Sumo Metal Ford

[penneyma79]

All I can say is wow! I'm impressed. You have to post video afterwards though. On the rocks, so we can see some real carnage!

This would require being done! Deal, I really can't wait! this only makes me want a bigger motor. Leading to bigger and better parts, and ultimately, another truck..I'll have a car lot of used crawlers before you know it. Still need suitable drivers..

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[penneyma79]

Frame mount servo, no flex at all, body bolted down, shackles prob gonna hit tires. Tired, cold in the garage. Been fun, install esc and batteries tomorrow.Sorry for the choppy text style typing..

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[penneyma79]

Just in from the garage. I now have a list of improvements, but a few are due to my sleep deprived handy work or overlooking excess solder, minor little setbacks. What I have learned though, is the design will work, with the right parts and a less lazy me. I need more flexible springs, shorter shackles, and a couple spacers. The inside of my axle lock outs have a build up of solder I thought I reemed out, but obviously, not enough. It showed me they are about 2mm too narrow, requiring shims. I also found the brass bushing for axle housing that keeps inner axle from flopping around and added a SMALL dab of super glue to hold them in place. I don't want anything at a bind, and it was just that.

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[BigChevyTruckin]

This thing is so cool! Love it man


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[penneyma79]

Thanks Big Chevy!

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[penneyma79]

So, let me just say creating a chassis from scratch to be full on scale is a pain. I've had this thing together many times now and have found many flaws. That's why it's a test chassis,I understand. But having to rebuild it four or five times stinks. I found stainless zip ties, like the ones found at parts stores for header wrap are awesome springs, May even allow for multi leaf setup.

My shackles have been a huge pain as well, and brass isn't my preferred material after all, but I keep using the same ones since I put time into them.have to stop being a creature of habit. Tiny 1.3 hardware can kiss my furry behind too, it looks the part, but I fumble with it frequently.

Lastly, axle lock outs also too imprecise, and need redone. I needed to anyhow, just didn't want to admit it. Holes slightly off center where axles pass through causing me grief, and they need to be tied together for strength to avoid flex. I'll try brass once again, and succeed, but this chassis may self destruct before I see true success and crawl anything but into bed.

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[R.Billy Rob]

Don't feel too beat down, it's quite an ambitious project. There's bound to be a lot of trial and error. "thumbsup" I mean, an aluminum body is a feat in itself, but a scale chassis to match, wow! :shock: I'm sure all your hard work will pay off in the end. "thumbsup"

 

[penneyma79]

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[penneyma79]

Well, the good news is, it looks better since I got some sleep. I am pretty certain I tweaked the chassis when I was playing with un arching the springs to get the bind out of the driveline. I have read other guys have this same concern, so I am glad I read that elsewhere. I have been pretty good about making small tweaks to keep the frame in one piece as I worked, but the leaf design has taken its toll and I am afraid after the next refinement I may need to make another pair of rails or the next gen frame for this truck. Rough as it is supposed to look, I don't want MY hackery to be visible, only imaginary hill jack that owns the mountain which the truck lives on in Tiny Truck Land.
The rear end is defiantly going to take some redoing. I knew it would, and had no issue drilling it to straighten out my axle binding. I am considering using the stock knuckle ends and modifying hem to fit and removing the steering castings from them to make the tube axle smoother. The good thing is, on a Sumo, you always have another pair. I may actually try casting them in resin or some other epoxy first, see if I even can... This is all a list of reasons one should never ever do weekend work on your daily driver, you have no way to play if its all apart on the garage floor. If anyone in Tiny Truck Land has their own lockouts, post them up. I think Jim has some printed ones I am going to look up, if all else fails, I'm sure they are awesome, I just seem to be a glutton for punishment and want to make my own..
I have tried a few different body mounts also. I thought I wanted them made from the .005 aluminum the body is made of, but in over handling the project, my ape hands have dislodged and smashed each one and they may not survive too long in hard crawling. I know the point is to destroy, but as this goes, I think the body will bash fine, I don't want to rebuild body mounts every five minutes.. The new chassis will likely receive all new aluminum mounts made of the same thin aluminum sheet I used before, bent and bolted in.

 

[penneyma79]

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http://s1164.photobucket.com/user/penneyma/media/20151130_233123.mp4.html

 

[penneyma79]

So, ok. I must apologize for my grumpy nature earlier today. Got myself frustrated, tired, mad, whatnot. I tweaked and tinkered tonight, reminded myself I could make a shiny new frame if and when I choose. Shortened long ass wheel base, went very unscale with bolts for rear springs, and found some clearance issues to fix up front. Modified steering linkages, and for a limited flex rig, I'm happy,ish.. Plans to build a new frame are brewing, but a few more tweaks will have this one cruising while I make it. Here are some true bench top vids cuz someone asked! Excuse the mess..

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[penneyma79]

Wow, been a long while. I've been busy, kids getting bigger, busy at work, and honestly,I work in my garage and it has been too cold. I did start a new frame finally, which is more scale, but still realistic to the fact it's rc. I still bent the frame from flat sheet aluminum, but it's thinner in profile, and I caved and bought stronger, but less scale hardware. Hard to HAVE perfect scale in micro scale. Here are some pics.




This one shows my first trans mount which looks awesome and tucked, but caused binding in the driveline. Need better axle angles too, tinkering time.



Leaf springs are stainless steel tie straps from the part store, may make it a multi leaf stack down the road, but they hold it fine, good flex. For a leaf truck, that is..Ha ha



I do not like the stock servos,I get such limited movement, but, they are still strong,I have two, and I'm going to tear them up before investing in others.. I unarched the springs some to reduce bind, but my body will need raised body mounts to clear those swampers. Or, will it?!


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[bolo79]

How is your turning radius with one servo?BTW i like the way you mounted trans.Did you get idea from looking at new rc4wd micro?

 

[penneyma79]

Turning radius is typical of a full-size with 44's, terrible. I tore apart my spare and can't really see a physical way to increase range, so I may eventually opt to buy a new servo, when I destroy these.

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[penneyma79]

How is your turning radius with one servo?BTW i like the way you mounted trans.Did you get idea from looking at new rc4wd micro?

Thanks for trans comment, I honestly made the most functional mount I could to securely hold the trimmed down trans (I shortened the plastic mount studs) and still allow the driveshafts a full range of verticle movement.

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[bolo79]

I wish i get idea of mounting trans like that before I cut interior :evil:
I really don't know what's up with steering on sumo.Range of movement is different between axles and switching between steering mods.:???:
My servo on back crap out on me but I order direct replacement,I should get upgrade.O well they crap anyway,it's not be a long before someone will have to order one.penneyma79 If you order upgrade post update.

 

[penneyma79]

Green paint? Because it's a test body! Gonna practice paint and weathering..that trans mount works right, but hangs too low for me to be really scale, have other ideas, but for now, this will do..



Limited flex but appropriate for a more scale look..

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[penneyma79]

Quick down and dirty build for my awesome little four year old who is drawn to my toy monster trucks, as he calls them. Built on my old Xmod which he says is his now.

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[penneyma79]

Tried some weathering out tonight, acrylics, real crushed stone, and a brush I swiped from my water coloring four year old. It's been a while since I did anything like this. Tomorrow it's teeny hinges, door shells, need body mounts too.

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[penneyma79]

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