They really look nice Jason, I can't see any dicision being the wrong one ?

Man, nice stuff. Interesting setup. Wish I had access and skills like that. V cool.

I was watching this again 'cause it's so good and came up with some questions redshift. How do you crank all for screws on the motor mount? 2 screws are behind the spur aren't they?

Are you worried about the threads stripping on the 1/8 aluminium? Or is there locknuts inside? I don't recall you saying what type of ali it is.

You've drilled a hole to access the rear cvd into the yoke but not the front, isn't that a bitch to get in? The front shocks also look like the stop the diff from sliding right out but that's no biggy.

Don't take this the wrong way, I love your build.:smile:

Thanks panda. I am scrambling to get the new steering parts designed and made, season is wasting!

The motor screws are indeed just accessible, I have a 16T pinion, any smaller and the spur would have to be removed.

I went out of my way to make most of the structural holes at least 1/2" deep. All the screws holding the joiner plates to the rear section are going through the tube wall into the motor mount and aft bearing block. So there is a minimum of 1/2" of thread there. The four holes for the front section are only tapped into the wall, for now. The plan was to use the same method with blind nuts and plastic locators, if I need. So far no issues there. As for material, this is a scrapbin build, so can't verify. None of it is soft however. There is zero flex anywhere in the chassis itself, it is for all intents and purposes, one piece.

The access hole on under the rear yoke was made before I realized I could get the centershaft and bearing block in place as an assembled unit. It'll be covered eventually, but it'll be useful for inspection or oiling.

Getting the front CVD in is as simple as slipping in the front chassis section between the plates. It needs to be held vertical at a little angle, but there's enough of a gap to see the end of it, so piece of cake!

The front shocks do impede removing the diff only slightly, same as on a stock Muggy or LST. The shocks can't be put on the rear side because the tierod is there. I don't anticipate needing to get the front diff out very often anyway. Chances are it'll be the rear that needs servicing more, and the shocks aren't in the way on the rear :)

Does require thinking 3 or 4 steps ahead to not "paint yourself into a corner" mechanically speaking, and on that account I think I've done pretty well so far. No CAD here, and no CNC. This is modern RC done oldschool.

Back to work for me.... ;)

That is oldschool! Custom parts do need a lot of forethought, I think that's 90% of the allure and 90% of the headache :lol:

Wow, I was already super impressed, but the fact that you do all the parts through manual milling and machining makes it even more amazing.

Well thanks champ :)

Everyone's good at something...

By far the hardest part of this project was making the blueprints. When I say blueprints I mean looseleaf paper, and index cards for the smaller items :mdr: But yes, lots of cranking on the mill too... And I have about 6 more hours on the lathe between last night and tonight, making progress. Many people don't appreciate the time and work that goes into the smallest most trivial-seeming parts, so it's nice when someone does.

If it advances the hobby in some small way, all the better :yes:

Steering has been conquered :)
 

The direct servo thing was a neat little experiment, but alas, it was not to be. So I was not going to screw around this time...

Once I had some dimensions I made some bellcranks and lower bellcrank brackets. I couldn't decide on a bellcrank shaft setup I was happy with, so I decided to not use shafts. 4mm stainless cap screws were turned down to 6mm and shortened, and there are .020"/.5mm fiber washers to keep the bearings riding on the center race.

I ended up with sort of a Muggy & LST hybrid steering. As with the direct servo setup, the lower bellcrank arm is about .4", or 10mm shorter than the Muggy bellcrank. The radius is .9". I forgot to do a comparo shot with the Muggy bells.

Goal #1 was making the draglink external (not passing through the tube) so that wouldn't hinder being able to seal up the tunnels and gears.

The upper bracket is .090 stainless. Bearings are now 6x12 vs. the Muggy's 6x10.

The Ofna servo savers proved inadequate without a draglink, but they will be more than enough now that they are linked.

Wow
 

WOW Redshift I have seen your posts on here allot, but never really gotten to see the kind of work you do. This is an impressive project for sure. I love the direction you have chosen here and your work is quite good considering that you are using old school machining skills to get-er-done. Very nice work and clean look. It is nice to see someone go off the grid of using big manufacturing and come up with their own parts. That is the way this hobby started a long long time ago. Just guys sitting in their garage or basement coming up with ideas of their own and using stuff they had laying around to make incredible platforms. Cudos on your efforts Jason. I like others am impressed with your work. I look forward to seeing the project in its completed form.

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: