Resurrecting the Slash… Sorta

I am tired of the puppy dog eyes looking at me every time I walk past the table. Yup, the Slash is just staring at me. It looks so sad with the wheel off, and the package of caster blocks within grasp, but no one was putting it together. I am pretty sure that if the truck had arms or a friend like Woody it would have healed itself. I think some days I heard it whimper a little. Personally, I want to get a toy like Woody to fix all the broken stuff around the house. Honestly, I have been very busy with life and getting rid of crap that I no longer need. Okay, it isn’t crap, but it's stuff I am not going to use anymore. So, now it is back to the Slash. I decided, no more excuses, and time to get it going.

Trouble in Paradise

I spent a few minutes putting the caster blocks on the front, and making sure things were tight. I put the EZ start pack on it, and realized that my glow ignitor was shot. The Redcat Glow Ignitor is NOT a Paulie pick. But I had a plan! I found one of the blue wires for the EZ start and got the nitro to fire.  

It was nice to hear it run again.  I put the new wheel attachment devices on the truck or caster blocks (Yeah, I get a few clams) and then had it ripping in a few minutes. I really want to put a few miles on the caster blocks to see how they hold up before declaring them a Paulie’s Pick or not. I installed them without Locktite, and they stayed together first run. That is success or uneventful. You can decide which classification. It was nice to hear it run. It was nice to see the smoke and smell the Nitro once again.  Man, it was cool.  The truck felt more predictable, so I wonder if the old caster blocks got some play in them that I failed to realize.

Then, as I had it ripping in the yard, I noticed something funny about the wheel.  It sounded like a kid was riding around with baseball cards in the spokes. I realized that there were no children in sight. I didn’t see any, I was not playing with cards, but then I noticed the tire was ripped.  Rip it did. Oh man, the car started hopping, I thought I controlled the hop, only to see it playing box turtle stuck on its back.  I inspected the truck, found the tire, and flipped it over.

There was only one thing I could do: make sure the tire ripped all the way off.  I thought it would be so cool to see how these nitro RCs perform running only on the tire foams.  I gave it the beans, I did some burnouts, and I had the challenge to keep it from flipping. The car was bouncing around like a rodeo star on a crazed bull! It was a hoot to drive! I worked it the best I could.

There was a point where I thought the tire ripped all the way off,  but like my old boss said, “Thought had a fart and then he crapped his pants.”  I could not get it to rip all the way off before running the tank dry.  I raised my white flag and let the tire win. I really want to see what the car would do running only on the foams and then see how long the foams would last. The problem is that they will most likely either spin in place or disintegrate. When I get the new wheels, I might have to do a run on the one foam. This is only in the interest of science, of course!

What have I learned from the Nitro Slash to date? 

Getting scammed sucks, but you learn something.  I got scammed on eBay.  This is not eBay’s fault, but mine.  I asked a lot of questions and took a chance.  I learned that I am not as smart as I think I am.  That is not a bad lesson to remember

I fell in love with Nitro: This is a good thing.  I think that as things continue to go in the direction of electric, I realize that I like the sound of internal combustion. I want to restore an HPI RS4, and not sure why, but I thought it would be interesting to document it.  

I found out Traxxas stands behind their product: I did not buy this Slash new, but off eBay...remember that scam part.  Their motor exchange program is pretty awesome.  I know that their carbs do not hold a tune.  I don’t think I would depend on this truck to race it on race day unless I upgraded the carb at a minimum, but for bashing around?  It is an absolute hoot. 

AMain is a great store: I placed an order with A Main.  They did a great job.  I got on their chat, told them what I wanted, and they hooked me up.  The package is supposed to arrive on Monday.  I cannot wait to check out the Proline Badlands.  I will take some time to see how long it takes for the tire foams to turn to nothing.  And they say that many videos on YouTube are just a waste of time.... This is childish science! 

I like the thought of redemption: this is bringing something back at a cost.  It was used in the sense of buying an indentured servant out of debt.  It is used in Christianity as Christ buying us back.  I like this thought because so often, as Americans, we are quick to discard.  Sometimes when we slow down and rebuild something, we bring it back, we have the joy of seeing it run, and it is beautiful.

Conclusion

I am still on the fence about recommending the Nitro Slash as a full-on Paulie’s pick. I am close to making a decision. I do not know how long the truck sat. I am excited to drive it with the new tires. The chat agent at A Main assured me that this will be like driving a whole new truck. I am eager to put that to the test and see. I know that the truck feels like it is easier to control with the aluminum caster blocks, so that is an upgrade I would recommend. Let me keep bashing with this thing, shake some of the demons out of it, and keep reflecting on the truck. Have you turned a Nitro into a drift car? Have you tried running the truck with one tire on the foam?

Thanks for reading, now get out and play! Until we meet again, may the Lord’s blessing and peace be upon you.