Project: Ultimate Bandit
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Day 1, 12/29/01: Bitter disappointment
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I bought this Bandit off eBay for about 60 bucks. I figured all I needed was a moderately complete rolling chassis, and instead of buying a new kit for $65, this auction would yield the parts I needed for less money and with the inclusion of a basically free ESC and receiver.
It sounded pretty good and I wasn't worried about the fact that it was used -- I was going to be Dremelling down most of the parts anyhow, so scratches & wear weren't going to faze me. The smaller, lower quality photos attached to the auction looked pretty decent and the vehicle looked complete. Sold.
When I received this in the mail, though, oh, the heartbreak. It was incredibly dirty and terribly maintained. Many parts were broken, bent or stripped and many of the screws & other pieces of hardware were of the wrong size (including some wood screws). The motor was completely ruined, the wheels were cracked, the servo ruptured... I can't go on. It's painful just to think about it all! At least the ESC and receiver were fine, and it came with a pair of good Losi shocks that I could use on another project at some point down the line.
I started dismantling the poor thing to salvage what I could. It's a good thing that I was planning on using many new parts anyhow.