LOSI LST XXL Conversion ideas

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by mistercrash

I don't know when I will be able to start the build, my garage is a mess and I have to build a backyard shed to move a lot of stuff out of the garage so that I can start organizing it as a workshop. Which means electrical work, plumbing, insulating, dry walling, heating, etc. A lot of work.

You sound like me... Putting off rc for the big projects!!!

Best thing I can do with my time right now is decide what rc stuff i want to keep and move the rest on. Trying to get down to a single 9ft tall shelf unit for rc. Right now I have 2 of those shelf setups, and a bunch of stuff littering the ground. I am sure I could carefully organize what I have and get it all on the shelves, but I really need to part ways with the stuff I never plan to use. Maybe get down to 20 rcs, including the boats!

Good luck with the xxl project, I will be interested to follow your progress. When the dead of summer hits here I will get back to rc, too hot to be outside then!

[jpoprock]

Originally Posted by mistercrash

So where's the new LST forum? Did I miss the official opening?

Have you ever checked this forum out?
http://hdrcvideos.com/forums/index.p...83e0f6e7483015

It's AWESOME. It's the RCM of LST trucks. Friendly people too.

[jpoprock]

Originally Posted by JThiessen

XXL uses inner cup #B3537 and B3532 outer, the LST2 uses the same numbers. Now there is an optional HD inner case and gear set that you can get which has steel plates for the cross pins - but the cup is still plastic. I did this upgrade on mine.

Wow, I can't believe that I didn't realize this. Maybe there is a difference between the RAM/LST diff's and the LST2/AFT/XXL diffs then? Cuz I was sure there was one.

I've heard great things about the Nova cups. I'm not going to bother with any of that until something breaks.

[nitrostarter]

Enjoy that 1521/1Y! Its a monster for sure!! Especially on 6s!

Nice Job so far!!!!! A for effort!! Is the muggy steering better than the original? Is there a better turning radius? I would think yes or why else would you do it? let me know. I have a converted aftershock.

[mistercrash]

Originally Posted by coolink13

Nice Job so far!!!!! A for effort!! Is the muggy steering better than the original? Is there a better turning radius?

I seriously don't know. This is my first experience with the LST. I'm modifying and converting the thing but I never drove it. I hope to soon.

[jpoprock]

Yeah, it could that for sure. The diff's I've broken pins on where non-HD diff's, AND they were inherited. So, they were not shimmed. Any diff that I rebuild now will be shimmed. I'm in need of about 4 HD cups though! DOH!

My tranny pins snapped... but I'm not sure why. Could have had my slipper too tight. The truck in question is a BL E-LST2 on 6s with a Neu 1515 2.5d. It's a monster. I had my slipper all the way tightened, but not FIRM. Hard to say what happened.

I'm experiencing a "click" in the rear diff (which is an HD diff), so I'm betting that I have a pinion that's going. Could be because of the slipper, AND because I do a lot of loose gravel drifting. I always try not to land jumps on power. I'm sorta surprised that I'm getting a click in the diff though.

Does RCM sell a ring/pinion that is heavy duty that will fit in the Losi diffs? Or do I have to buy a Losi kit?

As always, your build is turning out awesome. Can't wait to hear how it does in action.

[mistercrash]

Can't wait to find out how well it will run also. Up to now this has been a pretty easy build. The hardest part was figuring out the Muggy steering but the rest was pretty simple. I seriously thought it would be more difficult and complicated. I am still waiting for the CF plates to come in and I just ordered a 2.5 mm thick T6 6061 alu plate to make the front skid part to hold the steering bellcranks and a proper servo horn from Racers Edge.

[JThiessen]

Looking great MC. Wish mine was coming along as fast as yours is.

Your layout is nice with a very centered Cg. I'm hedging my bet that I'll need more weight on the front to alleviate wheelies - unfortunately, we are both going to end up locking ourselves into whichever config we build!

[mistercrash]

I think that with enough time and money, you're never locked into any build.

The 3 mm thick CF plate came in so I made the middle skid plate that will hold the batteries.



With most of the tools I use for building now out of the boxes, working is now easier and faster so I should be able to finish this build sooner than I thought.

Here's a pic of the chassis rails mounted on the skid plate with a couple of CF strips to bring it down 9 mm. Some may notice that the top of the rails have more holes than stock. That's because I drilled the bottom holes for the middle skid right through the rails. Even though I used 25 mm long screws to secure the skid to the rails, the thought of having those screws strip out because of the weight of the batteries worries me just a little bit. If that happens then I will use screws long enough to stick out the top plate and use nuts to lock them in.



A pic of the spacer strips that bring the skid down, lowering the CG.



I am now waiting on these supplies to finish the build.

The double slipper plate
The 2.5 mm thick CF plate to make the top plate
The E-Revo tranny motor mount and motor plate (the motor plate is to use as a template to make a 6 mm thick CF motor plate)
The Racers Edge servo horn
6X10 mm bearings for the Muggy steering bellcranks
The 0.1'' thick 6061 T6 aluminum plate to make the front skid doubler to hold the Muggy steering.

I also ordered some ABS plastic boxes that I will study to see if I can make some battery boxes out of.

[mistercrash]

Some goodies came in the mail yesterday. The ABS boxes, the Hot Racing double slipper and the E-Revo tranny. I was going this route at first for the battery boxes.



It would've worked but I still needed to make some blocks to go on either end of the batteries to keep them from sliding. It left the batteries much exposed and it would have been difficult to put some foam padding and have it stay there. When I got the ABS boxes I thought that they would work much better for making proper battery boxes that secure and protect the batteries. The finished boxes have an interior dimension of 185 mm long by 39 mm wide by 52 mm high. Plenty of room for a lot of batteries on the market and some foam padding.

[mistercrash]

Picture posting time!

Sorry for the delay but I started putting everything together and it was going so well that I couldn't stop.

After a couple months of thinking, planning, drawing, thinking, redrawing, shopping, and yadeeyadeeyadah. This is what I came up with for a LST conversion.

PARTS MODIFIED

I modified the chassis rails to make room for the Muggy steering. The bellcranks of the Muggy steering were also modified.

PARTS FABRICATED

To make the conversion, I made a new chassis top plate, a new middle skid plate, a front skid doubler for the steering, battery boxes from project boxes found on ebay, a mounting plate for the receiver box, a system to support the rear of the motor, a new motor plate. While I was at it, I made the plates that go under the shock towers out of CF but that is optional. I could've made other stuff out of CF but for now I want to keep those stock aluminum parts on the truck.



PUTTING EVERYTHING BACK TOGETHER

This is just a series of pics of the build in sequence. Many pics so I'll to post a few times.

TOP PLATE

[jpoprock]

Ray... I LOVE LOVE LOVE what you are doing!!!!! Genius!!!!

[jpoprock]

Oh, ok... yer right. I guess I didn't realize that blue diff cases were used in older Losi's. I always see the blue ones on eBay, complete with center shaft and pulled from an XXL. I think all the XXL diff's use blue cases and HD cups. But that doesn't mean that all blue cased diff's are from the XXL necessarily.

I got confused because there are so many chop shops on Ebay selling diffs! Many of the complete silver cased diff's are pulled from Aftershock/LST2/LST's, and they have the shorter center shafts, and no HD cup.

Thanks for clarifying!

j