1st comp tomorrow, here's the rig

[BigSki]

the betty body:





in the second pic, you can see how I made a threaded connenctor between the lower control links. This really tightened up the slop at the lower connenctions, making the chassis extremely rigid where it needs it the most. The next skid plate I make will just have a pocket to accept the end link, and the bolts will thread into the skid plate, completely capturing the end link.

Let me know what you guys think. I'm new at this, this is my first crawler and tomorow will be the first run with anyone else. I'm getting bored running over the same rocks in the garden...

[hellbentrodder]

Looks good. The only potential problem I see is the ride height looks a little high, but in some cases it might help. I run mine at about 2 5/8"

[biggin69]

What all is required to make the links?

[BigSki]

ride height is at 3.25 inches. The batt pack definately makes it top heavy. I move the batt as far foward as possible to shift some weight in that direction, but I'm sure it won't side hill very well.

The 4 links are Traxxas items. I needed new rod ends and I couldn't find Axial ones, so the traxxas parts were a good substitute. They were cheap, too. ( about $7 per set)

The connenctor links are just some old lower links from the original kit that I cut to size and tapped w/ a M3 tap.

[GrapeApe]

Bringing the battery down will make a huge difference. I went to a 2/3 battery on top of the front servo. Drives night and day different.

[BigSki]

thanks for the suggestions. LiPo batts are in my future, just not my immediate future. I've spent my entire stimulus check, plus almost the same amount from my own checking account just to get where it is right now. I could've bought a used KLX 650 enduro for communiting to work for the same amount of $$ I've sunk into this thing.

I'm not complaining, I'm having loads of fun with the crawler, but it's still alot of money, with no end in sight!

What do you guys think of the color of the Beetle? I did color research on paintscratch.com to find samples of factory colors of early aircooled Beetles. This color caught my eye, and there was an acrylic color at the craft store that was a dead ringer for a color match. I backed it with bright metallic silver, then a flat black color called " licorice ". I'm going to call this car 'Glow Bug' because the thing almost glows when the light hits it in the right way.

[hellbentrodder]

Good luck tomorrow. Post up how you did.

[BigSki]

results are in: I finished 2nd to last, but I really don't care. I went out to have some fun and to meet new folks, and I had a great day doing it. Luckily I took the Betty body and the Flat Irons with me. Everyone saw the Rockcrushers and told me that I'd be wasting my time, so I switched out the rubber.

No one else there had the flatirons, or had seen them run. By the end of the day I think a few people were going to buy some of those tires. My biggest issue was the battery up high, but I figured as much so I wasn't at all suprised. There were only a few plate chassis/poly body trucks there, everyone else had tube chassis rigs with DIG units. At least I finally understand how and why the digs work, and which ones not to buy..

My suspension worked very well, it flexed very good with the terrain, I never hung a tire in the air. I got some good ideas on how to make a solid upper shock mount for my Losi shocks, and I saw a rig where the upper cap was modified for a traxxas rod end. I liked that mod the best.

I'm looking foward to going out again with that group the next time they do a comp.

[hellbentrodder]

Well you tried and learned some things. You can use dubro heavy duty rod ends #899 on the bottom of the losi shocks to get your ride height back. I prefer this to hacking the tops off and creating a potential leak.

[cpd438]

Hey nice work! At least you got out there and gave it a shot. So tell us... which digs sucked and what tuber chassis were people running?

[bigmodean]

Good work,got off the bench and into the game,thats a start many people dont take.

[BigSki]

thanks for the encouragment. Everyone at the comp had the same kind of attitude, I think that's what made it such a fun time for me.

I saw 2 VG dig units that were giving people headaches, but there were a few more that worked very well. One guy was running a slipper clutch , I don't think I want to use one of those. Lots of 3 cell, twin batt packs on front axles. I need to do that ASAP.

I saw quite a few different style of tuber chassis'. The only one that I remember the name was a Sinister chassis. There was a really nice one that was all nickel plated solid stainless rod. The owner of that car was doing very well.

I also realized that I have to have some solid aluminum wheels, the cheapie plastic Pro-lines aren't going to cut it.

[sgil2001]

How did you do on the last course? I was there watching the comp, but I had to leave at noon. I only saw the first two runs. That last course looked like a killer.

I wish I could have competed. I've watched two comps now and I think I'm ready to give it a try. I ran a few times with some of the guys at Sam Lewis park and my truck didn't do too bad. The few mods I made seem to be enough to make it at least somewhat competitive.

[Kranberry]

get rid of those tires. they suck for a comp tire. scale....they perform like the tire they were designed off of looks good tho

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by sgil2001

How did you do on the last course? I was there watching the comp, but I had to leave at noon. I only saw the first two runs. That last course looked like a killer.

I wish I could have competed. I've watched two comps now and I think I'm ready to give it a try. I ran a few times with some of the guys at Sam Lewis park and my truck didn't do too bad. The few mods I made seem to be enough to make it at least somewhat competitive.

I did the best on the last course. I made it to the end without any real issues. I took the 'bonus' line through the first gate and rolled halfway down the cliff, but I was able to right myself against some rocks and get moving again. A few folks clapped for me for pulling off that 'stunt'.

The water crossing wasn't a problem , either. The Flat Irons worked great on the granite.

I was happy overall with the way the truck ran, espically considering it was my first time out, and I'm brand new to this hobby. I'm ready to go out again!

[sgil2001]

I really like those flat irons also. I've been running rock claws and hammers, but I think the flat irons are better.

[HomerJ]

That's awesome that you got out and did your first comp man I've been into some kind of wheeling my whole life, whether it be 1:1, atv's, etc.. Same with those as with this, you have to get out and run with people that are better than you and are setup better than you to get better. It's the way you learn the fastest!! Hell, even a second to last finish is cool, next time shoot for a few places higher on the list and you're able to see how much progress you've made; I know I sure did this past weekend. I thought I knew all of my stuff from 1:1 would apply exactly the same.... Not so much, but a lot of the principles are the same, so I tweaked them from what I saw others doing with their crawlers and I did much better the second go around.. Keep at it man!!:-P

[BigSki]

HomerJ- I know where you are coming from. I've always had motorized 'toys' to go off road with, so this hobby is a pretty natural environment for me to get involved in. Some of the lessons from suspension setup that I learned in the SoCal desert are helping me here, plus I can try out my own ideas, and I don't need a hugh budget or a garage to work out of.

If I break the truck, I don't have to worry about being stranded in the middle of nowhere, now I can just pick up my truck, toss it back into the tote and carry it back to the car and go home and fix it on my work bench.

I'm hooked on this. I can't wait for another chance to go out with the same group and run against the same cars. I would have finished much higher than I did, but I maxed out on points at the end of the first course. There was a verticle climb to get through the finish gate, but the base of the ridge had a small void with an over hanging rock that snagged a lot of people. I rolled over backwards twice and simply couldn't get over that obstacle. Now I have something to work on as far CG, weight distribution and throttle control are concerned.