Cliff Climber Rock Racer Style with Standard 6-Cell Stick Packs

[bar321]

Wow, that looks really nice i sharpied my outer bead-lock but now i wish i had done the insides. I like the idea of running sub-c batteries.

[nascarkeith]

Originally Posted by bar321

Wow, that looks really nice i sharpied my outer bead-lock but now i wish i had done the insides. I like the idea of running sub-c batteries.

It works good for me. The weight bottoms the suspension out and keeps my center of gravity really low plus I haven't ran them dead yet. I crawled for about 30 minutes on day and about 15 two days later. That was a week ago and they still have enough juice for another 30 minute crawl.

[rag6]

I really like the design on the body. I might have to steal that for my pede someday! Sorry!

[Jamus]

I don't doubt you get great run times. I get ok runtime with just 2/3A. Any idea what your truck weighs with 12-celss of sub-c? My stick is 4lb 3oz with aluminum beadlocks and 2/3A 6-cell. I expected it would be higher, might add some wight to the front now.

[ccbg]

Def. looking good ;) What did u use to paint the spokes of the wheels black?

Jamus, idk how much mine weights (got it 2 days ago, and i really like the way it runs.. went and test drove it and i LIKE IT! ), but i am thinking about Sub-C's on front axle, for weight, and for runtime. Got like 30-40 mins of driving with Elite 1500's 6Cell 2/3A batt. Not bad. May be Sub-C's and/or weights on the wheels, and MUUUUST clock that axle. Thats my priority one

[Jamus]

I was meaning what does Nascarkieth's rig weigh, since he's running 2 6-cell sub-c packs. Tower might give a weight on the stock setup.

[nascarkeith]

Rag6, go right ahead. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

Jamus, I didn't have a good way to weigh it so I had to weigh myself and then weigh holding the CC. I don't know how accurate that will be but I got about 6 lbs. and a couple ounces. Stock out of the box these things are pretty light. I have some more weights ordered and hope to add a good bit more to the front wheels.

ccbg, I used some Apple Barrel water based craft paint that cost about $0.48 at Wally World and most craft stores and a cheap paint brush. I also build static models and have found that the craft paints like that are cheap and work great on plastic.

[nascarkeith]

I took the CC out for a crawl with the new body on and snapped a few action shots. The paint looks pretty good on the rocks in the sunshine IMHO. I tried my best to be careful and still got some rock rash on the first run. Don't worry I caught it all on video.

[Jamus]

That looks great. You have a really nice place to crawl at.

[nascarkeith]

Originally Posted by Jamus

That looks great. You have a really nice place to crawl at.

Thanks! Yeah its a great place for a comp set up. It is a pretty steeply sloped hillside that goes down to the drainage pond at the back of my subdivision. It has lots of large rocks pilled up and sticking out of the hillside. Evertyime they pour a foundation for a new house the excess cement gets poured down the bank so there are new lines to try just about everytime I get a chance to crawl. I wish I had a better place to run my scalers, but at least I got somewhere to crawl.

I got a chance today to go crawl with the little bro. We made some obstacles out of stuff we found laying around in his garage.


He has gotten the crawler bug with his CC and is talking about making his own frame and stretching the wheelbase. That has gotten me to thinking about two more mods so let me see what you guys think.

If I just stretched my rear links an inch or two to increase the wheelbase from 10 in. to 11 or 12 in., how big of a difference would that make? Would it help with the clodstall? I know on my scalers longer wheelbases improve climbing but hurt turning radius and belly clearance. Since I'm new to the more comp'ish set up I would like some imput from guys with experience.

The stock CC comes with 11 tooth pinions, correct? Where can I order a 12 tooth for the front and would that make much of a difference with clodstall? I have searched but can't find a part number for that pinion.

Clodstall is the only thing that I can see is limiting this thing from being absolutely killer. I don't want to spend a lot of money because I really just bought this as a fun rig to drive with my brother but if I can spend a little and really make a big difference I don't mind.

Just in case anyone is interested this is where my money is currently tied up. I am getting them ready for our summer comp at Little Rock City this coming July.

[Jamus]

Originally Posted by nascarkeith

If I just stretched my rear links an inch or two to increase the wheelbase from 10 in. to 11 or 12 in., how big of a difference would that make? Would it help with the clodstall? I know on my scalers longer wheelbases improve climbing but hurt turning radius and belly clearance. Since I'm new to the more comp'ish set up I would like some imput from guys with experience.

