Episode 4.2 - The Black Cat's Game Changer

[Panther6834]

Before I start, huge "thanks" needs to be sent to that people in particular. While several people provided advice, and some helpful insight, into "what to get" for my new C3 rig, there were two individuals who helped, and have more 1-on-1 advice than anyone else. First, special thanks to Topher (Topher Builds), who note only provided some very insightful info, but also let me to The Crawl Space, and their Game Changer 4.2 chassis, which, prior to his mentioning it, I had no clue it existed. Also, special thanks to Ikaika (The Crawl Space), not only for the excessive information he provided via email (and, that "excessive" is meant in a very positive way), but also in his assistance over the phone. Not to detract from any other small businesses, or to the quality of their customer service, but Ikaika, and The Crawl Space are outstanding where both are concerned. Just putting that out there, if anyone needs anything ranging from a chassis kit, to individual parts, to advise.

As the thread title implies, this build will be my new C3 rig, and it's built on a TCS Game Changer 4.2 chassis...but, it's not going to be a 100% new build. For sections not covered in this build thread, turn to my CAPbRAstard thread, as I'll be 'deconstructing' CAPbRAstard, and using most of it's parts to build two new vehicles. The other, to be called "CAPbRAstard Too" will be featured in a separate thread, at a future point in time. Once both vehicles are finished. The only thing remaining unused from the original vehicle should be the Capra cage, the InTheWorks skid, the interior (which came from a Carisma M10DB), the Vitavon Racing CF body panels, the one-off aluminum body "shell", and a few other minor parts. Of the most important parts, the axles, servos, and ESC & motor, will be used in the C3 rig, while the trans, shocks, and driveshafts will find their way into CAPbRAstard Too.

With no further adu...Let's Get This Party Started..........

As there is no printed "build manual" for the GC 4.2...only a collection of build videos on the TCS YouTube channel...it can, for the most part, be built in any order you want. On the 'plus' side, the build is actually quite easy, and the videos are super-simple to follow. More importantly...and, probably why Ikaika choose to do "build videos", instead of a traditional "build manual", the videos show some 'tips & tricks' that would have been much more difficult to show with a printed manual.

Many probably start with the transmission & motor mount, and a few might even go for building the chassis. I decided to start with the T-case, in-part because I haven't yet decided how I'm going to connect the front/rear driveshafts & slave shaft, and in-part because I wanted to slightly "customize" the T-case & trans housing, both of which are 3D printed. As you can see, in the photo below, the material was a medium gray when received, but now has a extra dark metallic "oil stained" look to it.

This was done in a 3-layer process, starting with flat black enamel, then topped with an aluminum lacquer, and then finished with a few coats of clear semi-gloss urethane. Honestly, I'm not sure 'why', other than I just didn't want the original gray. Some will probably think I 'ruined' the appearance, while others will think it's 'fantastic'. Personally, I like it...and, that's all that matters, right?

Building the T-case was fairly simple. The only 'difficulty' (which is a simple "trial & error" process) is determining the property shimming of the gears, and making certain you insert the idler gear in the proper direction (ALL gears in this kit are helical, so each gear fits in only one direction). Once that's complete...and, assuming that you fully seated the 1st & 3rd gears into the pins in the output shafts...you're ready to screw the T-case together.

Next up was to build the transmission...a super-simple 2-gear trans. Here's what it looks like on the inside, along with the two flange bearings in place on the motor mount (which is also the front half of the trans case, as the screws 'sealing' the trans go through the motor mount, and into the trans):

And, here's what it looks like attached to the motor mount, without the spur gear & slipper in-place:

With the trans attached to the motor mount, it was time to install the slipper & spur gear. In Ikaika's instructional videos, he says to add a 2mm & 1mm spacer...but, when I tried this, I discovered that the Nylock nut, even pressing extra-hard, couldn't reach the threads of the shaft. So, I removed the 1mm spacer. While still difficult to get the Nylock nut on, it was no longer impossible.

Finally, I attached the T-case to the skid, and attached the slave shaft between the trans & T-case. This was just to see how it looked (I did not thread lock the drive pin on the T-case side, as that will be done after installing the skid into the chassis)...and to test to make certain everything was rotating correctly, without resistance.

