Major Difference, Minimal Effort
Words & Photos: David Baker
Not all projects have to require a major overhaul or rebuild to create a dramatically different vehicle than
the one you start with. What you are reading about is one such project. My Traxxas Telluride actually
saw a lot of action before I started to think about how I could change it. It lasted longer in stock form
than many other vehicles in my past. The good thing about this transformation is that it can be easily changed
back to stock, yet it has a completely different look to it. It is barely recognizable in its new state. The Telluride is
based on the Stampede 4×4 platform so I already know how it handles and what it can handle and
aftermarket parts are abundant. All I had to do was find the right combination of parts.
PARTS LIST
AXIAL
• SCX10 Scorpion Body
CASTLE CREATIONS
• Mamba Max Pro 1/10 ESC – 010-0066-00
• Neu-Castle 1406 6900Kv Motor – 060-0002-00
PRO-LINE
• Power Stroke Shocks (Slash)
Front – 6063-00
Rear – 6063-01
• Ridge-Line Bumper Set – 6088-00
• HID Light Bar Kit – 6085-00
• Badlands 2.8″ Mounted Tires – 1173-13 (2pr)
TRAXXAS
• Telluride – 67044
• Aluminum Center Driveshaft – 6755
• Center Drive Hubs – 6888
XTREME
• Slash Black Aluminum Shock Tower, Front – Rear
THE PLAN
I really didn’t have a plan to start with. I had mounted similar tires/wheels on my Stampede 4×4 and loved the way they looked so I decided to see how they looked/worked on the Telluride. The stock body interfered with the tires so I had to run it without one. Since I liked the way it looked and how it handled I started searching for a body that would work. It was then that I thought this could make a decent article about changing a vehicle’s appearance and purpose with minimal effort. Since I do like the Telluride in its stock form, too, I wanted to be able to switch it back if the mood strikes.
THE BODY AND BUMPERS
My body search took place among the collection of unused shells that I have on a shelf in my basement shop. I didn’t want one that looked too much like the original Stampede bodies so I tried a couple of others before pulling out the Axial Scorpion body. This was from an AX10 crawler from a while back. I dropped it onto the chassis and knew in an instant that I had found the body. I was not successful in finding an unpainted shell to purchase so I had to work with the one I had on hand. After a few coats of spray-on Plasti-Dip it looked like a different body altogether. I peeled away the coating over the windows to reveal the decals underneath and used a silver Sharpie to add some rivets.
I’ve been looking for a reason to use Pro-Line’s Ridge-Line Bumper Set. They are designed to fit Axial’s Wraith and Traxxas’ Revo and Maxx trucks. This is the only area that required a little creative Dremel use to make them work on the ‘Pede’s front and rear ends. After fitting the body I was able to determine where the bumpers should go. The rear was fairly easy. I drilled two holes and sandwiched it between the components that make up the stock rear “bumper”. For proper fit I had to trim about 1/8 inch from the upper brace of the stock bumper.
The front bumper needed a little more thought. It had to be mounted far enough forward for the tires to clear it when fully turned. I ended up using the upper mount from a Slash 4×4 that had been modified for a previous project. I had cut the posts off the front of the upper mount. I had to remove some of the bracing from the inside of the Pro-Line bumper to make room for spacers needed to place the bumper the correct distance from the tires.
I had to use unconventional body posts to get the body to sit low enough. I created posts from screws, nuts and spacers.
Pro-Line’s Light Bar Kit comes into play to add a pair of light pods to the front bumper and a four-light bar on the roof. Lights are for a future upgrade.
THE REST
Pro-Line’s dual-rate Powerstroke Slash shocks will provide the damping needed and, in my opinion, are the best looking shocks for this platform. Xtreme RC’s Slash 4×4 shock towers will complement them nicely. I upgraded the power system to a Castle Mamba Max Pro and 6900Kv motor. The 2S system will give me more power than I really need in a vehicle of this scale and almost as much as I really want. A Futaba 4PLS 2.4GHz radio system was installed to provide me with a few more adjustment options, such as Exponential and EPA (end point adjustment). Since I had upgraded the motor to something more powerful than the stock brushed unit I thought it might be a good idea to upgrade the plastic center driveshaft to the aluminum version for the Stampede 4×4. All of this will ride on Pro-Line Badlands pre-mounted on Desperado wheels.
THE PERFORMANCE
With 20WT oil in the Powerstroke shocks and the larger tires the suspension is very smooth has handled every jump, large or small with ease. The larger tires and narrow track width can cause the truck to roll when turning hard on sticky surfaces. Through loose dirt and over uneven terrain it fared very well. It is a lot of fun and I love the new look, but if I ever want my Telluride back for any reason I can rebuild it to stock in a short evening.
LINKS
Axial, axialracing.com, (877) 642-9425
Castle Creations, castlecreations.com, (785) 883-4519
Futaba, distributed exclusively by Great Planes Model Distributors, futaba-rc.com, (800) 682-8948
Pro-Line Racing, prolineracing.com, (909) 849-9781
Traxxas Corp., traxxas.com, (972) 265-8000
Xtreme Racing, xtremercracing.com, (803) 242-5319
