Steve's tube clod build

[Steve C]

Thanks, it's coming along well but still lots to do. Motor is actually right on scale for the truck but right now the oil pan and headers are not on it so once those are on it looks right size. It came with plastic headers but once I get to the point of installing the motor for good I plan on breaking out the tubing bender again and making some polished aluminum headers for it

[NorthernNightmare]

Great work Steve, your really ticking away now!

I would consider running the lower link mounts like they are from the first set of picture and raze the uppers.

Also the upper shock mount's could be less vertical, running them more toward 60-80 deg would give you better action with more travel, also slower rebound

[Steve C]

Finished all four brackets for the shocks now to get them turned so the caps are not mounted flush against the plates. Tested it out and very pleased with the travel and smoothness of them now. No binding like before and have a solid 5-6" tire movement with each tires while the rest are still on the ground so that should be pretty well ample for what I plan on since I don't plan on doing crawling. Will be brazing the shock mounts as well as bolted so they will be very rigid. Also started on the interior & floor boards. Got the cockpit diamond plate in as well as seat mounts and seat. Moving onto the rest of the diamond plate flooring next.

[Steve C]

Took a break from the daily grind stuff and spent the whole day relaxing' and working on the clod build. And yes, OCD can be a blessing & a curse at the same time

[Steve C]

Working on making my adjustable reinforced link mounts today. Got one side done, still have to do the other. Once these are done then it's just a few more things to do on the scale interior, add some battery mounts, and then I can strip it down again and do the color on the chassis. Originally planned to paint/clear coat it but sent an email for a quote for powder coating. Haven't heard back yet from the place but hoping it will be somewhat affordable as powder coat would be a lot more durable.

[andymac0035]

Looking at this pic I'm thinking you need to add some spacers/washers to those upper links as your axles (gear boxes) need to be clocked so that they are level.

Also looking at this, I know you are talking brushless power in your other thread, but you've got the clearance to do the set-up I did on my Terminator build, where I used Traxxas titan 21T monster motors and adjustable motor mounts to gear them up. I went from stock 13t pinions to 19t pinions and using an EVX-2 esc and dual 2S lipo's (in series, so 4S) I had a top speed of 27mph and all the control one gets with brushed power so I really liked that.

[Steve C]

Right now it's just somewhat mocked up because I'm having to put it together & take it apart so many times during the built. Once I get the chassis 100% done and painted/coated then it'll have the spacers&nuts and all to get the axles where they should be at Or I have been thinking about adding a second set of hole for the upper bar mounts 1/4" ahead of the existing ones to be able to forgo the spacers. Haven't decided for sure yet.

I'm leaning hard towards brushless but still haven't ruled out brushed fully yet. Still trying to do a ton of reading on brushless since I haven't actually had one myself yet. What sort of run times were you getting with your brushed setup on your terminator build with that set up?

[andymac0035]

Assuming all-out bashing with lots of full trigger, around 20 minutes. This was with 6000mah packs.

https://www.clodtalk.com/viewtopic.php? ... &start=105

[Steve C]

Heard back from the shop I emailed about powder coating. This is gonna work out really well. The owner there said he was really interested in doing the job for me on this because he does a lot of car, ATV, boat & snowmobile stuff and has lots of pictures of that type of work on their site, but he doesn't have any pictures of RC stuff they have done on the site since they have not done that before. So he said he'll media blast & powder coat it for me for only $50 so that he can get some pictures of it on their website. That is a fantastic deal right there, should have it ready for him in a couple weeks. Just have to add a couple small brackets for batteries and also been playing around with shock angles again so think I am going to move the shock brackets in a bit to get the shocks angled then it'll be ready for powder coating.

[percymon]

Heard back from the shop I emailed about powder coating. This is gonna work out really well. The owner there said he was really interested in doing the job for me on this because he does a lot of car, ATV, boat & snowmobile stuff and has lots of pictures of that type of work on their site, but he doesn't have any pictures of RC stuff they have done on the site since they have not done that before. So he said he'll media blast & powder coat it for me for only $50 so that he can get some pictures of it on their website. That is a fantastic deal right there, should have it ready for him in a couple weeks. Just have to add a couple small brackets for batteries and also been playing around with shock angles again so think I am going to move the shock brackets in a bit to get the shocks angled then it'll be ready for powder coating.

Great result ! More durable and less of your time to prep and paint.

[Steve C]

Been lots of fine tuning to get the suspension to work the way i want but finally today I have it dialed in. Have the shock mounts redone so that the shocks are now at a bit of a canted angle which is giving it a nice smooth movement with a good deal of travel. Also added a second set of holes in the upper link mounts so that the axle housings sit level without the use of spacers on the bars. Added a flat mount in the bottom of the chassis as well which will serve as a lipo battery mount.

[Steve C]

Now that I have most the chassis built and done I'm working on trying to get some of the smaller stuff finished so I can hopefully have it ready for powder coating in about a week. Working on getting the limiting straps on and the rear steer lock out all fabbed up and done.

[Steve C]

Fun stuff today. Shavin' tires Rounding the edges and back cutting the tread. One down three to go. I think I will only do one every couple days because this is not enjoyable lol. First one came out good though.

[andymac0035]

Work looks good, but shavin' tires is indeed a pain. I've not done clod tires, but I've done enough other tires to know that's a job I don't envy.

[Steve C]

Yep, HUGE pain man. I thought I was gonna be smart and use a spade bit on the end of a wood burning iron I have to make it a lot faster. The darn thing didn't even start to melt the rubber lol. Stuck doing it the old fashion pain in the butt way with cutters and a dremel