#14 GSPEED V4 G-Shot lexan Hilux

[Goro Majima]

#13 FJ60 is waiting on links so this gets an early start. A V4 G-Shot build but with, yet again, another Toyota body. I have already used this body before (#7 work truck), but this will be a different version. This will be a cheater rig but just no exposed front shock towers, and trying to keep the weight down on this one. Paint scheme will most likely be white with a white faced wheel. Not set quite yet.

The body work:
- Cab only (cut off bed)
- Cut headlights/grill/bumper off
- Trim wheel arches long like others do to hard body version
- Body 1" narrower to fit on sliders
- Cut top half off, move it forward and down for chopped top look
- Pro-Line 5" thin curved light bar (as headlights)
- Some custom single bar bumper to protect light bar

With the body being smaller in dimensions all around after those modifications, I'm hoping it'll all pan out nicely.

Parts list (few not in possession yet):
- V4 kit/White CF rails/white skid/TGH FMM mirrored/Creeper T mirrored/titanium spacers/GLD lay down servo mount (in case I decide to run 3 link)
- Wild Boar driveshafts
- G-Shot kit
- VP clear Currie Capra F/R axles
- Probuild wheels (standard width) or Spec RC tri spoke
- JConcepts Ruptures (3D inners or Halos)
- Gmade G-Transition 90mm shocks
- Overdose flush body mounts
- 3BRC G13 Pro servo/3BRC Yellowjacket/HH Crawlmaster V2/Radiolink 4ch Rx

Here are some beginning pics for now and I'll probably have to update this shortly.

Drew the lines where I'll make the cuts for the front end. Need to figure out the top half and down the middle still.

Here's the chassis with the FMM and T case in place. When I mirrored the skid mounting holes, I also moved them forward as much as I could just for more forward weight. Because of the angled skid and angled transfer case preset in the right hand side, I also hollowed out the skid a bit to make up for the extra opposite angle. DIY LCG mod if you will, since the T case now sits lower. And if the rear driveshaft binds at the skid, I'll shave more off the skid.

Here you can see the width difference.

 

[B-MOW71]

This looks cool! The G-Shot is still on my list of "want to build"!

Along for the ride to see this all come together!"thumbsup"

 

[Goro Majima]

Got the front end cut off and initial shape of the wheel arches. As soon after I made this thread, I realized I don't have the G-Shot skid. At the time of purchase, the kit wasn't available so I bought stuff separately. Blank skid is on the way.

Now that has been discovered, I need to make the body 11mm narrower than initial measurement shown in the previous post. A lottttttt of measuring to do and decide where to cut lines. And I'm leaning towards an exterior paint job with silver underneath for that scratched metal effect when it gets damaged.

 

[Goro Majima]

EDIT: I chose to go with a Silent Assassin ESC from Zero Gravity instead of the HH CM V2 (since I already have a few of those)

2 part update. Chassis 90% done (need body post holders for front mounts), and few other updates. Hacked body is the second part of this update in the following post.

Originally had the FMM in the front 2 slots. Seeing that there was still some room before the spur axle hits the axle mounted servo, I took some more clearance measurements with the links and drilled 2 new holes to move the FMM one slot's length forward. In this position it actually hits the servo, so I spaced the servo forward 2mm.

FMM position before:

FMM position after:

Servo spaced 2mm:

Clearance on FMM/motor to links. Both bent upper links I've ordered separately to accommodate the FMM and the offset driveshaft. Upper links also have 3mm spacers to prevent binding:

With the extra ~12mm of space cleared between the outrunner and the transfer case, the TPL battery tray I had laying around fit spot on. I added an aluminum M3 L bracket to the right upper link mount to support the tray from underneath, and the front of the tray mounted in a spare hole. All I run are Spektrum 3S batteries and thankfully their 850mah fits snuggly.


Original FMM clearance:

New clearance:

Lower battery tray mount:

Shaved some of the mount portion away to clear the motor:

Further clearance pictures:

Here's the transfer case mounted on the blank skid I ordered. I really wanted it in the same position as before and forward (front driveshaft is straight), so mounted it with only 3 screws as the 4th is in the lower link mounting area.

Wires zip tied to the shock tower and barely clear the spur.

Front driveshaft clearance:

ESC barely clears the front driveshaft:

 

[twade984]

Nice work going on in here


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Goro Majima]

Naked body reveal! [emoji23]

Here's what's been done and what cuts have been made.
- 34mm of center line has been trimmed off.
- Upper half cut off from lower windshield molding.
- A pillars cut off.
- Door windows cut out. (Will reattach)

Further on the front pinch, I discovered I would still rub at nearly full lock. Not wanting to add to the track width, I then took some measurements and made the front of the body another 46mm narrower! The windshield line is slightly disrupted as well as the front of the rig but I will remedy those someway somehow.

So now the front of the rig is nearly the same width as a 4" straight light bar (ended up buying this after I found out I was pinching the front). But depending on bodyline and front bumper clearance, I may end up ditching the lightbar idea even though I really want it on. We'll see.

The roof is chopped (more like lowered in this case) about 15mm, not too much and not too little. The windshield needed some massaging to get it to cooperate with the new lower angle so I heated up the bend in the roofline to get it to sit to where is needed. This is why I cut the pillars off so I can shape those back into place.

Once final measurements have been taken and adjustments made, it will all be glued back together with supporting lexan pieces underneath with E6000. I hate to add weight to the body but then again I've removed a lot of it as well. And the back of the body will get a piece of lexan added to cover up the rear completely.


And here's some suspension pictures. The reason I have the shocks spaced out from the chassis and axles is to cater to these specific shocks. I want to run these, and in order to run them without binding is to keep them straight, inline with the chassis. If the shock body end had a rod end style ball, I could get away with the normal mounting setup. Thankfully also the tires don't rub on the shocks at full lock.

