Phase I
I bought this truck used and it came with all the Sassy options so Phase I begins with a whole host of hop-ups rather than a stock A-1.

Body Pics

Here's the USA-1 with a blackfoot-style body (from Frewer). Initially, I didn't like this body because it was too square but the LHS only has this one design so I bought it anyway. I masked and airbrushed the body in a couple of hours - and was a lot more pleased with the look after that. I chose to go with a traditional flame paint-job.

In the last picture you can see the stock 550 Mega Motors. I was going to get some mod motors but someone suggested I try these first and I liked them so much I stuck with them. These motors give a lot of torque and with the USA-1's stock gearing (which is on the high side) it still delivers pretty impressive speed. In the pic you can also see the Sassy extended lower A-arms which widen the truck's stance for more stability.

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Sassy Chassis and Parts

The picture on the left is a little dark but it does showcase Sassy's chassis very nicely. Assembled, the whole chassis looks technologically impressive.

The second picture shows the Sassy wishbones again as well as the Sassy slider outdrives. I had stayed away from the USA-1 because of the weak wishbones. I had some problems with the set of sliders that originally came with this truck (I bought it second hand). The steel outdrives would bend each time I hit anything. Sassy's owners explained that it was probably a manufacturing accident and promptly worked with me to solve the problems.

The third pic shows more Sassy parts: slider outdrives, cantilever suspension, bellcrank steering and super 4-link rods. The 4-link rods add durability to the sustension setup. Because of the extended wishbones, impact to the wheels have a lot of leverage on the gearbox, these rods help to beef up the whole setup.

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Steering Setup & Gear

On the left you can see the FMA Direct S3601 servo. 108 oz of torque and a kimborough servo saver. The small white one I used originally was too weak. The steering on this truck is VERY good - even on the current 2ws setup that I have. The pic also shows the battery mount position... Sassy's chassis allows quite a few options for mounting the battery: onto the lower plate, under the upper plate or above the upper plate. These options also mean that mounting more packs are not too much of a problem. Those are kyosho black shocks, which are excellent budget shocks.

In the middle you can see my custom servo mount. I don't like drilling holes in my chassis so I made this to mount my servos. It should be noted that Sassy's chassis has multiple positions for mounting the battery and servos. You can use single servo for 2ws or 4ws OR dual servo for 4wd. It even has a special mounting position for a 1/4 scale servo.

The last 2 pictures on the right a pic of my gear: SuperRooster ESC, Deans plugs, Deans ultrawire, FMA Direct S3601 servo, Futaba receiver and unseen are the full bearings.

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Articulation

Articulation on the Sassy USA-1. My truck is set for about 8 inches of articulation. Although when I tested I could get a little more than 10 inches if setup differently. This is impressive, especially for a truck that utilized independent suspension.

Both trucks side by side with covers off... Clod looks rugged with all it's metal whereas the USA-1 looks sleek with the graphite and black components. Thought you might like a pic of the difference in widths of the 2 trucks. The extra inches on the USA-1 make a huge difference in the stability department.

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Clod Comparisons

Here are some pictures comparing the 2 heavyweights in the MT world. The left pic shows the contrasting looks of the 2 trucks: the A-1 is sleek black whereas the Clodzilla is mechanically silver. The second pic shows the difference in track - the USA-1 is much wider and it shows when the truck runs - very stable and hard to flip. The last picture on the right shows how my A-1 looks with the clod's Chevy Silverado body.

That brings us to the end of our Phase I tour. Click here or on the right arrow below to proceed to Phase II.

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