Project: AX10 + scaler features + dig

[Josh_Br]

Here's a few quick photos with the body FINALLY mounted

[AgentXTC]

Looks good with the body on, so here's to hoping the CoG isn't too high!

[Josh_Br]

Thanks man

[sandbaggerAx10]

Looks good with the body. nicely done.

[Josh_Br]

Thanks, appreciate it!

[Josh_Br]

I had to change the location of the servo for the dig. It just wouldn't work where it was at on top the frame rail - too much angle. Now it works good, at least in the first two positions (normal and rear tires unlocked). It doesn't work too well in the third position (rear tires locked up solid), but I think that is more of a servo adjustment issue.

Here's a photo:

[Josh_Br]

Made an electronics tray (from an old tupperware lid):



I think I'm finally ready to drive the thing again! It's been a LONG time.

[CruisinMT]

That looks awesome. I was contemplating the same thing with my MS10 but I want to put an FJ40 Landcruiser body on it.

[Josh_Br]

Originally Posted by CruisinMT

That looks awesome. I was contemplating the same thing with my MS10 but I want to put an FJ40 Landcruiser body on it.

Thanks man, I appreciate that

I love FJ40's, that would look really cool. One good thing about this set up - You can always remove the added parts and put it back to stock. Would probably only take 20 minutes.

[Josh_Br]

Went for a drive in my basement tonight. It does drive a bit top heavy, and the tires rub on the body like crazy, but it was really fun!! Aside from the aforementioned, it drove excellent! The tires have tons of grip, and the dig worked fairly well. I think I may need to spend more time getting the servo dialed in. I snapped some photos while I was driving:















I took some video too; if I can get it put together I'll post a youtube link.

[Josh_Br]

I did put together a video, here's the link: AX10 video 2.wmv - YouTube

[CruisinMT]

Looks cool. You could trim the fenders or limit the upward travel of your shocks using fuel line.

[Josh_Br]

Good idea with the fuel line, thanks. Can't bring myself to cut the body...

[CruisinMT]

Originally Posted by Josh_Br

Good idea with the fuel line, thanks. Can't bring myself to cut the body...

I felt the same way with my FJ40 body. I hate to ruin the original lines of the classic rigs.

[Josh_Br]

Originally Posted by CruisinMT

I felt the same way with my FJ40 body. I hate to ruin the original lines of the classic rigs.

Do you have that body on your rig? I'd love to see a picture of it.

[Josh_Br]

Well, if you watched my video you have noticed how much the truck liked to topple over. I think I will try to lose some weight off the aluminum frame. I can shorten it so it stops just past the shock mount holes, and if I add some washers / spacers between the original Axial frame and the aluminum rails, I can mount the body posts right on the frame rails and eliminate the extra cross pieces.

I also have some longer body posts on hand, so I plan to play with raising the body up so the tires don't rub as much, although I wish I didn't have to. I like how it sits right now, without a ton of space between the body and the tires. Another way to go would be moving the shocks down or adding spacers / fuel line so they don't compress as much, but that would still add space between the body and tires.

Who knows.....we will just have to see where we end up!

[Josh_Br]

You know, maybe I was too critical on the truck about being top heavy. I drove it outside on "normal" terrain a couple nights ago and it did great! It was a tank! That old air conditioner in my basement is like a mountain to the crawler. Regardless, I still hope to trim down the aluminum frame soon, maybe tomorrow night while my wife is watching her shows...

[Josh_Br]

I did get to spend some time in the garage last Thursday. Here are the revised frame rails (first photo), and all of the aluminum that has now been removed (second photo):





I think this is going to work out pretty good. I temporarily disabled the dig until the frame revisions are finished. I also ordered some longer aluminum shocks, hoping to try again to do a partial droop / partial compression setup. I got four aluminum Venom shocks with two sets of springs each for $20; they should be here Monday.

[Josh_Br]

The Venom shocks arrived today and I got everything put back together. On those shocks, I installed the light (red) springs, and the internal springs I had in my stock shocks. I finally have a partial droop / partial compression set up.

The rig does sit pretty high with the new shocks. It still wants to tip more easily than I would like. There really isn't a good solution to having 5.5" tires, a scaler body, and trying not to have tire rub. If the truck is set up so body is close to the tires, they will rub when it flexes. The body must be raised, or the suspension lowered. A full droop shock set up is good for keeping the center of gravity as low as possible, but I wanted the mixed set up, because it's more realistic, and also to give some compression / cushion for bashing. I have to say, the handling of the truck in it's current state is FAR different than when it began as a regular AX-10 RTC.

Now that it is reassembled (minus the dig being functional), I went for a drive in my basement tonight. The tires did not rub nearly as much as before. The rig had a terrific amount of flex. However, the shocks seemed both too hard and too soft at different times. This makes me think that dual springs on each shock might be a good way to go (two different strengths), plus the internal springs.....I don't know. I think I may be at a stopping point, at least for now. I need to focus on repairing my Stadium Blitzer that took a beating at the track last weekend (1992 Stadium Blitzer "bring it up to date" thread - Tamiya RC Forum @ URC Forums).

Here are a few photos. Yes, the driveshaft angles are now ridiculous, but the shafts do not slide apart, and they don't seem to bind at all, so I'm not worried about it at the moment. We'll see how it goes

[Josh_Br]

Well....so much for all of that stopping point talk. I changed up how the shocks are mounted already.

Also, I remember someone mentioning above about using fuel line to limit the shock travel. That might be a future mod too.