Ugly Betty

[winnerone23]

I love the way them lower rear links look!

Hey Kevin.. nice collars! Do you feel they are a snug enough fit to cut in half?
Like for guys that may not need em that long or the length would interfere with there setup(by adding more preload then the are running)?

[AddictedtoRC1]

Kevin I'm glad to see you got the collars I sent you. They look good on the rig.

Winner.............they are also available in a shorter version and yes they are a nice snug fit.

Notch Eight Designz SCX preload collars.

[MRCrackhead]

I'm really happy with the longer version I have.

The short ones look very cool, but I'm always so unsure which route I'm going on any given day.

These work great with the MRC springs.

When threaded all the way up on the shock body, they are only slightly engaging the spring. Essentially, no preload.

Of course, they will work if I switch to mini-t springs and need them to be extended below the threads.

For those that are afraid of commitment, like me, these seem to be the do-all version.

I suppose if you are running a droop setup, with MRC springs, these may be too long, depending. Otherwise, they're just about the right length for nearly every other situation.

Great job Brian, and congrats on your shiny new vendor star.

[Jslick]

Scalers are suppose to be dirty. I still have mud on mine from 4 months ago. I clean the important parts like the electronics and make sure everything is well greased up.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by Jslick

Scalers are suppose to be dirty. I still have mud on mine from 4 months ago. I clean the important parts like the electronics and make sure everything is well greased up.

Maybe a couple hours outside in all this darn snow will get some of that 4 month old mud off there, and in a fun way, instead of using a toothbrush like I did.

On the upside, my teeth feel cleaner than ever!

[MRCrackhead]

It would seem the price paid at Motorama was higher than I anticipated.

My left front beef tube lost the screw near the diff.

A second screw up front at the axle end worked loose.

Consequently, the axle housing cracked near the third screw that was doing all the work.

I guess 8 hours of driving, with no routine maintenance wasn't a good idea.

With the comp season starting in a few weeks, it only makes sense to build a completely different setup at the last minute.

Here's the AR60 mocked up to check clearances, and get some measurements.

I'm waiting on some more parts to show up, but I'm going to get as much done as I can.

I've got a slightly different plan than what I've seen before.

[AddictedtoRC1]

Damn Kevin. I hope you've got this thing together before the 30th.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoRC1

Damn Kevin. I hope you've got this thing together before the 30th.

I sure hope so too!

[MRCrackhead]

I've been thinking about AR60 axles for a while, always intending to narrow a set like normal.

Then guys started running them full width, and dropping servos behind the axle, and I was super jealous.

My only concern was the track width issue. Full width is WIDE!

So here begins my idea to run the AR60 and gain the huge amount of space between the links, down low, the narrowed AR and stock AX axles just can't offer.

Meanwhile, keeping the track width narrower, to give me options.

I started by cutting 6mm off each c-hub.



This will give me a total of 12mm narrower (just under 1/2").



It looks like a lot in this photo.



I never intended to run the inner bearing since I'll have OFNA universals now.

So no loss cutting the outer part of the housing off.



This leaves about 8mm of engagement on the hub/housing.

Plenty of room to tap new screws which I'll put front and rear, instead of top and bottom like the original hubs.



Here it is mocked up.

At a glance, you may not even notice that it's a narrow AR60.

I'm really happy with how it turned out.

[AddictedtoRC1]

Nice job Kevin. How much narrower is it exactly? Close to an inch then?

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoRC1

Nice job Kevin. How much narrower is it exactly? Close to an inch then?

It's 12mm narrower total, 6mm each side.

That's around 15/32" (just under 1/2").

[AddictedtoRC1]

Originally Posted by MRCrackhead

It's 12mm narrower total, 6mm each side.

That's around 15/32" (just under 1/2").

DOH! See I'm glad I asked. I totally mis read that when you said "total of 12mm narrower."

[MRCrackhead]

Got a bit of time in the fab shop today.

Made up a base plate, servo plate, and upper link mount.



Here's the main plate bolted up.



After that photo, things started fitting together, and I didn't stop to take any more.

Here it is assembled, including my old upper links for mock up.

The two extra holes will be for a drop down electronics plate I still need to make.



Here you can see the servo is almost completely hidden by the diff.

I may shim that up a bit more because the drag link hits the top of the diff.

OR, I may shave the top of the diff off.

I've already turned down the spur gear in order to gain some clearance shaving the bottom.

Not sure yet, that may weaken the housing too much, and I made this to be adjustable with shims/spacers.

I'll likely shim it up, and the servo will be completely hidden on the bottom side.

[chris.martell]

Thats what I'm talking about! Awesome job Merc. I can't wait to see how this plays out.

Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk

[MRCrackhead]

Messed with my servo/link mount setup.

I counter sunk some holes and switched spacers around.



Now I can run the axial arm that clears the diff completely.

One less issue to deal with.



The sunk screws in the link mount allow the drag link to pass by with it mounted below the arm.

This should give me some decent geometry and keeps the servo very low.

[AddictedtoRC1]

Hurry Kevin......only 19 days away..........

[MRCrackhead]

Unfortunately, yesterday I found out I've got time....

The job I'm running has a shutdown/tie-in that weekend.

I can't get out of it.

Sucks to be the boss, sometimes.

Won't be able to make the first comp.

I could quit my job........hmmmmmm.......I'll think about it.

[winnerone23]

Nooooooo!

Quit!!!! That's my vote.. ;)

[Erik D_lux]

Looks awesome!

I am making some changes to my sporty and things wont fit when I am done. I think I may have to try this version of narrowing. Super easy and effective!

I agree. Quit your job. Really, what has it ever done for you? Nothing but take your time, thats what.

[chris.martell]

Erik is right Merc we should quit and go crawling!

Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk