DiggerPede's Project: MERV Tear down, Clean Up, & Rebuilt

[flanders125]

Great to see the final build! I'm sure now since its done your going to want one for yourself! Haha I bet your son will have a blast with his merv

[DiggerPede]

They were $24 for the set. They seem to be real nice. I'll find out her in the next month how long they last.

Traxxas Mini 1/16 Revo Black Rim and Tire Set TOYZ 201 BLACK

[DiggerPede]

A tad late but here are a few action shots of the little guy bashing his MERV yesterday. We both ran 3 packs through the trucks. What a happy Labor Day for sure!!!



He loves the Ramp. Doing a little twisting action off the jump.


Always concentrating. That's my basher slash behind him. LOL The wife just missed his MERV. LOL


BTW the GoPro is on the ground recording the action to. Working on editing the vids. Hopefully up soon!

Thanks for looking!

[50togo]

That's cool! I couldn't get my daughter off the computer to go ride. Going to try for the morning

[Beaz]

DiggerPede, I know I'm stating the obvious, but, man, that is a terriffic build. Credit to you. and the enjoyment we all get out of the hobby. Thanks for taking the time to share....

[DiggerPede]

That's cool! I couldn't get my daughter off the computer to go ride. Going to try for the morning

My little guy is the exact opposite. I can't keep him inside long enough to cool off. He'd live outside if he could. LOL Hope she gets interested to come bash with you.

DiggerPede, I know I'm stating the obvious, but, man, that is a terriffic build. Credit to you. and the enjoyment we all get out of the hobby. Thanks for taking the time to share....

Anytime man. If you get a chance go scope the, "Traxxas Alley" and look up my thread in there. I have tons of pics of the kiddos in there. More and more pics will be coming with the little guy bashing his truck. He's a little bummed out right now though. His 2080 Servo went out Monday evening and i'm fixing to order him a replacement. He hit me up last night when his truck is going to be fixed and when he can drive it.

[50togo]

I think what happened last time she had a nice new bug body and loved it and it turned out it was a knock off. One crash did this from this upset wasn't the word!

[DiggerPede]

Update: The cheapo tires didnt really hold up very long to the torture my little kiddo put them through. They actually went bald fairly fast. He got a full month out of them. I really wasnt expecting a whole lot out of them for $25 for a set of 4 or whatever it was. I just wanted something for him to start out on. The tires are a soft compound and dont have much thickness to the treads or nubbies. No biggie. I slapped his MERV stockers for a little bit. On my last couple of orders I picked him up a set of 2.2 JConcepts Rulux & 2.2 Proline Dirt Hawg I Buggy tires. He was excited for a new pair. I'll be gluing these up for him soon.

Ok so I have purchased 2 Traxxas stock Body Mounts. They end up ripping at the hooks that slide into the bulk. Its a poor design for front end impacts. We have a T-bone front bumper and it has done really good for impacts. I can/ could only imagine what it would be like if we hadnt installed that. My question is what is a good replacement or fix for this. I have been scoping out the HR Body Mount, they call it a shock tower, I guess same difference. LOL The part number for it is 12M01. HELP please.

HR Body Mount 12M01, thoughts!?


I'm uploading a video to youtube of the little tyke having a blast Saturday night. This is what you live for.

[50togo]

I came up with this design. Thin half inch wide
Holds up to some hard impacts!

There is a brace that some use that comes with the summit bumper that works good too

[DiggerPede]

Thanks. I knew you had done a mod, but I couldnt figure it out the first time. Now I'm seeing it. I'll see if I can find some strap and do a temp fix like that. I also ordered the 1/16 Summit front bumper with the brace to see how it works. I needed to order him a new boy mount anyways. LOL

Appreciate it!

[MooseSlash]

Wow, cool build!

eplaced the servo with a HS-85 MG...

Didn't know that that servo fit.. any pics?

I received another package of goodies for the build. I was waiting for the TA 21141 Shim Set to go full steam ahead on getting her put back together. I'm so excited to finally piece together the upgrades and parts to complete this rig. I'll take my time and spend the better part of the week finishing this little project up. Reason being i'll work on this while the little booger is catching some ZZZzzzzz's. LOL

Traxxas GTR Shocks:

I love those shocks, put some Tans in the front and black in the rear! works great for me and has taken tons of abuse so far.

[DiggerPede]

Thanks Moose! My little guy digs his MERV.

Check out his driving skills after a month owning the little booger. LOL

[RC-Fan]

Digger how old is your little driver, my 4 yrs. little princess just asked for a truck with big tires to play with me, lol..I'm thinking of getting a merv with summit tires.

[DiggerPede]

Digger how old is your little driver, my 4 yrs. little princess just asked for a truck with big tires to play with me, lol..I'm thinking of getting a merv with summit tires.

They little guy just turned 4 mid August. I wasnt sure what to get him, something he could carry and have a blast with. The MERV was perfect. He calls it his baby truck. LOL They are nimble little suckers. The only thing i've had to replace so far is the weak front body mount. Oh and the Servo that went south on me. I think she would have a blast with it to. They are jus so different to work on compaired to 1/10 & 1/8 ive messed with so far.

I said a month up there it's more like 6 weeks. Where has time gone. What working 6 & 7 days a week does to you.

[MooseSlash]

Thanks Moose! My little guy digs his MERV.

Check out his driving skills after a month owning the little booger. LOL

Your welcome. Jealous of the rain, Squirrelville rarley gets decent rain, but when we do, it's always half an inch or every year we get like 5" of rain. Nice vid!

[DiggerPede]

I'm not a fan of high temp running systems. I've been debating for a little while to upgrade his motor and electrics for something in my category of power and efficiency. A few recent posts to the MERV section just had me pushing forward with this. I was almost going to buy the Sv2 5700kv combo and just swap out if he runs in some water. He had a blast the other day so i'm not going to keep fun like that from him. So I did the inevitable and purchased an HPI Vapor Pro ESC and a CC 5700kv big block motor. I went the Vapor Pro ESC because its waterproof. I also picked up another motor mount so all I have to do is swap electrics if I ever wanted to for some reason. I know this system will run way cooler than the stock VXL-3m 380 Brushless thats in it.

I might slap the VXL-3m 380 in his Maestro toy car! LOL j/k

I aslo have a set of 2.2 Dirt Hawg I and Rulux that i'm going to be gluing up. I'll do some update install shots with this and a mod I got for 50togo. Thanks for the help there buddy!! I really do appreciate it. Been meaning to post pics of the mod. My Rustler build has kept me busy lately. LOL

[RC-Fan]

great choice digger, you will enjoy the BB power.

[DiggerPede]

Hey all!! I finally finished up the Big Block in the MERV. I've had the Castle 5700 & HPI Vapor Pro ESC for a little while now. I had ordered the wrong motor mount by accident. Scoped down and found the correct one, 550 motor can. I installed & bolted up all these goodies. The best I could do is tie strap the ESC and Rx. Wish the darn Rx box would have fit on to protect it more. I might end up going back and chopping the top so that it fits along side/ under the motor can. Plus it would look way cleaner. I could have used Servo tape, I just don't trust it with my sons crazy driving. He's good but he's totally WOT 99% of the time. LOL

I also picked up some new springs by Integy. These are actually decent. I went with the black ones and they have a good feel to them. Plus it looks good on the truck all blacked out. I ended up cutting the bullet connectors from the motor and soldering on new ones so that I could set them at a 90* angle. This kept the wire down and not sticking strait up. Plus I put shrink & wire wrap on the Battery conection side of the ESC. I was going to do the wire coming from the motor it just makes it to stiff to flex it around like I did.

The Dirt Hawg on Rulux are glued down and were installed but they don't work to well in grass. Ended up yanking them and bolting the stockers back on. Ughhh. They grab in grass a little better I'll bolt them back up and take picks.

Anyways not much anything else other than I might clean up the Rx and make the box fit it. I'm more of a fan of keeping everything clean and looking good.

I sware this thing is built like a rock. The only thing that comes off is one of the front wheels from impact which is a quick fix by popping it back on. Guess that's one good thing about running RPM Knuckles. LOL

Now to the pics of the little guys MERV.








Forgot to mention its geared 23/54 if I remember correctly. I had to tone it down to 60% throttle and it still scoots like tomorrow. Still think i'll move it to 50%. LOLOL

As always thanks for looking!

[tjtoed]

I see WOT a lot on here. What does it mean? I know I am going to feel like an idiot when I see

[DiggerPede]

WOT = Wide Open Throttle LOLOLOL

[Daddykins]

Try the mini summit tires digger
My 5 yr old loves driving into curbs n going up, works better than the dirt hawgs on grass
Dirt hawgs tread for onroad is going to last longer.
I have mine geared at 16/50 with tranny flip mod

[tjtoed]

WOT = Wide Open Throttle LOLOLOL

Yep. I feel like an idiot that I couldn't figure that out. Thanks.

[Mrmerv76]

Sweet ride, don't forget the steel hollow balls, cheap n well worth it.

[MooseSlash]

They were $24 for the set. They seem to be real nice. I'll find out her in the next month how long they last.

Traxxas Mini 1/16 Revo Black Rim and Tire Set TOYZ 201 BLACK

Are they a softer rubber?

[DiggerPede]

Thanks guys!!

Try the mini summit tires digger
My 5 yr old loves driving into curbs n going up, works better than the dirt hawgs on grass
Dirt hawgs tread for onroad is going to last longer.
I have mine geared at 16/50 with tranny flip mod

I like the summit tires too!!. I'll have to check into that. Maybe someone will post up a thread on a lightly used set in the MP.

Talk to me about the 'tranny flip mod', never heard of that.

[airmaxx23]

Thanks guys!!



