm tower

And more I’m forgetting

Pretty much just stuff that is weak in these trucks in my experience, and tuned to how I like it, I love this truck, it’s caused a lot of frustration but I got it pretty good now, and I good beat the crap out of it and it would survive no problems

The first pics are the most recent


Very long read but I’ve put a lot of more into this truck, so there’s alot to talk about

 

[Chubaka]

Nice clean truck for its age. I loved that body and regret not getting one. I have the .15 and a 2.5 maxx. The 3.3 is on my agenda. As for the short wheelbase, this dude used to try to send it to the moon.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...UQFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0FhD_iZSzrWoubFEVP4Uzk

 

[TenTlover12]

Nice clean truck for its age. I loved that body and regret not getting one. I have the .15 and a 2.5 maxx. The 3.3 is on my agenda. As for the short wheelbase, this dude used to try to send it to the moon.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...UQFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0FhD_iZSzrWoubFEVP4Uzk

That’s actually really funny you’d say that, back in 2018 I had just gotten the truck from my grandpa after sitting for so many years, and ended up finding that vid of him getting his out after 8 years and starting them up again, and I thought it was kinda cool I had the truck that he was trying to build with his 2.5, but those vids just gave me bad ideas… although the truck kinda sat from 2018 to 2022 off and on, when I did drive it, I maybe beat the hell out of it more than I should have, ergo all the upgrades

 

[easy rider]

Really nice truck man. Gotta be even more cool acknowledging the lineage it posses.

 

[Nitrofish48]

I saw this post and had to join just to comment. I just bought a 4909 for myself and can't wait to get it in! I remember when it came out I was in-between my first nitro, the 3.3 Maxx or the original Savage X. I ended up going with the X4.6 RTR and a long time later finally picking up a 3.3, but the newer longer version. The OG33 has eluded me for 18 years, until now! Always had a soft spot for the short wheelbase. I'll post pics of it when it gets here. Already have some Talons on order with black chrome wheels, I think it will look super cool with the stock black body.

Thanks for sharing your story. Super cool you still keep it around in stock looking form. I'm really glad there is a recent post for this model. Most forums I've been reading go back to 2008ish lol. Never knew how semi-rare this piece was either, that makes it even cooler!

 

[TenTlover12]

I saw this post and had to join just to comment. I just bought a 4909 for myself and can't wait to get it in! I remember when it came out I was in-between my first nitro, the 3.3 Maxx or the original Savage X. I ended up going with the X4.6 RTR and a long time later finally picking up a 3.3, but the newer longer version. The OG33 has eluded me for 18 years, until now! Always had a soft spot for the short wheelbase. I'll post pics of it when it gets here. Already have some Talons on order with black chrome wheels, I think it will look super cool with the stock black body.

Thanks for sharing your story. Super cool you still keep it around in stock looking form. I'm really glad there is a recent post for this model. Most forums I've been reading go back to 2008ish lol. Never knew how semi-rare this piece was either, that makes it even cooler!

Yeah these old nieche cars are kinda my specialty(losi ten t, the 4909 maxx, rs4s) the cars people don’t want anymore basically. And since no one has posted about some of these in a long time, I try to help people figure stuff out I’ve had to figure out. The savage is actually a great truck too, I have an ss which is fully converted to an x minus the wheels and tires. Oh yeah and I bought a vintage old stock 04 f150 body for it, just like the one my dad had in it 15 years ago, Great truck and a lot of fun. But yeah the 4909 is hard to explain, it drives way better than the long one imo, but more fun than the 2.5, maybe the combo of the gray trans and the shot wheelbase with that 3.3 power! Do be ready to potentially have some trans issues, either make sure your reverse linkage is perfect, or block it out all together, and you’ll be good! Definitely post some pics when you get some, I’m excited to see it!

 

[Nitrofish48]

I hear you man. I like the old stuff too. I'm still hangin onto an Xray T1FK05 (their top of the line touring car, 2005) and the thing runs great. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug lol but typically the older ones are way cheaper than new anyway! Damn, the 25 SS was the shhh when I was a kid, that's super cool. If you're wondering, JConcepts makes some great bodies that fit 1/8 and 1/10 Mts, they have an 05 F350 I really like, painted after my grandpas 99 Powerstroke, have that on my heavily modified X.

Anyway, back to Maxx's. Yeah I see all these videos of the old 33s popping wheelies and my 4908 has never been remotely close. That was one reason I was searching for an older version. I think you're onto something with the combo! I considered buying the parts and converting the new model into the old, I think it's just chassis and driveshafts? But I wasn't sure on the trans. Thats a question of mine, I've read a lot on the reverse etc and a lot of people do the FOC. As these are "vintage" now it would be nice to keep reverse in it BUT would you know if the FOC fits this trans? I think I read somewhere the 4909 and 4908 trans' are different, not sure. Again, grew up on Savages and not these lol. I got notification it shipped today, PUMPED!

 

[Nitrofish48]

Welp, here it is! Pretty happy with the overall condition. Doesn't seem like its was run too much, and it has some nice upgrades. Big Bore shocks and a couple new servos. Stock tires and wheels are in decent shape, and the underside of the body is great. I thought it would look a lot smaller proportionally since I'm used to the 4908 and Savage, but actually the smaller tires make it look about the same which is nice.

It can use some TLC though. Knuckles need to be replaced, needs a filter and a general cleaning/ lubrication but it's all here. Haven't had time to throw the new wheels on yet, I think I'll let it sit on its originals for now. Really excited to run this, and what's great is most of the parts are still being used on the newer trucks, so spares are plentiful.

Still can't get over how nice and clean the body is. Definitely discolored from the sun (FL truck) but other than that its great. Part of me wants to clean it up and just display it.

And no it did not come with the wheelie bar, stole that off my Emaxx! Looks better on here, think I'll leave it.