Tommy's Big Willy

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by reddevildemo

WOW, lookin real good Tommy. I know I had issues with my stamped Steelies as well with the WK axles. I moved my shocks inboard more to stop the contact to them....I don't think I had bumper contact though.

I'll be posting an update to mine tonight, got the 3-link done ! Thanks again for the ideas.

I wish I could inboard my shocks more, but they're already really close to the body and I can't move them much more inboard, if at all. It's okay, I'll figure out a way to keep the steelies. Darin, your rig is looking great!


Did a bit more to the Willys today. Don't know if I mentioned it already, but the front and rear driveshafts are in (MIPs). I'm waiting for another MIP from The Crawler Store to connect the trans to the t-case. I also did a few more tweaks. I shortened the track bar a bit to better center the axle and I also determined the right length for the drag link.

Here's some pics...

Ride height:


Full droop:


Full bump:


The "pitman arm" screw hits the tie rod at full bump, but since that will rarely ever happen, I'm not really worried about it. Under normal driving conditions there's plenty of clearance. But I can always tweak things later on if I feel the need.

I took a video of the bumpsteer. I think I nailed it!
Testing Bumpsteer in a 1/6 Scale RC Willys Jeep - YouTube

[Big Mike]

Originally Posted by Tommy R

Full bump:


The "pitman arm" screw hits the tie rod at full bump, but since that will rarely ever happen, I'm not really worried about it.

Mine hits exactly like that. You won't notice it while you're driving.

You definitely nailed it. That looked like absolutely zero input to me (My wheels will move just a tick to the left at full droop. Doesn't negatively affect the drive at all so I've left it alone)

Your frame mount for the panhard is an 1/8th or so farther outboard than mine. I'm thinking thats where you made some improvement...

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

Mine hits exactly like that. You won't notice it while you're driving.

You definitely nailed it. That looked like absolutely zero input to me (My wheels will move just a tick to the left at full droop. Doesn't negatively affect the drive at all so I've left it alone)

Your frame mount for the panhard is an 1/8th or so farther outboard than mine. I'm thinking thats where you made some improvement...

Thanks, Mike... I tried to make the track bar and drag link as close to the same length as possible, in addition to having them at similar angles. They're pretty darn close! They're both 91mm Axial links. The biggest deviation is the small spacer I added to the length of the drag link, but it wasn't enough to cause any issues. Honestly, the bumpsteer came out a lot better than I'd planned. My 1:1 Jeep has worse bumpsteer than the Willys!

I figure the only time the servo arm and tie rod are going to contact one another is if I'm jumping or something silly like that. Considering the low gearing of the drivetrain and the "powerful" 55t motor, I don't think getting airborne will be a cocnern! It'll be just like a real life Go Devil flathead 4 banger!

Hopefully, the last driveshaft will arrive from TCS later today and maybe....just maybe....it'll run under it's own power this evening for a quick test. I can't wait!!

[reddevildemo]

Turned out great Tommy, zero bump steer !
I think the biggest difference with mine is the servo orientation, everyone has there's like yours, servo horn screw down, and I have mine servo horn screw facing the rear. I was unable to mount it any other way.
I also think I need a stronger servo, just running an HS-5645 in mine.

Almost time for you to add the "rockin" paint job now.

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by reddevildemo

Turned out great Tommy, zero bump steer !
I think the biggest difference with mine is the servo orientation, everyone has there's like yours, servo horn screw down, and I have mine servo horn screw facing the rear. I was unable to mount it any other way.
I also think I need a stronger servo, just running an HS-5645 in mine.

Almost time for you to add the "rockin" paint job now.

I guess all that planning and "over thinking" finally paid off with this one. And yeah, you need more torque, Darin! I'm running a Hitec 7950 and it'll be on 7.4v for something silly like 480 oz. or torque. Should be adequate. If not, I'll have to retrofit the Saginaw steering box from the Jeep!

Paint is still a ways off. I need to do some more aesthetic work first. Need to fill some of the holes and decide if I want a back seat or not. But it's getting close!!

