Midnight Express '53 Ford - My 1.9 Trail (Class 2) for 2015

[djjiz]

Try to find a way to get the link plate mounted to the pinion area. Mine always got loose and there isn't a glue I found that would stop it.

Looks good by the way.

[dna4engr]

More body work got done last night and tonight.

Got all the gaps and holes filled including the sunroof.



Filled in the rear of the cab and made accommodations for the rear window.



Filled all the internal joints and gussets with E6000 and let her cure overnight.



Picked up some filler putty on my way home tonight and got to work filling in the change in the body.

First coat of filler.





Spent a bunch of time sanding and put the second coat of filler on, then sanded again. Probably will need one final coat of filler before primer.







Didn't give too much time to the back of the cab as it'll be less visible on the finished product.

Pretty happy with my first attempt. Lots more to go before she's considered done, including a period correct paint job.




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[dna4engr]

Originally Posted by sam63

Just for the record, here is where I got my inspiration...all thanks to the Baddman BaDDMaNs C2 Hotrod with a dash of MuDD bogg racer

Really an awesome rig with lots of cool details, way more than mine.

Hey, one more thing. You mentioned using shoegoo. Before you do add in styrene strips that over lap all of your seams on the under side. I did the shoegoo and eventually had cracks. Had to rip off the goo and add in lots of styrene reinforcement. My A pillars are another story all together. They crack no matter how I try to beef them up and the cage is even super tight to body to help it out. But then again my rigs live on their lids.

Keep up the good work......no pressure or anything

Thanks Sam, I am using E6000 (similar properties). I added a bunch of strips to joints but maybe not enough. I'll add some to the A pillars too. I've worried about them as they seem a little flimsy. Will be cranking away on this thing this weekend.

[PSH72]

Nice jod done there

[n_d_fox]

Nice updates... i've been making a bit of progress on my Clod shell this week too, think i'll start a thread...

[dna4engr]

Small update.

Got the front fenders trimmed out to clear the tires.



Laid down the first coat of primer to find where I missed filler. Sanded, added more filler, and sanded again.



Laid down several more coats of primer and did a little test fit on the frame.



I had to take about 1/4" out of the lower link to bring the front axle in a little.


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[Ballistic17]

Another nice build you got going.

[Crawl Space]

Very cool build so far I just brought my O.G. midnight pumpkin and lunchbox bodies back when I came home from visiting my parents over Christmas.

You gonna try and take it to the 2015 SWSC/ECSC?

[dna4engr]

This project has taken a back seat to my FJ40 for a while. Time to get back and going. I decided I didn't like the rear cage idea so I'm going to use the bed. Since there is no way it's going to work in stock form, it's time to cut and create. Going to extend the fender length and essentially make this a long box.

Cutting it at about the flattest spot on the fender.


7/8" added to the middle


Now we have a gap to the cab.


1.75" added here.


Wheelbase is rolling in at about 11.75". She's going to ride low so I thing that WB will still give me some good break over ability.

If you didn't notice on the previous pics. Some new wheel hardware and skins to try out.
Locked up 1.9's, delrin beadlock rings, and pitbull growlers with CI foams. Nothing wrong with the TSS Robby Gordon's, just wanted some slw wheels to play with track width. Also threw some scale locked up bolts. I know 6 doesn't look as cool as 30, buts it sooo much easier to assemble.




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[WesTX]

An extended cab 53 ford would have been killer for this to take that gap up.

Either way, looks super cool.

Wes

[dna4engr]

Originally Posted by WesTX

An extended cab 53 ford would have been killer for this to take that gap up.

Either way, looks super cool.

Wes

Yea I thought about that for a minute. However I didn't want to cannibalize the other MP body I have in case I need to rebuild this after the season is over.
Good idea though.


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[dna4engr]

Originally Posted by Crawl Space

Very cool build so far I just brought my O.G. midnight pumpkin and lunchbox bodies back when I came home from visiting my parents over Christmas.

You gonna try and take it to the 2015 SWSC/ECSC?

Sadly I don't think I'm going to make it to the scale championships. I need to narrow the front axle to be legal for class 2. No big deal just something to deal with. I would really like to go to a national event like that. We'll see if things could work out.


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[joe122]

You are the body widening master! Body turned out great!

[Crawl Space]

Originally Posted by dna4engr

Sadly I don't think I'm going to make it to the scale championships. I need to narrow the front axle to be legal for class 2. No big deal just something to deal with. I would really like to go to a national event like that. We'll see if things could work out.


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Ah, should be an easy mod to get into class 2 spec, but again one more thing to worry about. I'd love to see that truck run in Colorado this year

[dna4engr]

Got some time into this rig. The body work is coming along. Trying some green modeling filler.



I got it roughed in enough to comp a few weeks ago.



For the bumper/grill I had to come up with something. After a couple failed attempts. I found this pic of a 56 f100 cobra custom. I used that as inspiration but had to make some accommodations for the tire clearance.









After the company was over I jacked up the bed a little so some repairs were in order.

Last weekend I took it to Taylors falls for some practice. Things were going well until the flat head screws in the steering arm came loose in the knuckle. They locked up the left front tire and that roc412 has plenty of torque so I had some interesting forward caster angle.



After getting it home and all tightened up. I now have a randomly variable caster angle on both sides of the front axle. The burly tube can pivot about 10* and there is too much slop in the plastic housing to stop it. I could add more screws to further down the housing/burly tube but I'm thinking of putting that to another project and going back to a narrowed wraith axle up front. Some buddies who have the scx width burly mod don't have this issue. I'm guessing that all the power and abuse of these first 5 runs are too much for the thinner part of the scx10 housing, that has to carry all the load with xr10 width tubes.




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[Ballistic17]

Looking good. Really like that front end.

[dna4engr]

Ran this through the snow crawl finals last weekend. Started out well and then made some bad decisions while driving and fell to a distant 2nd.

During the run there were a lot of nasty sounds from the front end. Thought maybe I stripped a gear but it wasn't.

Got home and pulled the tires off. The left front hub had some interesting variable caster angle.



About 10-15* change just turning by hand.



Took it apart and found the two holes for the burly tube were about twice as wide as normal (these hold the Al collars in through the stock housing mtg holes)



Also the burly tube is bent



To be clear this is not from jumping this like a slash. It's from the brushless motor and the wheel binding on the knuckle.

Overall I'm a little disappointed with the burly tubes. I beat the snot out of a narrowed wraith axle all last season with brushless power. G6, u4, and comps. Never had this kind of issue. I'm sure these are great for a sporty or a lower powered scaler. Big brushless power is a little much. I don't think it's an rcbros issue. It's the design of the scx axle housing. The split design and the really narrow plastic gives no help to the tubes. The tube design of a wraith axle just has more resistance to twisting if bound up and under load.

I'm not going to bash the burly tube. It was very well manufactured and did the job. I just have the rig setup to run with more than the scx10 housing and the tubes can handle.


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[Crawl Space]

The splined end is definitely the weak link, esp since it sits outside the axle housing. I run beef tubes in all my rigs (simpler sturdier design that doesn't allow you to run XR/wraith knuckles with scx axles) and have had no problems, although I'm not running big brushless power. I have broken cvds in binds though and dished out some really bad link snapping crash abuse.

I'd like to see titanium burley tubes; then I'd buy a set ;)

You think you might make it to nationals in CO?

[djjiz]

Could have sworn I seen scx/xr tubes without the recess. they required the builder to tap and drill multiple spots on the cases but I can't find them now. I think they were advertised as U4 tubes?

[WesTX]

Time for some VP currie axles?