Nice! I can't keep up with all these new cheap small trucks. I just saw this
Ural truck in "1/12" scale which according to the measurements looks to actually be 1/16. It will be interesting to see how the diffs in the Zil holds up.
For motors, you could possibly check out upgrade motors for Kyosho mini-z. I have an Atomic T2 in a mini-z monster truck that's got a lot of torque. There's even brushless upgrades with the same size and shape.
You could also consider the
2 speed gearbox with a 370 motor for WPL trucks.