I have made close to 10 of the STX series and now have moved away from this one piece – fenderdeck-frame design.
The small wheelbase makes them very difficult to handle at higher speeds. The worst part is, since the frame fenderdeck is one piece,
if you have one good, nasty “get off”, it’s a complete loss. The hood is close to $300.00 nowadays.
Yes, use the 700 and you will have to fabricate a tranny plate. The only way I could get them to steer is use the L100 or the 120-140-160-180 series steering(Push-Pull). This was hours and hours of extensive fabrication.....as was the whole STX project. I have moved away from the STX series and now use the L100 series. The the older 120,140,160,180’s are serious heavy bulldogs but hold up great(Like Grubb diggers 180) The L100 series is significantly easier to work on and handle about 40% better.(And lighter)
What ever you do as far as the front axle, Make sure you make it removable like my L100 Builds, so you can explore different options.
There are a handful of guys out there who have made the STX's work. I salute them.
After I lost two STX hoods, I moved on to something more affordable. (that was well over $800.00 plus paint)