A headfirst dive into Beetleweights.

[Outlaw]

So... after about a week of crashing from adrenaline (curse you autism and chronic pain and fatigue syndrome...), I went and made this...

[Outlaw]

I forgot this thing existed, I do apologise.

So, since SCeetles 3 (which I doubt will ever be posted), I've been plotting and planning something new: a shell spinner. In particular, a shuffling, friction drive shell spinner.

So far, I've gotten to this point:

At the moment of recording, I've managed to get some more hardware for actually moving the shell itself;

2x15 Budget ESC
BBB Beetle Dual Brushed ESC (As a backup)
Dartbox Dragon Brushed Geared Motor x2 (plus 2 for backup)
Pariah 70A Brushless ESC (With a backup)
JCR-4975 1000kV Brushless Motor (plus 1 for backup)

And a general idea of how I wish to mount this to the main chassis too:

But as of right now... I have 3 questions in mind...
1) I want to move up to 4s, but I don't know how big of a battery I should go for, considering that it needs to run for 2 minutes without blowing up the ESCs or for the motors not moving at all... What batteries should I go for, and from where?
2) What connectors should I go for for the brushless motors? Should I go for bullet connectors or are there more reliable connectors that don't disconnect after a big hit?
3) If I go for a 10mm hardened steel tube for the shaft (so I put a switch up there so that it complies to rules and the like), where would I go for them, and in that same vein, where would I go for shaft collars and bearings too, and from where?

Any and all help would be highly appreciated.