the old school, retro whatever front end are the same most likely. and both of them are the exact same as the AE old front end (before the dynamic strut).

thebigbull- you bought an "expearianced" (or at least thats what they call used golf balls, lol, and it sounds better) rev. 3. The merchant doesnt have a traditional manual, but more a sheet that describes how to build everything, however the whole car is pretty self-explanitory, and if you have any problems with stuff like building the rear axle, you can just download an AE RC12l3 manual since the rear pod and axle is the same.

do it!
 

dx6-
The retro front end is exactly the same parts as the old skool front end. "old skool" is a term coined by Speedmerchant. All the manufacturers get this stuff from AE, the original manufacturer.

The CRC car listed with the retro front end and 3 bolt rears is the car you are saying you want.

I use a .125" drill and a 60 degree countersink to mount the servo.

If you are really worried about having comprehensive instructions, you should get a 12L3. AE has the best instruction book by far. The Rev3 instructions are one page and little more than set up tips (no front end directions). The CRC manual is better with copies of the AE instructions for the front end and shock. That being said, you can find almost all this stuff on line and down load it.

By the way, when I bought my first 12th scale car ( a 12i clone) it had no instructions at all. They just handed me a box of parts and said "have fun". Now this is back when 12th scale cars were made out of plywood and rocks, but my point is that sometimes you just need to trust your modeling skills and jump in.

Sheldon's probably has the small size servo saver but I don't know if they list it online. I think I got some from Hobby Etc.

Now...just go buy a car !! You will have plenty of questions once you start building it.
O'D

Rollout
 

Lonestar-
Try a rollout at about 35 for the 12x2. I use 36 or so with a 12x3 with 3300s and a reciever pack. I'm sure your exact rollout will be a little different, but that's a start.

When I go up or down a turn I usually change the pinion one tooth, which is less than 2 mm with small tires.
O'D

Lonestar, There aren't amny people that run 6 cell mod. With 4 cell i would usually aim for about 40mmpr with a 12 turn. I would go with about 2mm per wind. I am not sure if this is any help as like i say i have never used 6 cell.

Retro
 

DX6

Retro,old school, and old style , I'm sure are all the old style associated front suspension. Like the origial 12LW and 1/10 associated pancars. If you look closely at the different pictures on CRC or Speed Merchant web site you can see the difference. I swithched from an L3 last winter to a carpet knife. I wanted to try something different (SICK OF TAPING BATTERIES), and I bought The Boody Knife(THe RED EYE CANDY I HAD TO HAVE). Get the XTRA shock and tweek springs right away. What I really liked was being able to see and feel the difference in handling when you make changes in the spring selection. Now that I have the"BK" I wanted to try the REV3. I can fax you the set up sheet for the Rev3. and also a picture of the old school front end (from an old associated manual. I don't have the technology to E mail it. But if you Give me the area code and a fax # Ican send it to you. I am going to Shoogoo the servo in, for a start. Get the small Kimbrough servo saver. The one that was posted on the forum looks like the rite one. I have been racing 1/12 for years and have never stripped any servo gears (But have broken many servo savers.) The single REV3 sheet I have tells you how to align the servo properly.

Terry

FYI:

FYI2:

retro front end it is!
 

Ok, now I know what car I'm going to get. I'm going to get the Carpet Knife with the retro front end. I may download or buy a manual for the L3 too if I have any trouble. I'll buy a tweak spring set, and a center shock spring set. Mabey a front spring set also. A foam and plastic bumper. Some extra parts for the retro front end. What pinion gear size should I get for the car? I race on a smaller sized indoor carpet track, any ideas? Are all the Airtronics main servo gears the same size? So any servo saver that says "airtronics" should work on it? What's Sheldon's hobbies site? I wasn't able to find it, but mabey my internet was just all screwy when I tried :weird: . I can't wait to order the car now :nod: :D :D. One more thing, in the pic's of the CK on the CRC site it shows the CK with a servo saver, do you still have to buy a servo saver seperatly? Does the car actually not include the saver and it just show it in the pic's?

I am fairly new to 12th scale. I have been racing off road and touring cars since 89. My problem is this. (12l3) when I turn right and am pushing the car: on or off power, my car just does a 180. I have the tires cut to 1.8 front and 1.9 rear. It is tweaked perfectly (quarters on the front tires and knifing the car). It does it an all surfaces with every set of tires I have tried. I have tried running the diff tighter or looser and that makes no difference. I have tried different t-plates, moving my electronics around, and even preloading my t-plate. I am concinced that it has somrthing to do with the diff or the rear pod. So I am calling on the gurus of this thread for help. :)

1) Check your tweak on a twaek station, to make sure your mark isnt off
2) Shim the axle, make sure the tires are equidistant from the centre of the car
3) Make sure there is no binding anywhere
4) Check the bottom of the chassis for black marks/scrapes, that tells you the car is dragging
5) Check your front springs, make sure they arent shot. If one of them is, it could be making the car bottom out when you turn one way

I havent considered the axle being off to one side. I will have to take a closer look at that. There is no binding and no dragging, but I was thinking that maybe the wires going to the motor might be interfering. I am running 14guage wire and it looks like it is hitting the body close to the motor. maybe the wire is too stiff or is preloading the pod. What do you think? Have you ever experienced what I am going through? I have seen some racers adjusting their diffs right before a race and when it is not right, the car goes to the right when they stab the gas. Mine would have to be on the far extreme if all I needed was a diff adjustment. When you car is working well and you are pushing hard in the infield, do all pan cars favor the right by design(the diff being on the right side) or is my car just wacked out?Thank you very much for taking the time to help, Art

I forgot to mention, I ran .018, .020, and .022 front springs that were nip on the same track in the same weekend trying to find the setup/problem. It made no difference. I pieced a car together out of spare parts from friends a few months before I bought this one and I kicked butt with it the first time ever running 12th scale. The only difference between the old car built out of spares and the new car I am working with(besides the old delaminating chassis) was the rear axle. The axle on the first car was a trc superdiff. It isnt made aymore and is a two bolt hub.

My Guess
 

I think you will find a bearing in the diff or axle bad. I put em on a pencil and turn the bearing to feel how smoth it is. Just slide it on the sharpened end till it grabs the inner race and give it a spin.

MY Opinion only


Racerdx6:

No it does not include the servo saver.

Some where on the site I think you go to "Home" then CRC car kits and you will see a nice pic of the knife. Right click and pick set as background. Then You can drool over it in life size all day.

I use 23 to 30 tooth pinions 64 pitch. Start low with big tires and a stock motor. I race with a rollout of around 41mm.

David Root

Does the chassis roll to one side when you push it?

Are the motor screws cinched in really tight?

Thats about all I can think of. You might be onto something with the wire. You could try some 16 or even 18 guage wire. I read that Calandra, when he was running in Masters Stock at Cleveland, ran 18 guage, and was very competitive.

Oh, one more thing, try rotating the tires, and see if the problem persists. It could be one is softer than the other, or something wierd like that.