Project - Hummer H2 Trail Patrol 1.9 Scaler

[monkeyracer]

Welcome to the build thread for my new scale project.

Ok, a little back story first, then pics. I bought a Losi Mini LST right before they went away on clearance and got the lipo rebate as well, all for just over $100. It was fun, but the dual servos are not the best set-up for this truck. The tie rod between the servo rod is really to blame, it wouldn't keep the servos aligned like it should have, and was annoying. Also, the suspension is nice and beefy, but the shocks stayed compressed at rest. I took them apart rebuilt, and they did the same. Last annoyance, the center diff would unload the front onto the rear way too much, all these made dirt handling tough.

Rather than buy all the parts to fix the annoyances (servo tie rod, alum shocks with ti nitride shafts, ball diffs) and after seeing the start of a similar build here, I decided to make this a scaler. The Losi is a great truck, and with a little modification, can be bulletproof and a lot of fun.

For the body, I bought a Radio Shack H2 body from the mattracks hummer, the wagon version rather than the newer SUT. I had fully intended on making a scale project out of it, but at the time didn't have any spare axles and needed to raise a little cash, so up on ebay it went, 3 times! I had 6-10 watchers in each auction, but no bites. There was even a guy that offered to pay me a week after the auction ended, but ended up backing out of the deal. The third time was the strikeout. I decided to keep it and eventually make something out of it. I tossed it in to the storage, and forgot about it until recently. While in there, I'm not sure what happened to it, but there are small spots where the top layer of "clear" is damaged (see pics below) so I'll need to paint it up.

The Axial trans (not in pics below) and temporary tires came from my Trail monster build. I narrowed the tires to fit the MLST wheels. I plan to use the stock axial driveshafts with maxx yokes on the axle side to fit over the MLST dog bone cups. I also plan to lock the front and rear diffs, but may end up getting stronger diffs.

These tires are a little tall for what I want, and I plan to get 1.9 flat irons on some inexpensive beadlocks. There's a lot of building to go, but this thread will serve to chronicle the process, and possibly inspire someone else. (Also to help me remember what changes I make)

Well, enough words, let see some pics!

Here's about the ride height I want, although the rear will be lifted a little more.


Another ride height view, WB will be about 11.25" or 11.5"


Rear ride height view


Width looks just right


Narrowed tires, to see how wide they were before, just look at the rims holding the body up in the above pics, I took out .75" total.


Suspension lock outs made from Lexan


I'm still messing with the steering to figure out what I want to do with it. I'll get that done probably after the new wheels to see what kind of clearance I'll have




Hard to see from this angle, but these tires are about 4.5" with the rubber studs, the flat irons are supposed to be about 4.125" - 4.25"


Width now is about 8.25 - 8.5


Tires are just under 2" wide


Center clearance is awesome, 2.5"


And here's what I was talking about with the damaged clear top coat.
Still have a long way to go...

[monkeyracer]

OK, here's some pics of the paint:

Flat Black and Satin Silver sprayed down:






Close-Up:


With the clear coat, and the accessories put back on:










Now, I need to figure out the decals, here's kind of what I was thinking, something farily simple:


I have been looking at a few other police cars, and most of them have simple block fonts, and not a lot of them have the "to protect and serve" motto anymore. I'm going to have "Police" on the hood, and I'm still trying to figure out the tailgate decals.

As far as the rest of the build goes, the next step is getting the frame figured out, and getting the tires.

[monkeyracer]

I posted this also on another forum, and a suggestion for the light bar was made: use clear red and blue lighters, drain the butane, cut 'em up, add lights, done. So, I will be looking for some very soon.
I also found out the MLST diff is the same as in the MRC, so i will be getting the output shafts and plastic lockers very soon. Anyone know the diameter of the MRC output shaft? I think it's 4mm, but I just wanted to check.
I'm also looking for a cheap place to get the graphics cut, so if anyone has suggestions, I'd be open to hear them.

Thanks.

[SoCalMike]

Sweet looks good

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by SoCalMike

Sweet looks good

Thanks, it's getting there.
I'd hope to have this complete by the end of May, we'll see.

[eddievedder]

Very cool build!

[monkeyracer]

Thanks, I welcome all comments, so if you're looking at this thing thinking it's stupid, let me know. If you think it's awesome, let me know. If you have an idea or suggestion, well you know what to do.

[pantablo]

I have to admit I don't like Hummers but this is an interesting build. I like the 'theme' and the tip about clear colored bic lighters is genius!

I'm most interested in your steering setup. I am in the middle of cutting up my cc-01 (also IFS) to accommodate a servo up front and use a tie rod to connect the two steering knuckles like you have. I wondered if it would work on an IFS setup or cause it to bind up somehow. Have you run a truck like that or was this set up like that stock?

[edit: hit up elchupocabra, a member here. he did graphics for several of my rigs and does good work.]

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by pantablo

I have to admit I don't like Hummers but this is an interesting build.

What is kind of funny is I don't like H2s or Police, but I have this body, couldn't unload it on ebay, and haven't seen anyone really commit to a trail police theme. The MLST used to have a 2009 H3T Shell on it:







But, the wheelbase wasn't perfect, and I think it just looks goofy with the wheels sticking out that much.

Originally Posted by pantablo

I like the 'theme' and the tip about clear colored bic lighters is genius!

Before that was suggested, I was thinking of taking some translucent plastic that covers florescent light fixtures and spraying candy red and candy blue on the inside then molding it to shape. The lighters solve that problem in one step.

Originally Posted by pantablo

I'm most interested in your steering setup. I am in the middle of cutting up my cc-01 (also IFS) to accommodate a servo up front and use a tie rod to connect the two steering knuckles like you have. I wondered if it would work on an IFS setup or cause it to bind up somehow. Have you run a truck like that or was this set up like that stock?

The IFS (independent front suspension) has been locked out, so now, essentially it's a solid axle now, so the steering will be just like any other solid axle set-up. I had thought about keeping the IFS active (since that is how the 1:1 is) and if I did that, I'd have to do two steering arms with no tie rod. The flaw is that during suspension travel, the wheels would steer, but not in the same direction. It may not be enough to cause an issue at such low speeds though. Here's a pic of what I mean about two steering arms:



The stock set-up was two seperate mini servos, with their own steering link, it didn't keep the wheels aligned and they were weak servos. I ended up just making a servo plate/4-link mount out of 1/8" lexan to mount the standard servo. I may end up frame mounting it, since there's more competition points for that set-up.

Originally Posted by pantablo

[edit: hit up elchupocabra, a member here. he did graphics for several of my rigs and does good work.]

I'll look into it, thanks.

[monkeyracer]

Ok, I ordered some of these and these from losipartshouse.com, and installed them on the rear axle.
The lockouts needed some modification to fit the MLST1 outdrives; a little drillwork, and it's done. The output shaft is 4mm, the axial driveshafts are 5mm, so I just shimmed it with some cardboard, and it spins centered. Still need to do this to the front axle.

I also ordered these and these from myatomic.com since they offered free shipping for orders over $25. Still waiting on these (ordered thursday, so I expect them either tomorrow or tuesday.)

I was going to go with the Losi MRC wheels and Flat Irons, but I realized the MRC wheels aren't true beadlocks, and the flat irons were taller than I wanted. Plus I spent $30 on the wheels and tires total.

I'll probably order some 26mm 0 offset stock car wheels with Tamiya Hummer Tires for the spare and sell the other three.

More to come...