Certainly not original "Willys"

[Big Mike]

Originally Posted by snydercj7

Thank you. Do it, large scale is a lot of fun.

1/6th scale rules. The physics are so much more true-to-life than 1/10th scale. They behave very realistically if you tune the suspension right.

I'm hoping to see 1/6th scale take off a bit more, because we all know it's more fun to run with your friends. A 1/6th scale Camel Trophy Challenge would be epic. The problem is, 1/6th scale rigs are exclusively full-custom creations. They can rarely be bought, they must be built...

Originally Posted by snydercj7

The not so impressive part about this..... The Jeep was cruising across a pretty mellow flat rock section when the shaft let go. Suppose the prior testing of popping the front end up on carpet to test the power and torque may have weakened the shaft.

Ginger loves to pull wheelies, and that definitely takes it's toll on the drivetrain due to the weight and torque. An Axial transmission with Robinson steel gears and MIP shafts all around have been good for me so far. Even the RC4WD transfer case has been hangin' tough (knock on wood) the weak link is my home-made extended axles, they'll twist if I'm too throttle-happy...

[snydercj7]

Not that the Willy's is fast.... I agree, running it at speed across a bumpy terrain is a trip watching the suspension at work under the load of the vehicle. I am sad I left the area not far from Zoso where so many Willy's dwell, I need 6th scale Jeeping buddies.

Now that I have stopped doing wheelies I am hoping it will save the drive train with the reduced shock load.

I have a feeling Gunny, Mrs. Gunny, and their favorite Devil Dog are getting ready to make a haul across country in search of some rocks soon! Hope they send pictures of their journey.

[snydercj7]

The Gunny is one hard core dude. 2,700 + miles across country in a Jeep so he could experience some wheeling in the Pacific Northwest. Hear he may be heading some where more dry soon.

[snydercj7]

Gunny and Mrs. Gunny feeling out a dryer climate. I want those trees back!

Lowered the Jeep another 1/8 of an inch or so and some jacka$$ forgot to add oil to the PL scaler shocks. Willys does alright now.

[BigSki]

That Jeep is getting some miles on it over the summer!

[JeremyH]

Very cool! Just this weekend I was wondering how some wraith axles would sit under my Willys. Thanks for the motivation.

BTW, are those pictures from Calico just outside of Vegas? That spot looks very familiar....

[snydercj7]

Originally Posted by BigSki

That Jeep is getting some miles on it over the summer!

Yes sir!

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Very cool! Just this weekend I was wondering how some wraith axles would sit under my Willys. Thanks for the motivation.

BTW, are those pictures from Calico just outside of Vegas? That spot looks very familiar....

I like them myself and they need no wideners. Good to know I can still motivate. And yes, that is Calico.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by snydercj7

I like them myself and they need no wideners. Good to know I can still motivate. And yes, that is Calico.

Cool! I spent quite a few hours crawling those rocks. Very fun!

[snydercj7]

Being a loner on Lone Mtn. Actually amazed at how well the Willys climbed up a good portion of the mountain tonight. I should have had the head lamp on so I could see where I was going. Climbing the washes makes this seem so similar to the Hammers, on a smaller scale of course. Only one photo of the fun before it got too dark.

[Fumbles]

Originally Posted by snydercj7

Only one photo of the fun before it got too dark.

Cool lights on your Jeep - I've gotta get some of those ! Who's lights did you use and how did you wire them into your system?

[snydercj7]

Thanks. The light bar is a Vanquish 6" which has great detailed quality. As for the rock lights there are 2 Crawler-dad version 2 2". I chose those for their compact and versital mounting. The sad part is Vanquish looks really good but does not come close to the output the Crawler-dad lights do. But they all do what this vehicle needs so I am happy with it. As for controlling the lights Heyok has some great products. I picked up a controller from him that plugs into the battery and my receiver so the lights can be controlled from the remote. Only requirement is the lights really do need 3s. Vanquish wont work otherwise, think the Crawler-dad will work on 2s.

[Fumbles]

Cool ! Thanks for the info !

[snydercj7]

A little bit of an update. Gunny has been wheeling the poor Willy's like he stole it, no trail running here...

There has been a roll or two that have given the front hoop some abuse.


The black out light on the fender, shovel and axe, body hoop/ handles have all fallen victim to the rocks.




The jerry can and spare tire were getting ripped off on every run, even Gunny's favorite devil dog was a casualty in a roll.


The latest carnage.... Another planetary output shaft.


Considering this is the second time that has let go I think it is time for an upgrade. Tearing the Willy's down and hope to have some good reports soon.

