Chevy Avalanche

[67mustang]

So I am finally getting around to dusting off this body. Wasn't real sure I'd ever use it but my H2 is so much fun I figure I'll build another. I bought this body on ebay for pretty cheap (under 35.00) when I bought by H2. It is in pretty good shape and complete other than missing a passenger side mirror. First things first....I carefully pulled the body from the new bright chassis. It is similar but different from my H2. I got all the stickers off it and cleaned and inspected for cracks. Looks good. Gonna take my time on this one...should get it finished in about 60-70 days.

[stelerzman]

You have my attention.

[cmbscx10]

Originally Posted by stelerzman

You have my attention.

X2 Will be watching for you plans

[67mustang]

So I had to stop the project for a while. My niece turned 16 and since shes been on tv...been to the whitehouse and mastered chinese......we decided that she needed to roll in the 67. Put alot of work in it for a new driver. She aint wrecked it yet so thats good. Then I bought a 92 z28 and Ive got the majority of that project parts purchased. Since its getting colder...its a perfect time to build me a rig!

I also had issues finding materials. I needed some 8mm steel square tube. I needed a bunch of LEDs. I never found the 8mm square steel so Im gonna haveto roll with 1/2 square tube. And since its christmas time, colored LEDs are cheap. I am going to pick up the leds this weekend and start working on getting them in the body. My H2 had 45 leds. I think this one will have about 52 or so. Runs off a 3s lipo 800mah. Couple of switches to toggle the rock lights.

I have since stripped the body sanded and painted it. Since my little boy loves red, i repainted it red and did a metallic silver on the body mouldings. Looks good. Gonna be huge.

[SirChirpAlot]

That looks cool

[67mustang]

I am LED rich now. Can't beat .30 per LED right now. I plan on adding 20 red LEDs to my camaro interior...should really look good with that old skool red interior.

I just finished the front end of the avalanche. Got 5 circuits on the front. 14 LEDs total. 4 orange for the marker lights (hard to see in the pic) and 10 white. Runs off a 3s lipo. My H2 has blue rock lights. Avalanche will be red. You can see I ended up painting the body molding a metallic silver.

[67mustang]

Finished the interior lights. I have 2 circuits. 5 total LEDs. 4 white 1 blue. I figure if the blue is too pronounced or looks funny I can tone it down with a sharpie.

[TacoCrawler]

cool lighting

look forward to seeing more

some pics detailing your wire routing under the body maybe ?

[67mustang]

Once I run all the circuits in a section and make sure everything lights up...I use my glue gun to seal in the LEDs. In the front lights, I drill the proper sized holes and once I finish the wiring I hot glue them in. I leave them on for a few hours and when I feel confident there are no shorts or bad connections then I cover everything in liquid tape. So once I use the liquid tape there isn't much to see.

I will take some pictures of the wiring when I do the tail lights / license plate lights / rock lights.....before I liquid tape em. It is extremely fun to work with a New Bright Body, LEDs, glue gun, and wiring. Very enjoyable.

[TacoCrawler]

will hot glue hold ?

I know it's quick...
but I've not had good luck using my hot glue gun.
With enough impact it sometimes breaks free of what it's adhered to.

I'll probably use shoe glue or something similar
to adhere the wires to the under-body when I do mine.

[67mustang]

Hmm. Not sure what hot glue you are using. But yeah. It works very well. I really wouldn't use anything other than hot glue. It adheres to the New Bright plastic very well. You wouldn't be able to "knock it off" or "bump it off". You'd have to peel and even then you'd have to nearly take a flathead screwdriver to it. You'd definately need a tool of some kind cause you wouldn't be able to peel it off with your fingers alone.

I could see how some materials hot glue might not adhere well to.

EDIT: Lets just say if I hot glued an LED to a New Bright Plastic body panel....you wouldn't be able to rip/yank it off with your fingers.

[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by 67mustang

I could see how some materials hot glue might not adhere well to.

probably just an issue I'm having with my particular body.

or maybe I need use specific glue sticks ?

I've been using the flexible glue sticks... prolly generic
maybe I should try another ?

are all glue sticks the same ?

are they all flexible ?

Haven't used it much
and know even less about it

But if I could get a good adhesion...
this sure would make the job easier.

