My first "real" RC vehicle was a Stadium Blitzer, back around 1992. I've been in-and-out of RC since then. I recently got my son a Duratrax Vendetta SC (his first "real" RC), and I got myself a.....1992 SB! It's fun to have my hands on this truck, but it is showing it's age. The tires are not very soft or flexible, a rear upper shock mount cracked, the steering servo moved at turtle speed....

I hope to bring the SB somewhat up to date in terms of performance, but still keep it's stock appearance. Thought it might be interesting to do a thread about this - who knows how the rig will end up!

It came with a Futaba AM Tx/Rx, a Futaba servo of the same era, and a Tekin Rebel ESC. I have the Tx/Rx for sale on eBay and I put the servo in my son's Vendetta after his broke. I added a Spektrum receiver so I can use my DX3C transmitter, and temporarily I installed the steering servo that came stock in my Axial AX10. It has great torque for a stadium truck. I plan to keep the Tekin ESC and stock motor for now, and maybe upgrade them down the line.

Short term upgrades (parts en route to my home) are Tamiya DB-01 aluminum shocks for better tuning and performance, new HPI S-compound tires, ball bearings, and a Savox standard servo.

I have two long term ideas I hope to tackle eventually: 1) I'd like to make new shock towers, made of aluminum. 2) Using either the Axial servo or the Savox servo (it has more travel), I'd like to get more steering. I am thinking of trimming away some plastic, raising the servo up 1/8" - 1/4", and using a longer horn to get more throw.

Anyhow, here are a few photos of what I'm starting with at this point:









I'm grateful and impressed that the chassis is in such nice shape, aside from the small crack in the shock tower / shock mount. There are almost no scrapes on the bottom....pretty cool.

Thanks,
Josh

Looks great, really diggin the old school Tekin esc too!

Thanks, seems to still work good.

just be careful not to run that lipo down too low...

Looks great!

One way to reduce bump steer (when the wheels change their angles when the shocks compress) is to switch the steering knuckles (things the wheels are mounted to) around, so the ball stud is on the bottom.

Then you just need to trim the hinge pin so that the steering rod doesn't catch.

Awesome advice, thanks guys. I didn't think about the old esc not having a voltage cutoff. Also good about the knuckles. The truck has no shortage of bump steer!

Another thing you might try doing if you want to strictly lipos in your truck is to take that deans to tamiya cross-over connector off and just solder the deans connector to the Tekin esc. You'll get alot better connection and current flow!

Done! Thanks!

It was a productive day! Completed a steering mod:

1) Removed this piece from behind the front shock tower:



2) Made a longer servo horn out of a large disc-shaped horn:



3) Remove the servo and added this plate. It raises the servo about 1/8" and provides a nice, flat surface:



4) Added this aluminum piece, to raise the servo another 1/8", and move it back slightly too:



5) Reinstalled the servo, attached steering linkage:



6) Put a piece of 3/4" angle behind the shock tower for support, since the original piece is not going back:



7) Made some tiny links:



8) Attached the links:





9) Steer like crazy to the left!



10) Steer like crazy to the right!



Fun fun fun Originally, I had only set out to gain a little more steering. It turned out to be a lot more than I expected. For now, I set the servo travel end points on my Tx so this thing steers about as sharp as possible. When I'm done messing around, I may turn it back down....who knows. It does rub the body slightly at full steer.

That looks like it will turn on a dime! What exactly are the little links for? It looks like it supports the front body mounts?