Tommy's Big Willy

[Tommy R]

No kidding?? I had no idea thermal issues would be such a concern with these things. Darin, it really makes me wonder how you keep that puller cool! Do you run it on 2s?

I do have a fan from my Mamba Max Pro that I could use in the radiator's location. Or I guess a small computer sized fan would work. Do y'all power external fans with a BEC or straight off the output of the ESC/rx?

[Difuser]

Ok Tommy wtf did you get a body to build? The dry side guys up here have a couple and it looks like it could be a fun build....

Btw both RB trucks are gone already...starting new builds in 3,2,1....

[DonsATV]

Never had an overheating issue with mine but I am running 2 ax10 trannys in mine. I started out with a blue Traxxas XL5 with a 60t motor then moved to a water proof Mtronics viper 27 with a 55t motor and now I'm running a CC sidewinder with a 35t motor. It crawls like a 2.5l 4banger compared to the stock "Go devil" I started out with.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Difuser

Ok Tommy wtf did you get a body to build? The dry side guys up here have a couple and it looks like it could be a fun build....

Btw both RB trucks are gone already...starting new builds in 3,2,1....

Not sure if I need some sort of PNW-to-Texas decoder ring to figure out what you're saying! Not sure about dry side guys, but as far as where I bought it, I picked it up here on RCC, but they're all over ebay, too.

Originally Posted by DonsATV

Never had an overheating issue with mine but I am running 2 ax10 trannys in mine. I started out with a blue Traxxas XL5 with a 60t motor then moved to a water proof Mtronics viper 27 with a 55t motor and now I'm running a CC sidewinder with a 35t motor. It crawls like a 2.5l 4banger compared to the stock "Go devil" I started out with.

Neon 4 banger power is more than sufficient for this rig, IMO. I may start out with the 55t since that's what I have in there already. I can always step it up more if I feel the need.

And Don, I think you need to post up some more updates!

[reddevildemo]

No heat issues with mine at all. I am still old school running a 4200mah 7.2v NiMh with everything under the hood. I do not have a bottom in there though, I cut it all the way out.

[Difuser]

The Cascades make Washington have a wet side and a dry side. All of us who came back to MSD were wetsiders thus the moss growing on us and those weren't tans it was rust....

They set the date for the GP June 16th

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by reddevildemo

No heat issues with mine at all. I am still old school running a 4200mah 7.2v NiMh with everything under the hood. I do not have a bottom in there though, I cut it all the way out.

Interesting. FWIW, I just verified that my 5000 mah 3s will fit under the hood so I think that's what I'll be running. But it would block a lot of airflow under the dash area. I think I'll look into adding some forced ventilation to this thing to be on the safe side. A fan in the grill area and one on the motor, too. And if I run a MMP, I'll keep the fan on it, too.

Originally Posted by Difuser

The Cascades make Washington have a wet side and a dry side. All of us who came back to MSD were wetsiders thus the moss growing on us and those weren't tans it was rust....

They set the date for the GP June 16th

Ah, now I get it! We don't have ANY wet sides here in Tejas. Can't believe you sold both your Red Bull rigs so quickly, either!

F1 in Austin: June 16, 2012. Bring it!!

[Tommy R]

I meant to ask this earlier, but what do you all use to fill holes in these bodies? I don't know the material so I'm not sure using styrene and solvent is the way to go. I guess I could always just fill the holes with styrene, use epoxy on the backside, and use some plastic filler to smooth the outside finish? Still undecided about the color, but since it's a civilian Jeep, the OD will be going bye bye.

[DonsATV]

Looks like Walter used styrene to fill the holes in his body:

Finally starting my 1/6th Willys MB

[BigSki]

I used .080 styrene to plug up all of the holes in my body and I used straight MEK to "weld" everything together. You can get a pint of MEK at Home Depot and other places like that.

My overheating issues is probably because the bottom of the engine compartment is mostly intact and the grille is still solid, it doesn't get much air flow into the engine bay. I have a battery tray built into the cowl area so there's no room to draw from that area. I'm using a 5000 3S LiPo, I can run the rig for 2 hours and still not kill the battery!


I had my first mechanical failure on Sunday and it wasn't even a big one, I tried to squeeze the Jeep through some rocks that were too narrow for it to fit through, the right rear tire got jammed into the wheel well and it ripped out the upper locating arm mount from the re-enforced chassis..

