Tommy's Beast II 6x6

[skybolt]

So excited to see you do this, I've had the rolling chassis built for a while now but due to minimal free time haven't been able to start the shortening mod. I'm feeling good about modifying the chassis but am hesitant about the body...I've never worked with styrene before and might lack the patience it requires!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tommy R]

Well, your wait may be shorter than expected. :ror: So I finished drilling and clearancing. All in all, I think I had to drill 4 holes and clearance just a bit under the chassis in order to move the middle axle forward ~21mm. Everything else used existing holes. AND all of the links are pointing forward now. The links are shorter now, but I think the geometry will be okay. The clearancing was on the bottom of the chassis where the lower arms connect to the chassis. The rod ends would contact the frame rail so the rail was clearanced a bit with my Dremel. Easy stuff...

This is a top view showing the flipped upper control arm mount on the axle. You can also see the forward mount for the upper control arms and how I added a nylock nut in the newly drilled hole.

Side view with the suspension at full droop. No clearance issues!

And at full bump. Again, no clearance issues. Also, there are no clearance issues at full articulation.

View from the rear twisting.

Here it is in super short wheelbase mode: :ror:

 

[Tommy R]

So the middle axle is where I'd like it. Now to address moving the rear axle forward. And I'd like to get it as reasonably close to the middle axle as possible. What to do?

I flipped the axle mounted suspension link mounts to face forward. For the uppers, I just moved the forward mount onto an existing hole on the frame rail and then just drilled one more hole to secure it. Then I took a slightly shorter lower link (~65mm) and simply bolted it to the middle axle. Honestly, I'm not really sure I want to keep this arrangement. The relative movement between the two looks acceptable, but I'm not sure if it'll perform like I want. I may end up moving the lower links to the chassis instead. Testing will be forthcoming! And yeah, my drill or bit is really screwed up. The holes I drilled were very poorly misaligned, but at least I was able to get them consistent from side to side!

And for those interested, it looks like the Junfac driveshafts will need to be opened up just a bit to fit onto the t-case. No issues on the axles, though.

 

[Stormin2u]

Tommy you really write in an enjoyable manner its detailed very informative and good fun to read. I love the rig and learned something too, nice work. "thumbsup"

 

[Tommy R]

Tommy you really write in an enjoyable manner its detailed very informative and good fun to read. I love the rig and learned something too, nice work. "thumbsup"

Thanks, man! I really appreciate that. I do my best to explain my thought process and then the implementation process in enough detail to be understood, but not so much to be (excessively) boring. :ror:

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

nice!
I always use a drill punch, then drill with 1/16" then enlarge to 1/8" every hole I drill for the most accuracy.
but just a good sharp bit will help and not using them on steel.

love the direction this is going.

 

[Tommy R]

nice!
I always use a drill punch, then drill with 1/16" then enlarge to 1/8" every hole I drill for the most accuracy.
but just a good sharp bit will help and not using them on steel.

love the direction this is going.

I used a punch each time, but this time I didn't step up from a smaller bit (like a 1/16") and you're right, I should've. At least it's all still symmetric, though. :mrgreen:

 

[ON THE ROCKS]

I was wondering where you mounted your electronics?

 

[Tommy R]

I was wondering where you mounted your electronics?

Everything is in the back part of the cab. I'll try to get a pic later today if I get chance. "thumbsup"

 

[Tommy R]

Decided to shorten the wheelbase a bit more by moving the rear axle a bit farther forward. To do this I used 50mm upper links, 60mm lower links, and you can see what holes I used for the mounts (not all holes have been drilled yet). It pulled out another 5mm from the wheelbase and I like to have the tandem axles as reasonably close to one another as possible. Right now the gap (depending on tire size, obviously) is about 10mm.

I also found out that Losi MRC springs are a perfect fit for the Beast II shocks. Since this rig has basically no weight on the rear axles, softer springs were a must! I may continue with the stock springs on the front since it's got nearly all the weight!

 

[justinart24]

Dang Tommy! "thumbsup"This truck turned out pretty sick. I might have missed it the posts but can you fit a scaler in the bed?

 

[Tommy R]

Dang Tommy! "thumbsup"This truck turned out pretty sick. I might have missed it the posts but can you fit a scaler in the bed?

Thanks, Justin! Still a long way to go with it, though... I just checked and Yota axles with narrow offset wheels are just about 1/4" too wide overall. Looks like it'd take something on TLTs. I bet a CC-01 would fit.

I'm actually thinking of selling the cargo bed now that I've decided to make mine a trials truck. 8)

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

nice! what was the stock vs now WB?

 

[Tommy R]

nice! what was the stock vs now WB?

I knew someone was going to ask me that! Looks like the original wheelbase was 11.5" and 16". Mine is 10.5" and 15". So right at 1" shorter on both rear axles. I didn't know so I had to go measure.

One day when I get more adventurous and have more free time, I'd like to move the t-case/skid forward 1" and move the rear axles accordingly. That would result in a 9.5" and 14" wheelbase. Might be borderline too short, though. I'll get it running as it sits and see how it performs. I don't expect (or even WANT) it to be competitive for comps, but I'd like it to at least be able to keep up with Class Zero and mild Class 1 rigs. "thumbsup"

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

gotcha. for some reason I thought you had moved it more than that.

 

[Tommy R]

Would like to. Only reason I didn't is because I already got the rear links as short as I was willing to go and keep a half ass decent geometry. Anything shorter and the skid would need to move forward so the front links could be shortened. Obviously I couldn't just shorten the front links because then I'd have to deal with move the body rearward, trimming the chassis, and dealing with all that mess. :shock:

 

[skybolt]

Hey Tommy, what did you use for paint? I started teaching myself to air brush (don't know a damn thing about it...) and have bought a large styrene panel to practice on.

I just posted in the Paint/body section, I had a practice run today that I though should have gone better....

 

[Tommy R]

Hey Tommy, what did you use for paint? I started teaching myself to air brush (don't know a damn thing about it...) and have bought a large styrene panel to practice on.

I just posted in the Paint/body section, I had a practice run today that I though should have gone better....

Well, I didn't use an airbrush on this rig at all, just rattle cans. The paint was applied first with some rust colored primer for plastic. I followed it up with a a coat of grey, then the blue. No clear. For the dust on the windshield I used some light tan Pactra or Tamiya paint. This would've come out better with an airbrush since the mist would've been finer, but I'm very pleased with the outcome.

What are you having trouble with?

 

[skybolt]

Well, for starters I have no experience with air brushing! A friend lent me a nice gun and compressor that I used to teach myself the basics. I bought a styrene panel, and some acrylic paint at the LHS, prepped the surface with fine scotchbrite, wiped down with alcohol and did some test areas with a couple different colors. The colors didn't come out glossy (I'm told because not enough coats) and after they dried for about 9 hrs you could easily peel some off with a finger nail. I know very little acrylic paint and it durability, I've since been told I should use enamel instead, and to even add a primer. I think what I'm looking for is something reasonably durable, and it can be either spray can or air brush. I also think I'm going to sissy out and not do an interior, maybe just tint the windows. any chance of a pic of how you did your electrics install?

 

[Tommy R]

Oh, man, I wish I could help you, but I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to airbrushing. But I *can* tell you that the rattle can paints I've used on styrene have been great. And I just buy stuff from Home Depot/Lowe's.....way cheaper than what the hobby shop has. Just be sure to get something for plastic so it'll bond well. In most cases, I didn't even sand it down in preparation!

I will get some pics of the electronics soon. Totally forgot about that!