Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Good evening gentlemen, after a few months of being incognito, im finally ready to jump back in. Wanted to get far enough into the build to make sure it would work after a previous failed attempt. So...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnNoKzM-WCs

picked up a Tonka Adventure buggy off Ebay for $50(ish) shipped. the track width is spot on. after taking an inch out of the stock frame, she became a roller

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psac7a8780.jpg

to keep as much of the interior as possible, i was going to put the stock trans up front under the hood and run a compact 1:1 transfercase under the seats

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a0b37a7.jpg

But there were no store bought options that were compact enough for what I wanted to do. after 2 failed attempts and almost $60 IN MATERIALS DOWN THE DRAIN, i said F**** it and il just cut it up. and thats what i did. and wish i had done it sooner.

using 2 of the stock tabs(not sure what they are for in the kit) i attached the rear of the body to the frame. the front of the frame is wedged between an added brace and the stock plastic front bumper. HUGE shoutout to Dave on FB for hopefully sending me some more of those angle tab things for the front body mount. i ruined 2 in the process. the ride height is perfect and looks like a real truck on real tires. and down the line if i ever what to upgrade i could possible run some small 2.2 with a lift kit

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psea83e0e0.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps26655d3c.jpg

it turned out that it took very minimal cutting to get the tranny to sit in the center of the truck. very happy how that turned out. once i build a firewall and drive shaft tunnel and add the driver and passenger, you wont even notice. using T/E maxx shafts the angle are quite steep but dont bind.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5db22df2.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psfd4d3e11.jpg

i plan on putting all the electronics on the firewall and running the battery as far forward under the the hood as possible. the front shocks may interfere with that so i may have to get creative. the way the body is built you have to bend 2 tabs and the hood opens and closes like a real one. pretty neat!

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps87fd533c.jpg

as it sits right now the To-Do list is as follows:

Sliders
Rear Bumper
Skid plate(s)
Tire Carrier (axial Dingo?)
mount electronics
source battery tray (wraith?)
lights(?)
fab transmission tunnel and rear cargo floor
mount GoPro
find driver and co-pilot
fab tow points
fix steering linkage
fab antiwrap bars
mudflaps
hood prop?
...

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Current Parts to Buy List:

2 scx10 shocks
1 axial dingo tire carrier
1 scx10 battery tray
set of stiff foams


if any of you peeps have this stuff laying around id be happy to buy it

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Very cool!

I used one of those bodies for an FPV long range camera truck. Mounted on a Traxxas Summit. I had a servo on the steering wheel so it looked like the drivers arms were steering - the Gopro was in the drivers head. I ended up using springs from a hardware store for the shocks because the body was so heavy. I ran it out about 1.5 miles from base on 1.3Ghz. Great fun.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/856/is1o.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Yeah that's where I was going to put the gopro. And I read a bunch of those for builds too. Made me want a summit....

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

installed the front shocks. using the stiffest spring setup works ok, may need a second intermediate leaf. also need stiffer foams. whats the firmest 1.9 foam on the market?

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

i have the same need of the stiffest 1.9 foam i can get, useing pool noodle foam till i find something more permanent as they tend to flatten when left sitting in the same spot for to long, they are good as long as your rolling

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

I dont know about foams, but I store all of my trucks up on blocks so the foams don't go flat and the tires don't get wonky.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

That sir, is awesome! How's the weight? Imagine it's on the heavy side if you are doubling up springs and heavy foams.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

UPDATE

still have to fab bumpers and make a permanent floor. I have a floor mocked up in cardboard and im going to cover it with resin to make it waterproof and paint it black or tan, not sure yet. For tire foam im going to look into pool noodle foam, if not il give Crawler Innovations a shout for some professional advice. Once i fix those 2 problems and get a battery tray, it should be trail worthy. everything else is just for appearance.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psc58228dd.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psb9077272.jpg

As she sits right now with a battery and electronics, 9ish pounds.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psd6a03465.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Found a solution for the tires. using stock Tamiya CC-01 tires with the beads cut off to clear the rim. they are just as wide as my RC4wd tires but not quite as tall. once i get the truck to final weight i can slit the tread or sidewall of the inner tire to soften them up. tires dont lay over at all.

edit* just got a fresh set of cc-01 tires, will be a runner by this weekend

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

progress pics! got the battery mount down, got the esc mounted, got the on/off switch mounted, got my anti wrap bar figured out, got the gopro mounted.

just need to reinforce the floor pan, cut out a rear bumper and sliders, get another receiver(I always loose those bastards), find a way to keep the hood shut lol, get some stickers to detail the dash a bit, maby some lights?

this girl is gettin heavy.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psgkqk4ei9.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psjcq0jbba.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psop4wiauq.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psjzs2nruu.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Took the Tonka to stone mountain. Performed beautifully. Very smooth and predictable. It also didn't roll over as much as you would think.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

More pics!

Where is stone mt.?

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Its hard to take pics while driving. And stone mountain is a park in Atlanta GA. Its pretty much this huge ass rock. I forgot the gopro on the charger when i left unfortunately but im going out again next weekend with more people so there will be more pics. Some guy today took an awesome video but i cant remember the name of his facebook page :(

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psrnkblb7t.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3m4bakuf.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psvjwm3as0.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Oh. I thought you were in Walnut grove, CA.

Extra weight looks like it makes the suspension perform scale like.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

nah man, east coast. altho more stuff happens in literally every aspect of life over there. This corner of the USA is a cultural wasteland. but i found the page and im going to see if they can post the video or send it to me so i can post it. this truck is so stable over ledges and stuff. there is no axle hop adn you can watch the weight transfer from front to back and side to side.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

I suppose that depends how you define "culture"....

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

What?! Where is the driver? You cannot build a big old open truck like that and not have a cool G.I. Joe behind the wheel. :mrgreen:

I've been to Stone Mountain. Looks like a giant slammed a huge rock on the ground. Nice laser light show too, as I recall. "thumbsup"

I wish we had rocks in south east Texas. :x

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

I was thinking about Merida from the disney movie Brave. she had a black horse named Angus. thought that would be a fitting name.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

some more pics from some recent runs.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9yjorcd8.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psx2z0ph1f.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psf9bgsebm.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...pscqkls9iy.jpg

just for fun i tried some 1.5 trail finder take off wheels and tires. LOL

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psdsubpc19.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

built a real front bumper, the rear will be a pain tho as the body was never designed for a rear bumper

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1i5p1uzc.jpg

the fluorescent light was screwing with the white balance of my camera so i gotta wait for a sunny day to take a pic, but i got a comp this Saturday :D

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Very nice build.What were the results at the comp?

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

well the temperature dropped about 40 degrees in 2 days so the turnout was like 7 people so we just dicked around and had fun. How about that polar vortex. the weight on the nose was a big help tho, need a few more ounces and it will be well balanced. I would also like to source some taller tires and real foams. theres a CI dual stage forma for double digit trucks that i think will work but my tires are way to small so i have to buy new tires as well. liking the 1.9 pitbull madbeast. just gotta source that stuff used.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

updates please..Have you broke any ring and pinions.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

negative. i haven't done anything to the truck since the bumper. i found my driver but she is not ready for the trial yet...

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Merida and the children on stone mountain got along well :D smoked my AE-2, Guess it got tired of spending a year hauling this heavy beast around. i need to add a cooling fan to the underhood area or move the speed control back to open air. Finally i swapped on some stretched 1.9 flat irons off my cc01. Flat irons hook up so well on granite, wet or dry.


http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psfb3d6aff.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Nice build... I like where you placed the ESC.. You think it over heated?

I guess there isn't a ton of air flow under that console.

I was thinking of mounting mine under the hood... but now I'm thinking it will get even less airflow than yours did.

And how are you keeping the hood down? gravity?

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

well i now have a waterproof hobbywing esc so i moved it back under the dash. its a bit cooler there. I dont have anything holding the hood down and it goes flying alot. if you look back through the pictures, there is less and less paint on the center ridge.

unfortunately its been put on the shelf as the motor burned up. And as it is a pain in the dick to remove and that i have an ascender now, i dont think it will be repaired any time soon. the tranny and axles held up so props to gmade.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

So a while back i swapped the motor with a tamiya motor from who knows what and have just been driving around hiking trails. today was my first mechanical breakdown. FINALLY smoked a plastic tanny gear. After many years of 10+lbs and the occasional 3s rip, something finally gave out. To be honest the rest of the truck is just as clapped out as the gearbox was. guess its time to rebuild. Is the drivetrain from the komodo the same as a sawback?

https://i.imgur.com/lEsmtdS.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Yes it is.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

I've had the same experience with the GMade gears - they are tough!

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

cool rig
hows that body size up to axial bodys i always though they were around 1/12 scale but yours looks bigger
ive got 4 tonkas waiting to be build 1 van 1 vary old pick up and 2 dump trucks lol i keep seeing this one and was woundering about it

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

its the exact same width as the stock sawback body. never had an scx10 and not a fan of lexan bodies in general. One of the reasons i sold my ascender. "normal" tonka trucks are to small.

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

I copied your build over on RCGroups. It turned out great. Thanks for the inspiration!

https://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...810_082109.jpg

Re: Koldhams Tonka Sawback
 

Looks great!