Project: AX10 + scaler features + dig

[Josh_Br]

Since I changed how the shocks were mounted, I had to trim the battery tray on the rear axle:





I haven't drove it much yet, but I think this little change will be a good thing. The shocks are now completely vertical, instead of leaning inward towards the axles. That should make it a little more stable. And this also lowered the chassis slightly.

I also uninstalled the dig. I think that for my purposes as a basher (no local LHS rock course), it is overkill. And I already lowered the gears in the rear axle, so that gives the truck a little extra help crawling.

As you know from reading this thread, the dig has not been used very much. I'm going to post it in the classifieds, if anyone is interested in buying it.

[Josh_Br]

This weekend I added about 1/2" of fuel line to the shock shafts, to limit the up travel:



I think I've got it dialed in now. It has some droop, some compression, and the tires only rub a little when it's fully flexed. So maybe now I'm done with the rig, at least for the time being. Here are a few photos:

[CM9000]

hey, this reminds me of my old camaro build. ax10 with a 2010 camaro body on a frame similar to yours. i used the same aluminum you did but i mouted them lower on the sideplates. where that body mount hol is on each plate... i cut right at that and mounted my aluminum channels to those holes. the only picture ive got is on my youtube background lol. youll see it here xxaxnxtxhxoxnxyxx's Channel - YouTube

[Josh_Br]

Originally Posted by crawlingman9000

hey, this reminds me of my old camaro build. ax10 with a 2010 camaro body on a frame similar to yours. i used the same aluminum you did but i mouted them lower on the sideplates. where that body mount hol is on each plate... i cut right at that and mounted my aluminum channels to those holes. the only picture ive got is on my youtube background lol. youll see it here xxaxnxtxhxoxnxyxx's Channel - YouTube

Awesome Camaro! It looks good! Good idea mounting the frame rails lower, if tire rub wasn't an issue. That would help the CoG.

Hey I tried to save your background photo on youtube and resize it bigger in Photoshop. I don't think it actually made it any bigger or helped the resolution at all, but here it is:

[CM9000]

nope, same size. and you could always trim the body a bit. i had to majorly cut the camaro as you could see lol. have fun with this build

[Josh_Br]

Well, my LHS finally got a rock course, and a friend of mine also had hauled a ton of rocks to his back yard. So I've been driving the truck more and it's time for some changes. Also, I figured out where to land, between an actual scaler and a comp rig. I'm shooting for the scaler modified class. As I make some changes to the truck, I plan to abide by those rules.

I have ordered a TCS X-Trail chassis kit, some heavier (medium) internal shock springs, and some 3/16" aluminum rod. I plan to still use the Bronco body, do some trimming, and do some tube work. Here are some photos I found and saved for ideas:

[Josh_Br]

The X-Trail frame rails came today. I'm always impressed with how fast my orders from tcscrawlers.com get to my house, which is on the opposite side of the country from them. Here's a comparisin between the stock frame plate and the X-Trail rail:



I wanted to keep my long shocks, but didn't want the truck to sit overly high, and I wanted the skid plate to be lower than it otherwise would be, so I planed to hack up the stock chassis plates to make shock tower extensions:







Here's a photo with the front shock tower extensions installed, but not the rear. I'll do the rear next:

[gottwins?]

Please keep posting up. I'm seriously considering making my sportsman into a scaler with this setup for the summer months and switching it back in the winter months. Curious how the xtrail does.

[Josh_Br]

Originally Posted by gottwins?

Please keep posting up. I'm seriously considering making my sportsman into a scaler with this setup for the summer months and switching it back in the winter months. Curious how the xtrail does.

Sure, glad to keep the thread up to date

[Josh_Br]

Got more work done on the rig.

All four shock mount extensions bolted on, as well as the wheels and tires. Always feels good to get the wheels and tires back on!



Added an electronics tray towards the front. Managed to fit the battery and electronics on it:



The body is on, at least temporarily because I'm hoping to drive it tonight:



Despite the extended shock towers and long shocks, it doesn't have a ton of flex with them in a vertical position, as opposed to laying back (like the stock AX10 configuration). Also, the medium weight internal shock springs might be too stiff. Gosh I love tearing apart shocks....

[redcard]

Is that a stock skid that you chopped?

[Josh_Br]

Originally Posted by redcard

Is that a stock skid that you chopped?

I used to use the stock skid that I cut up to get the lower links inboard, but later I replaced it with an aluminum skid. The rigidity of the aluminum one is nice. In the pictures, it's the aluminum skid.

[Josh_Br]

Today I put the extra light internal shock springs back in. The medium ones were too strong for the weight of the vehicle. I had bought the medium springs thinking that they'd keep the suspension more towards the droop side than the compression side. Putting the light springs back in should work fine; however, I'd still like to have more flex / articulation. Not sure what the future holds in regards to this...

Also, my 3/16" aluminum rod came today. Hopefully it will become bumpers, side rails, and maybe even replace the fender flares for some type of tube-style fenders.

[Josh_Br]

Next, I'd like to lower the body, and trim the wheel openings up higher so the tires still have room to steer and for the axles to flex. Then after that, I hope to start some tubework. Here's a photo of the body height now. It's about 9.5 inches.

[rsantos450]

Very nice...

[Josh_Br]

Originally Posted by rsantos450

Very nice...

Thanks man

[Josh_Br]

I made some body mount adjustments and the body is about 1/4" lower now. I also trimmed the fender flares off of the body. Haven't done any tube work yet, but I'm hoping to drive the truck tonight at a friend's house. I'm curious to see how it does.

[Josh_Br]

Last night I got to drive the truck on my friend's rock pile (understatement) for an hour and a half. I was curious to see how the truck would do; I was a little concerned about the reduced articulation because of the shock position. My friend also pointed out that the shocks being mounted closer to the tire on the axle would reduce the articulation, which I didn't think of before. Well, the truck handled great. I was impressed! I currently have about six ounces of weight in all four tires, and all of the electronics of the truck are mounted in the front half, battery included, as shown in a photo above that I posted on 5/10/12. So the weight distribution of the truck is still towards the front. So I am a happy camper. Hopefully I get time to make the bumpers, sliders, etc. soon.

[Josh_Br]

My LHS had their first crawler comp this Saturday. It was kind of an informal, scaler comp. I got second place overall (two rounds), so I was pretty stoked! The truck drove well, all except for one steep and kind of slick hill up one big rock. I made a tow strap from old shoelace and wire coat hanger, so my rig had a whopping -1 scale points Here are a couple pictures:

[Josh_Br]

Started a front bumper tonight: