Thank you Jerry. I'm merely combining some of the best ideas I've seen here on RCM, and throwing in a few of my own. This is certainly an inspired build!

Inspired
 

Yes inspired is the word. Just seeing your project inspires me to do more on my own projects. Hopefully it will also inspire others to do more of their own work and not rely so much on MFG parts for everything. We have to keep in mind that MFG do things to save money most of the time and not necasarily for the best interest of the structural integrety of the vehicles. Compomises are made for profits and making the bottom line. Everything I build is put together with strength and durability in mind. Once again nice work Jason.

I like the fact that only a very small handful of factory replacement parts will be needed, that philosophy started with my Maxx. I've been into RC longer than many of our members have been alive, but never had the chance to do modding/scratchbuilding on a serious level until a few years back.

I understand there is limited appeal for stuff like this, and there sure ain't much pretty about it at this point. This one is putting the less-is-more mentality into play a lot.

Looking at it the first thing you'd think is "heavy", but think about what is not there. It got a little more complex with the new steering, but that added very little weight. And not having a transmission to mess with is something I wanted to do several years ago. But that was before the power systems made it truly feasible, and affordable. After 5 years with my Maxx (3 years brushed, and 2 years BL) I needed to exploit some new ideas and use some of the latest goodies. So my projects are few, because when I do build one, I do it like Detroit used to. I say again, best damn hobby in the world!

Correct
 

You are correct about the look. It may not look streamlined or speedy next to a lamborgini, but from a mechanical standpoint I think it looks very cool. Kind of like the old electric Erector sets. Simple, clean, and strong, but your build actually does look appealing. So don't sell yourself short on looks. Like I said I look forward to seeing your finished project.

I reckon this does appeal to the masses, only an inspired few will be motivated to have a go. Most of what I have seen and read is a build based on a manufactured platform and then it transforms. This has been conjured from a clean slate. The results look fantastic IMO. If it doesn't look pretty enough when your bashin' then that's what bodeis are for :lol:

I have been sneaking around looking at what you're doing and like everyone else, I'm blown away by what you're doing here. :yes: I love the steering bellcranks you made but I have to ask you if it is necessary to join them together with that turnbuckle. Did you incorporate it in your steering system to have the option to run one servo? I suspect you did. But it wouldn't be needed if you ran two servos, unless I'm missing something. :smile: Everything you're doing is so beautiful and clean. After it's done, with all the work and thought you put into it, I would love to see every aluminum part you made anodized. It would look soooo purdy.

The draglink is necessary. If you'll refer to post #15, my original setup was with the servo savers instead of the standard horns. I was hoping to simplify things by using independent left/right servo savers. But as I mentioned in that same post I was still using my old dished 3/4" offset rims. The added leverage imposed on the knuckles was enough to pull both front wheels inward (extreme toe-in) on throttle, and outward on braking. Given stiffer direct-mount style servo savers it would work, and it may have worked much better with the zero offset rims. I decided to try solid horns before I made the new wheels, so that combo never got tried. Occasionally I do try to reinvent the wheel, and occasionally it works :) but not this time. Some laws of nature you don't mess with...

The draglink was added purely to keep the front wheels parallel, but as an added bonus I do have the option of running one or both servos. It did require some subtrim to get the servos symmetrical, same as I had to do without the draglink. And having two savers linked should firm up response quite a bit. Steering is plenty fast even on 5V, I plan to run a Hyperion BEC on 6V soon. Running 6S I'd prefer to disable the MMM's BEC. I am much happier with the new steering, I haven't run it yet but I have no doubt this will be the ideal setup for the long term. Just have to look into the servo that got damaged, it's a bit notchy now and I hope it only needs a gearset. I know the 5645s ain't much compared to the tierod snappers most of you run, but having 2 makes that pretty much a non issue.

Anodizing probably won't happen, you have to keep in mind the finish isn't that great on the majority of the surfaces, paint hides all ;)

Thanks for the comments 'crash :mdr:

I totally forgot about your first experiment without the drag link. Sorry 'bout that one. It's flawless then :mdr: That steering system looks really tight, no slop at all. The little things you think of in this build is awesome, like turning down the heads of cap head screws so the bellcrank bearings slip on them. I love this kind of stuff.

Yeah me too, I gots tha disease....

Expect some updates and with new pieces in the next day or so :yes:

Ok been a few days, here's the beast in all it's non-glory.

I noticed after a few runs the two screws holding the shock lower mounts getting loose. So I made some additional pinch plates, just tapped the mounts vertical. And the little plates double as protection for that area of the A-arm. Also made some ultra-cheesy bumpers and a 'roof' to protect those vital components. On my third run tonight I managed to flip it on pavement and dug up a corner of that pretty good, so very happy that protection was in place! That's why we get pictures first :whistle:

Three runs with the new steering and it's working well. I'm running a single servo, (my second is in for surgery) so it's not up to full potential.

Now on to the shape... um, yeah. It's looking more like an AMC product, that's not good..

Seriously, I have picked better looking crap off the bottom of my shoe.

It's gonna take nothing short of a miracle to come up with a cool body-type thing.

But the performance is there, absolutely thrilled with the handling. COG is quite low even with the motor top-mounted. I was gonna mention in an earlier post, I know it must be weird seeing Muggy arms without fist-sized shocks on them... but I'm not really big into jumping. I'm after a good handling platform with excellent climb-ability. If I wanna get big air I throw a plane up :mdr: The shock setup I compared to a Revo only in the respect that it "paws" over stuff much like a Revo. But this setup doesn't have the Revo's progressiveness, obviously. The preload can still be increased some before I hit spring cramp. So even with some additional body weight I think I'm well covered. I did a one foot drop test with my buddy's 3905 which is slightly tubby with a cage, etc. and mine fared better. Not that I'm even worried about bottoming out with this chassis..

Overall I'm giving myself an 8.8 on handling, as in what I was looking for, and a 3 on looks lol. I'll be working on that.

More..

And more

Very nice build. Jason you have a one of a kind nice build! Keep the inspiration alive my friend!

Crazy one off build - I like it!

Nicely done! I really dig all the fab work.

Thanks guys...

A few items not in the photos, I have a piece of foam taped over the Rx with a hole in it to keep the Rx & antenna from going into the gears. And an inch-wide vecro strap to keep the packs in place. They are also held by velcro on the bottom side of the packs to keep them from sliding. The MMM is kept in place by a strip of velcro on the side facing up, and some thin weatherstripping on the side facing down.

Gonna try for video in the next few days :)

Regardless
 

Regardless of your own misgivings on this project this thing is a very cool build. Considering how ugly some major manufacturers make their platforms this build looks pretty good. Your work is neat and clean and very cymetrical, which is a plus for me. Looking at the fact that this is a home grown one off self fabricated project it is impressive. If you can do this out of your house or garage, then it sends a message to the big wigs that they need to do a better job considering all of the resources available to them. In fact I believe it makes them look bad.

Now, what's so bad looking about that?? :neutral: I personally love the "mechanical" look much more than the "finished" look. The first thing I did when I got my car was take off the dumb plastic engine cover! :lol: As far as a body goes, something like your other project a while back would be cool.

Funktastic man, A+

looking sweet!

really cool build... i would give it a much higher score for looks, kinda mad max-esq!

i would put some kind of nylon cage around the servo setup, for a bit of protection...

but other than that... looks awesome!!

video!!!

I agree. This says to me 'RCM is the cutting edge' :yipi::yes:

Exactly
 

exactly my point.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...o_awesome1.jpg

It's a thing of beauty. I don't care what you think, the truck is beautiful. Now go one step further :lol:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...ver/RTR011.jpg

Just kidding redshift. Your project looks perfect as it is. I'm in total admiration. Now post a video please.

Haha it's been Revo-ised! Nice 'shoppin skillz there MC. If you get real bored why don't you whip me up a body!

BTW the front suspension is a little off center, how did that get through QC? :lol:

I didn't have my glasses on :lol:

After many months of LST-ing my Revo, I thought it would be interesting to Revo-ish a LST :mdr:

Hey redshift, love the truck. I do not have the skills or the tools to do something like that.

One thing i noticed, You and i both like smaller higher voltage battery packs

It was done at my place of employ, apologies if I gave the impression it was a homebuilt... homebrewed, yes, but not done at home. Still that's high praise and I appreciate it!

As for the big RC co's doing this, you and I both know that's not realistic. For example I have 4+ hours in making just the bellcranks. And probably that much time in designing them as well. They better not start making stuff like this! That'll leave me one less hobby...

I can't disagree with that :wink:

Hmmm is there any way I could make it look like the Tesla in your avatar???

Yes it will likely be lexan, but I really suck with a blank canvas, this is my least favorite part....

Finn thanks for the A+, Bazzoka I will try to incorporate servo protection into whatever I come up with for a shell. At this point I'm wanting to throw a popcorn bowl on it and call it done. Maybe RC Dude's cardboard box is the way to go? Pissed it took so long and now fall is approaching, gonna try to make the best of it...

Video will be coming, but not today, more overcast garbage here :(

Crash, it really wouldn't take much to do a Revo suspension, may happen someday..

Crazy I am still amazed the 1520's efficiency, and it hasn't broken 115 even partially covered. I happened to have 4 GForce 30C 2200 packs for my planes, had intended to run them only for testing. But then I realized carrying more pack weight was pointless, and the 2200s make it easier on the suspension. I do think they'll end up being moved as far forward toward the spur as I can go to equalize bias a bit better. I also have two 25C packs, ran them yesterday and they puffed a little, so they'll only be used in the planes, 30C packs will be used in both the truck and the planes. That right there is priceless, just being able to use the same packs in ALL my RC stuff!

My setup that i like is a RC10 GT conversion with a 5s 2500 25c flightpower pack, lehner 1200xl basic and a quark 80 esc. The setup only pulls 40 amp peaks and could have gotten away with a quark 65 easily, I am looking at a similar setup for my losi 8T truggy for when i convert it. I will be watching your setup

Are you using two 3s or two 6s packs?

never mind, I found answer on page 2, 2 3s packs

Little teaser vid, I'll be posting a long edit on my Vimeo page in the next few days :)
This link won't last long, but it'll all be in the finished video.

www.mediafire.com/?eyk91mvwe7ig6qg

Good stuff.
 

Nice clean video, and that vehicle seems to have more power then it can handle on 2wd. Very stable platform, and I like how it sits up just a bit giving you great clearance. Very solid looking truck. Now all it needs is a body to match the setup. Thanks for sharing.

A bit confused at the 2wd comment? lol

I assure you it's 4wd, I guess the front wheels aren't doing much in this clip tho.

I went back and looked to see if you mentioned how long is the wheelbase. I noticed 14.4'', is that right? That's from axle to axle correct? It might be because of the ''thin'' chassis but from the pics and video, the truck looks bigger :smile: Cool video by the way, this truck performs extremely well. Tons of ground clearance with a very low CG. It's a total success. Now we have to bombard you with body choices to dress up your ride.

Yes 14.4 is correct. I made a comment "wow that's f-ing loose" referring to the surface, and was pretty amazed it was still lifting the front! Still getting used to throttle management on various surfaces, so if it looks like sloppy driving... it is lol.

Thanks MC, I'm more than happy with the results :)

Here's a suggestion for a body. The Proline F650. I got two of those last year because they were the longest 1/8 MT bodies I could find. It's almost 20'' long and from the middle of the fenders is 14''.
Here's a pic of the two bodies taken before we started using them. After a year of hard bashing, they need to be replaced. They don't look like that anymore :lol:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...ord_f650_4.jpg

If the hump of your truck requires a taller body then maybe the HPI Bounty Hunter.

http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/bodies/7186_01m.jpg

video
 

Thats funny, because watching the video I did not see the front wheels turning once. No front wheel spin at all.

Both nice looking bodies there 'crash, but I'm looking for something WAY tougher. If you ever read my Maxx thread you know I detest body clips, loathe is probably closer actually lol. After going this far it would almost be cheating (for me anyway) to throw a name-brand shell on it. It wouldn't last 5 minutes and I'd be annoyed about time wasted making body posts...

I haven't posted much in the last few days because I've been out giving it some very thorough torture tests. Happy to report the only issue after 3 days of abuse is a blown lower piston e-clip on the front right shock. What do I say about CLIPS? So the shock is full of silicone but the piston is not doing anything. Easy fix and otherwise I feel like the beast was worth every minute spent :)

Got some good video on the way from like 6 different locations, so I'm working on that at the moment. And even some proof for Jerry that it's 4wd :lol:

I don't know what you planned to secure a body to your wonderful creation, but how about some Nylon wing bolts instead of body clips. They can easily be cut to the length you need.

http://pics.towerhobbies.com/image/d/dubq3480.jpg