The AMP buggy (and a few other models) use a unique front bulkhead (where the lower control arms mount) different from the rest of the 1/10 ECX 2WD lineup. Many people have broken it (usually from aluminum front A-arms or high impact front tire crashes). Not only is this part becoming harder and harder to find a replacement for, there is no aftermarket upgrade. See highlighted/circled picture for reference.
I ended up getting a bunch of front bulkheads for other RCs for the race Ruckus build, and noticed the DR10 (Team Associated) style front bulkhead appeared pretty close dimensionally to what my brain remembered the Amp's from looking like.
I picked up a chassis (ECX1017) and top plate (ECX1029), and the Team Associated bulkhead (91359) and top plate (91358). I actually got 72007, which is the 45 gram brass unit @ 25 degrees. I got the Team Associated top plate because I wasn't sure even if the bulkhead could mount to the chassis if the Amp top plate would work, but I knew the Team Associated top plate would at least mount to their bulkhead, the issue would be would it mount to the chassis. First win is the 4 bolt pattern between the two bulkheads is dimensionally identical, so the bulkhead does mount to the Amp chassis without modification and it will then mount to either top plate without modification. The Team Associated top plate will *NOT* mount to the Amp chassis, the bolt spacing left to right and front to back is entirely different. So, pictured Amp chassis, Amp top plate, Associated bulkhead.
It is not, however, perfect. It's significantly thicker than the ECX part, so it shoves the mounting holes for the top plate further back than they should be. It's hard to picture, and it can be overcome by installing all 8 bolts (4 in the top plate, 4 from the bottom of the chassis) loose and then tightening together, but when tightened down it is putting some downward pressure on the nose. Maybe spending some time with washers for the top plate might help this, but I'm not thrilled about plastic parts being under pressure at rest. In theory, it's also angling the front of the front control arms farther downward, decreasing front kickup and caster. Notice how the mount holes on the chassis are at the extreme front of the slotted hole for the top plate (they're actually farther than the end of the slot), so when tightened down, it wants to maintain this gap instead of sucking together flush. Flipping the bulkhead around and mounting it backward does not solve the problem and opens a whole host of issues (like how are you going to get the pin brace on, and how does moving the LCA inner mounts further back affect handling).
Two other considerations:
1. Front bumper for the ECX mounts using these center bolt holes. There is no such provision on the Assocated bulkhead. Associated uses the front bolt holes. Again, nothing that can't be overcome, but it needs to be dealt with. Use the front holes, maybe even mark drill and tap the Associated bulkhead.
2. The ECX front shock tower appears to mount with no issue and no clearance issues, but by using the Associated bulkhead, you now need to use the Associated front control arms (71608). The final picture is some aftermarket ECX arms on a stock Ruckus bulkhead so you can see how they should mount. The ECX ones aren't nearly wide enough at the mounting point. To mount the arms, you'll also need inner hinge pins (91394) and front pin brace (71049) assuming you supply your own hardware. For anyone that followed my 1/10 4WD build, when you swap arms to another vehicle, you're opening a whole new can of worms...I don't have the Associated arms here yet, but I can almost guarantee they won't be the correct spacing to use the ECX outer pins, caster blocks, steering blocks, axles, etc. I would assume this swap would basically mean an entire DR10 front suspension other than the shocks, and outer tie rods are going to be something that needs to be measured and custom fit (many of us have Slash adjustable arms anyway). Which may be a good thing, because there is a huge DR10 aftermarket centered around racing, so there are probably a lot of great options out there for parts. Another thing that comes to mind is are the DR10 arms reasonably the same length as the ECX ones, or is there parts interachangeability to another Associated arm that is?
Hope this helps someone. I'm researching arms now and I'll update with news if I have any. Sorry my other threads have been dead, we are typically very busy with sports and house stuff when the weather is nice, now that it is the cold of winter again we will be into more RC time. Many, many changes to the 1/10 2WD Ruckus.
