I guess I'm a Ford man now...

[grob23]

As far as gasoline pickups go, I doubt I'll ever own anything else. If I ever change bodies on this (or any) rig, it'll probably be a Ford...

To make a long story short, this rig used to be my roommate's. He modded it a bit, never drove it, and now I bought it. It began life as a TR Honcho (I still have the Olive Drab body and craptastic AM Radio), and has only seen a few mods. First, he got a different body for it (thank god), then came a shorter set of links (it's just under 12"). He shaved the axles and installed the optional 4-link mounts. Then, a FattBatt tray (Its the short version I believe) The only other thing that makes this truck not stock is the electronics. I'm buying it with a WP XL5, and a WP 2075. Since blue's not my color, and since I have decent electronics to throw in it, it these will go!

Here's a list of "free" things I want to do to this truck:
-I'll add a spur cover, FXR ESC, CC BEC, Axial AX-3 Rx/Tx, Hitec HS645MG servo, and a few misc braces/whatnot I've got.
-I'll swap the shock spacers for some I have that match the links, and the transmission will no longer have a slipper unit. I also plan to throw on a set of 1.55 beadlocks and Iroks I have. I'll keep the Flat-Irons around for competing (there's just something about Pro-Line rubber)

And Here's what I want to order:
-HH Motor
-3S LiPo Batts
-and some felsenfest lockers

I'll build a front bumper, a set of sliders, and probably a rear bumper

Onto some pics! (These pics show the way this truck was configured upon me purchasing it)











Let me know your thoughts! I'm stoked to have an Axial axle'd rig again

[mitchr97]

welcome to the dark side

[trucker bob]

Nice truck!! I love those F100's, I have a couple myself. Take care of that body, probably gonna be hard to find another. Also I think the 1.5 Iroks look really good with that setup.

[mitchr97]

Ya. I have also learned that those wheel wells have a very limited choice for tires... cause they are so dang small!!!

[grob23]

Originally Posted by FORDROX97

Ya. I have also learned that those wheel wells have a very limited choice for tires... cause they are so dang small!!!

The wheel wells aren't TOO small. I did manage to squeeze 1.9 Boggers on here a while back... I barely had any rub. Kinda sucks that I wont be able to find another one of these bodies... I know I'm gonna beat this one to hell and I sure would like one to fall back on

Originally Posted by FORDROX97

welcome to the dark side

I drive a 1989 F250 as my daily driver, and I've been running a Bronco body on my old rig for a few months. The dark side has long since been invaded by me

[mitchr97]

Originally Posted by grob23

The wheel wells aren't TOO small. I did manage to squeeze 1.9 Boggers on here a while back... I barely had any rub. Kinda sucks that I wont be able to find another one of these bodies... I know I'm gonna beat this one to hell and I sure would like one to fall back on



I drive a 1989 F250 as my daily driver, and I've been running a Bronco body on my old rig for a few months. The dark side has long since been invaded by me

ha! make ur own if you have the tools! I would like to see how that woulld turn out!

[grob23]

I don't think I'm ready to begin making my own bodies... there are plenty of other Ford options out there that would tickle my fancy

Here's the front end all disassembled. I think I'll be able to post the finished front end by the end of tonight

[mitchr97]

haha! i was just kidding, but that would be pretty cool!


note to self: aluminum 1976 ford f100 body... hehe!

[juswin24]

I like that body also. Grew up with Fords and Mercury's. I wouldn't drive any other truck than a Ford. Glad to see you got another one. It's no fun having just one. I will be watching.

[iguana102602]

Always love seeing more ford trucks. Have an scx10 and a 1:1 1970 f100

[SinCity]

That servo looks mighty high, I had mine sitting up like that and the servo horn hit the frame rails. Any pictures of how it clears? I'd love to mount mine up that high

[grob23]

Originally Posted by SinCity

the servo horn hit the frame rails. Any pictures of how it clears?

I'm facing that dillema as we speak. I know it can be overcome, it'll just take some tinkering on my part. Mounting it lower causes everything to bind and suck real bad. Hopefully I can get it worked out, and finally post an update to what all I've done to the front of this rig

[SinCity]

I found quite a good fix for the slop and play. I can post a few pictures after work. The servo barely clears the frame, and is mounted with two long screws and some spacers. It's extremely snug and the links don't hit very easily.

[Perkolator]

my servo is mounted high up, pretty much the same way with a DIY CMS and i have just enough clearance from the frame to not hit. i think it also has to do with your choice of servo horn.

[grob23]

Originally Posted by SinCity

I found quite a good fix for the slop and play. I can post a few pictures after work. The servo barely clears the frame, and is mounted with two long screws and some spacers. It's extremely snug and the links don't hit very easily.

Please post a pic! I would love to see your setup

Originally Posted by Perkolator

my servo is mounted high up, pretty much the same way with a DIY CMS and i have just enough clearance from the frame to not hit. i think it also has to do with your choice of servo horn.

