WIN THIS TRUCK! Pro-Line Monster Makeover

One of the many things that makes RC so much fun is the ability to easily transform the look and performance of your machine. Any car or truck can go from mild-mannered to extreme machine by simply swapping the body, wheels and tires. With exactly that type of magic trick in mind, we turned out attention to the Traxxas Stampede and a Pro-Line powered makeover for the hot RTR fun-runner. The Stampede is easily one of RC’s most popular trucks and the winner of our March issue’s 2WD Monster Truck Shootout. It looks great right out of the box, but to boost performance and separate our Stampede from the pack, we tricked it out with Pro-Line’s 1972 Chevy C-10 body, Trencher tires on Desperado wheels, and Power Stroke shocks.
And you can win it! CLICK HERE TO ENTER
Click here for official rules.

The Power Strokes arrive fully assembled just like this in front and rear pairs, so all you have to do is add shock oil. 30 weight is a good starting point, and that’s what we poured into ours. Pro-Line offers optional tuning springs if you want to experiment with different spring rates, and the Power Strokes are easy to keep in top-performing condition thanks to the easy-access seals. Replacement seals, bladders, bump-stops and other wear parts are available in a convenient rebuild kit when it’s time for a refresh.

 

Here are the Power Strokes side by side with the Traxxas stockers. The Pro-Line shocks have thicker shafts with anti-friction nitride coatings, and the aluminum bodies with aluminum caps won’t pop no matter how high you jump or how hard you wreck. Threaded collars set preload and ride height without spacers, and the springs are a true dual-rate setup. Instead of just winding a single spring with varying coil spacing, a separate lighter-rate spring handles small-bump ride control while a stiffer “main spring” absorbs jump landings and other hard hits.

 

Front shocks installed, which took all of five minutes. The Power Strokes drop directly into place using the stock Traxxas hardware. We’re glad they offer increased performance and durability, but let’s be real: even if they did nothing but look this awesome, we’d still want them.

 

On to the tires and wheels, which are Trenchers mounted on Desperado wheels. As much as we love gluing tires, we went with Pro-Line’s premounts. The electric Stampede has different front and rear wheel offsets, so we were careful to get the right setup: 1170-12 for the front, 1170-13 for the rear. Installation is a no-brainer: remove axle nuts, yank off wheels, slip new wheels onto hubs, replace axle nuts. We like Pro-Line’s serrated nuts, they never loosen. And, they’re blue.

 

Here are the Pro-Line Trenchers (left) and the stock Traxxas Talons. The blacked-out Trenchers have more of a tough-truck look than the car-show shine of the Traxxas hoops, and you can see the Trencher carcass has a slightly rounder profile than the Talons. There’s tons of forward bite with the Trenchers’ aggressive H-bar center lugs, and they look killer with their detailed  sidewall lettering and wrap-around tread design.

 

No other upgrade can alter your car or truck’s look as quickly as a new body. Pro-Line’s Chevy C-10 body is a direct fit for the Stampede, and includes window masks, overspray film, and decals to complete the grill and marker light details. The body arrives clear, but instead of busting out the spray cans, we tapped our buddy John Kelishes to sling the color for us. He went ahead and trimmed it for us too. A nice thing about a scale body such as the C-10 is that even a single-color paint job can look great—but we’ll take pro paint anytime we can get it.

 

Finding the correct body post locations is easy, since Pro-Line molds the Stampede hole locations into the shell for you. A few twists with a sharp ream, and presto—body holes are done.

 

Before and after–pretty sweet, eh? It’s like a whole new truck!

 

Click here for official rules.

Enter to Win!
Here’s the best part: you could win our Pro-Line equipped Traxxas Stampede!  Click the “WIN IT” button, fill in the blanks, and hit submit. Then cross your fingers, we hope we’ll be sending our supercharged Stampede to YOU!