NEW SCX10 Body Option!

Posted: 7/25/12

With the addition of the AX10 Ridgecrest RTR to the Axial chassis line up came a new body. Now just because the description on the tag for AX04032 says AX10 Ridgecrest Body doesn't mean it can only be used on that chassis. Jamie Seymour, the designer of the Ridgecrest and its body, thought we should see what it looks like on a SCX10 chassis. It sounded like a cool idea so we ran with it!

***Please keep safety in mind when using a Dremel and wear saftey glasses. Paint your body in a well ventilated area.***

The body as you will see it in the hobby shop.

Everything the body comes with including the plastic front and rear bumper pieces.

Masked up and ready to be fitted to the SCX10 chassis. I highly recommend fitting and drilling all holes in the body before paint is applied. This way when it's all painted up you know without a doubt you're not going to run into any surprises that may be difficult to overcome once the body is painted. Trying to mark body mount holes on a custom application like this when the body is painted is not easy trust me!

First we must remove the rock sliders.

Go ahead and remove the stock rear body posts because we will be using the 'SUV' body mount that comes in the spare parts bag that came with your SCX10. If you need to purchase one the part number is AX80031 Body Mount Parts Tree.

We won’t be needing the front bumper either.

For clearance reasons it’s best to remove the front bumper mount but it can be modified to work if you so desire.

We can now line up the body with the tires and chassis.

Once lined up mark with a Sharpie where the body mount holes will need to be.

Assemble the front and rear bumpers, line them up, mark the holes with the Sharpie, and drill them out. Be careful not to drill to big of holes because these holes are very close to the edge of the fender wells. I found it very helpful to have a friend hold the bumper in place while I marked the holes. Side note: if you’re planning on installing the light buckets from your Honcho front bumper to the Ridgecrest front bumper you will need to cut out the grill for clearance.

We thought the body looked best riding low on the chassis. To get the body riding low it was necessary to relocate the battery tray to the rear. You may find you like the body better a little higher on the chassis at which point the battery can remain in the front.

The three very long battery tray mounting screws will either need to be cut down or you can purchase shorter AXA464 M3X8mm Hex Socket Tapping Flat Head screws.

Screw the aluminum battery plate back to the tray.

Now that the battery is in the rear slam those front body mounts all the way down.

With the front end body mount taken care of it’s time to modify the rear ‘SUV’ body mount to get the back end down lower to match the front. Using side cutters I first cut the flange’s off.

I followed up with the Dremel to clean things up.

Since we had to remove the flange that supported the body two new holes on each side need to be drilled. Insert a body clip into the lower most hole to support the body then use the hole you drilled above it to hold the body in place. Make sense?

Using side cutters I cut off the rounded tops from the body mount because they now stick up way too far since we’ve lowered the body.

Lastly drill one hole on the lower part of the body mount so when you have the mount lowered all the way down you can clip it in place. I promise this is the last drilling and modifying needed on the rear body mount. Haha!

Now that we have the body sitting properly on the chassis it’s time for some paint! I used Tamiya Polycarbonate (PS series) specific paint so all my hard work doesn’t flake away when the body flex’s. The colors are as follows: PS-14 Copper, PS-1 White, and PS-5 Black. I tinted the windows using Pactra’s RC294 Window tint. Before you spray the black lines make sure you have backed the copper heavily with the white so the black doesn’t come through and darken the copper.

The body all painted up and fitting perfectly on the chassis since we spent the time before paint to insure a proper fit.

I applied the decals before installing the bumpers to the body.

Bumpers re-installed.

A view from the rear.

I folded the lower rockers, using my desk, right at the bottom of the door line for a cleaner look. Plus by doing so they are much less likely to get hung up on obstacles that come between the tires.