The Mule 77 F150

[66sprint6]

Thanks!!! It started as a budget, mid tire height rig and now the budget part hasnt changed but I keep wanting to push the scale envelope further and further. Had a chance to shake down the Mule and see how rusty it was as well as see how the new tires do in the rough stuff. I love the looks so far but looks and lousy performance wont cut it. Im pretty happy to say these work as awesome as they look! I hit up a very wet, rocky, muddy slick area for about 20 minutes today before I broke a shock loose and had to call it quits. The tires hooked great in the wet, rocky areas and altho they werent the best in the mud, they were manageable. Pretty sure there isnt a tire in my arsenal that coulda kept me from gettin stuck in the couple spots i did. Only thing that had more bite than these suckers out there was the danged mosquitos LOL. I did have to tweak my driving a bit but it was worth it. Anyways, on to some pics...the true test is comin up at Lebanon!!!





Stuck





Stuck again lol



Matt

[66sprint6]

Took the Mule out on a LOOOONG trail ride (my fault ) and got a chance to put the new 4" Treps to the test. I went right on a 5 mile loop in search of a wicked fun creek bed when I shoulda went left...nearly did the entire 5 miles too which was an acheivement in itself but me being sick and a lack of LiPos in my pockets led to me carrying her out the last 1/4 mile or so. On to the pics!

Made another set of 4" Treps for 88RRC (his initial idea anyways I just got to make them and test them first )



Finally found the creek bed and had a few moments to take some flex shots along the way!







The tires did amazing, the truck did even better and I really look forward to gettin it out again very soon. Im thinkin these tires are gonna stick around for a while so I might need the Mule moved over to 1.55 section soon

Matt

[mitchr97]

Aren't those tires 1.9s?

[66sprint6]

They were when I got em, but they are now 4" tall 1.55s! Love em too, they work great and look right at home I think.

Matt

[mitchr97]

well they look great! didn't even realize the were 1.55's

[66sprint6]

After the Bronco went down at Shanty Hollow I broke out the Mule and went to town!!!

First major obstacle and I sink/float it lol. Receiver went out on this one but thankfully we tied a long recovery strap to the back and were able to pull it back to dry land lol



Lurkin



Flexes pretty decent!





Cant really tell but this is WAY up there...was not fun goin and gettin it. Was even less fun tryin to get back down without fallin lol



Ended the day by draggin Ben's Jeep the last couple yards after his spur stripped out.



Matt

[rc dreemer]

sprint (matt),
i love to read your builds & stories... every time i do, i get inspired to do a build like yours too i just wish i had the skills & tools to try and imulate you better...i think you & "badd" inspire alot of us!!!

thanks!!

[66sprint6]

I appreciate it! Dont worry about tools and skill will come with experience! Get out there and get to work man, itll come together over time and you will learn how to make somethin outta nothin!

Matt

[66sprint6]

Got the Mule dusted off and ready for Lamar Hill. Pretty much the same ole same ole with this thing. Ran great most of the day and then had some issues with the oldschool, wore out and beat up skid letting a rear link loose. Didnt stop me from havin some fun on the ice which led to this.



A loose rear driveshaft and a frozen (literally lol) motor got me stuck when it slid into a hole in the ice. I broke the motor free but couldnt get the driveshaft tight thanks to some stripped set screws. Was fun tho gettin the old ugly POS back out again. She needs some well deserved TLC tho thats for sure!

Matt

[DaveQ]

What a great rig!

[GLHS592]

I got to see this truck in action this past Saturday. Matt has done an excellent job making the body look like a junker. You should have seen Matt out on the ice trying to retrieve it after it fell through. We had a blast even though my fingers were frozen.

[66sprint6]

Thanks guys! Yeah it was coooooooooold. Im serious is sayin the motor FROZE lol. It got some junk in it and I had to REALLY give it hell to break the motor loose and it ran great after that other than the driveshaft bein loose. This little beater will be back up and runnin in plenty of time for the next ride thats for sure.

Matt

[66sprint6]

Couple shots I stole from Ed of the Mule playin around on the ice.

Pretty far out there.



Another shot of where she sank lol



You wanna drive?



Matt

[woodsweapon]

Love the truck, I know you said u weren't selling the grill stickers but do you have any contact info to who made them. Bought this body wanting to make it look like a 77' f-150 my dad had when I was a kid but figured I would have to settle on the 79' grill.

[Bronco Bobby]

Hpi makes a 79 f150, both standard cab and super cab. There is a really nice decal set that comes with it. The body is for a savage I believe.

[66sprint6]

Got this nasty ole POS off the shelf, tossed it in the sink and cleaned it up (tho you seriously cant tell) and got it running for an upcoming ride. I fixed the rod end that broke last time out and finally tackled something Ive been meaning to tackle for some time now and that the Mule desperately has been needing...rear bumper and sliders.

I went super simple all around and rednecked the back bumper out and then put some brake tubing together for the sliders. Both are welded to the frame rails.







Just a random shot of one of my indoor sidehill tests that I like to do. The Courier and Mule have benefited from tweaks made using this brick. The Bronco fails every time lol



She runs as well as the last time it was out. Such a simple and super outdated setup but it works so Ill keep it going this way as long as I can. Completely built and operated with used/borrowed/stolen junk parts!

Matt

[66sprint6]

OH, and the backwards Treps have been switched around since the pics...Ive been outta the game too long and put them on wrong after cleaning it LOL.

Matt

[Highmark]

Looking good! I'm digging that rear bumper.

[66sprint6]

Thank man, I have scrap metal layin all around and got to thinkin...how can I make this quick and simple. I also wanted it tucked up and as far out of the way as possible. 10 minutes later I was done. I really wish I had some tubing about the same size so it could get damaged along the way but I didnt so I went solid. The sliders should get pretty beat up tho.

Matt

[66sprint6]

The Blue Bronco ended its day early with a broken stubshaft so the Mule got to come out and play. I immediately broke a stock steering knuckle and tossed it in the car to run the Courier. Courier was plagued with issues due to some garbage hobby store loctite and LiPo issues so I tossed a spare steering knuckle on the Mule and finished the day with it. Didnt get but this one picture but it did well during the course of the day and I really enjoyed driving it again!



New LiPo's will be ordered and I will look into fixing a couple "redneck" repairs that the poor thing deserves to have done correctly and then it will be good for the next run!

Matt