As for connecting the slave shaft & front/rear driveshafts, there were 3 possible ways, as the T-case has 4 output shafts - 2 on the front, and 2 on the rear. How one connects everything also plays into what axle gear sets are used (ie. the same front & rear, or OD on the front axle, or UD on the rear axle). The "standard" (Ikaika's) method gives the front axle a 30% OD. Option 2 (slave shaft to the front-right, front & rear driveshafts to both left outputs) provides a 30% reduction, from slave shaft to front/rear driveshafts. With options 2 & 3, an OD axle gear set is needed in the front axle and/or a UD gear set in the rear. Technically, there is a fourth possibility, but a person would have to be an idiot (ie. the rear ends up with 30% OD over the front). In the end, I opted for go with Ikaika's recommendation (option 1).

So far, I'm extremely happy with the GC 4.2. That's all for Part 1...Part 2 to (hopefully) follow shortly.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

 

[Robotboy]

The Game Changer is an awesome platform and performer.
Can't wait to see the outcome.
And yes, Ikaika is very helpful and informative. "thumbsup"

 

[Panther6834]

BUILD - PART 2

I'm a few days late in getting this update posted, as everything I'll be covering in this post (except for the axles, which I'll cover art the end of the post) was done several days ago.

Building the chassis is quite simple...but, at the same time, VERY unlike building a C-rail chassis. With C-rails, screws go through the part being attached to the rail, and through the rail. With the GC 4.2, nuts are placed in a slot on the part being attached to the chassis, and then the screw goes through the rail, into the nut, and 'pressure' (plus other slots) is what holds said part onto the rail. For example, the panhard inserts into two slots on the rail, plus the bottom "clips" around the rail. Once in place, then the screw is inserted/tightened.

With the panhard in place, it was time to attach the motor to the motor mount, and then the motor mount & front brace (aka servo mount) to the left rail, followed by the rear brace.

With the front & rear braces in place, it's time to "open" the rails for the skid. The skid is (purposely) wider than the front/rear braces, so you need to "pull the rails apart" from each other. Honestly, I'm not sure why Ikaika designed it this way, as the skid is a good 1/2" wider that the front/rear braces, and it does cause the rails to 'bow' slightly outward (from top to bottom) where the skid is...but, it's his design, and he is winning a lot with it, so I'm certainly not going to be one to complain - if it works, it works.

With the skid installed, the chassis is complete...well, not exactly, as this was really miss of a "test fit", as I will have to disassemble it, in order to drill additional holes in the rails for my mods. But, that's for a future point of the build (partly because I'm still making decision, but mostly because I have to figure out how I'm going to go about whatever I decide to do).

I could have posted everything above several days ago...but, I'm a way, is a good thing I didn't, as I came up with one more thing to add. As I mentioned in the initial post, I would be using a considerable number of parts from my previous C3 rig, including the two front axles. After Scale Nats, they were extremely dirty, the gearing needs to be changed, one of the axle shafts needs to be replaced (it sheared at the pin, inside the CVD), and a few new bearings are needed.

First step in all that is disassembling the axles, and cleaning every part. The rear axle I got to a couple days ago (which is how I discovered the sheared axle shaft). This morning, I took care of the front. When this photo was taken, the parts on the left paper towel had been cleaned, while those on the right were awaiting cleaning. This was where I discovered the bearings needing replacement.

I have more parts on the way, so with have another update shortly. Until then..........


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

 

[Almighty Malach]

Looks like you got the latest version with the 4mm CF panhard and the extra shock mounting holes. Shouldn't have any issues with that panhard mount breaking.

The different widths were designed that way to match the stock scx chassis bumper width and still use a stock width skid. The next gen chassis will be the same width at all points of the chassis to make assembly and custom fabrication easier.

 

[Panther6834]

Looks like you got the latest version with the 4mm CF panhard and the extra shock mounting holes. Shouldn't have any issues with that panhard mount breaking.



The different widths were designed that way to match the stock scx chassis bumper width and still use a stock width skid. The next gen chassis will be the same width at all points of the chassis to make assembly and custom fabrication easier.

Other than being slightly difficult (although, only barely) getting the skid in-place, overall, I like the kit. The only "major" problem I am having (of my own doing) is in choosing the body. I ordered my first choice (which arrived a few days ago), but, now, I'm having second thoughts. My second choice (which I also ordered) is partially being delivered today, and partially being delivered in a couple days. However, if I end up deciding not to use my second choice for this C3 rig, it would also work extremely nicely with the C2 I'll build (eventually...whenever I get arrive to it).

The thing is, I want something "unique"...I'm tired I've seen multiples of the same bodies (Jeeps, Chevys, etc) on other vehicles, and want something totally different. My second choice is a hard plastic body, that's the reason it would also work great on a C2 rig. The First choice body is lexan, which is outstanding for being lightweight, but limits the ability of installing 'add-ons', such as a partial cage, detailed engine bay, etc. Because of this, I'm in search of a third option.