I also ordered a RC10B6 bulkhead, which appears slightly thinner and doesn't have the front pin brace provision that the DR10 unit has. We will see.
I ended up getting a bunch of front bulkheads for other RCs for the race Ruckus build, and noticed the DR10 (Team Associated) style front bulkhead appeared pretty close dimensionally to what my brain remembered the Amp's from looking like.
I picked up a chassis (ECX1017) and top plate (ECX1029), and the Team Associated bulkhead (91359) and top plate (91358). I actually got 72007, which is the 45 gram brass unit @ 25 degrees. I got the Team Associated top plate because I wasn't sure even if the bulkhead could mount to the chassis if the Amp top plate would work, but I knew the Team Associated top plate would at least mount to their bulkhead, the issue would be would it mount to the chassis. First win is the 4 bolt pattern between the two bulkheads is dimensionally identical, so the bulkhead does mount to the Amp chassis without modification and it will then mount to either top plate without modification. The Team Associated top plate will *NOT* mount to the Amp chassis, the bolt spacing left to right and front to back is entirely different. So, pictured Amp chassis, Amp top plate, Associated bulkhead.
It is not, however, perfect. It's significantly thicker than the ECX part, so it shoves the mounting holes for the top plate further back than they should be. It's hard to picture, and it can be overcome by installing all 8 bolts (4 in the top plate, 4 from the bottom of the chassis) loose and then tightening together, but when tightened down it is putting some downward pressure on the nose. Maybe spending some time with washers for the top plate might help this, but I'm not thrilled about plastic parts being under pressure at rest. In theory, it's also angling the front of the front control arms farther downward, decreasing front kickup and caster. Notice how the mount holes on the chassis are at the extreme front of the slotted hole for the top plate (they're actually farther than the end of the slot), so when tightened down, it wants to maintain this gap instead of sucking together flush. Flipping the bulkhead around and mounting it backward does not solve the problem and opens a whole host of issues (like how are you going to get the pin brace on, and how does moving the LCA inner mounts further back affect handling).
Two other considerations:
1. Front bumper for the ECX mounts using these center bolt holes. There is no such provision on the Assocated bulkhead. Associated uses the front bolt holes. Again, nothing that can't be overcome, but it needs to be dealt with. Use the front holes, maybe even mark drill and tap the Associated bulkhead.
2. The ECX front shock tower appears to mount with no issue and no clearance issues, but by using the Associated bulkhead, you now need to use the Associated front control arms (71608). The final picture is some aftermarket ECX arms on a stock Ruckus bulkhead so you can see how they should mount. The ECX ones aren't nearly wide enough at the mounting point. To mount the arms, you'll also need inner hinge pins (91394) and front pin brace (71049) assuming you supply your own hardware. For anyone that followed my 1/10 4WD build, when you swap arms to another vehicle, you're opening a whole new can of worms...I don't have the Associated arms here yet, but I can almost guarantee they won't be the correct spacing to use the ECX outer pins, caster blocks, steering blocks, axles, etc. I would assume this swap would basically mean an entire DR10 front suspension other than the shocks, and outer tie rods are going to be something that needs to be measured and custom fit (many of us have Slash adjustable arms anyway). Which may be a good thing, because there is a huge DR10 aftermarket centered around racing, so there are probably a lot of great options out there for parts. Another thing that comes to mind is are the DR10 arms reasonably the same length as the ECX ones, or is there parts interachangeability to another Associated arm that is?
Hope this helps someone. I'm researching arms now and I'll update with news if I have any. Sorry my other threads have been dead, we are typically very busy with sports and house stuff when the weather is nice, now that it is the cold of winter again we will be into more RC time. Many, many changes to the 1/10 2WD Ruckus.
I also ordered a RC10B6 bulkhead, which appears slightly thinner and doesn't have the front pin brace provision that the DR10 unit has. We will see.
Last edited: