Beater Bandit of the bay

[OldSchoolRC]

Well, another itchy Ebay finger landed me this one, a RTR bandit XL-5. I've been working on odds and ends, slow scalers and what not and really just want something to beat on, so here it is! got it for a song, fully RTR and in great shape. Not a scratch on the chassis and the tires even look new.

originally, i was thinking of using this chassis and suspension and odds and ends from my stampede to create a couple of hybrid bashers, but after messing around with the suspension arms and various wheel offsets trying to find a combo i liked, i ended up going back to the original bandit set-up. mostly cause nothing worked...that offset issue is a real problem.

anyway, nothing stays stock over here at moon base oldschool, so i tweaked it a bit. i added a HP upgrade with a Velineon system and my first lipo pack, and added the RPM hubs from my stampede (which is currently in pieces as every hingepin is bent beyond repair) i wanted something low and fast, so added some fuel tubing in the shocks to lower the front and swapped in some Maxx springs to stiffen it up. A set of jato shocks with silver springs lowers and stiffens the back to match the front, and it's hard to tell in the pics, but it's slammed down to about 1/2-3/4 inches off the ground. the Stance overall is much improved! So its an on-road/rally beater only at this point that - with it's offroad DNA and indestructible nature - should hold up to pretty much anything i can toss at it. Maybe.

i'm just wondering how long those rear tires are going hold out with running mostly on-road.... :) Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary, but glad overall how it turned out. it will certainly hold me over till the Slash comes out!

Some before and after pics:

[dale_gribble]

Nice! I give those tires 1-2 packs worth of running on road at most. Maybe get a set of those sweet Anacondas when the stockers wear out.

Give us a status report when you get it out a bit.

[OldSchoolRC]

2 packs though and they are down to about 1/4 tread left....much better than i thought they'd do! and that was with quite a few "rockfords" thrown in while driving. not easy to slow down with only 2wd.

wow....never had a bandit wheelie before. For the first run, I may as well have taken the front wheels off, it never really used them. :) a bit of work on the slipper and it was very driveable. Very stable with the lower stance and FAST! Jumped a few curbs, did a quite a few powerslides through some gravel, took a few tumbles - not a whimper from the Xl-5 tranny and overall it held up like a champ. Only thing i can think of to tweak is the steering - really doesn't have much especially while on the stick but very pleased overall with the car and the newfound power.

[OldSchoolRC]

Goofing around in the backyard...My wife wanted to try out her new phone's video abilities, so i charged up the Bandit for a little mayhem. Quality's not the best, but not bad for a cell phone!

Fun car, tires are all but shot as you can tell in the gravel - i just touched the throttle and it was looping out. Hey, they made it 4 runs, not bad! I don't have it on film, but the rear wheel worked loose and fell off at full speed and ran down the driveway, across the street, across the gas station across the way and into the field. Sweet!

video's "processing" on youtube... I'll link it whenever it's done.

[OldSchoolRC]

url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD8dR-X4VR0

[jonelzoe]

nice vid :D

[pedeboi364]

**** that thing rips!!!

[Been 2780]

that thing is fast

[bugz2002]

all i have to say is.....i know what i am putting in my sandpede

[OldSchoolRC]

the Veineon system is no joke - i have heard others rip it up and down, but it was 85 that day and the ESC was barely warm. i never even got it to full wood, i ran out of room! plus, i have been beating on it pretty hard and no problems yet except i destoyed the rear wheel when the nut came loose. the drive pin gouged out the back of the wheel. oops!

i just picked up a mamba max 5700 (for the upcoming Slash) be interesting to compare the two.

[TMAXX JUNKIES]

I Was Very Entertained By That Vid. Seem's Like Your Wife Was Getting A Kick Out Of It To.

[OldSchoolRC]

Until i hit her in the leg, lol. THen her mood changed dramatically

Bandit is undergoing some changes...since i stripped out the rear wheel completely, went to the LHS and picked up some new parts...pics to come!

[OldSchoolRC]

and pics are here! Well, one anyway - gave the bandit new life with a pseudo-Rustler conversion. I took out the velineon and dropped in a mamba 5700. Pic is on my desk where i was setting up the ESC on the computer. too cool!

[LSXEric]

Why did u kil the poor liltle bandit??:eek::confused: Its okay I like rustys too.

[Taylor]

is that a stock rustler body you painted cause it looks different than a stock one. and what color is that i really like it.

[OldSchoolRC]

it's a screen printed body from traxxas. All you have to do is paint the main color. i used metal flake red and candy red mixed in a faded stripe pattern - it gives it a deeper look and breaks up the red really well. You really cannot see it on the pic, but it looks awesome in the sunlight. I backed it with black to keep it dark. Came out pretty well!

[notatoy]

WOW that thing is awsome .some great speed .love it

[newviennajj]

i bet that thing could hold its own with any jato,cool vid.

[Been 2780]

nice conversion

[Mouse4666]

you think that thing is a beater i still have an original bandit that burnt me every time i touched it it still has the 20t stinger but has a new novak xrs

[TMAXX JUNKIES]

That truck looks tough!!

[OldSchoolRC]

Reborn! Milled out the suspension arms and upper chassis to knock a little weight off. Added big bore shocks to my slash, so I took off the old shocks and threw them on here. Really like the feel of the progressive springs! Added a mamba 5700 with some dustguards on the side to give it some protection and some new hoops and she's ready for track duty!

[LSXEric]

Every gram counts! I think its time to cut up the slash a liltle more.

[Taylor]

Thats Wicked! sweet rusty...;)

[Maxx man]

WOW!!!! thats the coolest looking rusy I think Ive ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! crazy man!!! what tires are ya running? the rear look kinda like mulchers but I dont know what the front are... and are those the rpm wheels?

[roadrunnr43]

and are those the rpm wheels?

traxxas cheap-o specials.;) dirt cheap and good looking.

[Maxx man]

traxxas cheap-o specials.;) dirt cheap and good looking.

ah!!!! they looks pretty symular

[OldSchoolRC]

Traxxas cheapo specials is right, <$6 per set, cannot beat it. Might order another set for the SX4, not sure yet. Tires are proline edges in the front and speed paws in the back.

[LSXEric]

Guys, this isn't technaly a rusty. Its a Rustler wanna be, Bandit.:)

[Maxx man]

you mean bandit wanna be rusty?

[Taylor]

He means its a wanna be rusty!

[LSXEric]

you mean bandit wanna be rusty?

Yea thats what I mean just kinda wrote it different.

[OldSchoolRC]

It was a bandit in a former life....no longer though - fully converted.

[Maxx man]

went to the dark side huh?

[LSXEric]

It was a bandit in a former life....no longer though - fully converted.

But in its deep, non exsisting heart, it knows its a Bandit.

[savage24x]

Bandit is a lot better than the rusty! Why does everyone convert the bandit to a rusty??? I have a traxxas bandit legacy and would never convert it for my life!