Servo horns do play a part I found out... I could get some to work, and others wouldn't

My solution to the servo not clearing the frame was simple. Just move the servo! I had to move the servo using stock TLT servo posts. They only allow me to use one screw on each side of the servo, but at least now I can steer My links barely hit (only at full compression) but I'm having issues with the back of the servo horn hitting the 4-link truss so I'll probably begin my search for a different one. This is probably the stoutest I've ever mounted a servo... Also with the steering; I changed the drag link, and used button head hardware at the knuckles

Other things I did:
-I swapped the ESC for an FXR with 16AWG and a Dean's plug
-I swapped the AM radio for an AX-3 (2.4) It's only a 2 channel, so running a winch will get interesting
-With the FXR, I added a CCBEC as well. It's wired directly to the servo, with the servo's signal wire and a ground going to the RX
-I'm now running a HiTec HS-645MG servo with a Racer's Edge aluminum clamping horn.
-I added a brace between the front shock hoops, changed the spacers from plastic to aluminum, and used button-head hardware to secure the shocks
-Also with the front shocks, I removed the stops from the shock shaft and changed to reservoir-less caps
-And lastly (small detail, I know...), at the body post/shock tower I changed from body clips to Axial beadlock hardware





Any more questions, feel free to ask! Now, time to get a tranny back in this thing

[grob23]

Got the trans all put back together

This was really basic. I installed a spur cover, cleaned everything up, switched back to set screws in the yokes instead of cap screws (to clear the cover)

The hardest part for me was soldering my motor leads onto the motor. I'm not sure if it was my iron (probable), my solder, or just me... but I couldn't get the solder to work right for me. It just balled up on the wires instead of flowing into it

Anyways, here's pics. I'm running the stock 27t motor for now with 87-20 gearing (that's all I had)







Chime in, I need suggestions for a motor and gearing!

[toka100]

got to love how small the fx-r is. makes for a real clean set up. i did the same set up for a customer. stock reciver and fx-r both inside the reciver box.

[SinCity]

That wiring is clean

I got some pictures of my servo mount, I didn't quite realize how crazy I got with the belly pans and covering stuff up. Here are the parts I used to mount it:

1) Stock Servo plate and screws, followed the most recent DIY CMS thread.
2) Axial 7 x 65MM Grey Posts. Part # AXA1430. $8 (Servo>Knuckle)
3) Axial 4x3x6mm Spaers. Part #AXA1304. (Spaced Servo with these)
4) Du-Bro Socket Head Sheet Metal Screws. 4 x 3/4". Part # DUB838 (Longer screws for servo mount)

I flipped the servo mounts just like you, which causes the servo horn to hit the frame when turning driver. I tried every possible way to drop the horn but no luck, finally gave up and admitted I needed to drop the mounts, but I could see the hole thing mounted lower. So I went to my LHS and picked up the parts above. Flipped the mounts like you have them, took my AXA1304 spacers and ran the sheet metal screws (RC Air dept had them) and cranked them down hard. I was honestly expecting some torque flex and bump steer. I figured with two screws it would be absolute garbage. Well, it's tight, and actually holds better than my original solution which was TERRIBLE! The play in the steering linkages is very slight, maybe a hair more than a axle mounted servo setup. The steering range is fully retained, and does not bind. The links to come into contact when the entire axle is compressed into the frame, but that is a given with a home brew setup like this. They also do contact when the driver side is fully stuffed, but not to bad to where it jams the servo up, it can slide over the linkages fine. I have to pull my horn and realign the teeth as it currently steers more passenger than driver, and my controller is set to STR +26. I'd like to get my steering 100% equal.

Here are some pictures, sorry for the plates in the way, hope you can get a better idea of how I mounted it now. I also snapped a video for you, I hate photobucket videos, but it's way to easy on the iPhone, I don't have to login into YouTube and wait for it to process.










Home Brew Frame Mounted Servo Testing

[grob23]

Originally Posted by toka100

got to love how small the fx-r is. makes for a real clean set up. i did the same set up for a customer. stock reciver and fx-r both inside the reciver box.

I have an FXR, the Rx, and a cc bec stuffed in there... I have a heyok winch controller that I'm gonna attempt to get in there as well. eventually...

[grob23]

The rear end was easy. All I did was clean everything up, cut the stops off the shocks, added a brace between the hoops, and swapped the body clips for Axial beadlock hardware for the body posts



Here are some action pics. All I have is my backyard (a root and a small pile of "rocks" more like bricks...) There's both a shot with the 1.9 flat irons and the 1.55 Iroks. I like the Iroks more, and they'll stay





On a side note, this rig is a speed demon on 3s with this motor and gearing I see alot of broken tranny outputs in my future...

Updates from here on out will be scarce. I'll probably only update when I get parts or after an outing sometime... I'll gladly answer any questions, so feel free to ask! Thanks for lookin!