Building the "Black Pearl"

[(redbeard)]

Well I figured my list of upgrades and add-ons to this rig warrants a build thread to capture what I've done with my Axial Power Wagon. Maybe it'll help others with ideas, trouble shooting or just be a catalog of yet another SCX10 build.

Obviously this rig started off as the stock RTR Power Wagon. I don't think we need any pics of that, but initially I noticed there were some severe limitations to the suspension, body (tire clearance) and weight distribution. So I went on to make this vehicle more capable and compatible with how I drive it. I noted how the bed was getting hung up on everything so I swapped in the honcho bed. Definitely allowed a much better descent angle. I also removed the stock sliders and drove without sliders for a while because it was performing better allowing the body to bend and flex on the rocks.

First real mod I did after the bed swap was with the shocks. I removed the little rubber bump stops on the shock shafts because I noticed it would force the vehicle over with the weight of the battery up high. This helped by allowing the vehicle to articulate a bit more and I was able to set the static height a little lower allowing more droop. I saw an immediate result on my cheap RTI ramp going from just shy of 4" to almost 4.75".



I of course then wheeled the rig like this for a while.



After enjoying the major performance difference with the shocks modded, I moved the battery and electronics to help lower the COG. I used the stock aluminum plate and the spare parts servo mounts to attach it across the frame rails just in front of the motor as low as possible. I also bought and installed the Axial metal links and did the four link in the front. This made the truck respond so much better during articulation and throttle. I noticed the upper links would flex a little under hard circumstances...big improvement.





This change made the vehicle handle much more appropriately. I was enthralled at how it performed with just these few mods. But, as all of these projects go, I started to throw some money into it. I bought the 100mm scale Kings and loved that I could tune them to my specifications more easily than the Axial counterparts. Not to mention they added the cool blue bling effect!



Not to mention the fine tuning of these allowed me to gain substantially on the RTI ramp...




At that time I also added the rear tire which was weighted to help with the already overly light rear end. This helped with balance of the rig and kept the vehicle from flipping over on steep step downs and downhill stairs.



I wheeled it like this for a while and was really pleased. Then I had the itch to wheel in the dark....because well it's always more challenging and everything seems bigger in the dark. So I added some LED lights in the wheel wells for both scale look and night functionality.




I got around to noticing the cracks and tears in the body from running them over the rocks and figured some sliders would be beneficial. So I ordered the R2J sliders and this gave me more weight down low and more real estate to mount my electronics and stuff. Huge benefit for sure because now I could pivot on rocks instead of having the body grab ahold and dig into the rocks.



Here is the top side with my chaotic wiring mess that I didn't feel like cleaning up quite yet.



After beating on the body for a while and wheeling I wanted something different. So I cut the old bed up and fit it around the Honcho bed to give a different appearance at the same time going black with the body.




It looked great, but then I came back to the issue of having the rear bumper hanging up on everything and it became a pain so I removed it again. I ordered the Vaterra Slickrock light bar and used them for the rocker panel lights...which I wish I had just gotten four so I could put one under the front and rear as well.



These things are bright. Absolutely worth every penny and some. Having these sliders gave them a perfect place to mount to and kept them protected from the rocks. I then received my new sticker sheet from Axial and applied new headlights and what not...made the truck look real nice with the fresh paint on it. Only to find out later that plastidip isn't a good choice for an RC Crawler...



Wheeling was fun and my truck was performing way better than I expected.



With the addition of all the lights I made a little power splitter for the lights to hook up to and removed all the unnecessary wiring and cleaned up the chassis with this.



I then dove into the realm of 2S lipo and it was interesting. I realized how the stock Ripsaws were not quite up to snuff with traction and ordered the BFGs R35 because I heard they were great tires for what they were. Along with them a few more scale items like these scale hubs...



These tires performed great, but were certainly too soft. You can see here why plastidip isn't a good choice as well.



Off came the plastidip paint and I added a new layer of flat black with a matte finish clear coat. This seems to be holding up much better!



Because of these tires being softer the motor was running a little warmer because it would grip more on the rocks and was harder on the drivetrain. Due to this I swapped in a 9t pinion and never looked back...the truck was alive and well now. That is until I stripped the intermediate/idler gear in the transmission.



So along with the metal transmission gears I also ordered some other goodies...underdrive gears, HD gear set, BEC, etc....the new rims and foams were also in this package deal.



After installing all these components I am very happy with the truck...and again it's performance is far beyond my expectations...and my wallet is a little lighter too.




So there you have it...my build process to the best of my knowledge along the way to what I wheel today.

[(redbeard)]

Seeing as the stock servo was giving me issues and doing the stuttering crap, I installed the Traxxas 2075 I had and along with it went this little bugger...10a CC BEC, and wow did that servo ever come alive!

