c0bra’s class 1 build “The clearance problem”

[c0bra]

Very catchy name isn’t it? …….. yea I know it’s boring but it fits this truck VERY WELL.

After attending my first local fun run mini comp with a fairly stock knightrunner I was hooked. I knew I had to build a rig that had a slightly shorter wheelbase with bigger tires. Thus this truck began

This truck began life as a builders kit v1 with shrink rc mounts for a extra cab body. The basic build of the truck was straight forward. 11% od trans gears, hard plastic servo mount, ssd shock towers and I believe 30wt shock oil.

From the beginning this truck was built to sort of push what’s legal for class 1, so it got some ssd wheels with 4.19 pitbull growlers. After some trimming of the bed and longer rear rod ends the body was on and fitting perfectly. Unfortunately this is were things get out of hand.

For example locating the battery was a huge issue. This truck I want to run a servo winch mounted next to the servo, so I obviously can’t put the battery there. So I though why don’t I put it behind the transmission…. No room for it at all. So it has to stay in the stock location, luckily I’m going to run a shorty 3s pack so I had to cut out a HUGE hole in the stock interior put cut even more to clear the top of the transmission. I’m even running the bowhouse skid and it still needed a bit of cutting to clear!

Next issue was the esc. I knew I wanted to run a castle esc and the copperhead is way to big to fit in the truck so it had to be a mamba x. But even that was a problem! To solve the mounting issue I installed another cross member behind the trans and made a mounting plate the attaches from the bottom and bends in towards the transmission. At full bump the links to touch the mount but it’s tucked up as far as possible. So great the esc is mounted! But wait soldering the motor wires using straight bullet connectors would mean I’d need to cut a gaping hole in the bed of the truck. To fix it I cut up some straight bullet connectors and soldered the wire at a 90 degree angle. I will go back and coat everything in liquid electrical tape before it’s maiden run.

So yay the servo is mounted, servo winch is in, as well as motor and esc so electronics are basically done….. wait there’s still the receiver! To mount this I’m planning on using a trail king fuel cell mounted behind the rear shock tower but I need to figure out a way to waterproof it, or design my own.

Onto the front bumper. I needed to find a bumper that would be able to suck in as far as possible to not destroy the great approach angle this truck already had. Luckily scalerfab makes one for the element that tucks up nicely on the sendero so I picked one up for this and it fits perfectly!

Next issue was the rear. The departure angle was…. well horrible! So I trip to Home Depot and Walmart later with some extra time thrown in and I was able to remove over and inch of material out of the bed and get it mounted back up and mostly smoothed.





Now onto paint!

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[B-MOW71]

Looking forward to following the build! This body has always been on my "next rig to build" list!

Issues is a word I seem to know all to well! It seems like every custom build I've done there was always multiple issues. I guess that's what makes these type of builds fun. Luckily in the end, all the issues seem to work out.

Looking good so far!

[c0bra]

So it’s been 2 months or so since the last post and it’s gotten very….. far. My excuse is that I am a master procrastinator.

Anyways now I have a reason to get this thing done and of course it’s the first event of the season, which is April 9 at Rausch Creek.

So I started to get the biggest problem with the truck sorted, that is the interior. I started trimming more and more, even got the dash to fit in there. Then I started making a cover for the battery compartment to make it legal again for class 1, only to realize that the cover I already made won’t work! So in order to start making the list shorter I decided to go the easy route and fitted a gatekeeper interior. Best part is, it fits in there so well it shouldn’t even need any mounts! Now I will have to sacrifice the Rc4wd interior in order for the doors to close, but it’s fine. The interior was already extremely hacked up and it would need a new one anyway to clean up.

I also figured out were the b link and receiver are going to mount on the truck. Which will be on a styrene shelf mounted to the slider


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[c0bra]

Got the cab and bed painted in Tamiya gun metal yesterday. Unfortunately I’m now on a work trip out of town until Friday night so I can’t paint the doors, hood and other parts until at least this weekend.

Once I’m back from the trip I’ll mask everything off and spray the black on the underside of the body, and inside the bed awith the airbrush. That way I’ll be able to get the lights installed and interior parts in


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[c0bra]

Took this to rausch creek yesterday for a bit of a shakedown run. This is the only pick I got of it unfortunately. Not long after it rolled down the hill and broke the passenger side door off! Luckily it shouldn’t be too bad of a fix


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