[jhautz]

For a basic upgrade you could go with the Mamba Maxx and the 8XL motor. You will need to get a UBEC as well to run the Mamba Maxx on anything over 10 cells or so. Technically you could run it on 12 without a UBEC but your in the desert and its hot so it would help the MM stay cooler. The MM will handle 14 cells as long as you use the UBEC.

For the 8xl Motor I would get the smooth can motor with the RC-Monster HEATSINK/CLAMP. With the clamp its stronger than the fined can XL motors. Being in the desert where its hot it migh be a good idea for you to go with a 9xl instead of the 8xl though. The 9XL will run a little cooler and will extend your run time. Of course the trade off is a little top speed, but a 9XL on 14 cells will still be a good bit faster than the stock motors and have a ton more power and acceleration.

As far as drivetrain upgrades to run the brushless power you will need some steel center CVD's and steel idler gears for the transmision. You will be able to just lock it into 2nd gear and run it so you could get away with just one steel idler in 2nd gear and then just dont use first gear. Or yhou could go with the G-Maxx single speed conversion if you want to spend the extra money.

For wheel driveshafts you could go with steel CVDs or you could upgrade to the t-maxx 3.3 driveshafts. They are very tough and will hold up well. To go to the 3.3 shafts you will need to get the 3.3 wheel hubs and 3.3 arms as well. The bearings on the 3.3 shafts are larger so you need the hubs in order to make it fit. The 3.3 shaft is also larger in diameter and will rub on the regular arms so you either need to dremel clearance into the stock arms or go with the 3.3 arms that have the clearanace in them.

Hope this helps.

And keep up the good work over there. Its a tough job and I for one aprecaite all you guys are doing.