[adamargue]

Looks great man really like these big willy's

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by adamargue

Looks great man really like these big willy's

Thanks a lot! These big rigs are a blast to work on!

[adamargue]

I bet I've been wanting to do one for a wile. I have a 1/6th scale hummer and about a 1/5th scale bronco I want to do.

[reddevildemo]

Originally Posted by adamargue

I bet I've been wanting to do one for a wile. I have a 1/6th scale hummer and about a 1/5th scale bronco I want to do.

1/5th scale bronco?
Pics or your lying !!

[adamargue]

It's so damn big the only tires that look ok are nylites and even widened wk's are too narrow haha I had a picture with the tires under it but I can't find it.

[Big Mike]

I was gonna say - I bet he has one of those Bronco Concept vehicles...

[reddevildemo]

OOOh me like a lot. Nice bronco

[Tommy R]

Well, if my receiver shows up in the mail, it may actually run under its own power later today. Of course, there's a bit of a football game tonight that I'm just a wee bit interested in, so that may interfere with my building time.

But over the weekend I received my C*H*U*D wheel adapters to properly mount the TSLs to the RC4WD steelies. Once the hex mounts arrive, they can be mounted up again. I also received my MIP driveshaft so those are now all done and ready to roll. I plan to do a little wiring today so if my rx shows up I can get it running for a quick test drive.

I will likely run it at the comp this month w/o paint and such. I just don't think I'll have time to do all the body, paint, and cage work before then. But I'll try to have it all "done" by then if I can swing it!

Oh yeah... GEAUX TIGERS!!

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by reddevildemo

I also think I need a stronger servo, just running an HS-5645 in mine.

I think you would be much happier with a stronger servo in there. I'm running a JR Z9100T at 7 volts in my Jeep. I use a dedicated BEC to supply juice to it.

[reddevildemo]

Thanks Tommy and Big for the info. I am running the BR-XL on NiHm right now, looking into a bigger servo as I type.
Have a couple in mind.

Savox SB-2270SG 347oz @ 6v
Hitec RCD HS-7955TG 333oz @ 6v
Hitec RCD HS-7950TH 403oz @ 6v

The 7650 is on sale right now so I am leaning towards that one. Tommy, is it the same size as a Hitec RCD HS-5645MG ?

[Tommy R]

Darin, do you mean the 7950? If so, yeah, it's the same size. That's what I'm running and I used a standard ol' Axial servo for my mock up. Worst case, you may need to provide some extra clearance, but probably not. The bolt pattern is certainly the same. Don't worry, it'll work. I'm running my 7950 off of 7.4v for nearly 500 oz-in 'cause I evidently like to break steering parts!

[reddevildemo]

DOH !! Yes I meant 7950 Tommy. Thanks for the info. I need to get this ordered for sure. Top of the to do list now.

[Tommy R]

Well, I've got good news and bad news.

The good news is that the rx showed up today and I got the Jeep running......technically speaking.

Now the bad news... The motor is acting up. It's a 55t motor that I assume came in the Venom crawler since that's the label on it. The motor is periodically cutting out and just stopping. It's also really, really slow. Even with 23/84 gearing, it's barely moving at a walking pace thanks to 2.18 Disruptor t-case. I think I'll just pick up a basic 35t motor for it. That should give it enough speed.

Also, the RC4WD winch creeps AWFULLY bad. It has a potentiometer to adjust the trim, but as soon as you operate the winch at all, the creep is back and it needs adjusting again. This happens every time! It can't be operated like this so I'll have to look into a way to address it. I suspect I may need to pony up for a heyok winch controller. Kind of annoying, though.

[justinart24]

Originally Posted by Tommy R

I suspect I may need to pony up for a heyok winch controller. Kind of annoying, though.

You could go the cheap route and put a ON/OFF switch on the red wire of the winch.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by justinart24

You could go the cheap route and put a ON/OFF switch on the red wire of the winch.

Would that count as a separate touch penalty when activating the winch? I believe I've heard of switching battery voltages for different speeds, but activating the switch during a run counted as a touch. Not sure if it would be the same or not with a winch. Just something that popped into my head when I read that.