I like the summit tires too!!. I'll have to check into that. Maybe someone will post up a thread on a lightly used set in the MP.

Talk to me about the 'tranny flip mod', never heard of that.

You can swap two gears around in the transmission which lowers the gear ratio even more. This lets you crawl around without causing the motor to cog and will give you a lot more torque.

[DiggerPede]

You can swap two gears around in the transmission which lowers the gear ratio even more. This lets you crawl around without causing the motor to cog and will give you a lot more torque.

Why thank ya! I'll have to check out the youtube later this evening. It's blocked at work. Learn something new everyday.

[Daddykins]

Good thing about the flip is you don't have to worry about if the lil guy is wot all the time
I don't know the exact speed but it does go with lots more torque

[SynisteR6]

lol, nice work! your 4 yr old has a merv that blows mine away!

[DiggerPede]

Good thing about the flip is you don't have to worry about if the lil guy is wot all the time
I don't know the exact speed but it does go with lots more torque

I cut back on the throttle to 40% and its the perfect speed for him. Good thing for Castle Programming. I need to hook him up with the iPod base for the TQi so the throttle control could be set on there.

lol, nice work! your 4 yr old has a merv that blows mine away!

Thanks. The little guy loves the car. I tell you one thing a few upgrades and the car is rock solid. He has yet to break anything. Just pops the front knuckles off the pivot balls. Which is an easy fix just pop it back on. Another good plus for running RPM knuckles.

[DiggerPede]

I've been meaning to hack the Rx box up to fit on the chassis for a little while. Since I'm on my long Christmas/ New Years Vacation I'm catching up on some much needed stuff. LOL

I took the dremel and cut a 45° angle on the Rx box to house the Rx and keep the wires protected. Not much to it other than hacking at it until it fits without putting pressure on the motor. This will work much better than leaving the Rx in the open and tie strapped down like it was. Plus I needed a place for the antenna to stay put. Which the Rx box top has.

I also installed the Dirt Hawgs on Rulux. These are some bad mammer jammers to. They just don't work that well in the grass. He wore the first set out and the stockers are practically slicks. LOL

Here are the pics of the mod. Not what I really like to do but to use a big block you have to give up something. haha






This is a pic while we were burning up some packs yesterday. Sorry its a little blurry.


Thanks for looking.

[cossack4]

Love it, and much better with the RX box installed. Enjoy!

[thedreadedend]

Are you using a summit rx box? I had to go with a pretty big gear to keep the cover forthat box but it worked

[DiggerPede]

The little guy and I were bashing our RC's around in January. He was WOT and ran smack dab into a hurricane fence post that was cemented into the ground. His little MERV didnt come out so well. LOL He was upset his car was broke. He went to pick it up and looked like a limp dog. I told him it was ok and daddy would get him back on the road. With me working a bunch and getting time to tear it a part and putting it back together.

Here are a few shots of the broken parts and going back together.

Broken front Chassis:






Broken front bulk:






Shot of the front partially in pieces:


......TBC......

[DiggerPede]

...CONTINUED.....

I tore into the front bulk and cleaned up the gears. Wiped down the bearings and inspected to make sure they still spun freely. I slid som SIN bearing lube in there and they were just like if not better than new. Good stuff here.



Ring & pinion gear all cleaned up with a slight lube. All spacers put back in place and checked to make sure no binding. Yay!!





I dyed the new stock chassis black. It looks so much better with the truck. I completed this last Friday Night and surprised him saturday morning for a bash session after his soccer game.

I cleaned most of the truck and inspected it over that everything was still good to go. It looked nice and clean every bit of 24 hours. haha







I had to trim up the ESC side like last time. Cut where the VXL-M was for the Vapor Pro to slide in. Then Tie strapped it back down in place. Came out good still



Here it is fully back together:


We had an awesome bashing session Saturday evening. He ran 4 packs in the MERV, 2 parallel for a total runtime of around 1-1/2 hours. I did the same with big brother ERBE. I took the Digger but picked up the wrong controller, Ughh!! Anyways we blasted around and had fun.

We ran into a couple issues with his MERV. His front passenger pushrod got lost in the field somewhere. You'd thing you could find a bright red pushrod. No luck. ha I'm going to yank the other one and install the stock red ones back, along with the rockers. I never really liked the HR rockers as the screws don't stay in there place very well. I'll install those and get him back up and running for the end of this week.

Anyways thanks for reading and looking.

[Timber211]

very nice job Digger!! looks awesome

[RC-nightmare]

:'( This Was AMAZING!! I GIVE YOU 100 million props. look i can't even speak awesome job diggerr you did a good job.. no no Great job on this build! double thumbs up!

[DiggerPede]

Thanks guys the little man really loves driving this little beast. I tell you it takes a beating and comes back for more. Sucker is way fast too. If I ever opened it up all the way it would grow wings and fly.

[Timber211]

Well digger if you ever attempt the wing thing be sure to take a video to post lol...