GC-1 Wheely King

[R1 Seven]

I have been a fan of the GC-1 chassis since it got some exposure from winning the nationals in 2007. I had planned on building one at some point using some Axial axles to make it easy. I already had a comp style Wheely King based tuber that has been getting some age on it (and taking a beating) so I figured I would try and figure out a way to adapt the GC-1 to the wheely king axles.

Here are the basic specs:

GC-1 TLT spec chassis
Locked WK axles
Locked RC10 B2 stealth tranny
65T Brushed Lathe Motor
HiTec 645MG servo
Mamba Max ESC
3-cell (11.1V) 1500 LiPo pack
Traxxas Big Bore Shocks
RPM narrow track wheels

Here is the basic GC-1 chassis:


Here are how the WK axles fit up to it:

[R1 Seven]

The main challenge here is to get the links to connect to the axles in a manner that does not change the geometry that was desinged into the chassis.

This is a mod that I had done a while back on the tuber. I mounted a set of TLT brackets on the housing to clean up the suspension mounting points.



Next I had to make some brackets to mount the upper link plate to the axle. They are just some Z brackets made from aluminum and use the existing mount holes on the link plate.





Now the link plate can be attached to the axle with some screws.

[resetpunk]

what links are u running?

[smcurry83]

Very interesting mount. I may have to replicate that for my new build. It would be great for a battery pack.

[R1 Seven]

I was able to get the basic rolling chassis assembled today as well.

Due to the clocked axle Cs on the WK axles, I may need to run a slightly longer upper link to take some of the castor out of the axle. The plus is that the axle side U-joint will get turned up for more clearance. In the bottom photo I have installed 106mm Traxxas rods in place of the 102mm that is the normal spec for the CG-1. The front has 102mm rods all around for comparisson.





The next thing to go on will be the transmission...

[LST022752]

Nice job. What shocks are those?

[rockeater]

think he said traxxas big bore, its in the post....


nice chassis...... really clean look too

[resetpunk]

yea they look like big bore shocks...how are those working out for u? they seem to stiff for me

[cagedmax]

Excelent work there Jeff. Gonna go with tha axial tranny so you can run the Visionary dig???

[Cosmo-Graphics]

Looking good. I hope to see it in action the next Friday I'm up at Crossroads...

[Nerve]

Interesting. I too like the mounts on the front/rear axles.

Keep us updated with new pics.

[R1 Seven]

Originally Posted by cagedmax

Excelent work there Jeff. Gonna go with tha axial tranny so you can run the Visionary dig???

It is tempting...but I think I am going to keep the dig old school to keep the cost down. I have been wanting to build one of those anyways...

[R1 Seven]

Alright...more progress.

Next up was installing the transmission. I decided to use the B2 Stealth transmission that I was using in my tuber. It fits in the chassis real nice. Because of the mounting locations on the transmission housing, I have to use a brace to make it more solid. In the case of the GC-1 chassis I was able to run the brace up top and use it for a handy ESC mount.





Next order of business was getting the front end buttoned up. I had to shorten the upper link of my King Bling steering kit to get it to work with the new servo mounting location. There is *just* enough clearance for everything to fit without any binding.



Finally, I installed the radio gear. The ESC mounts up to the transmission brace perfectly. I mounted the reciever on the inside of the chassis rails at the rear. Eventually, I will be mounting a dig servo on the rear axle mount, so that stays clear for now.

[smcurry83]

Looks good. Keep it coming...

[rockhugger]

vrey nice build. I like the fj in the back ground also, and the bronco in your avatar.

I have one question about the angle of the front axle. how are you going to deal with the servo angle in relation to the angle of the knuckles, and pinion. Or has it not been an issue with the steering?

thanks

[R1 Seven]

Originally Posted by rockhugger

vrey nice build. I like the fj in the back ground also, and the bronco in your avatar.

I have one question about the angle of the front axle. how are you going to deal with the servo angle in relation to the angle of the knuckles, and pinion. Or has it not been an issue with the steering?

thanks

Thanks. A link to the FJ build thread is in my sig.

I ran the truck around in the shop tonight and the steering seems to work fine, even with the positive caster. The servo angle does not play into it too much. As long as the arm can provide the right amount of linear motion (in both directions) it should work in just about any arangement. Once I drive it some on some real terrain, I should be able to judge better how I like having all the caster in it.

[smcurry83]

How do you like the link set-up? Does the suspension cycle just as smoothly as normal?

[kelly_and_brian]

That looks awesome. When you mounted the Tamiya parts on the axle did you drill and tap the holes? If so, what size did you use?

I am waiting on parts to rotate my shocks so I have not removed the brackets yet, but I assume the holes are not already there.

[Nerve]

Thanks for the updated pics! Looking like a solid build.

It is always refreshing to check out a build with some decent photos. Nothing bugs me more then looking at out of focus, blurry, hard to see photos and someone trying to describe something shown in the photo...lol.

So .. for great pics

[R1 Seven]

Originally Posted by smcurry83

How do you like the link set-up? Does the suspension cycle just as smoothly as normal?

The suspension cycles normally. The trianglulation point in the links is just moved to a different location. There is no binding or anyting. As I understand it, part of what makes this chassis so good is the link placement and geometry.

That looks awesome. When you mounted the Tamiya parts on the axle did you drill and tap the holes? If so, what size did you use?

I am waiting on parts to rotate my shocks so I have not removed the brackets yet, but I assume the holes are not already there.

The brackets are mounted with Tamiya 3mm self-tapping screws. I just drilled the holes undersized and let the threads form themselves. These seem to be pretty strong so far. The lower links/shock mounts were on my tuber chassis and survived some heavy abuse. I bent some single shear suspension bolts and even broke a shock mount bolt (on the upper side) and the brackets did not even loosen. I am convinced that they work.