Traxxas Bandit Racer Project "ODB" - Introduction

As an R/C racer and enthusiast that's been around the hobby for 16 years now, I've seen a LOT of new cars, old cars, and many generations of racers. One car that's still sold today (with minor updates along the way) that was being sold way back when I first got into the hobby in 1998, is the Traxxas Bandit.

 

One of the things I've always been shocked at is that when I talk to younger racers, they believe the Bandit is not allowed at their local tracks. This belief comes from people telling others on forums that the Bandit is not a good race car and that you'd be wasting time (and money) getting your Traxxas Bandit to work decent at the track.

 

This, however, is NOT true. If a car is properly set up, it can be a good car to start racing with. Most clubs allow you to run whatever electronics you want in their Novice classes, so as long as you have the right suspension setup, you're halfway there!

 

The plans for the bandit, which we're calling ODB (Old Dirty Bandit) for the obvious reasons below, is to build an inexpensive club racing car. Our hope is to show potential racers out there that you CAN go racing with your traxxas RTR vehicles.

 

I purchased the bandit below at a local garage sale for $20. Yes, $20. The goal? For as cheap as possible, make the Bandit a competitive racer. 

 

At this point, wondering what I got myself into. This car is super dirty and needs some love!

 

 

The chassis is actually in decent shape, and the best part? No holes drilled! We'll explain why it's generally a bad idea to drill holes to lighten your chassis in a future post.

 

 

Even included a servo! Too bad it doesn't work....

Anyone seen our missing spring retainers? Us either....

Plastic toe linkages? Missing suspension parts? Phillips head screws? All will be replaced for tunability.

 

 

I love eBay, found this NIB (New In Bag) Traxxas Bandit body, this one the newer #2417. Price? About $17 Shipped.

 

 

The RPM front bumper is fantastic for many things; Except racing. It's larger size acts as a scoop, providing lift to the front end of the Bandit. We'll use the RPM bumper when we're out driving the car around, but come race time we'll toss the stock bumper on.

 

We will post setup sheets as well as several how to's, product reviews, and much more.

 

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