METALHEAD's Chev Trug

[METALHEAD]

This project started quite awhile ago as my entry in the 1.9 Build Off but it never made it out of the frame stage. So, I had a custom frame that I’d built just hanging around on the shelf.

Fast forward to mid December; I picked up a Losi MRC from RPP Hobby. Incidentally, their service really does rock! I had full intentions of using the radio and receiver and just parting it out to make another 1.9 scaler. I figured with its stock width, the MRC axles would kick ass in a scale project as opposed to the HL, TLT, and WK axles that are so prevalent.

So after some time and much consideration about how and where to begin, I came up with this very preliminary conception of where I wanted this project to go:




My thought is that truggy was the only way to go with this bad boy. The original body was a Chev stepside with about a 9.5” wheelbase. With that said, I never liked the looks of things when I’d mock it up as a proposed project using the entire body. But, as a truggy…well… It seemed to lend itself to this kind of build pretty well when I separated the cab from the box, so that’s what I did.

The custom frame worked out almost perfectly. The front and rear of the frame need to be trimmed/angled/adjusted according to the new project, but as a rough starting point it was almost perfect when paired with the MRC.

After establishing a reasonable starting point, I decided to go for it.

So I started cutting….



…and cutting…



Then I did some gluing…



Unsatisfied, I began to do some fabrication…



…and some more fabrication…



…and that’s where I ended up.

I debated for quite a while about whether to build the hood scoop or not. But after looking at the roughed out nose job, I figured I’d take it a little past the level of good taste because it seemed I’d already accidentally crossed it. The pinch seemed a little more severe than most, as I took about 2” out of the front of this little bastage. Anyway, after actually doing it, I was glad I did. It’s really got a snotty look to it now and for something like this, I think it fits.

More updates to follow. This project is well underway, but I’m just now getting around to posting it up. Thanks for looking.

[F-150Highlift]

Kind of cartoony looking but I like it, keep going.

[STANG KILLA SS]

reminds me of that bad ass red S-10 with the real flames.
sweet!

edit: found it
http://images.fourwheeler.com/eventc...ald_hadden.jpg

[helhedded]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

reminds me of that bad ass red S-10 with the real flames.
sweet!

edit: found it
http://images.fourwheeler.com/eventc...ald_hadden.jpg

^
man I love that thing.


Looks good metalhead!

[METALHEAD]

Thanks guys! F-150, I kinda felt the same way when I first got into it, that’s mostly what I meant when I said I accidentally crossing the line of good taste. Let’s not say “cartoony” though, I think EXTREME or RADICAL is better. Hahahaha… Anyway, I figured I’d go for it and knock the hell out of good taste. SS and helhedded, that S-10 was in the back of my mind when I started this. Glad you’re digging it.

Okay, I was on to the next phase…bodywork. I was kinda dreading this part because of the bodylines that needed to be carried out from the existing body onto styrene. I roughed it out as well as I could with some different files, but until you get some filler in there, it’s hard to tell how it’s all gonna line out on something this small. So, I just went for it.

First things first, I filled the back panel, which was easy enough.



The back panel still needs some shaping at this point, but I just wanted to get it to fit on the frame. Remember kids, it’s easier to take material off than it is to put it back on. I learned that shit the hard way more than once…come to think of it, I’m still figuring it out. Anyway, I’ve got more work to do back there.


The first coat…



The second coat…



The front fenders took a small beating when I heated them to get the pinch in the nose, so there’s a small amount of bodywork to do there.

The fenders…



Of course, there is some comfort in knowing that when your rig is all kinds of different colors and layers of plastic and filler, you can hide from the fact that it might not be straight. Even primer shows a lot of inaccuracies and oversights, so that’ll show up in the primer stages.

BUT, until then, here are a couple of body-on shots.



Kinda goofy looking from this angle, but hey, we’ll just call it EXTREME or RADICAL, right f-150?

I hesitate to show the flex shot, because it only shows how much work I have to do, but what the fu…hell.

Here:



For starters, the frame needs to be cut and bent around to fit this project. The shocks are set too high above the frame, the body is up too high on the frame, and the suspension isn’t even close to reaching full tilt. This is encouraging though. I have options. My intention is to rework the frame and subsequently, the shock mounting, trim the body accordingly, and take it from there. Thanks for looking.

