Tommy's Big Willy

[Tommy R]

A bit more progress.... Servo is now mounted.


Profile shot. I wanted the servo arm to be able to clear under the chassis for full steering throw. I didn't want it limited at all.


Front shot. Minimal intrusion of the servo behind the grill. Once everything is painted flat black, it should blend in really well.


Under the hood. The motor/trans isn't mounted in the pic, but there's ample room for it all. The battery (5000mah 3s) will go behind the firewall.

[TOYOTAS]

Im glad you're posting good pics!

I just got a willys from my brother for christmas and plan on running the ax10 tranny too. I didnt think about a fan, is that for the motor or the battery?...or both?

looking good so far! cant wait to do mine

[Tommy R]

No problem! I always try to post detailed pics of the areas that can be weird or problematic in order to help others who may be building a similar rig. And this type of build certainly presents some unique challenges. I'm working on an axle mount for my track bar right now. That is one of my last real challenges other than determining a good way to secure a bumper.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by TOYOTAS

Im glad you're posting good pics!

I just got a willys from my brother for christmas and plan on running the ax10 tranny too. I didnt think about a fan, is that for the motor or the battery?...or both?

looking good so far! cant wait to do mine

Oh sorry, forgot about your fan question. Some folks have said that the motors run hot in these rigs due to all the weight. Evidently, some push 15+ lbs. once they're complete! I figured it can't hurt so I decided to get one from RCP. This way I should never have temperature related issues.

[BigSki]

Great progress so far! If I can offer a suggestion for mounting the trans, it would be to make a flat mount out of a piece of aluminum angle because of the weird curved floor surface under the hood. I had a heck of a time w/ my Orange Jeep in regards to the trans never seeming very 'stable' until I figured out what was really going on. Once I made a simple flat surface for it to mount to, it ran a lot smoother.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by BigSki

Great progress so far! If I can offer a suggestion for mounting the trans, it would be to make a flat mount out of a piece of aluminum angle because of the weird curved floor surface under the hood. I had a heck of a time w/ my Orange Jeep in regards to the trans never seeming very 'stable' until I figured out what was really going on. Once I made a simple flat surface for it to mount to, it ran a lot smoother.

Thanks, man. Yeah, I've seen that will be an issue. I was going to try adding some washers to simulate a flat surface. If that doesn't work I was planning on making some angled wedges or something. Got any pics of what you did?

[Big Mike]

Originally Posted by Tommy R

A bit more progress.... Servo is now mounted.


Profile shot. I wanted the servo arm to be able to clear under the chassis for full steering throw. I didn't want it limited at all.


Front shot. Minimal intrusion of the servo behind the grill. Once everything is painted flat black, it should blend in really well.


Under the hood. The motor/trans isn't mounted in the pic, but there's ample room for it all. The battery (5000mah 3s) will go behind the firewall.

Sweet! Nice shoehornin'. How'd you fit that servo mount in there? I screwed mine right to the front "crossmember" w/o a mount. You got yours to hang a tad lower that way, so the arm should clear easily. I had to get creative with the hardware to make the arm "flat" on top, and very slightly notched the frame itself for enough clearance. And that's after looking all over my LHS for the arm that had the most offset.

Now all you have to do is find the right spot for the panhard mount on the frame. Mine ended up right underneath the framerail. I think the key factor is for the panhard and drag links to be parrallel, when I made that happen the bump-steer disappeared (not sayin' I know what I'm doin' - a lot of luck was involved...)

[Big Mike]

About the tranny mount - at first I made a spacer to go under the front, to make sure the trans was tilted toward the back. But taking the trans in and out several times during the build, the last time it went back in I forgot to put the spacer back in. It seemed as solid without it as with, so I did'nt go through the extreme hassle of reversing 1/2 hour of work and putting it in. It hasn't been an issue, 4 screws through the engine bay floor hold it in place...

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

Sweet! Nice shoehornin'. How'd you fit that servo mount in there? I screwed mine right to the front "crossmember" w/o a mount. You got yours to hang a tad lower that way, so the arm should clear easily. I had to get creative with the hardware to make the arm "flat" on top, and very slightly notched the frame itself for enough clearance. And that's after looking all over my LHS for the arm that had the most offset.

Now all you have to do is find the right spot for the panhard mount on the frame. Mine ended up right underneath the framerail. I think the key factor is for the panhard and drag links to be parrallel, when I made that happen the bump-steer disappeared (not sayin' I know what I'm doin' - a lot of luck was involved...)

The servo mount ultimately turned out to be pretty easy, but after lots of thought which hurt my brain! I just used standard servo mounts and popped a couple holes in the fender well to attach them. I had to Dremel quite a bit away to get it in there. As low as the servo arm sits, it may present clearance issues with the tie rod under compression, but it's more realistic this way so I'll deal with it. Worst case, the tie rod may just need to go under the knuckles instead of on top.

For the track bar, I'm just going to braze a Tamiya link to the bumper mount. Oh, I just realized I haven't posted pics of the bumper mount yet! I'll take some later today and get them in here.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

About the tranny mount - at first I made a spacer to go under the front, to make sure the trans was tilted toward the back. But taking the trans in and out several times during the build, the last time it went back in I forgot to put the spacer back in. It seemed as solid without it as with, so I did'nt go through the extreme hassle of reversing 1/2 hour of work and putting it in. It hasn't been an issue, 4 screws through the engine bay floor hold it in place...