[(redbeard)]

For the information of those viewing this post, here's my actual wheeling rig.....the real Black Pearl. I hope to make my SCX10 a scale version, but finding a body will be a pain and I'll likely have to learn to make it. The tubing will be easy, but the body, not so much. This Black Pearl wears a set of 42" Pitbulls for sneakers though....not BFGs, so that will eventually have to happen as well.

[mudweaver]

I MAY be able to help you with a body, Ill send you a PM

[(redbeard)]

Okay so the tall body mount wasn't as sturdy as I wanted and it was a pain to pull apart the velcro because the mount moved front to back. I took it off and used a receiver box in the rear and mounted all my "Non-waterproof" electronics in it then put velcro on the front of it to hold the rear of the body. I think eventually I'll swap this out for a toolbox of some sort. This works much better and helps with keeping the receiver from getting wet from my random excursions through puddles. This brings me to a question, has anyone had issues with the "waterproof" AE-5 when being wet? How waterproof is it? Thanks for the comments ahead of time. Pics:

[(redbeard)]

And if it's worth anything, I switched out the Traxxas 2075 for the Savox 0231MG....torque is way better. I kept the BEC to 6.0V because that's what I am told the limit for the 0231MG is.....I also changed the BEC wiring to supply the voltage directly to the servo via a simple y-harness I made and then the ESC provides the voltage for the RX.

[tacocat]

what year is your 1:1? also more specs/pictures of it

[(redbeard)]

The real Black Pearl is a 92 F350. Under the hood is a built 460 pushing through an automatic E4OD to a BW1356 t-case. The axles are built with 5:13 gears and a Detroit locker in the rear. It is a D60 up front and a D70 out back. 41.5" Pitbull Rocker radials plant the power to the ground. The rear is all custom tubing with a small bed portion, tire carrier and 75gal fuel cell. Up front it's a custom bumper with a 15k lbs winch. The leaf springs are some 56" Chevy springs on custom shackles. Turning the big tires up front is done through a PSC steering box and hydraulic ram assist. The interior is gutted and only two front seats are there for now. It's all Rhinolined as well on the inside.

[(redbeard)]

[(redbeard)]

[(redbeard)]

Some things I need to finish...I have a 9500 lbs winch for the rear. I have to install an electric radiator fan eventually... She gets a little warm. I will be putting a selectable OX locker up front. I also have a doubler set up that is ready to be built then installed, it's an NP203/NP205 dual case set up... It will be the biggest and best upgrade for this truck I think.

[(redbeard)]

In an effort to make this more like my 1:1, i welded some sliders together that more resemble the real deal. They might not be pretty, but they work

[SAL45]

Looks good! Like the look and the wheels!

[(redbeard)]

posing for the sponsors.....

[(redbeard)]

Installed an RC4WD CMS and panhard today...I thought long and hard about making one myself and using the four link, but I liked the idea of how RC4WD has already engineered all the components to a way where I don't have to think to get the same effects.



and after this picture I swapped out the bent heim on the drag link for a straight one and also gave the shocks a little more pre-load due to the weight of the servo up front.

[(redbeard)]

I put the BFGs back on and it makes this truck look so much better. Then also decided to make a little RTI ramp. I gotta finish it by getting some sort of fencing for the middle and grinding down all my welds smooth....

[(redbeard)]

After I fine tuned my CMS kit and shocks the handling characteristics are dramatically better. I did notice that when the driver side gets stuffed the panhard bar hits the top of the pumpkin. I think a bent link is soon in the mix to solve that issue.

[Hammer!]

Nice stuff, I have the RC4WD CMS/Panhard too, and it took a little bit of fine tuning too but runs great now.

[SAL45]

Looks good! Need to pick me up some of those rims! Really sets off the whole package

[(redbeard)]

Originally Posted by Hammer!

Nice stuff, I have the RC4WD CMS/Panhard too, and it took a little bit of fine tuning too but runs great now.

Thanks. Yeah it was weird without the instructions right in front of me trying to figure out which links needed the bent rod ends. So a little piecing together and I finally found a solution to giving a better pinion angle (too much the panhard hits the crossmember bracket) and also keeps the panhard from hitting the servo. First time around I had too long of a setup on the panhard and the axle was about a 1/4 inch to far passenger. But it's working great now and I didn't lose very much articulation at all...if any actually. Now to just deal with the panhard hitting the pumpkin...I am going to likely build a bent link for that....granted right now it only limits about 2mm of travel on the driver's side...but in the scale world, that's inches!!!

Originally Posted by SAL45

Looks good! Need to pick me up some of those rims! Really sets off the whole package

Thanks SAL45...yeah I needed something that really made the truck and it was those wheels.