With the extra spacing up top, I've given it more support with some more thin gauge M3 aluminum brackets bent into place.

By the way, these shocks... It took multiple top offs to try and perfect these while not leaking. I first tried a rubber washer in the cap to seal the threads, didn't fit properly. I then read you can tighten the plastic down as much as you can, and that prevented the leak in that area. But still had a leak at the rod. I threw some green slime in the caps, fixed! Then like a week later I began to see oil seep through. And that's where I'm at with the shocks...

 

[B-MOW71]

Man, there's a lot of good stuff to see here! Nice pics showing off the details!

This build is coming along nicely. And that stance!!!:shock:

 

[Goro Majima]

Thanks as always TWade and BMow!

Minor update. Installed the Tech Factory Racing CF bed and bumper combo for the G-Shot. The supports for the shocks were in the way so I rotated them rearward and added another brace.

Since this will have an exterior paint job, I removed the masking. This allowed me to tape the lexan on the outside also, giving a more solid base to work with when trying to take measurements etc. I pretty much have all the pieces where I need them besides the door windows, so next I will remove the inner tape pieces to then E6000 all the seams, next day remove the remaining pieces of tape and also glue the outside. I might sand some of the lexan down so the glue can better hide the seams.

The body can now at least rest on the shock towers where needed but once I've done all the gluing I will then make holes for mounting the body. And seeing where the body will sit now, I also have positioned the bumper into place and how I want the light bar to rest.

Part of me wants to do an interior like the Gatekeeper interior, nothing special. But also I want to keep the weight down up there. I'll keep the windows clear just in case.

 

[Speedy-Triple]

killer .... looks more than capable. a bare interior that would show seats and a dash will look nice ... the rig looks great and LCG capra interior might work. is tiny.

 

[Goro Majima]

killer .... looks more than capable. a bare interior that would show seats and a dash will look nice ... the rig looks great and LCG capra interior might work. is tiny.

Capra interior is also an idea. Either one I go with (if I decide overall), I may convert it to a center driver only and work some lexan around it. I think that'd be pretty cool.

 

[Goro Majima]

Here's a video. I'll do a proper update when I get the chance.

https://youtu.be/_Qrv7N5ma68?si=AYheXy0zEtTnPNsp

 

[rob5059]

Challenging line, impressive attempt. Were you able to make it?

 

[Goro Majima]

Let's bring things up to (G) speed. (Update 1 of 2)

Here was the process of me assembling the body together. Aluminum tape helped keep the pieces intact while I glued them all together using strips of lexan.

I love this little detail. Rear body mounting is courtesy of 2 M2 button head screws that act as keyholes for the door. They screw into the GShot bracing, and I have since added a bit more plastic to strengthen the mounts.

Installed Deez shock bands on all corners. These white ones became discontinued as the material was weak, so I later purchased some dark blue ones (no black for some reason). Because I'm running no springs, these help keep things in droop under given circumstances.

Painted underneath silver for that scale scratched metal effect.

First outing with the rig on New Year's Day for the GSpeed meet in San Ramon, which js officially the only unscratched picture I have.

Ran into a few Black Sheep Scaler folks from Redding.

 

[ferp420]

it really stands out in the sea of pp wagons
pretty cool

 

[Goro Majima]

Challenging line, impressive attempt. Were you able to make it?

Attempted countless times and I have done it twice. I do have one on camera but I had the phone resting against a rock vertically, and it's not the best footage as the truck front end ends up off camera which can make one think it had assistance. And for the life of me I could not get to the 2nd ascend good enough one handed.

Update 2 of 2. Threw on checkered vinyl to play off of Gabe's old black GShot livery. Just need to add some black/orange accents and more decals. In this picture I also made a roof spoiler for fun. Also removed the TGH bumper and installed this ScalerFab one with a huge stinger. I think it looks pretty rad.

Back of the cab has always been empty where the bed was, so I took some clear packaging and glued them on. Definitely not as sturdy as lexan as I already chipped off a few parts but I'll have to redo it some other time.

Put on my RC Plate Shop plate. This is officially "Da Luxxx".

Glued a Pro-Line 2" light bar to the bumper and had to make zero adjustments elsewhere. Fits perfectly.

Few poser shots when I was attempting the hard line.

 

[Goro Majima]

it really stands out in the sea of pp wagons
pretty cool

I have a set of decals to play off of that hehe. If I need to elaborate, pronounce it like the word "Laggin'", since Toyota lacks power.

 

[ferp420]

I have a set of decals to play off of that hehe. If I need to elaborate, pronounce it like the word "Laggin'", since Toyota lacks power.

sweeeet lol

 

[Goro Majima]

Besides still needing to finish the Capra interior, here's some updates to the rig.

Decided to extend the wheelbase to match the width better. I plan to attack that hard-line at Amain again to see how it behaves. I'm confident it should do the line, cleanly even (knock on wood). Anyway, go-to custom links are always Hardcore RC. Gotta continue to show support to the correct rig.




Quarter shot of the rear shock/bands/original rear length G-Shot links.




New links and relocated shock bands/shock mounting position.




Side shot before and after new links. Note the painted white faces on the wheels. Still need to do the other side. New wheelbase is now 14".




Forgot to add this also. Windshield is painted flat black down the middle to act as a 2 pane windshield, "Doge" front emblem and Power Lagon decals on the fenders. Toyota really trying to blend in with the Power Wagoneers lol.

 

[B-MOW71]

Man she's sittin' nice and low! Looks great!

For some reason I had in my mind that it was a hardbody, then I went back and looked at previous post. Nice job on the lexan work!