The Mule 77 F150
 

Thought ide toss up my latest build, The Mule. This rig will fill the gap between the Bronco and Courier in order to run 4"-4.5" tires. The Bronco is short wheelbase, small tire. The Courier is long wheelbase, big tire and now this rig with be right in the middle of it all. I want to thank my buddy Worm for the push over the edge by giving me the 79 Ford F150 body. You should recognize it, it once belonged to One Husky Payload, I just took it from there and went to town changing it up and adding my own personal touches. She's rough and ugly...and I LOVE it!!! Anyways, on to the pics.

The body the afternoon I got it from Worm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2546.jpg

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It was an HPI 79 F150 with a Honcho bed added to it. She wasnt in too bad a shape, just needed some holes filled and some tweakin so I immediately got to work.

Cut the bed for a Bob job to shorten things up out back

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2554.jpg

Took the bed apart as well in order to fill some holes and shoot some black paint.

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Finished the Bob and added my normal ShoeGoo inside the body to add support. It messed with the paint a bit but this is just a beater body so Im no worried.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2571.jpg

I didnt like how the bed was attached and looked more like a Bronco so I cut it off and got to thinkin how to re-attach it. I added some 90* angled lexan and it now screws in where the Honcho bed attaches. I can remove the bed now if I feel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2628.jpg

In my hurry to get her running I didnt take many pics puting together the frame and running gear. Basically its a Jbird frame and skid, Axial axles with overdrive front, stock rear gears and some old links from both the Bronco and Courier. Got really lucky there!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2615.jpg

I still have alot to do in order to get it running, but here she is finally in roller status. I also received some decals I have been workin with Callie_Graphics on for a couple days. Unfortunately the measurements are a bit off, but I chopped up the couple she sent me and made it work the best I could. Ive sent my tweaks to her and we are currently working on a better decal but for now I really dig how it came out!!! Now she's a 77 F150 rather than a 79, just like my old F100!

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I need to lift the rear suspension a bit and then get some electronics together then she will be ready to rock!!! Bumpers, sliders and a bit more detailing are also in the future. I like the beat up look and look forward to beatin on it as often as I can!
Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Aint bad Matt! Diggin the beater look of it. You gonna go full leafer? :mrgreen: I think that would just be badass.

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

For now, no...but Im seriously considering doin the rear like an F150 woulda been. I love the leafs on the Bronco alot but for now this one is gonna stay true to the budget and go with what i have layin around. Seriously, the only things Ive paid for on this build are the grill decal, some rod ends and some hexes and pins :lmao:. Every single thing else was given to me, traded for or left over from another build or kept as spare parts. I will have to buy an ESC and BEC for it, but thats gonne be about it! I love it!
Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Love it Matt! Now you got me rethinking a Class 1 rig.......got to love those FORD's! Is that the HPI body? And could I get a set of those grill decals?:mrgreen:

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

It is the HPI body and its not a bad body. I dont like the wheel arches much but whatever...I might do somethin about it down the road but for now its fine. The decals are bein worked on as we speak, if we can get a good one put together Ill pick up a few of them for future builds and might be able to work an extra in "thumbsup" When the good decals come in I will have to do some serious smoothing work on the grill portion of the body. Its got the headlight bumps formed into the lexan and it shows thru the decal. I made a panel to cover it and cut the old lights out to try and smooth it a bit but it still needs work. Until then Ill keep rockin the hacked up decal set (which Im actually quite pleased with).
Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Got a bit more done last night and am one step closer to bein ready for the big STR ride at Little Rock City this Sat. Picked up an ESC and a BEC and got the electronics finished up. Went with a Sidewinder V2, not my first pick but it was local and cheap so I grabbed it. I also did the shock cap mod to lift the rear end a bit and allow a little more tire clearence. I took the old electronics tray from the Courier and zip tied it into the mule for the time being as I dont have time to make any crossmembers just yet. All I have to do now is pick up some velcro and secure the electronics and clean up the wiring and itll be ready for a full day of bashing!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2648.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2646.jpg

Heres a shot of the redneck rear three link using stuff that anyone has layin around. So far its workin out awesome...we'll see how LRC treats it lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2642.jpg

Shock cap mod

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2644.jpg

These are all temporary and will be replaced after LRC or after they break, whichever I decide is more important LOL. I literally have all of $80 in this truck, RTR. I bought a used ESC, BEC, some rod ends, servo horn and thats about it so Im super happy so far!!! I would have even less than that in it if I hadnt decided to try and get it ready so quick. I would prolly run an AE2 ESC and used BEC but all in all I wont complain!
Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Looking good, I wondered what the honcho cage would look like on that body, what's your wheelbase sitting at?

