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Panther6834

This Cat is back from the desert, and he brought (or, is that "bought") a new friend. Even though Scale Nationals got postponed, and my Class 3 Capra is taking a siesta, I still headed to Sin City, and, while there, I made a lil trip to the best LHS in town, with the friendliest staff, Friendly Hobbies (two locations - Las Vegas & Henderson). Looking around, I spotted a VERY special box...one of only 500 in existence - the Losi Baja Rey Raptor Mint 400 Limited Edition...so, into the back of the car it went.
However, not wanting to ruin the body (it's impossible to get a replacement...I even called Horizon Hobby, in a defeated attempt to obtain one), I hatched a plan to not only replace those three pieces of Lexan, but to also beef-up whatever else could be done. So...we start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start...with a stock Baja Rey.
Oops...right Baja, wrong Rey.Much better...well, except for the photo being inside-down (it's right-side up in my phone's gallery)...and, no offense, George: 33 years later, I thank you, and THX-1138 thanks you.

Ok...time to get serious. As anyone who's owned a Baja Rey (or it's cousin, the Rock Rey) knows, it's not exactly 'perfect'. Although Losi claims it can run on 3S, you'd have to be crazy to attempt it without certain upgrades. Since the Baja Rey is an RTR, this isn't a "build" thread...call it a "build-up" thread. Also, before I continue, huge thanks go out to everyone who's posted about the upgrades they've done...those of us just getting started are learning from your mistakes, as well as your successes.

There's no particular order that I've planned on installing things...it's truly going to be a completely disorganized, mishmash, mess. By the time I finish, this mess will (hopefully) be untangled. After upgrading certain areas, I'm sure I'll have to disassemble them again, to install other upgrades. Case in point, the front lower A-arms. For these, I had two options - Metal Concepts, and Vitavon Racing - and I purchased both...not because I needed to, or wanted to, but for another reason. While both are "works of art", as well as "bulletproof", I preferred the design of the MC lowers...plus, they appear to be just slightly better in design. However, before installing them, I disassembled them, covered the pivot balls in a light layer of Maxima Waterproof Marine Grease (the same waterproof silicone-based grease I use when building transmissions, and when greasing the ring & pinion gears inside axles), and then reassembled them.
Next, I moved to higher ground...namely, the front upper A-arms. While MC does make front upper A-arms, the Vitavon uppers are a considerably better design. This is the primary reason I bought the Vitavon uppers & lowers...I wanted the pairing specifically for the uppers. Honestly, they almost look like they should have been paired specifically with the MC lowers.
Best of all, if anything ever happens to the MC lowers, I have the Vitavon Racing lowers to install in their place (hopefully, nothing happens to the MC lowers...but, "better safe than sorry").

For those taking closer looks at the photos, I'm sure you noticed there's no front sway bar. That would be because I forgot to order the necessary Team Associated parts...so, once they arrive (ordered them this afternoon), as hinted at, above, I'll have to partially disassemble the front end, remove the lower A-arms (and other parts getting to the lower A-arms), install the sway bar, and reinstall everything. No worries...such is life...I've disassembled & reassembled two Capra rigs so many times, it'll be good to finally do the same on something else.

After working on some front-end stuff, I figured I might as well stay working her rear...starting with the trailing arms. While there are only a few A-arm choices, there are several options for rear trailing arms. In trying to decide, I felt that the Vitavon trailing arms had the most bulletproof design...plus, being incredibly nice looking kinda helped. Note: The rear upper links haven't arrived, so those will have to be installed at some point in the very-near future.
As most BR/RR owners have discovered, the stock steering servo is of highly-questionable quality & power...so, out it went, with an SR Mode-capable Futaba servo taking it's place.
Of course, when installing an SR servo, and operating as an SR servo, that means an SR-capable receiver needs to be installed. While I hadn't intended specifically to go with an SR servo, it was always my intention to replace the Spektrum Tx & Rx with Futaba (I like using my 7PX for all my vehicles). The receiver of choice - the Futaba R334SBS. This replacement was a fairly easy process, and prepared me for replacing the servo mount.
That's it for this first installment, as I also wanted to get my new ProBoat SonicWake into the water for her maiden voyage (ok, 'voyages', as I went through 2 pair of batteries). In upcoming installments, other upgrades will include the rear axle, bearings, front bulkhead, differential cases, etc, etc, etc...plus, a few surprises. By the way, in regards to the SonicWake...for those who might be wondering, wonder no longer.....


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