[helhedded]

looks good. It may be too late, but have you thought about narrowing the body?

[METALHEAD]

Originally Posted by helhedded

looks good. It may be too late, but have you thought about narrowing the body?

Yeah dude, I actually had thought about narrowing the body. Is it too late? I guess it's never too late, but the more i considered it, the less I wanted to do it. My thought was that a narrowed body might come off as...dare I say...cartoony? ahahaha... Seriously, I was afraid a narrowed body may make it look like a bad replica of Chev with a pinched front end. As in, not a customized Chev, but a bad version of a Chev body, ya know? We've all seen those shitty knockoff bodies that don't look right no matter what gets done to them.

I see what you're saying though, because from some angles this thing looks like a freakin fat kid. I'm hoping that a roll cage and a custom built rear end will balance it out a little more. I'm not done by a damn straight with the fabrication.

Thanks for the input.

[helhedded]

Originally Posted by METALHEAD

Yeah dude, I actually had thought about narrowing the body. Is it too late? I guess it's never too late, but the more i considered it, the less I wanted to do it. My thought was that a narrowed body might come off as...dare I say...cartoony? ahahaha... Seriously, I was afraid a narrowed body may make it look like a bad replica of Chev with a pinched front end. As in, not a customized Chev, but a bad version of a Chev body, ya know? We've all seen those shitty knockoff bodies that don't look right no matter what gets done to them.

I see what you're saying though, because from some angles this thing looks like a freakin fat kid. I'm hoping that a roll cage and a custom built rear end will balance it out a little more. I'm not done by a damn straight with the fabrication.

Thanks for the input.

I think if it's done tastefully it will look sweet. I just photshopped your pic, and I can do a better job tomorrow with a better full frontal pic.

before and after

[helhedded]

and let me know if you need anything else photo shopped



p.s. I work with images and photo editing software so it would have to be during 8-5 central mon-fri


EDIT: I forgot to add that your chevy may not even need to be narrowed. If you can take a leveled front pic with the body on the chassis that would help alot too. It could just be a case of the angles.

[METALHEAD]

Hey, thanks for the offer helhedded. Also, I appreciate the Photochops. As is though, I think I'm gonna keep on my current course and see how it plays out. I have an idea that I've been kicking around since we were discussing narrowing the body. I'm gonna do some checking tonight and see if it'll work out...more on that as it develops.

Speaking of devoping…

PRIMER!



I had mixed feelings about shooting the primer on this bad boy. On the one hand, it’s great to see everything in one uniform color, on the other hand….mmmm…yeah….pretty rough. Remember when I said the primer shows all the little inaccuracies and oversights? Well, there here. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with it, but there is definitely more bodywork to do. File here, build there, I’m chasing shit all over the front end.

On another note, I got some framework done. The “original” custom frame and the MCR frame where married into this little nightmare:



After chopping and re-drilling the rear end, then angling the front end to accommodate the new body and the front shocks, I ended up with this:



I’m far from done, as I need to play with more suspension mounting options, but you can see the rear shocks are mounted up differently. I got rid of those ugly-ass uprights that the shocks used to mount to. Currently I have them mounted on the MRC chassis, more or less in the original stock position. This is temporary I think, but we’ll see. Either way I think it looks much better like this.



As I mentioned, I’m not done playing with different suspension mounting options. But you can see the difference that the last changes made in the articulation. As a comparison, it went from this:



…to this:



I’d say that’s a step in the right direction. More updates, as I update. Thanks for checking.

[helhedded]

hells yeah. looks good! why am I the only one posting? this rig is sweet!!!!!!

[fatwoul]

Not wishing to sound like a great big girl, but what are your thoughts on colour for this shell?

[METALHEAD]

Originally Posted by helhedded

hells yeah. looks good! why am I the only one posting? this rig is sweet!!!!!!

Thanks man, I appreciate your input. I guess ain’t nobody gots no love for the Chev Trug. hahahaha

Originally Posted by fatwoul

Not wishing to sound like a great big girl, but what are your thoughts on colour for this shell?

