Ugly Betty

[AddictedtoRC1]

Nice job Kevin. I knew you would make good use of the shrink.

Everything is coming together nicely for you.

[chris.martell]

This is one of my favorite threads not just cause you are my best friend but because you are on the cutting edge of innovative DiY fabrication. Credit cards didn't build your crawler you did. Way to go amigo and thanks for all the inspiration this thread has given me.

[Natedog]

Great build with good concise pics and innovative diy mods!

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Great build with good concise pics and innovative diy mods!

Thank you sir.

Awesome to know somebody enjoyed the build.

I definitely enjoyed building it, and continue to build it.

I'll try to post an update soon.

A lot has changed since the last pictures posted here.

[AddictedtoRC1]

Change is good. Seeing the change is better. Where's the darn pics at Kevin?

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoRC1

Change is good. Seeing the change is better. Where's the darn pics at Kevin?

Sorry Brian. I've been suffering from build thread burnout lately.

I'll get back on track soon enough.

[MRCrackhead]

Here's something I made up a while ago that some of you may appreciate.

I got tired of digging through a bag of gates trying to find matched pairs and get them in the right order.

Winter time doesn't afford a lot of daylight after work to get a couple of quick courses set, and run.

So I went to the hardware store, picked up a fiberglass post you'd see along somebody's driveway to mark it when the snow flies.

I cut it down into 3 equal lengths. Attached a "D" ring to the bottom with a nylon string tied to it.

At the other end I have a spring clip that slips through a hole drilled at the top of the post.



Now all my gates are in order and each rack has a built in carry handle.

Pick them up in order, 10-1; and they are ready to be set in order 1-10 every time.

Each "rack" measures 16" long so there's no need to carry a tape measure to get your gates set at legal width.

I have a small bag I clip to one of the racks to hold my chalk.

[winnerone23]

The stuff that comes out of ur head and into posts on ur build thread make me glad to know ya Kevin! Simple awesome!

[OpenDiff]

This write up was perfect, if you don't mind, I'm going to have to copy some of your doings! Just fanominal job!!!!

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

The stuff that comes out of ur head and into posts on ur build thread make me glad to know ya Kevin! Simple awesome!

Thanks Troy. I figured you'd like this since you're often tasked with setting courses.

Originally Posted by OpenDiff

This write up was perfect, if you don't mind, I'm going to have to copy some of your doings! Just fanominal job!!!!

Copy away!

Please mail royalty checks to:

DIY Fab
555 Garage Drive
Brokeville, PA 12345

[MRCrackhead]

I finally have a day off to post up some updates.

I thought about starting a new thread since I didn't like the name Ugly Betty anymore; but what's in a name anyway?

So here goes....

I picked up some used Delrin links for a Berg that I ended up selling.

So I decided to put them on the sporty.

Of course the cut/finish of the links just wasn't good enough for me, so I shaved and buffed them to please my critical eye.

Here you can see the link in its original state, and my finished product on the rig.





Next, I picked up some used SCX shocks and tossed them on.

Of course, that messed everything up. They are so completely different than the other shocks I had, that I essentially had to start all over.

I rarely know what I'm doing, so I came up with these limiters that allow me to tune my shock travel without having to break them open to adjust internal limiters.

Nylon tubes from the hardware store with a small slit cut in the side.

They pop on and off to make quick changes. They can be cut to any length, and cut in the field with a knife if you're in a jamb.



Same story with my preload spacers. Nylon from the local store. Cheap and functional.



For the record, I had no issues with my ghetto fab knuckles, but I got these cheap off Chris when he bought his new DLUX knuckles.

I was amazed at how close I came to copying the VP knuckle, just through trial and error. The VP's bolted right in with my previous setup.



I always intended to upgrade to reduce drivetrain stress caused by the weighted wheels.

RCBros weights and holder bracket seemed the best bang for the buck.

I haven't weighed the car to know if I need all the weights, but I figured I'd put it all together just to sort out the 4-40 hardware needs.

Apparently I'm a nylon junkie because I used some here too.

May as well keep the weights as far out as possible.



Here you can see how the shift hub just clears the nylon shim.

[chris.martell]

Looking awesome bro can't wait to give your rig a run for it's money.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by chris.martell

Looking awesome bro can't wait to give your rig a run for it's money.

Hahaha, after spending all that money on yours, I could see why you'd be running for "it's money".

But alas, my crawler is cheap, and carries less than $15 cash at all times.

Won't do you much good.

[AddictedtoRC1]

Looking good Kevin. I'm really looking forward to the season start and getting out with everyone. Sporty class will be interesting this year.

[winnerone23]

Sweet write up. Now ya got Mr thinking.. my rear lowers look like the ones you took off, but in ti.
My sss-rs rear lowers look like the ones you just put on..
So off I went to check lengths. Sure enough, with in .3mm of eachother. I really like the bend bein all the way back inside the tire and not down dragging..

Now I have options..

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoRC1

Looking good Kevin. I'm really looking forward to the season start and getting out with everyone. Sporty class will be interesting this year.

Thanks amigo.

You're right about the sportsman class. Lot of stealthy rigs being built.

I'm still kicking this can for all it's worth, but since I plan to cheat, I'll be fine.

Originally Posted by winnerone23

Sweet write up.

See above for the address to mail the royalty check!

$.03 for every idea you steal!

It adds up....

[MRCrackhead]

Arguably the best upgrade on the rig is the Holmes Hobbies 13t motor which has completely changed its behavior.

Slow is slower, fast is faster, and recovery is now a more likely scenario due to the simply violent wheel speed which gets the car moving upside down in nearly every case.

The 55t I was running just couldn't get the job done in that regard.


In order to protect my drivetrain from this hellacious speed, I installed the CI extended output so I wouldn't have to run a shaved yoke anymore.

Plenty of clearance on the currently installed 93t spur.



My bulky body mount setup wasn't getting the body as low as I wanted to ensure tire contact when upside down.

So I cut, coped, and tapped this nylon 1/4"-20 bolt.



Drilled a hole in my front cross brace, and mounted it up.

I made a pair of them, just in case this one takes a nasty hit. Trail spares are nice.



I've been trying to shave as much weight as possible so I can add it out in the wheels, so I picked up this Duuuuude mount to get rid of my previous setup that worked fine but weighed a lot more.

Along those lines, I swapped most of the hardware for aluminum (few more to go), and also switched all the pivot balls to aluminum.

[chris.martell]

Originally Posted by MRCrackhead

Hahaha, after spending all that money on yours, I could see why you'd be running for "it's money".

But alas, my crawler is cheap, and carries less than $15 cash at all times.

Won't do you much good.

It all adds up bro I'll take it anyway I can get it. This whole bought not built thing has my wallet hurting.

[MRCrackhead]

I came across a great deal for these poly carb wheels on the classifieds from OFFROADKOREA. $30 was just right for me.



Not sure if I can run the rear wheels inverted like this. Mocked them up that way, but they seem to be too wide. I have some other hub options to try out.

Otherwise, I'll just run them the normal way with some spacers on the shift hubs and be done with it.



I've trimmed down the servo plate and my front shock mounts as much as possible to shave weight.

Fabbed up this little servo guard a while back and it seems to be doing a really good job of protecting the servo, despite its obvious lack of coverage.



The overall stance is looking pretty good.



Here it is all dressed up.



I scored these Sedonas used for cheap and shaved em up.

I took 6mm out of the middle of the tire and rotated the tread pattern to offset the blocks. I figure this will give a more consistent contact patch verses the blocks being in rows.

The previous owner had siped one pair with a razor knife (a little too deep in spots), so I'm just going to run them on the front for now and see if more is needed.



Steering is about the same as it was before. I could eek a bit more out of it, but I've found this to be about the max before weird things happen.



Once I figure out what I'm doing with the rear wheels (normal or reverse), I'll glue these up.

Not sure if I'll like the fact that I left the ring and the name on the sidewall. I don't want them to be too mushy.

I always felt my fully shaved rovers were a bit weak in the sidewall.

I'm going to try this out since I can always shave more.

Preliminary tests show that I have too much weight up front.

No surprise really, I have a lot of fine tuning after all these changes.

[chris.martell]

Those wheels are sick dude!