Story
The Vandal is one of my favourite cars (well, I don't have too many and most of them are cheap - To name them: Quanum Vandal, Trooper SCT, FS-Racing Monster Truck, Tamiya CC-01 Pajero, Vaterra Ascender Blazer KIT, and also had a H.King Rattler, now sold). I really love the way it is built and the quality of the plastic. The hardware (all-around great quality hex screws), the upgrades that are available, the speed, durability, all that makes it my favourite.
I've written in the past about the durability issues of this car, but with some simple (but expensive) upgrades, this is now history. Just to name a few upgrades:
I use stock shocks (no leak, smooth operation), stock plastic spur (never changed, the original is still perfect), stock pinion, a 3300 KV eBay brushless motor, Hobbyking 120A ESC. This car is super fast, stable, jumps great... The sway bars perform so well. The only noticeable problem with parts are ball joints, they bind badly, but you can easily use joints from other brands.
HobbyKing Quanum Vandal vs. H.King "Desert Fox"
First time I saw Desert Fox I thought.. Well this is Vandal! Different body, longer A-arms, longer chassis... but the gearboxes, spur, motor mount... same as Vandal.
I never used my Vandal as a buggy, so making it wider makes sense!
Conversion Log
Parts Needed
This is the list of needed parts:
If you want the extra durability, also get:
All the parts listed above are a perfect fit to your Quanum Vandal (FTX Vantage, INTEGY i10B, VRX/RiverHobby Spirit).
There was a small issue with rear lower arm - in the wheel end the Desert Fox part is wider, about 6-8 mm wider, so the pin that fits in there is not the perfect length, is shorter. I didn't ordered that part so I had to use the original one, shorter, but did the job. I also had to use 2 shims on each side.
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| Front lower arm, longer, but same with on both ends |
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| Front lower arms side by side comparison |
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| Rear lower arms, the Fox one is beefier on gearbox end - a tube style just like the front arm - and wider on wheel end |
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| Complete rear end assembly |
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| Completed product |
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| Notice the custom battery mount :) |
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| I didn't ordered this part, there was no stock. I used the original rear upper links instead... Worked pretty good |
Final thoughts
This conversion was a nice (and fairly cheap) project. It needed minimum extra parts... Just the 4 shims! After 2 LiFePO4 3S packs I can say this: Handles like a buggy, accelerates like a buggy, jumps like a buggy, but you can drive it on any surface, including 5-8cm grass. The suspension setup I had was pretty lazy (e-revo style), but that worked great on other than asphalt surfaces. The sway-bars are wonderful, the added stability is crazy. This car, with the setup I have, is fast, super responsive (I also have a fast strong servo) and really fun to drive.
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| This is the best upgrade ever (bumper)! Direct hit a tree at half speed did nothing to the car! Aluminium chassis also helped ;) |
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| Louise wheels (soft compound) are OK, great grip on asphalt, so-so on dirt and grass... |
Very nice, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm ordering the parts and of course they are back ordered at hobbyking.
What body did you use. I may have missed it.