Wes's MZ U4 Build

[northkona]

Damn sweet mix of parts , keen to see some feedback on that motor.

[WesTX]

Will definitely report back on the motor. Thanks for the compliments on the parts list, I think I will be really happy with this.

Wes

[WesTX]

Just ordered some black cap Kyosho velvet shocks from SuperShafty for this, the powerstroke fronts were a bit short, so these should be perfect and a huge upgrade over anything else.

Wes

[WesTX]

Dynamic Concepts Early Bronco body will be perfect for this thing with some trimming of the hood and side panels. Should look killer once that is done. Hopefully I can get some chassis mods done with some boatsides put in with light mounts, tabs for KOH light bar, tabs for front light bar and roof light bar. Also want to make a tray to go under the HPI Mini Trophy interior for the ESC and a tray for the battery under the hood.

Wes

[WesTX]

My hopeful solution for the rear swaybar. Using servo mount plate for the currie axle with servo mounts and clamps that have a small notch in them that the bar fits into perfectly. Links will mount to the shock mounts on the chassis. May have to shorten the bar up a bit, will see once i get my new shocks in.

Wes

[WesTX]

Slightly more (questionable) progress.

Decided I wanted to step it up and possibly try trailing arms. Got some VP Twin Hammers trailing arms and mocked them up today. Ordered new upper links to make up for the shorter wheelbase from VP.

So this now sets my wheelbase at 12", which is more true to the scale I am going for - 1/9. Measurements to reflect this below:

Wheelbase - Actual - 12", Scaled to 1:1 - 108"
Tire Size - Actual - 4.75", Scaled to 1:1 - 42.75"
Wheel Size - Actual - 2.2:, Scaled to 1:1 - 19.8"

I would probably like to see the wheels and tires slightly smaller, but its close enough. Would like to see it at a 40" tire and 17" wheel. Can get the 17" wheel with a 1.9" wheel, but the tires I am limited on to still get the performance, so I will stick with what I have!

Heres a pic of the mockup of the trailing arms. Obviously new shock mounts will have to be welded to the chassis, that will be done once i get the shocks in from SuperShafty and mock it all up.

Will have more updates later in the week, also started playing with tube last night to build a guard for the light bar, thats coming along well, fired up the welder for the first time and had some good luck considering its been 4 years + since I last welded.

Wes

[WesTX]

Kyosho velvet shocks are freaking nice. Got them in today from SuperShafty.

Ordered more tabs from CFM for mounting the rear shocks. Once I have those and can weld them in Ill get more pics.

Wes

[Angus_Beef]

This is sexy.

[WesTX]

Well that escalated quickly.......

[WesTX]

For reference, Im considering an IFS setup on this build. Have this exo front end I picked up in the classifieds and thinking of making a hybrid front end with exo center and twin hammers arms/knuckles/axle shafts for the narrower width. Have some twin hammer parts and a BMRC Wraith IFS Conversion setup i picked up in the classifieds as well, so will play with all of that when it comes in and see what I can come up with.

Sometimes its a pain in the ass to always feel the need to have something different.....

Will have more pics of that later in the week. You can see the new roof hoop and tabs for the front light bar in this pic as well as the rockers welded in to hold the rock lights (1" MaddogRC light bars) and its tough but you can see the tabs for the rear KOH light bar up there as well. So at least some progress has been made!

Wes

[WesTX]

IFS would be killer, and I tried like hell, but cant make steering work with the shocks, they are in the way.

Even tried to come up with a way to extend the arm off of the knuckle as you can see, but that didnt work either. So back to the currie in the front. Do have most of the welding done on it, so I can start getting it together to make sure I didnt miss anything before I paint the chassis.

Wes

[WesTX]

Since the IFS was a no-go, got it mocked up as a rolling chassis.

Ignore the ugly welds and such, lots of cleanup to do before paint. Thin materials make welding fun, I know that much! Wish I had a TIG welder, the Hobart 130 Mig will work for now I suppose.

Will hopefully get final welding done this weekend and then get panels made (Bronco body scrapped for this rig, doesnt fit the lines well enough) and painted and get it all slapped together.

I am really happy with how this is turning out!

Wes

[northkona]

I would love to have a scale IFS on a rig too. I am yet see one that is reliable , has a heap of steering and is narrow enough to be scale for me to go down that road. The AR60's just plain work and there is a ton of options for them , keep up the good work

[WesTX]

The twin hammers has the best steering of any of them which is why I was doing the hybrid TH and Exo setup. I know I'll probably like the SCX Curries better in the end, but the cool factor of the IFS is eluding me!

Hopefully I can get this stripped down and ready for paint this weekend. Undecided on rattle can, spray on bedliner (rattle can style) or having it powdercoated. My wallet would love the first two options at this point, just can't decide.

Wes

[WesTX]

Chassis got a coat of Rustoleum Bedliner last night, looks really good. Needs another coat to take care of any scratches it may get then re-drill and tap holes. Also got an electronics tray built for the ESC and light controller. Will get some pics of that soon. Really close to draining some batteries with this thing!

Wes

[WesTX]

Got some of the assembly done after painting the chassis. Really getting excited now. Most of the chassis is put together as well. Got 1 driveshaft cut down, working on the second - have to get more cutoff wheels for my dremel. Very close to having a runner, hoping to have it moving prior to Easter. Lights wont be working yet as I am waiting on a controller from HeyOK but the rest will be running.

Also have some stainless steel plate coming today to make the body panels from, will just leave them raw, as I think that will look pretty nice.

Will post more as I have time to work on it.

Wes

[WesTX]

Coming along, spent my lunch hour working on this instead of going to eat. Much more fulfilling that way!

Hopefully I can get some panels made late tonight. Unfortunately I wont be running for a bit as I am waiting on a Windows 8 CD to install a parallel desktop of windows on my Macbook. Hopefully that comes from Microsoft sooner rather than later! Then I can get CastleLink setup to program the BEC and ESC for the HH Revolver Stubby motor.

Wes

[WesTX]

heres a side shot to show the wheelbase a little better with the trailing arms.

[northkona]

Looking good
I'd be taking a lot of that spring preload out , get it low, it looks like it might be a bit tippy.

[WesTX]

Shock preload was adjusted once i got all of the necessary stuff in place - ESC, battery, etc. Still will have some adjustment to make once I get the spare tire mounted back on it after painting the carrier.

Played with it a bit with the current ESC settings and it runs fine, working to adjust gearing as well - swapped to a 17T pinion this morning(56T spur). Ordered a ton of driveshaft parts, the cut down MIP is an issue as when it is compressed close to fully, the splines arent engaged enough so therefore the driveshaft doesnt put power to the rear wheels. Will see if what I get in today can fix the issue.

Wes