H2Micr0's D110 'The Brigadier'

[H2Micr0]

Finally the spare tyre came in and I was able to fit it on the spare wheel.

Looks finished now.







And this meant I could now get out and make a video.

I went to Maroubra in Sydney. A favourite spot for Class 1 terrain.



I really enjoyed making this video. Considering this is build more as a Daily Driver Soccer Mum type rig, I was really surprised at how capable it is.

In addition, some flaws were highlighted and I have already started making plans on how to rectify those.

I hope you enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhvCBljPRmQ

Regards
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

During my outings with the Brigadier, and while making the video, it became quite obvious the chassis was snagging on just about everything he climbed over.

The design of the chassis lower link mounts, really is not well thought out. And while I tried to alleviate the issue to some degree with the ramps I installed, things could obviously be better.

This is my initial solution.



These next pics clearly show how far down from the main chassis the lower link mounts are and how much they have been scraping over the rocks.





So I stripped the Brigadier down to his bare essentials. Good thing is wasn't a cold day.



I played around with the lower links finding a better location. In the end I found I could use offset rod ends and made the links longer. The offset rod ends allowed the new link to clear the upper link mount on the chassis in the rear when fully compressed. I also had to mount the link on the inside of the link bracket on the diff.

The front uses a 3 link and panhard. This also required using an offset rod end for clearance but it wasn't enough. I also had to angle the left hand link in towards the center to provide the needed clearance.

In this pic the top of the photo is the left hand side with the new links. The lower still has the original link configuration. While the front lower links are not parallel, it doesn't appear to be an issue at this stage.



Next I hacked away . . . . . ahhh, ummm, surgically removed the offending parts hanging from the Brigadiers nether regions.



Then the other side was given the same treatment and I sleeved the links with alloy tube where needed.





Much cleaner, and I gained around 10mm extra ground clearance.

While I had the Brigadier in his undies, I swapped out the Axial 27T motor for a 20T RC4WD item as a test to see how the faster turn count worked.

Really looking forward to getting out and testing these changes.

Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

Here are a few pics of the Brigadier out and about on his recent adventures.















Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

Been a while since I have updated it would appear.

I took the Brigadier out for a Class 1 trail day, this time pulling my tandem box trailer.



We had only just started out and I had walked ahead to scout the route. Behind me I heard a rig driving then a crash, and turned around thinking, who was the bozo that had stacked there pride and joy, to find this.





It appears I was resting my finger on the throttle with a bit more pressure than I should have. Worst thing is I didn't even see it happen!!!! LOL

As this was a No Hand Of God event, the recovery was done using a winch.



Damage was very minor, with only some scratched paint. Got off very lightly, could have been a lot worse. Was a decent drop.

Was soon back on the trail.









I really like this pic with all the scale tyre tracks in the sand.



Sadly, I had to retire the Brigadier early after breaking a rod end.



But overall, still really happy with the capabilities of this rig.


I have been experiencing some rather disconcerting noises from the planetary trans, so today I shoehorned an SCX10 trans in to replace it.







35t Lathe motor and a Deadbolt trans. Wheelspeed isn't much different to the 20t + Disruptor trans, but is much more tractable and a LOT quieter. LOL.

Cheers
H2Micr0

[joe122]

Very cool build thread, enjoyed following it. Great color combo BTW.

[H2Micr0]

Originally Posted by joe122

Very cool build thread, enjoyed following it. Great color combo BTW.

Thanks Mate!!

************************************************** ************

I got the trailer out on the trail with the D110 'Brigadier'.

Good to see them dirty!!





I hope you enjoy the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jbJZCLoj7A

Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

Here are a couple of pics from a trail run with some mates recently.







Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

I was lucky enough to meet up with two good mates this weekend and their Defenders and went for a trail run.

Got some great pics and captured some video.















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mAjni6n9s0


Cheers
H2Micr0

[STANG KILLA SS]

damn those tires look good.
great realistic photos too.

[H2Micr0]

I joined a local Sydney group for a Trail Run at Kurnell. As there was to be a fair bit of sand in the terrain I thought a larger tyre would be fitting, so mounted some 106mm MTZs on my new Motorworx Wheels. I then used the 95mm wheel and tyre combo on the Camper Trailer to also assist with the anticipated terrain.

Surprisingly the bigger tyre combo didn't look way out of place and actually had very little rubbing of the stock fender flairs. If I decide to keep them some minor trimming of the fenders is on the cards.

Here are some pics from the day.











































Yes there is a lot, but I couldn't choose which ones were best LOL.

Cheers
H2Micr0

[Highmark]

Great rig and photos! You really have a great eye for detail.

