viper's creeper build

[viper6171]

okay i am gonna attempt to do a build thread . i ended up getting my creeper from one of the guys in my local crawler group , it was completely stock ( didn't come with a body ) . i was told early on that the factory tires were not well suited to alot of crawling , so i replaced them first with losi claws then with white dot rovers ( great tire ). as far electronics go i had a tazer 15t speedo and an integy 55 turn motor , and a tower pro servo ( my setup needed some help). i tried my hand at crawling with this setup ( not very good ) so i decided after talking to one of my friends that i was going to go lipo so i needed to get new electronics , thought i would go brushless so i bought a quark speed control 9 after reading about them on rcc) and an outrunner motor and went to an 11.1v lipo . this new setup worked pretty well massive torque and decent wheelspeed , so i moved my attention to the rest of the creeper . I started reading alot of the builds in the creeper section , found alot of good info and advice so i started looking at what the people were doing , link setups shocks bodies everything . first thing i did was get a new body ( stage killah ) then i inverted my shocks , and made a bta steering setup well it was going better on the courses but still not great ( bad tt) . i ran across rmdesignworks thread and started following his work , at the same time i was looking around for a different chassis or at least the side plates ( still haven't found one that i want ). well two comps ago i rolled my truck and somehow fried my speedcontroller ( first time i have seen sparks fly out from under a r/c car ) so time for new speedo and motor , got a good deal on a brand new sidewinder and ccbec ( much better setup than the brushless one ) . okay here are some early pics

 

[viper6171]

well it wasn't to long and i discovered that you had to be careful with the throttle application especially with the brushless setup

ouch !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:shock: sorry about the blurry pics cheap camera

 

[viper6171]

the next mods i made were to remove the axle skids and grind down the mounting lug on the diff , also had to make a new steering link cause the one i had made for the bta setup broke in a fall , new one is titanium "thumbsup".
i also ordered some flm stub axles for the front cause of the carnage with my front tire and wheel beating me down the hill .

 

[Abavuso]

Nice build, I love that body you put on it. I would be interested in swing how you set up your bta kit

 

[viper6171]

thanks the body was a rc10gt body that i cut into pieces and made work cause that was all i had , as far as the bta setup i used the original connecting link , i turned the hubs around put the link on the bottom of the hub tabs ( instead of in between them ) put spacers in the middle , my first link from the servo horn down wasn't very good ( broke on the first comp ) so i was looking for a way to make a new one , i was going through my box of parts and ran across several lundsford titanium links "thumbsup" now the fun part how to bend them . well after a little research on the net i found out how to do it and not lose the inherant strength of the titanium , it worked like a charm i flipped the mounts for the servo around to face the rear mounted the srevo and connected the steering link . on a side note this will not work with the shocks mounted down where the links connect ( i don't have the bta setup in place right now it is back to the front ) ( at least till i make a new connecting link to clear everything ) . i am going to post some new pics tomorrow of the new setup and the installation of the flm lockers also planning on making a shield for the reciever to keep it and the servo wires safe from rocks ( probably out of lexan and maybe an aluminum rod ) "thumbsup"

 

[Abavuso]

Bta

Once you get your bta done.. Could you take pictures for me?

If you are interested in other chassis might I recommend checking out my 4VP v2 chassis if you haven't already. I'm having a sale till sept 11

 

[viper6171]

abavuso i took this picture after i took the bta apart and switched it to the front but it is exactly the same setup just on the front

 

[viper6171]

okay i got some work done today as well as some pics taken ( not the best pics it is a cheap camera ). okay so first things first i put in my new flm lockers "thumbsup" no play now , the axles fit in the machined holes tightly. next i changed out the shocks for a set of traxxas shocks w/ losi springs white in front , yellow in rear , i also moved the shocks down to the lower link mounting point ( front shocks on the inside , rear shocks on the outside) i also changed the lower shock ends to the long bent ends that were on the upper links . also changed out the upper links to a slightly longer one so i get a better pinion angle and used straight ends so i could mover the rear links out and up at the axle . i was looking at the ckrc stage 2 suspension but i am one that likes to attempt to make it himself so............ i eliminated the battery tray and made new chassis spacers/stiffeners ( aluminum tube and all thread for the rear and angle brackets and delrin for the front ). as a result of the homemade stage 2 kit i also changed the body mounts from the side to the top . okay on to the new pics .

 

[SpeedyG]

Do you notice any tranny movement in the chassis without anything tying the top of the tranny to the TVPs, and how is the TT with your shock/link setup?

 

[viper6171]

Do you notice any tranny movement in the chassis without anything tying the top of the tranny to the TVPs, and how is the TT with your shock/link setup?

well i am not sure as of yet i haven't had the opportunity to run it in the new configuration i am hoping that it works alot better than the stock configuration , as far as the tranny movement i will have to look into that if so then i will have to make a brace to tie it in to the tvp's

 

[rmdesignworks]

I did notice a bit of tranny movement with my 55T motor when it was under hard loading forward or reverse...I have a simple link form the top front hole in the tranny case to the front upper chassis brace.

viper...waht are you using for the upper rear link mount...The purple part?

 

[viper6171]

I did notice a bit of tranny movement with my 55T motor when it was under hard loading forward or reverse...I have a simple link form the top front hole in the tranny case to the front upper chassis brace.

viper...waht are you using for the upper rear link mount...The purple part?

yeah i will probably have to raise them further but it is a starting point i am hoping to get the electrics in tomorrow and maybe get to test it out a little

 

[rmdesignworks]

ok,,,but what is that purple part in between the tabs?

 

[viper6171]

ok,,,but what is that purple part in between the tabs?

i had a bunch of aluminum parts for a tc3 ( if i remember right ) i think these were for a sway bar setup of some sort they move the links up about 3/8 of an inch or so i had to drill the upper hole bigger sp the threaded rod would fit in there , if i don't figure anything else out i am probably gonna order one of your plates ( does it come with the standoffs and the uprights ?) also i have my new wheels ( well new to me anyways) on the way they are rc4wd lowboys (the ones with the pendlum weight inside the wheel ) finally some aluminum wheels no more plastic (and stripped out hexes ) one of the stock creeper wheels is starting to try to round out .

 

[rmdesignworks]

I make the plate with the "uprights" that your links attach to. I will provide the info on the spacers and screws necessary to screw them to your axle in hte configuration I use...I dont want to mess the hardware and spacers but if the need is there Ill start rpoviding the hardware package including the spacers and hardware.

 

[viper6171]

I make the plate with the "uprights" that your links attach to. I will provide the info on the spacers and screws necessary to screw them to your axle in hte configuration I use...I dont want to mess the hardware and spacers but if the need is there Ill start rpoviding the hardware package including the spacers and hardware.

cool i may be ordering it from you gotta see how it works this way

 

[viper6171]

okay got a chance to work on the creeper and i made good progress , i made a rear plate and standoffs to mount the rear upper links higher and farther out and i got all of my electronics back in .

now i need to get out on the rocks and test it out "thumbsup"

 

[rmdesignworks]

you arent even gonna know what to do with what your rig is gonna do......nice plate man

 

[viper6171]

you arent even gonna know what to do with what your rig is gonna do......nice plate man

thanks man i kinda cheated for now the plate is a nailer plate ( well actually three of them ) from the hardware store , i plan on making one out of aluminum sheet later when i have the funds and the time . i really hope it does improve it's vertical abilities that has been my biggest beef with the creeper da*n tt is really annoying . oh i also checked to see where my balance point is and it is right at the front edge of the transmission case .

 

[rmdesignworks]

Good deal man,,,Sounds about right on the balance point too,,,yours is about where mine is.