JHTreyIII's 'Big Metal Bitch' Wraith Build

[JHTreyIII]

i'm tired of screwing with them. The RCP's are just a big chunk of stainless, no hardware at all to come loose. The little bit of slop is a small price to pay for zero maintenance.

[CarterFab]

Originally Posted by JHTreyIII

Alright so my aluminum body panels arrived today. I bought the sides and roof from CFM and the hood and bottom skid/boat sides from Advanced Metal Fab on ebay. Still need to attach the hood. Check it out:



The hood and the skid turned out fantastic, check out the skid:





So it will be a little more challenging to drop the bottom skid.

The body panels and roof turned out really nice too but they're 0.025 aluminum and the skid and hood are 0.040 so it's a night and day difference in the thickness. The guy that sold me the hood and skid also makes a roof so I went ahead and ordered that so it would be 0.040.

The 0.025 looks like it will dent pretty easy while the 0.040 is hard as hell. Advanced doesn't have sides yet...yet. I haven't seen him on here, he's got this stuff on ebay. CFM did a nice job with theirs, I just like the beefier ones better.

Also got my beef tubes in the mail today, I'll get those in as soon as I can.

Reason for .025 is weight. They could be made out of .0625 but weight becomes an issue real quick. I use .0625 on 1:1 rigs. Especially when you throw it up as high as a roof. I use improved strength 3003 aluminum. It's noticeably stronger than regular 3003. I build for scale. I support vendors here. Is the skid steel or aluminum. Aluminum does not slide on rocks and looks like its gonna snag the front and back edges, or does it wrap around the leading edges. Cool looking piece though. Trucks looking good too.

[JHTreyIII]

Originally Posted by CarterFab

Reason for .025 is weight. They could be made out of .0625 but weight becomes an issue real quick. I use .0625 on 1:1 rigs. Especially when you throw it up as high as a roof. I use improved strength 3003 aluminum. It's noticeably stronger than regular 3003. I build for scale. I support vendors here. Is the skid steel or aluminum. Aluminum does not slide on rocks and looks like its gonna snag the front and back edges, or does it wrap around the leading edges. Cool looking piece though. Trucks looking good too.

Yeah that makes complete sense, I see where you're coming from. And don't get me wrong, your panels are really nice! I just happen to like the more rigid ones, personal preference. Once the new roof arrives, I'll weigh the two of them and we'll see how much of a difference there is.

I also agree with supporting the vendors here but that doesn't mean I'm not going to buy stuff I see elsewhere because the guy isn't on RCC, especially if it's cool! I've bought plenty from the guys on here like highland crawler, heyok, biggin69, underground crawlers, chaotic crawlers, Grip Fab Machine Works and you.

The skid is aluminum and does not cover the leading edge. We'll see if I can tell any difference on the rocks. It's got a pretty smooth edge and is very tight up against the skid.

[JHTreyIII]

Lots to do before this weekend's comp and this will be my first run with this rig:

1. Get new Brood Apocolypse 25T Type GS broken in and installed - DONE
2. Install new aluminum roof - DONE
3. Install new aluminum rear body filler panel with tow hook and tail light guards - DONE
4. Install 3 Racing Winch & Heyok controller - DONE
5. Install new aluminum stinger with winch mount from BGR - DONE
6. Install front beef tubes - DONE
7. Install RCP locker and HD ring gear in front axel - DONE
8. Install heavier springs on the shocks - DONE
9. Install aluminum replacement skid plate from GH Hobby - DONE
10. Install aluminum upper front shock mounts from GH Hobby - DONE
11. Install RC4WD steel bumper supports - DONE
12. Add dielectric grease to under side of servo board...missed it before. - DONE
13. Install passenger - DONE

LOTS TO DO THIS WEEK! And it hasn't all arrived yet. Edit...DONE and DONE!!!

[JHTreyIII]

A couple crappy photos of my new stinger and winch mount. I think it turned out okay!

[Die-Laughing]

Damn.. I cant wait to see this beast this weekend. Its come a long way

[JHTreyIII]

Ha, yeah it has. I'm set out to make this look like a big chunk of steel. If there's a metal part available I need it. It will get VP axels eventually. I wonder if I can fit my beef tubes in those! Talk about solid. I'd like to get some super 300's for it too.

[JHTreyIII]

Got the winch all wired up tonight, waterproofed the servo completely and installed the RC4WD aluminum bumper supports. I had to grind them down some since they're no round all the way back and my CMS wouldn't slide over them. Went ahead and took all the finish off and they blend nicely with the new stinger. The aluminum upper shock mounts will go nicely in there as well.

[JHTreyIII]

Well got the new GH Racing Skid Plate in. It turned out pretty nice.



Too bod it's getting covered up but gotta go with the skid.

[JHTreyIII]

Also got the aluminum front/upper shock mounts in. They turned out nice!

[JHTreyIII]

Couple shots from the comp today...which I completely sucked in...but looked good doing it! Ha!

[thzero]

Bling city, but looks nice!

[JHTreyIII]

Originally Posted by thzero

Bling city, but looks nice!

Haha thanks! Yeah that's what happens when you have women driving! They're into that whole bling look. Gotta keep an eye on them, don't want it to get out of hand.

[JHTreyIII]

Got my new IROK's mounted today on my new Die-Laughing Hoopty Pro wheels. They look sweet! And HUGE! Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic.

[Mega Fattie]

I think i have to build a wraith because of you.

[JHTreyIII]

Ha, get one! Mine has so little time on it because of my overheating problem. I'm ready to get this figured out so I can go bash!

[thzero]

Originally Posted by JHTreyIII

Ha, get one! Mine has so little time on it because of my overheating problem. I'm ready to get this figured out so I can go bash!

General guides are that a hot motor means that its undergeared.

[tozrovr]

Originally Posted by CarterFab

Reason for .025 is weight. They could be made out of .0625 but weight becomes an issue real quick. I use .0625 on 1:1 rigs. Especially when you throw it up as high as a roof. I use improved strength 3003 aluminum. It's noticeably stronger than regular 3003. I build for scale. I support vendors here. Is the skid steel or aluminum. Aluminum does not slide on rocks and looks like its gonna snag the front and back edges, or does it wrap around the leading edges. Cool looking piece though. Trucks looking good too.

The thinner material if much more scale as well...on our old NUROK crawler we'd put new skins on twice a season.

[JHTreyIII]

Originally Posted by tozrovr

The thinner material if much more scale as well...on our old NUROK crawler we'd put new skins on twice a season.

You want to buy them? Ha!

[Mega Fattie]

Originally Posted by JHTreyIII

Ha, get one! Mine has so little time on it because of my overheating problem. I'm ready to get this figured out so I can go bash!

This sunday, Foster spot!

I think i will pickup a wraith kit this season as a basher.