[ZoSo]

well I've got over 300 hours of run time on my willys.
In the summer when it's around 100 degrees outside
depending on how hard we push them....they will overheat
but an internal fan keeps 'em nice and cool ...it's mainly the
ESC ....a fan on the ESC is more than enough.
but the fan in the grill works..... and looks cool.

[Tommy R]

Thanks again for the helpful info, fellas! I'm not familiar with MEK. What is that? I assume it's pretty different from ProWeld, Bondene, Tenax, etc. that we often use for regular styrene work?

Since we'll be playing 100 degree heat, as well, I think it would be best to integrate at least a fan into the grill area. If it thermals I may add one directly to the ESC. Sound reasonable?

And looky what I found on teh intarwebs:
http://www.rcpcrawlers.com/product.p...&cat=51&page=1

I assume it'd be cool (ha!) to run this off the 6v coming through my receiver? Or should I plan on adding a dedicated BEC for it?

[Unimoger]

looking good tommy, we've got 2 more of those bodies here at the HG, I keep trying to motivate myself to build one.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Unimoger

looking good tommy, we've got 2 more of those bodies here at the HG, I keep trying to motivate myself to build one.

Thanks, Ben! I haven't been this enthused about a build in a while. Can't wait to get some more free time so I can really make some progress on this thing.


Another question for y'all... I'm 100% unfamiliar with Wheely King axles. Are the CVDs strong or should I expect frequent snappage?

[reddevildemo]

I got rid of the WK, kept snapping front dog bones. I now have some Mad Force axles so hope they will be stronger.

MEK is Methyl Ethyl Ketone, nice strong plastic meltin buzz giving stuff. Works great as mentioned just use in well ventilated area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone

Oh ya, CVD's are no longer being made for the WK's right now. There was talk on here of someone making some but I forget who it was.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by reddevildemo

I got rid of the WK, kept snapping front dog bones. I now have some Mad Force axles so hope they will be stronger.

MEK is Methyl Ethyl Ketone, nice strong plastic meltin buzz giving stuff. Works great as mentioned just use in well ventilated area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone

Oh ya, CVD's are no longer being made for the WK's right now. There was talk on here of someone making some but I forget who it was.

I hope these CVDs hold together! It would suck to break one and not be able to locate a replacement. I don't even know who makes the ones I have. Maybe I should find out.

Thanks for the MEK info! Would that be in the plumbing department or what?

[ZoSo]

I've got a quote for more WK CVD's
I'll order them as soon as can...so hang on to your parts
everything should be interchangable with the old CVD's

and to fill in the unwanted holes on your Willys I used the plastic I cut off
from the drivetrain and bumpers

[STANG KILLA SS]

fyi bondene is designed for use with both styrene and abs. thats what i used. but there may be better stuff out there ;)

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by ZoSo

I've got a quote for more WK CVD's
I'll order them as soon as can...so hang on to your parts
everything should be interchangable with the old CVD's

and to fill in the unwanted holes on your Willys I used the plastic I cut off
from the drivetrain and bumpers

Awesome! I'm not sure how many companies made CVDs, but I'm guessing it's a pretty safe bet that the ones I have are from RCP?

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

fyi bondene is designed for use with both styrene and abs. thats what i used. but there may be better stuff out there ;)

I guess I was thinking the plastic was something other than standard ABS. But if it is, then I'm golden! I don't have any shortage of Bondene.

[BigSki]

You can find the MEK in the area where wood stain is kept, at least that's where it is at my local HD. Like mentioned above, use that stuff in a WELL ventilated area. It would be a good idea to use a fan to blow the fumes away from you and out a window or door. MEK is the active ingredient in all of the hobby shop bonding agents, it just works best at 100% solution which is far too dangerous for the general public to have access to. You can even drop some styrene shavings/dust into a glass jar of MEK and make a nice soupy paste to use as a filler for deep gouges.

I've been working w/ Gunner to develop some Beef Toobs that will use stock length XR-10 axle shafts, C's and hubs on a AX-10 axle housing. The finished axle is about 5mm wider than a WK axle. I've also been playing with using the XR-10 axle shafts w/ the WK housings. It can be made to work but it's not a simple bolt up operation, I'm not sure how much time I want to spend farting around with it when the AX-10 hybrid axle will be the easy way to go.