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Ratrod-RC...
random builds, tips and thoughts.

10/27/2026

Maintenance Monday...

Waiting for some cash flow to continue the 4x4 Rustler rebuild. So in the meantime, we wrench on something else. Leftovers from the cheap sand car build, the donor bl2s Bigfoot Stampede, got some used parts booked on for a "rebuild". I need one part, a servo saver and it should be good to go. This will be sold soon after it is completed.

After the Stampede is done, I will start on another 2wd Rustler, which will also be sold soon after a "rebuild". I still have to run the cheap sand car, which is completed, I just haven't got around to running it yet to see how it does.

Always building, rebuilding and trying to create. Thanks for reading. Remember to like, follow and share!

~RR

10/20/2026

Maintenance Monday.

Rustler 4x4 was brought back out and looked at. Last week, it was only out for the picture. Lol. After inspecting it and thinking... it will need a complete overhaul. So strap in and let's get it rebuilt! Tear down begins next Monday! Some parts are on order, some will be ordered. Let's see where we end up.

10/12/2026

MAINTENANCE MONDAY!

As stated. The wifes Traxxas Rustler 4x4.
She basically built this 6 years ago. She bashed it, raced it in an offroad series and sand dragged with it. The only thing that I have really done to it was tune it. And now, after this last race, it needs to be rebuilt. 6 years is a long time without doing anything. Not really even basic maintenance.

Well, right now is the time to make a decision...rebuild or buy new? We chose to rebuild. Total cost, I estimate, will be cheaper to rebuild, but only slightly. This whole car needs to be gone through! Its been beat! Updates as I order things and wrench on it. For right now though. Here is how it sits after the last sand drag of the year.

10/11/2026

Well the time has come. Sand Drags, oval and offroad are over for the season for our local club. That does not mean that the tracks are closed, just that the points season is over. Time for some of season maintenance on some rigs and now i should have time to finish some builds for this year. Lol.

First rig to look at and overhaul is my wifes Traxxas Rustler 4x4. It had magically been 6 years since that thing had seen any love other than replacing parts when they broke. Now it is time for a complete teardown and overhaul!

We shall start a series called "Monday Maintenance" and that will be the main focus to start. I still have to finish the cheap sand car build and come up with a total investment. And finish off my list of other projects, but what the he'll, let's starts another project with the rustler....

Thanks for reading
~RR

10/10/2026

It is the night before our last sand drag race of the season. I was hoping to get all the sand drag cars and sand drag projects completed and running but I don't think that is going to happen. Been a busy week and tomorrow will be just a busy so I think i am calling it a night on wrenching. I will do my best to take some pics tomorrow and share them here.

Maybe I will have an update on the cheap sand drag car....

10/07/2026

Right now i am juggling 4 separate "projects" soon to be 5...

In no particular order:
-cheap sand car project
-2wd rustler rebuild
-my personal sand car project
-2wd stampede build (cheap sand car donor rebuild)
-arrma gorgon build (coming soon)

I've been working on them all as time and money permit. They are just not getting put together as fast as I would like. As is cycle through them, I will add a quick build sorry and s few pics. I just wanted to let you know how much i have going on with rc stuff and why timelines seem to be slow. Trying to find my rhythm so I can post consistently.

Thanks for reading.
~RR

10/04/2026

Cheap Sand Drag Car
Update #9

Well...I got the car up and running with the bl2s system so I'm it. Still cogs like crazy off the line and is just not fast enough to be competitive. I thought that going to a smaller, lighter paddle would help, since the last test run i was using the big 2.8 rubber sand paws. Nope. So we will tweak it a little.

I also replaces a few parts on the wifes unlimited car and we will bump up the battery voltage to see what happens.

09/30/2026

Ratrod-RC update:

Things are overall good right now. My "rc" room is getting sorted, projects are moving along decent (other than the cheap sand car) and i am going back to work at the lhs.

I took the cheap sand car out last night for some test hits and.... it's still geared to high. I thought the smaller, lighter tires would fix this problem, but apparently not. Lol. I also noticed that the gear mesh was a bit tight. I haven't figured out the total cost as of yet, but I still have a couple of things that I would like to change so I am holding off until I do those. It's not completely finished, but let's post a picture. More general updates will follow as well as project specific ones. Thanks for reading.

~RR

09/28/2026

Cheap Sand Car Project.
Update, week 8.1

A few weeks ago, I won a 50/50 at the local rc club. I don't remember the exact t amount, but somewhere around just north of $100. I didn't know what to do with it....

Well, I bought some parts at the lhs and used the rest to buy these. AKRC 3d printed paddle tires. I've been using AKRC products now for a good amount of weeks and I will say that if you are looking for traction, these things hook!

As far as price, it varies depending on what exact type of tire you are looking at. These are for a "slash" 2wd. At a cost of $70 (plus shipping) they are actually cheaper than buying a similar set, made of rubber, by Proline. Plus, they are easier to clean and you can buy replacement pieces for them. I did have to buy a set of Proline center hubs, which set me back about ten bucks...so all in I am at $80 for the complete set of four....

The car is now set and ready to go. Electronics are installed, tested and I should be ready to give a test hit tomorrow. I will post a follow up Monday evening to let you all know how it went and where I am going from here. I will also include a few other "mods" and a total price up to now.

Again, thanks for reading, following and give me a like.
~RR

09/27/2026

Cheap Sand Car Project.
Update: week 8 (?).

The car, as stated before is basically complete, minus electronics (esc/motor). I just haven't installed them yet. I am thinking of changing out the steering servo though to the cheap one I found on ebay, just to see if it works. Aluminum case, metal gear and included an aluminum servo horn...$16 and some change, free shipping. Why not? I will be working on that tonight and testing tomorrow hopefully. I will continue updates as I go.

Thanks for checking it out and following along!
~RR

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