Just bought a Dirt Demon

[mikeh]

Yeah, I just bought a Hot Bodies Dirt Demon off E-bay. I have no idea how this thing will drive, but I guess I needed a project. Only 130 bucks.

[DAVEC-NITRO-RS4]

I thought you were listing a new vacuum cleaner that replaced the vac-bot!!!!

[Ponch]

lol!


I've seen one in action before, but I don't remember how it handled. Got an ebay link? I'd like to see it.

[mikeh]

Vaccum cleaner! LOL!
Its still for sale or trade if anybody wants it.

Here is the Dirt Demon I bought: Made by Hot Bodies
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...%3AIT&rd=1

I hope its in good shape. One of these things just sold recently for over $400 on the 'bay'.
It seems many parts are still available from Tower, Hobbypeople, and of course E-bay. I will stock up on the breakables. I am not worried about the motor, because I still have my trusty S25 from the Savage.

[FreeRideFrosty]

it looks like it was a low profile auction which is why it went so cheap. If it runs well that was a great buy...

[Tex]

great buy Mike for something to just screw around with!

[rocco79]

Yo mike.... there are some parts for that truck that are discontinued... Go to tower and punch in dirt demon... they look like tranny parts... Might wanna try and find some if ya want to keep her runnin for a while... Atleast till ya feel ya 130 buck outta it! LOL!

[mikeh]

Yeah, there are a lot of discontinued parts on Tower that are still available from Hobbypeople and E-bay. I definately scoped that out before I bought it. It was shipped today UPS and according to their tracking, will be here on Sat. I plan to dismantle it and see what needs fixing, and order parts while I can. I think this will be a lot of fun in the snow.

[rocco79]

ok good! Glad you didnt get a truck that you cant fix!! There supposed to be cool cuz it has a manual 2 speed ! That will be cool in the snow

[mikeh]

A manual two speed???
I did not know that. Lots of fun potential there.

[rocco79]

Yeah i think i remember reading that in a review a while back

[Tex]

BigSquid and Neil own one and would be able to tell you for sure. I'd post on their forum and ask http://www.bigsquidrc.com

[mikeh]

Okay, I finally recieved the Dirt Demon. Stupid Fedex delivered 3 days late! Oh well, it was worth the wait. The truck did have a few issues. The large plastic radio, servo tray looked like the plastic cracked and broke down on some molecular level. The way rubber crackes with age - very strange. Got a new complete radio tray and chassis off E-bay for 10 bucks. Next was a pivot ball that was broke - easy fix. Then I just picked up a few spares. Over all the truck is complete, intact, good tires, excellent motor(surprize), like new tires and chassis, not binding in drivetrain, clutch pinion spur etc all good, radio works fine, needs a high torque steering servo to replace the weak stock one. I will have it all up and running soon! I just need some friggin time!

[thenewguy821]

There supposed to be cool cuz it has a manual 2 speed ! That will be cool in the snow

I remember when Squid and Neil brought out the Dirt Demon. It seemed to run pretty good, but for the life of us, we could not figure out the "Manual Transmission". They even tried to run the truck, then hit the shift button (Which unfortunately threw the truck into reverse and destroyed the outdrive). Leaving the Bash completely puzzled, Squid made a call to Hot Bodies, to ask about the "Manual trans". Hot Bodies reply was that their original intent was to make it a Manual shift, but could not figure out how to make it work, so they just made it an Auto-shift, and left the boxes marked with the misleading "Manual Trans" stamp.

[rocco79]

Yeah theres a quality move! Wont want to fix that before its release HB!!! Jeez! Thats why im soooo surprised the LSP is such a good truck... Probaly cuz it not made by them!

[Michowski]

lsp was made by hotbodies before they moved over to hpi

[mikeh]

Yeah you are right about the non manual shift. But I figured that out by shifting it and turning the spur gear by hand. Also, the tranny has a 2nd gear clutch which is kind of a hint. Nevertheless, this thing is friggin HUGE! It makes my Savy look 1/10th scale. Everything is big as hell escept for the thin spur gear. It is like a buggy gear, but it seemed to hold up. I am awaiting my new parts and will let you know. I expect to have it ready for the annual January Berwyn Bash when we all play with our new Christmas presents!

[Czech-it-Out Graphics]

sounds like a pretty sweet truck, I remember seeing a review about it, it has 4 shocks front and back but all mounted similar to an 1/8th scale right

[mikeh]

sounds like a pretty sweet truck, I remember seeing a review about it, it has 4 shocks front and back but all mounted similar to an 1/8th scale right

Yeah, I think the XTM Mammoth is about the closest thing to it that is still in production.

[rocco79]

lsp was made by hotbodies before they moved over to hpi

Its SOLD by hpi and Hot bodies... From what i read it was made by some other company... Kinda like how Hoboa makes OFNA stuff.

[mikeh]

Well I finnally got a minute to drive the Demon. Its fast, and takes turns like its on rails. Too bad I was so impatient to test it that I ran it in the rain without a failsafe! The ensuing curb damage resulting from the runaway cost me a diff case and an upper control arm! Hello E-bay!

[rocco79]

Awwww man that sucks!!!!!!

[Tex]

good to hear you got it up and running though!

[mikeh]

Yeah, it will run again! I ordered all the parts I need and a bunch of spares. Cost me more than I thought it would as parts are beginning to become scarce. Tower still has a lot, but they are megga bucks! Better to find them on Ebay. I also found, while I was removing the broken parts, that there were some loose and missing screws - which I fixed. Now the drive train is much smoother. It will be a blast for the Jan bash.