The stock CC comes with 11 tooth pinions, correct? Where can I order a 12 tooth for the front and would that make much of a difference with clodstall? I have searched but can't find a part number for that pinion.

When I made a new chassis i added 2" and it made a difference, but for my 4"tires I thought it was too much. So when I did the stick setup I made is about 11 1/4" and that seems to work well. I'm still getting stall but I also run 7.2V, but am working on fixing that.

Yes, stock pinions are 11T, 0.6Mod, 2.3mm shaft. You can look up pinions directly with those specs, or look for Duratrax Vendetta pinions. The Detta pinions are better quality as well, stock CC pinions are some kind of cheap junk metal.

[nascarkeith]

I don't think I mentioned it in an earlier post but my wheel weights came in. The fronts are now weighted 2 1/2 ounces and the rear 1 1/2 ounces. I would have put more on the front but that is all there was room for.

I also started working on a new body. I had the old 57 Chevy Pick Up cab that I had used on a flat bad scaler laying around. It was in pretty bad shape so I decided to try my hand at narrowing and dovetailing. This is what I got so far.


Its rough but I'm still working with the bondo to fill in the seam. When its finished its going to have a weathered paint job and maybe a few dents. I don't know if I will ever run it much. The taller body may adversely affect the center of gravity but I thought it would be cool just to see if I could pull it off.

[nascarkeith]

I got my beater body finished up. I think it looks kinda cool. Now I have 3 body options.

[09xD]

Wow that is awesome...how did you get the rust look on it....the dents are well done too!

[nascarkeith]

Originally Posted by 09xD

Wow that is awesome...how did you get the rust look on it....the dents are well done too!

Thanks! Since it was an old body that was narrowed I had to bondo and fill in the seams so that meant paint on the outside. I am actually more used to doing that kind of paint since I build static models. I primered the body to start with. After that, I mixed cheap craft store $0.49 paint until I came up with a "rust" color I liked. It ended up being brown, red, orange, and gold. Then, I brushed it on in the areas I wanted to look rusted. Next, I sprayed the blue color and painted the window trim. Then, I sanded the rusted areas and followed with another coat of "rust" paint that I wiped off with a paper towel. That way the "rust" color was only left in low spots and scratches. I followed that up by smearing the body with black paint and wiping it with a paper towel to get the worn shaded look in the low areas and under panel lines. Finally, to finish it all up I sprayed a mist of gray primer and black from way above to give it that look of dust and dirt settling on it.

That is probably more info than you wanted but that is how I got my beater look. Thanks for asking!

[09xD]

Excellent work sounds like you had a little project...check out my new thread I just started that has my new Army style body that was cut to fit the CC....it was an old 1/10 tmaxx body.

[Jamus]

Looks great, makes me want to do a weathered body.

[FlexdXJ]

Originally Posted by Jamus

Hey, this is RC not the real thing. That scary steering will work fine and you aren't going to kill a bus load of nuns and orphans. Actually a dogleg link is probably stronger than the stock plastic link.

Ain't that the truth. If he were running that on a Jeep then i'd be worried and moving out of his way. I just bought one today and now begins the 4 day wait for the UPS guy. I like what he has done with it and the first thing I am gonna do is lower the body on it. Then I am thinking of getting some bar stock and making an exo/roofrack deal for it to make it kinda scaler style. Now i wish someone would make a Jeep Cherokee body that is affordable!

[Jamus]

It wouldn't fit but Driven Products sold on thetoyz.com makes a XJ-ish body for the losi mini. Or the Traxxas Summit, kinda resembles a 2door. Ya have to get creative since mainstream RC just wants cartoon bodies or new model bodies. We're lucky to see FJ's, Scouts, and old Toyotas.

[FlexdXJ]

Originally Posted by Jamus

Hey, this is RC not the real thing. That scary steering will work fine and you aren't going to kill a bus load of nuns and orphans. Actually a dogleg link is probably stronger than the stock plastic link.

Originally Posted by Jamus

It wouldn't fit but Driven Products sold on thetoyz.com makes a XJ-ish body for the losi mini. Or the Traxxas Summit, kinda resembles a 2door. Ya have to get creative since mainstream RC just wants cartoon bodies or new model bodies. We're lucky to see FJ's, Scouts, and old Toyotas.

Is there a small enough Scout body for these? I have seen them for the monster trucks. I guess i could get one for my pede but i'd rather have it on a crawler