[Alpha Male]

Nice work! Makes me wish I could come drive with you guys....little too far away for me though.

[H2Micr0]

Originally Posted by Highmark

Great rig and photos! You really have a great eye for detail.

Thanks for the comments.

Originally Posted by Alpha Male

Nice work! Makes me wish I could come drive with you guys....little too far away for me though.

While Australia is the best place in the world to live (haha) it does make it hard to get together for some of the events you guys have in the USA.

Cheers
H2Micr0

[Oz Bruiser]

Hey Ben now seeing the pics side by side with the bigger tyres i thing its better with the bigger size

[BigSki]

Great build thread and rig! I'd imagine that having a 110 on the trails would be very similar to someone taking a Suburban out on the trails. I have to compliment of the natural beauty of where you live, I'd love to visit one day and see for myself.

[H2Micr0]

Well I went back to this stunning location again today, with my mate Steve and his D90.

I have changed the wheel tyre combo again, this time running my old worn in RC4WD Tomahawks on LURC wheels with scale hardware.

It has been over a year since I ran the Tomahawks and I am really surprised at how well they did today. It didn't matter if they were wet, sandy or both, but they just gripped the rock and did their job.

Here are some pics from the outing.









































Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

Well I went back to this stunning location again today, with my mate Steve and his D90.

I have changed the wheel tyre combo again, this time running my old worn in RC4WD Tomahawks on LURC wheels with scale hardware.

It has been over a year since I ran the Tomahawks and I am really surprised at how well they did today. It didn't matter if they were wet, sandy or both, but they just gripped the rock and did their job.

Here are some pics from the outing.









































Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

Oh Boy.

A lot has been happening with the Brigadier.

I found a local spot in the middle of Sydney Suburbia with a variety of trails.

A couple of pics from that first run.









In the last pic you can see how much damage the end of the front bumper is suffering out on the trail.

This got me thinking.

More coming soon.

Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

Sadly the Brigadier was being labelled as a Soccer Mum ride.

And while technically, this is correct as the original aim was for a street driven rig with style that would brave the occasional gravel road, the Brigadier was starting to get a bit of a complex.

So it was decided to lose the Soccer Mum looks and add in a touch of Trail Boss.

************************************************** *****

The aim was to keep the winch in place and improve the approach angle and provide the D110 body with some much needed protection.

I started with this as an idea.



Now this would have actually worked but really didn't change the appearance all that much.

So I started playing around with some tube I had laying around the yard.





This is starting to go somewhere, but I really thought the 10mm OD pipe was too big for this application.

I had some 8mm OD styrene tube and this looked the part size wise.



I searched the internet for various sized metal pipe and tube, and found the options were very limited, and what I could find was very expensive.

So I took a gamble and hit up the local self serve wreckers and from under an Australian 90s Ford Falcon found just what I was looking for.



From left to right, 10mmOD, 8mmOD, 6mmOD and 3/16 brake line.

Brilliant!!

Next thing you know I had this done.





Still protects the body, improves the approach angle in front of the wheels dramatically, and should look ok.

With the two main bars above being 8mmOD I decided to use 6mmOD for the next part.





I had to customise the bars to fit around the winch keeping it all nice and tidy.

I brazed the hoop in place and started playing around with some 3mm solid bar I had.



I like that a lot and then before long had this done.







I do like where this is heading.

In the last photo you can see how the body was getting damage. I drive this rig with a fair bit of care, but still the rocks reach out and gouge the body.

But I have a solution for that.

Cheers
H2Micr0

[H2Micr0]

The bar work on the front certainly looked the part, but I felt that the front corners needed some better protection, and the appearance needed some more attitude.

So I fabricated some brush bars from brake line.







I also toyed with the notion of a 2nd bar over the fender.







But in the end abandoned this idea as it just wasn't looking right on this rig.

I built the matching brush bar for the other side.









To attach the brush bars to the body I used the original body mount locations and used a longer scale bolt to keep it neat and tidy.



I still wanted more protection for the front edge of the fender so came up with this idea.





I liked this design and then started figuring out just how to mock everything into place to braze it together.

Those of you that have built your own barwork should be able to understand just how difficult this stage can be.

In the end I decided to do the brazing with the bar work in place but with the body removed. Pointing the flame away from the chassis and using a welding glove worked quite well and allowed me to braze enough of the joins sufficiently to be confident it would stay in place once removed and finish up the brazing work.





And the initial brazing work is complete.



And then after getting well acquainted with my needle files it looked like this. MUCH nicer.









Very happy with how this has turned out. Hmmmm what colour should it be?

However, other areas on the body also need protecting.



Cheers
H2Micr0