Brushless MGT 8.0 underway....

[10kman]

So I posted a couple weeks ago about the status of the Associated MGT 8.0 as a worthy monster truck to invest in. I don't see a lot of them around, and they are for some reason not even on ebay, not in the numbers you see a Savage, T-Maxx, etc. I was nervous to do another MGT conversion, but I love the truck to death. Tough as nails, and easy to work on.

Started looking on ebay, got a fantastic deal on a used RTR 8.0 with barely any use. Couldn't pass it up. I was toying with buying a chassis and building it all up from scratch, but with the price I got, and knowing I can sell off the nitro stuff for more cash yet, it wasn't worth it.

Got it in, and stripped it down to clean and start the layout. I had to find a way to lock the tranny into 2nd gear, and also lock the tranny so I can have reverse without any of the extra servos and complexity like my original conversion a few years ago. That one I had forward only, but also ran a mechanical brake, to keep things from overheating. I'm confident in the MMM right now so am going to try the tranny locked, and use the ESC's braking.

Figured that all out after some internet searching. Turns out if you do the forward only conversion, then lock the 2-speed from there, you're golden. So that's what I did. I'd post more about it, but honestly I couldn't describe it well enough and have it all together, so no pics either of that part. Link here - http://www.ultimaterc.com/forums/sho...t=65876&page=2. Also, link here to the original thread on RCM - http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27932.

Powerplant of choice is a Castle 1518 1800 k/v motor. Went that route for more torque than my 1515 1/y I have sitting in my E-Revo right now. As mentioned too, using the MMM for my ESC. Maxamps 4s Lipo 8000mah battery.

Mounting the motor - way easier than my original one that involved a lot of fabrication on my end. Tekno RC makes lots of motor mount options, went way smoother and was actually easy.

My only real mod that I've done other than the tranny is I had to grind the back of the transmission case down so I had enough room to fit the motor in there, and have some wiggle room for pinion choices. I did that to fit my 16t pinion in there, but I'm ideally using an 18t anyway. Just wanted some options.

So pics below of where I am now. I could probably steal the ESC and Receiver from my E-Revo but I'm saving to get another setup. Not quite sure if I want to sell the E-Revo yet. I'm excited, I'm curious how the truck does with the 1518 motor in there, i'm looking for some gut-wrenching torque and I think this will provide it!

10k