Oh, really? Good info. Thanks again, Mike! BTW, I can't tell you how many times I've read through your entire build while putting this thing together! It's been really helpful, particularly all the pics!

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by Tommy R

Thanks, man. Yeah, I've seen that will be an issue. I was going to try adding some washers to simulate a flat surface. If that doesn't work I was planning on making some angled wedges or something. Got any pics of what you did?

They're in my Orange Jeep build thread, I made the plate when I went from the piece-o-crap R2 trans to the uber reliable Axial trans.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by BigSki

They're in my Orange Jeep build thread, I made the plate when I went from the piece-o-crap R2 trans to the uber reliable Axial trans.

I saw a pic where it looks like you have some styrene or some other white plastic under the trans. Is that what you're referring to?


Got another update, too. I finalized the track bar mounts and the upper link. The links are all temporary for the moment while I determine exactly how to bend/orient them to get maximum clearance.

Here's the driver's side mount, which also mounts the front bumper (not pictured).


And I present to you the world's simplest track bar mount!


Front view of the suspension.


I'll mount the springs/shocks to make it a roller. Then I'll tweak/build all the various links and work on the front bumper/winch mount.

[Tommy R]

Ladies & germs, I'm proud to say that we now have a ROLLER!!


Some random pics...






Obligatory flex shots! The rear has more in it, but not enough weight to get there.....yet.




Hammer's happy to be back in the spotlight after so long!


"Gimme some driveshafts, Tommy! I wanna go wheelin'!!"


I still have a long way to go. The links need to be tweaked a bit and some new ones will be fabbed from heavier duty stuff. There's plenty of clean-up work to do on the body and axles. And I decided not to use the original plastic bumper and instead will fab up a custom metal one. Then it's on to the roll cage and to take care of paint and all the electronics. Shouldn't be too much longer!

[STANG KILLA SS]

i love it tommy! nice!
any plans to shorten the front links/wb?

edit: never mind i didnt read i just look at the pretty pictures

double edit: any plans to paint the wheels?

[Krawler Konceptz]

Wow with every build you amaze everyone with your skills. Watching this build makes me want to build one...... Keep up the awesome work and always think outside the box

Rob

[TOYOTAS]

that is cool!!!

that wheel/tire combo looks perfect on there!!!

awesome work

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

i love it tommy! nice!
any plans to shorten the front links/wb?

edit: never mind i didnt read i just look at the pretty pictures

double edit: any plans to paint the wheels?

LOL! Yeah, I'm going to keep this wheelbase. I think it's about 12.5". The rear axle is nearly perfectly centered at ride height. The front is stretched out a bit, but I wanted a slightly better approach angle and it also provided much needed clearance for the servo arm, track bar, etc...

I don't plan on painting the wheels. I like the wagon wheel look. I think it'll suit the body color once I paint it. However, the narrow track of the wheels really puts the tires into the body when turning. I may consider a different wheel at some point. Maybe some of Patrick's new TrailReady lookalikes?

Originally Posted by Krawler Konceptz

Wow with every build you amaze everyone with your skills. Watching this build makes me want to build one...... Keep up the awesome work and always think outside the box

Rob

Thanks, Rob! You're WAY too kind!! I have pretty high hopes for this rig and a long way to go to finish it. Hopefully it won't disappoint! If it comes out half as nice as some of the other Willys Jeeps here, I'll be happy.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by TOYOTAS

that is cool!!!

that wheel/tire combo looks perfect on there!!!

awesome work

Thanks a lot!!

[justinart24]

Looking good bro! Looks like a fun rig to drive, cant wait to see some video on Hammer hitting rocks!

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by twissted

The servomount works real well if mounted to the bumper.

So building a custom bumper would have to be in the works. If the plastic holds up then you my have something in the spot you have. Once you have it as you want it. And it looks like you do try hot glue around the cuts you made. it will help with the stress of the cuts you made. I see alot of these jeeps being build and they look like a lot of fun. I like how you added metal to the frame adding weight low will help you and should last. nice work. building a metal motor and trans mout wouldn't hurt. Happy trails and it looks great so far. if building a cage try building it around the motor area so that it beefs up what your installing. Shock mounts included. I don't know hard you pland on driving it but sometime building for the worst is also good looking in the end.

Thanks, man! I considered a couple options for servo mounting, but one of my requirements was that the servo rotate in a horizontal plane so that arrangement may not have worked out so well for me. I'm also now planning a very short/stubby bumper and it'll be too shallow to hide a servo. Good idea, though!

I don't plan on wheelin' this rig as hard as my Class 3 styled rigs. This one will be wheeled pretty realistically so hopefully the plastic shock mounts and such will suffice. Time will tell, I suppose! I do plan on filling the holes that aren't use to gain some more strength. Good idea on the hot glue.

Originally Posted by justinart24

Looking good bro! Looks like a fun rig to drive, cant wait to see some video on Hammer hitting rocks!

Thanks, dude! Yeah, I'm really stoked on this rig now that I can see light at the end of the tunnel. It's the only rig that's gotten me to stop working on my race junk for any period of time lately!!