idea for a new build

[BigSki]

I'm just putting this out there, I'm in the 'wonder-if-this-is-worth-doing' stage.

Leaf spring Yotas aren't anything new, the new TFII kits are pretty nice, I just would rather have a full 'C' channel frame. I got a SCX-10 frame, straightened out the rails and hastily hung some bruiser spring hangers, just to see if it would even work.

I'm looking for feedback, I'm thinking I could make the leaf spring mounts work, I just don't have a bed yet to see how well the frame rails will work with this kind of set up.

Here's a few pics I took just to get a feel for it before I decide to start buying some parts. A little bit of C*H*U*D juice helps with the thought process!

[sig_p232]

I think it looks good. My question is what type of clamps are those?

Nate

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by sig_p232

I think it looks good. My question is what type of clamps are those?

Nate

Thanks. The clamps are Clekos, just a different style than the through hole style.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by BigSki

A little bit of C*H*U*D juice helps with the thought process!

Lol...I have to be careful of my background props in the future!!

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

Lol...I have to be careful of my background props in the future!!

I just named your first beer if you decide to distribute!

[BigSki]

I spent a bit more time with this. I got a set of the new Bruiser leaf spring hangers and shackle ends from rc3wd, they don't work w/ the Chino military style leaf springs. The end of the leaf spring eye bottoms out inside of the hanger, the bolt can't pass through the leaf spring.

I was able to get the leafs on and the chassis sitting on the ground. I was trying to see if I could modify the SCX-10 chassis to make a nice scale chassis for some 1.55 tires, sort of like the TF2 but a more realistic looking 'C' channel frame. This is never going to work without making new, flat leaf springs, the amount of arch in the Chino springs ( and F350 springs that I tried) just jack up the chassis into the air. It needs a 1.9 Flat Iron sized tire to fill the wheel well- I don't want a 'Yota up on 41" scale tires so this whole experiment was a bust.





I guess I'll jump on the band wagon and get a TF2 kit and just do a shackle flip in the front.

[BigSki]

My OCD is getting the best of me, I can't walk away from this thing. I attempted to make a rear cross member tonight. I cut and brazed some .050 thick sheet metal gussets today in order to mount the old Bruiser leaf spring mounts and shackle posts. I made a stepped bushing that got brazed into the frame rails for the front shackle upper pivot point, it seems like it should hold together.

If I keep going w/ this experiment I'll move this thread into a more appropriate category. I have it in the General section because a wheel/tire size has never been decided. I wasn't even sure if I could pull off modifying the SCX-10 chassis to work w/ Bruiser style leaf spring hangers.

[STANG KILLA SS]

tell me about those clamps in the first post

[atomicfab]

silly question i'm sure, but if your using the toyota body and toyota axles and want it to be as realistic as possible, why do you want to stray away from toyota and use a C channel frame?

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

tell me about those clamps in the first post

SIDE GRIP CLAMPS from Aircraft Spruce

did you ever start that 'project' yet?

Originally Posted by atomicfab

silly question i'm sure, but if your using the toyota body and toyota axles and want it to be as realistic as possible, why do you want to stray away from toyota and use a C channel frame?

'Yota frames aren't 100% boxed in and I honestly don't care for the TF2 chassis. Once I get the cross members made, I can box in the rest of the frame rails. This was more of an exercise to see if I could convert a SCX-10 chassis to use stock Bruiser spring hangers. I pulled off that much of the experiment, but the truck will sit too jacked up for my tastes. If I go forward w/ a build, I'll need to make new leaf springs that are basically flat so I can use a smaller 1.55 tire. It's a lot of work, I'm still not sure I want to start it. I have the blue Willys sitting in limbo because I got burnt out on it, I don't want a second project to end up the same way.

[atomicfab]

right-on, it looks good. i hope you keep on it. on the spring hangers, could you have cut the mount tabs off flipped 90* and just brazed them to the bottom of the rails more like a 1:1 truck?

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by atomicfab

right-on, it looks good. i hope you keep on it. on the spring hangers, could you have cut the mount tabs off flipped 90* and just brazed them to the bottom of the rails more like a 1:1 truck?

I probably could have mounted the hangers like you asked, and I could have used a TLT style suspension stay as a hanger. When I was mocking up everything in the wheelbase jig, it quickly became obvious that the front leaf spring shackle location was going to be what everything else revolved around as far as mounting locations were concerned. Once I had the front leaf spring located, the rear was going to need as much height as possible to keep the frame level so the Bruiser style spring mounts really were the best option.