Well, you great big girl, I was thinking pink. HAHAHAHA…actually man, I’ve considered everything from pearl white to satin black, well, except maybe pink. Currently I’m leaning towards white because I really don’t have anything white…but…who knows.

I have a few more updates to post up. I got some more bodywork done. I did some more shaping on the new styrene and fixed some little shit in that I missed the first time. Also, I got my first round of sanding done. For sure there’ll be more to come.

Structurally, I changed all the suspension mounts for both the front and the rear. Out back, I made a crossbar and mounted the shocks to that badass. This makes me happy:



Because the shocks mount lower on the frame, obviously it lifted the rear end up, which was expected, but not desired. To match the rear end, I mounted the front shocks lower on the uprights, thereby lifting the front end also. Again, I wasn’t looking for a lift, but with everything level, I could start working on its stance. I dropped the body a little and I took the preload out of the shocks. I trimmed the fenders up some more and took some more material off the front to balance out the look.



I’m gonna look into new shocks, new springs, or maybe modify these to run a droop setup. I’m still not happy with the way it sits. Any thoughts or suggestions?

This does make me happy though:



That’s damn near a full stuff with the front wheels turned and zero rub. That front left is up about 3.5”, with all tires planted. Not bad for a rig with an 8.5” wheelbase.

By comparison, you can see what a difference the suspension changes, lowered body, and trimmed fenders make. Here’s where it was before those changes:



And here’s where it’s at now. The articulation hasn’t changed, but look how much more clearance there is. Also, the body rides lower on the frame, which is a better look in my opinion.



So, that’s what I got for now. The wife brought home a Wii the other day, so I’m sure we’ll be playing that mutha quite a bit this weekend so I don’t know how much I’ll get done on my Trug. The next thing on tap for this is to start working on the back end, namely a roll bar and some shit, so we’ll see.

Cool, thanks for looking.
MH out.

[karlos]

Nice job so far. I like the stance... looks just plain mean!.

[F-150Highlift]

Looks very cool, I vote for narrowing the body from that photoshop pic but I understand why you don't want to do it and mess up what you already finished. Keep it up.

[METALHEAD]

Karlos, I agree, it does look mean! Thanks dude. F-150, yeah, I’ve pretty much given up on a full narrowing. I think it’s coming together pretty well, thanks for checking back man.

Okay, I got the roll bar built over the weekend. I used ¼” solid aluminum rod, drilled and tapped, then fastened with 6-32 screws. I’m not good at brazing, namely due to lack of much experience with it, so I used my old standby. I built a front tube bumper for my Chev Silverado and it’s holding up great, so I figured I’d be safe doing my current project in the same manner.

Here are some pics:

The roll bar itself, and the frame mounts.


Mounted up:




After fitting and attaching the braces:



Mounted up, body off:


A few more:






Before anyone says anything, I’m going to get rid of the screw heads or hide them. I realize they look like a full-blown turd. I haven’t decided if I’m gonna polish the roll bar or paint it. I’m thinking paint at this point, but a polished rollbar might pop off nicely with the chrome in the MRC wheels...assuming I keep the wheels. It's all up in the air at this point.

As always, any suggestions or input is welcome and appreciated. Thanks for looking.

[3speed]

nice start

[helhedded]

have you thought about extending the wheelbase? the entire thing looks short. maybe just extend the back half?

[METALHEAD]

Originally Posted by helhedded

have you thought about extending the wheelbase?

Yeah, initially that was my intent. But as I got into it, I decided I'd keep it just the way it was.

Originally Posted by helhedded

the entire thing looks short.

Totally!

Originally Posted by helhedded

maybe just extend the back half?

Yeah, but then it'd look like everyone else's truggy. Mine's a "Trug" dude... ...hahahaha

In terms of 1:12 scale, the Trug has an 8.5" wheelbase, so I'm only 1.4 scale feet off of a Chevrolet Stepside's stock wheelbase (9.9'). This is like the mongrel bastard offspring of a Chev and a Jeep's one night stand.

[Crawln Coles]

I like it, loks sexy as hell all primered up.! Great body work. What body is that anyway?

It is a lil short, but keep going in the direction you are & this is gonna be a sweet lil Chev trug