Revo 3.3 conversion...

[OldSchoolRC]

I know, this is pretty mundane compared to some of the other Revo's on here (Atom's comes to mind..:)) BUT I had an original first run Revo 2.5 and the motor finally is in need of a rebuild. So what the heck, i rebuilt the whole truck to 3.3 specs.

i picked up a chassis and some odds and ends on Ebay and started tearing down and rebuilding. This is not a racer, this is a backyard basher...i don't have too many nitros left as i have sold most of them off to buy electrics, but i had to keep the revo - it's just too dang cool a truck.

I tried to keep it as light as possible also, resisting the call for shiny but heavy aluminum. When done, this should weight less then or about even with my 2.5 set-up.

some of the mods before i started the rebuild:
close ratio gear set
Forward only conversion
single servo and modded steering
full Tubes on the links
progressive rate 3 springs and cants
drooped 3 teeth on the pinion for quicker acceleration

during the rebuild, i added the RPM black bumpers, dyed the cants black to match, added a wing, upgraded shock pistons and swaybar set. I have a 3.3 engine on order, new 3.3 body and i picked up a resonator pipe too....just waiting for the motor to get here to finish the re-build.

pic of the new chassis...it's all about the performance baby!!! i'll post more as i get to them...

[Maxx man]

sweet sounds good!! I cant say I have ever seen a revo without a motor in it:confused:

[OldSchoolRC]

it took over a week just to ship it....??? Shold be here tomorrow unless the UPS guy has to swim to my front door. Besides, the revo bare chassis set-up is so sweet, i could just hang it on the wall in my office, lol.

[Maxx man]

it rained super hard here in maryland too... but it got really hot today and dried it all up so I got to drive my emaxx:p

I agree a motorless revo could most deff be hung on a wall ( but I would end up taking it down droping a motor and driving it)

[OldSchoolRC]

rebuilt and ready for break-in! With the longer chassis and the wider offset wheels, this is a much bigger truck than when i started!! Used some old maxx wheels and tires since they match the black theme, and i'm broke and i already have them so they're free!

body is cut and ready to paint, hope to break it in this weekend (and take the baja along for some playtime!)

[atom3624]

Hey, that looks great!
Which body are you going to put on it?
I like the black dying touch - bit of originality.
Also, sorry if I get carried away and my truck's too 'blingy' !!
I'm getting into my new 1/16 E-Revo - fantastic!!
I haven't even received the series connector and the second battery and it's already as fast as my Mongoose powered 1/18 Raminator!

[OldSchoolRC]

It's done and painted with a Proline Crowd Pleazer, I just have to get the pics up. Just need some time to head out for break-in activities.

[LSXEric]

Even big time builders need a basher! Looks good oldschool.

[ericjr]

Man that is one sweet revo! I wish I had mine in that shape!!

[Maxx man]

wow!!!! howd I miss the finish? loooks great man!

[OldSchoolRC]

you didn't - here it is on break-in day... :) Body's painted and ready to rock. Only got 2 tanks in before rain hit :(

[Maxx man]

looks awsome man!!!!! I like it alot!!!

[OldSchoolRC]

I have to say I love this truck. I've really gotten away from nitro, but this one's a keeper. I don't know that I've ever seen a more tunable vehicle - i could spend all weekend messing with different set-ups. I have 4 pages of set-up notes, and there's some stuff I haven't even messed with yet.

in any case, with the 3.3 conversion I found a few things needed tweaking. My goal is to make this truck the perfect suburban basher: fast enough for the wide open parking lots, while still plenty torquey for running up grassy hills and launching off sand mounds. A suspension that was still plush during hard landings, but allows those high speed street turns without rolling.

Suspension was pretty well sorted already before the conversion- I bumped up 1 level on the springs, 45wt oil all around, and swapped out to P3 rockers for a slightly firmer better handling set-up. I added the stiff swaybars when I swapped to the new chassis, dropped the ride height a notch and while I haven't fully wrung it out yet, it is super planted so far. The extra length from the chassis along with the width increase from the wider offset maxx rims gives it all kinds of stability it did not have before.

Transmission wise, I was running 13/40 for the pinion and spur and the close ratio gearset. This worked great for the 2.5 - it gave it a ton of snap and even wheelied on occasion - not easy for a stock revo to do. However, on the 3.3 the truck was topping out gearing-wise during the fourth tank of break in! Not good! Went back to the stock 15/38 gearset for some more legs. I left the close ratio set in there for the time being till I get it fully broken in and tuned.

I liked the stock maxx tires and black rims, but I swapped them out for pro-line mashers on chrome rims (borrowed from Monster Mo)...pretty much the best basher tire imho. I could go 40 series, but for bashing around, I like the float the 3.2 tires give and they handle decent enough.

I'm on the last tank of break-in..****** nature is not cooperating with my schedule - hope to finish tomorrow and get it tuned up. Very excited with how this truck is running!!!! I'll get some pics with the new wheels as well.