-------------

What's going underneath your body ?
sorry if I missed that

[jeremy75]

There are two types of glue guns (Hi temp) and (Low temp). Hi temp is for nonporous and Low temp is for porous material. They make a multi temp glue stick that works in both guns.

[67mustang]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

-------------

What's going underneath your body ?
sorry if I missed that

I cant let the cat outta the bag yet. But stay tuned cause I got 70% of the parts. Once I finish the body I will start the chassis and drivetrain. It should be a runner by new years.

I am using a lo temp gun. 7 bux at walmart and 10 sticks for a dolla.

[cmbscx10]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

probably just an issue I'm having with my particular body.

or maybe I need use specific glue sticks ?

I've been using the flexible glue sticks... prolly generic
maybe I should try another ?

are all glue sticks the same ?

are they all flexible ?

Haven't used it much
and know even less about it

But if I could get a good adhesion...
this sure would make the job:

Dell
Like mustang just replied, I use a cheapo hot glue gun for my lights and I even balance my wheels with hot glue. On my Yeti XL and Losi XXL running 6S the glue has never come off. Like everything it is how clean the material is and how you prep it. Can't prep a light but the body can be wiped with alcohol and scotch brited for better adhesion. Probably nothing more than when you use plastidip.

[cmbscx10]

Originally Posted by 67mustang

I cant let the cat outta the bag yet. But stay tuned cause I got 70% of the parts. Once I finish the body I will start the chassis and drivetrain. It should be a runner by new years.
.

We are grown men (at least on the outside) so show or list your goodies already.

[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by 67mustang

I cant let the cat outta the bag yet. But stay tuned cause I got 70% of the parts. Once I finish the body I will start the chassis and drivetrain. It should be a runner by new years.

I am using a lo temp gun. 7 bux at walmart and 10 sticks for a dolla.

purdy sure that's what glue gun I have...
Tho' I think it was purchased at a Michael's store.
Maybe I just have some old/bad glue sticks !?
I'll try another brand of glue stick and see if those hold better.

Originally Posted by cmbscx10

Dell
Like mustang just replied, I use a cheapo hot glue gun for my lights and I even balance my wheels with hot glue. On my Yeti XL and Losi XXL running 6S the glue has never come off. Like everything it is how clean the material is and how you prep it. Can't prep a light but the body can be wiped with alcohol and scotch brited for better adhesion. Probably nothing more than when you use plastidip.

I did a good prep/cleaning job so I know it wasn't on me.
I'll pick up some different glue sticks and try again.

Possibly this particular body I have...
has a higher nylon content.
I do know that most of the glue I've tried...
does not adhere well to the body.

The cockpit interior is a different story...
I believe that is made of ABS or similar...
and the appropriate glue adheres just fine.

Originally Posted by cmbscx10

We are grown men (at least on the outside) so show or list your goodies already.

^ this

'cause you don't want us growing bored, waiting.

[jeremy75]

I have used shoe goo it sticks to alot of plastics and used with fiberglass sheet rock tape it makes weak points stronger.

[67mustang]

Got the rear end lights done. Though this one only had 3 circuits and 6 LEDs it was pretty challenging getting it laid out as I had to incorporate a switch for the rock lights. Harder than the front at least. The lines going from the bumper down the center are going to be my switched circuit...the rock lights. This way I can stick my finger under the rear bumper and switch off the rock lights. I used a switch in the cargo area of my H2, but I didn't like having to open the rear hatch to switch it off. I used hot glue to fasten the wires/leds/switch.

When I finished it and lit it up...It was obvious I should have added some red lights toned down with a sharpie to create a glow in the bumper corner steps. I will have to add another circuit to do that. Although the camera makes it look like some are brighter than others...they are all the same intensity. Its running right now...so if its good, I'll add the bumper step circuit and liquid tape everything. Then its on to the rocklights. Luckily it looks like I have enough wire and supplies to finish.

[67mustang]

Ok. So I finally finished the LEDs. Ended up with 38 total. Runs 200 mah out of my 3s battery per hour. So my 800 mah 3s lipos ought to last at least 2.5 hrs. Glad to finally finish. I started to really look forward to drivetrain and chassis building. Bought a new 4.5 grinder/cutoff wheel from harbor freight today for 11 bux on sale. I gave my last one to my nephew cause the switch was cutting off during use.