Just curious...but, if the "next gen" version (be it 4.3, or 5.0) is going to be the same width front-to-rear, will it be narrower (ie. the current width at front/rear), or will it be wider (ie. based on the with of the current skid)? Truthfully, I can see 'pluses', as well as 'minuses', for each option.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

 

[B-MOW71]

Build looks good so far Panther!"thumbsup"

I'll be following along to see how it all comes together!

 

[Almighty Malach]

Just curious...but, if the "next gen" version (be it 4.3, or 5.0) is going to be the same width front-to-rear, will it be narrower (ie. the current width at front/rear), or will it be wider (ie. based on the with of the current skid)? Truthfully, I can see 'pluses', as well as 'minuses', for each option.

The next gen chassis will be 2 7/8" wide front to back to allow a standard scx bumper to be used.

 

[TK421]

That is sexy, sexy! Great write up so far!

Lou

 

[Panther6834]

Update 3.1415926535897932

Today's update, among other things, involved cutting pieces. To be more accurate, cutting multiple pieces from a single PIece. But, more on that on a bit.

First up was to rebuild the rear axle, which I disassembled & cleaned, part-by-part, a could weeks ago. Granted, the photo below is of the (true) front axle (as can be noted by the inclusion of the portal weights), but, other then the just-mentioned portal weights, they're identical...although, due to CMS in the front, and AMS in the rear, that will be another difference.

Something else I decided to do is "weather" the AMS mount for the rear axle. Initially, I wanted to completely blacken the mount...but doing so proved impossible (I'm suspecting Vanquish puts a clear 'sealing' coat on their machined aluminum parts. In using Aluminum Black, the only areas that actually blackened were some of the edges. This is when I came up with the "weathering" idea. I poured the remainder of the Aluminum Black into a small plastic container, and set the mount in the container...for about 30 minutes. This should give those reading this a general idea of how it turned out.

By the way, some are probably asking (internally, "Why did you start with the rear?" Honestly, because I grabbed the Ziploc bag labeled "Rear", as opposed to the one labeled "Front". How's that for an answer...lol. In rebuilding both axles, to I'll be replacing the Vanquish 30T/8T gear set with the Keyed set from Boom Racing. Honestly, I don't know if it'll be equal to, better than, or worse than, the Vanquish ring & pinion...but, based on the general design, I'm suspecting it should be better. If anyone has actually tested both, please, comment as to which actually worked better (in design, as well as strength).

The Vanquish design involves six screws (as I type this, sitting in the driver's lounge at work, I'm blanking as to whether they're 3mm, or 2.5mm), all of which are integral to the structural strength between the ring gear & locker. The Boom Racing design, only relies on three screws, and they're super-thin 2mm screws...but, they have nothing to do with the structural strength between the ring gear & locker. This is because the Boom Racing design utilizes a large triangular "key" on the locker that "slots" into the ring gear. For anyone who's seen photos of the new ring & pinions about to be released by Ottsix, they are a direct (and possibly illegal) copy of the patented Boom Racing parts. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos...but, everyone already knows what ring & pinion sets look like. For those who really want to see (and haven't before seen) the Boom Racing Keyed Gear Set, just Google it...or, go to the thread taking about the soon-to-be-released gear sets from Ottsix.

With the rear axle rebuilt, it was time to build the links. Instead of just building the rear links, I went ahead and built all the links, with the exception of the steering link & tie rod (as I'm expecting I'll be using the ones I was already using (both front, and rear). In the photo below, you can see the slightly "beefier" steering link & tie rod, as well as the "thinner" links.

Next came attaching the rear axle to the chassis. Easy job, right? Well, not-so-easy, as it turned out, due to the AMS & rear cross brace. I started by cutting off the back half of the rear brace, and slightly shaping it (to remove 'exterior' angles), but there suspension couldn't properly compress, due to the servo wires hitting the rear brace.

After several attempts, cutting away sightly more on the right side of the rear brace, this is what I ended up with (plus, under the red "X", the unused portion of the rear brace).

After (finally) getting the rear brace reshaped to my liking, here's what it looks like installed. The first photo is a top-down view, showing how the wires clear the brace. The second photo is from the bottom side, showing the same, but with the suspension fully compressed.

On my next day off, the plan is to rebuild & install the front axle, get the shocks installed (rebuilding them, if needed), and try to figure out the best mounting positions for the body mounts.

Until next time..."And that's the way it is." ~ Walter Cronkite


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place