[snydercj7]

Guess I should have listened to the advice and ran an Axial style transmission from the start. Thought the planetary was a much cleaner setup, but the output shaft was not ment to hold up to 11lbs of abuse and hardcore crawling.

This puppy should do the trick, I am sure it will let me know where my weak link is in the drive train. Of course this does have a slipper which will take some of that "shock" off every thing.


Another weak link is the HR bell crank steering set up. I found one on rc4wd, and the shaft where the servo arm attaches on each end look like it will hold them in place much better then the HR set up. HR only had a single flat side on the shaft for a set screw and allows movement. To be fair (again) this is 11lbs of beef and the 7980 servo really seem to be beating on the HR unit. The actual bearing mount of the HR is beefier then the rc4wd. May cut it down to work with the stronger shaft and servo arms of the rc4wd. If all that makes sense to you guys.. comparison of the two.


Another thing, the frame is drilled and tapped for the HR bearing mount.

[snydercj7]

Well, the boss decided I was having too much fun. She requested her very own r/c to join in. This one is probably going to stay simple and more stockish.
It did get some paint to set it a part from most of the others. Moved electronics around so the battery is in the front. Hooked it up to the Castle Link and tweeked the drag brake. She picked out the chick from The Walking Dead, a dog, and a couple other goodies to go inside. As things break she will do some upgrading. I would love to give it some Wraith axles and go crazy...



So I finally got to do a couple things for my own rig. Broke out the trusty little saw to remake a new transimission/ steering servo mount.


The old mount was pretty light weight and simple and also included the esc mount. The new took a little more time but hopefully the 1/4" 6065 t6 will hold up to the new transmission and 3100kv motor.


A little more sanding to clean it up a bit more and it will get some paint tonight. Probably let it sit for the next week before installing. Then it is on to redoing the steering with the new rc4wd bell crank. Almost forgot, the MIP shaft from the transmission to the tcase is too short (after cutting it down for the planetary trans). Need to make some measurements and find a length that will work for that.

[snydercj7]

aaaaaah... More progress! Well, it makes this guy happy any way.

So the tolerance of the servo horn and transmission mount is pretty stupid but it clears with the help of counter sunk transmission screws, as long as there is no flexing.


All in place looking like it's going to be good.


Are you checking out my undercarriage? I admit that was corny... Notice the lovely bumps (texture)? Painting when it's too warm out I suppose.


Almost looks as if I meant to do that..... So much for building it right the first time.


Time to get off my duff and figure out the new steering and get another MIP shaft so the Gunny can get back to beating his beast.

[Fumbles]

Nice fix! That's some good crafting there...
Looks like gunny has driven the hell outta that jeep. Carnage city on all of the accessories!

[snydercj7]

Thank you sir. I.... Errrr..... Gunny can't help but push the Willys to its limit and see what it is really capable of. Sadly the Jeep is paying the price. It does give it a great patina of a truly hard wheeled Jeep.

[snydercj7]

Another success!

Wanted to utilize the beefier HR bell crank housing and bearings with the RC4WD shaft and servo arms. So the below depicts what a stock HR bell crank (left), looks like compared to the cut down HR bell crank using RC4WD shaft (center), next to the small'ish RC4WD bell crank housing (right). Was putting this part of the project off for some reason. The cut down and redrilling for the lower bearing went without a hitch.


Bolted in place ready for abuse, hopefully it all holds up.


The steering is hidden for the most part by the bumper/ steering box skid, how it looks before all the stuff goes back on.


I was trying to be cheap and just get a male of female MIP shaft to get the extra length that was created by changing from the planetary tranny to the Axial style. I see SuperShafty has a 3 1/2" MIP so may just go with that. The last thing holding this from being done now.

[snydercj7]

With some help from Rick at Supershafty I finally have a drive shaft that fits between the new transmission and transfer case.

It sure does look ugly.... Maybe I can clean the wiring up a little bit.


Seems like I need to tighten the nut on the slipper a little or add a some thread lock on the clutch itself to get a little more grab from the clutch. I am sure the weight of these 1/6 scale Willy's pushes the clutches a little more then they were designed for. A little different then the direct drive I have been use to for the past year. Also made a mistake of buying a longer servo horn on the new bell crank set up and seem to have lost some steering. Hey, it's part of building these things I suppose.

Hopefully this thread has been or will be useful to others out there. I have enjoyed the process of building it as much as wheeling it. Hopefully it holds up now and there will be no more updates.

At any rate the Gunny and Mrs. Gunny are back out on the trail moving one boulder at a time.