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

I Ike that 4 link set up that's cool, gives me a idea cause mines got a lot of play in it.

Looking good Matt.. I hope that lower skid and chassis drop gives you a advantage on ur cog.. With the suspension set up you have and the low cog plus the ironworks tires you should kill LRC Saturday post up some pics when you get back and have a blast


J-bird

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Thanks! Its just a hair under 12". This body fits a Dingo like a glove! The only issue with the Honcho cage is the rear lower bar that connects the lowest structure to the bar the lexan bed is bolted to is in the way of the tires at full tuck, but only slightly. Im gonna run with it and see how it goes but it might need to be moved.

I have alot of stuff like this on my Bronco including winch mount, chassis steering, panhard etc all using parts that come as spares and most people have layin around. This 4 link is actually the 4th or 5th that I tried and the best so far!!! I had another that was two rod ends, each screwed onto the axles using the top long screws that usually screw into the 3 link bar. I then used a piece of scrap steel to connect the two links and bolted my 4 link links to the rod ends in the axle. Looked cool as hell but didnt work out real well LOL

The Honcho cage adds alot of weight to this thing out back and a little higher that I like but ive got the body height to where the cage nearly lays on the frame which should help. I havnt messed with anything else so Im interested to see how she does on the shakedown run. I know a little tweakin is in order, but you never know. The tires Im runnin are some of the first I ever modified which is kinda cool too. Non G8s with memory foams glued to hummer wheels. Might boil em off and put a better setup on em cause I kinda dig the look!!!
Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Took some time last night to get the Mule nearly ready for Little Rock City Sat.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2649.jpg

Electronics in place and wiring decently put together. Not super pretty but itll run!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2652.jpg

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All I need to do is get it hooked up on Castle Link and tweak the ESC and I should be good to go. Lookin forward to seein what she can do!
Matt

That last pic is sharp I'm really digging the looks of that purty thing.. Nice work sprint.. Good luck .. Oh by the way I just got a new blaster set up and got some glass beads so if you need any of your tube work or chassis blasted let me know I can get it blasted and back to ya within two days


J-bird

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Might have to hit you up on that man!!!

The Mule's first run went ALOT better than I figured it would. I ran it first at LRC and didnt want to stop lol. The only issue I ran into along the way was the the rear of the body wasnt aligned and the driver's rear would tuck really well but the passenger wouldnt. Ive since tweaked it but it made for some really sweet pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2667.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...nt6/LRCtop.jpg

I look forward to runnin this truck often in the future, its def. a keeper.
Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

I had this on one of my trucks and the problem I have is that if it comes loose at all It twists the links up.

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Looks awesome man. Cant wait to get back out on the trail with it. It did great at LRC and is def a keeper. Good work bro..

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Lookn good mate, im liking the way you have done the rear bed"thumbsup" i might have to pinch that idea for my F-truck hey...

Do you have any plans for some bar work?

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

I put a couple drops of CA glue on it while I was screwin it all together which was worked wonders on other similar projects. I will keep an eye on it for now and eventually will replace it with a better design, this was just to get it ready for the weekend!

Yeah man, I wish I could been back with the Jeep with it but it def. did better than I figured it would thats for sure!

Thats next on the list! Im thinkin Ill go simple and oldschool with the bumpers and sliders, nothin crazy.

Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Could you show some inside shots of how the cage attaches to the body?

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

I dont have any at the moment, but basically it screws to the top of the cab, then I had to add a cab back in order to have places for the mid and lower bars to mount to. I ended up using the cargo area from a Jeep Cherokee interior kit for it :lmao:

Matt

Re: The Mule 77 F150
 

Took the Mule out this weekend to test out a set of tires that were givin a friend of mine some trouble. I fixed a few seam issues, mounted them up and hit the road. Friend of mine found some horsetrails just out of town that were steep, wet, muddy and rocky. The PERFECT place to spend a couple hours trail riding.

First obstacle of the trail is this small creek crossing.

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From there the goin got tough as we started up the side of a rather steep hill.

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Everything was goin great until we hit a particularly tough rock stair-step. The Mule took a bad tumble and lost a spring cup on the drivers rear. I continued on regardless altho it made things a little interesting.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2723.jpg

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Finally made it to the top of the 2nd hill and turned back.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...6/100_2735.jpg

The trip back ended up getting interesting after the motor decided to let go. If I kept rolling it would work fine but if I came to a stop I would have to nudge it to get any power back. I limped it back no problem and put the poor motor out of its misery in the creek before leaving lol. Glad to say that other than the cheapo motor goin out it was a very successful day. The tires did GREAT as did the Mule. Im lookin forward to gettin back out with it soon!
Matt