Now that it has the springs on the chassis, the rear is still a tiny bit lower than the front, which could easily be corrected with a small "lift block". It's the amount of arch in the springs that have the chassis jacked up so high.

[BigSki]

I've gone a bit further with this, I made a u-bolt bending jig and whipped up some pieces along w/ u-bolt spring plates. I like the way they turned out, the have a nice scale look to them and they are plenty strong enough to clamp the leaf spring to the axle housing. I ran the bolts that clamp the axle housing together so that they just came up through the leaf springs, the spring plates have 2 holes that catch the 2 stubs sticking up to that everything gets locked together, then the actual u-bolts clamp everything together.

[gr33nlemon]

In post #6 you were saying it's too high for 1.55s without flatter springs. Why don't you flip the axles over and make it spring under axle? That should get you at least 1/2" lower, possibly more. Depends on your axle tube thickness. Or is there something I'm missing why that wouldn't work?

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by gr33nlemon

In post #6 you were saying it's too high for 1.55s without flatter springs. Why don't you flip the axles over and make it spring under axle? That should get you at least 1/2" lower, possibly more. Depends on your axle tube thickness. Or is there something I'm missing why that wouldn't work?

good questions, here' my answers for you. If I were building a scale FJ40 or some other FJ variant, a spring under set up would be 'correct', the pick ups have spring over axles. The rc4wd 'Yota axles are set up for a spring over set up, if I flipped the axles to have the spring pads in a position for a spring under set up, the front axle has the diffy on the wrong side, among other issues.

I tried a lexan FJ40 body for fitment only to realize that the WB is all wrong for a FJ40 body so that can't go any farther. The only way for this to work for a pick up and be a reasonably scaled RC model is to make new leaf springs with a much smaller radius arc. ( I tried making 2 flat springs, just to see how it would work and it turns out that a flat spring was a bad idea for many reasons.)
(2) The chassis is just not ideally made to work w/ these leaf springs and axle, so a specifically designed chassis would have to be made, this is waaaaay more work than I'm ever going to do. I'm on the verge of not having a place to build anything very soon, so I'm limiting what work I start right now.

I can either stop all work on this ( because it will never be a accurately scaled model of a 'Yota truck) or I can get it "close enough" and just go out and have some fun with it. I really wanted a nicely scaled truck that would look good on 1.55's , the TF2 kit is nice but there are many things that I don't like about it, but it's closer than I'll be able to get with this project.

I can keep this chassis and make adjustments to it and run a 104mm tire, it's just that a tire of that size is so out of the realm of a scale trail runner, even the tires I have mocked right now are 35" tall in scale.

As this design experiment continues, I'm still not convinced that I should go any farther, I'm at the point where I have to start spending money for drive train components if I want to continue.

[BigSki]

I modified a DinkyRC 'split case' to work w/ the width of this chassis, it isn't the most scale looking option but it is solid and it will help a lot of the weight down low.

[dont slow down]

Why not just make your own springs?

[SuperAwesome]

Originally Posted by BigSki

'Yota frames aren't 100% boxed in

You're right more like 99% boxed.

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by SuperAwesome

You're right more like 99% boxed.

it's all in the details!

I asked to have this thread placed into the 1.9 section, I've decided to finish it and have a bit of fun w/ it, it won't be the uber detailed scale rig I was wanting, but it can still be a decent class 1 rig w/ the right tires. I'm doing some research for a fresh idea on a bed, I think it will go over well.

[BigSki]

My 'mild' OCD has a grip on this chassis, so I've put a bit more time into this to make it more under it's own power. I used a HPi Wheely King GRU w/35T HH Torque Master for the power plant. The Dinky Split skid T-case seems to work VERY well, I hope he gets these back on track, they are nice functional units.

This is my 1st small scale vehicle with leaf springs, so I have to get used to the way the chassis flexes, these Chino military wrap springs seem a bit stiff, I'll give them some time to break in before I decide to change anything else although I did grap a set of TF2 springs from RPP's junk yard.

I have about 2-1/2 weeks before I loose all of my work space and equipment, so I'll go as far as I can before I get shut down.

The GRU mount has small pieces of angle inside of the chassis, using a stock hole for the both to pass through and thread into the mount. I used 5/16" tubing for the arms, I was out of solid rod. I don't know if this will be strong enough, I'll find out soon enough.