1/6 Willys Comp Crawler Build

[DuckTruck]

Hey guys, I wanted to share some pics of a Willys build I was stoked to be a part. But a little story first..!

About a year ago I reached out to one of the members of this forum for help. You see, I had just discovered the 1/6 Willys from watching Race730 vids on youtube, and absolutely had to have one. I bought a Hasbro Jeep on ebay for about $70 and had a beat up old wraith I was ready to use for parts. My problem was because of my disability I can't hold onto a screwdriver, let alone take on a build of this level. I began to despair as the amount of work became apparent, but as a last ditch effort I contacted a fella named Bitterend on this forum that I noticed was also from Washington. I was bummed that he didnt respond right away, and after a few months I sold my Wraith and forgot about the build... I didnt realize until later that I had left him a message in the wrong place on here, and to my surprise he got back to me, and was actually interested!

Long story short, Mark and I have been working on this build together for months. It's already pretty far along, and I don't want to show it all at once, so if you're interested in tuning in, I'll be revealing pieces of it in the weeks to come with some breakdowns of our build process.

Here's a teaser


He had recently done a sweet Willys build (here) using a Wraith skid plate which seemed pretty plug-and-play, so we started there. Of course, if you've done one of these builds before, you know it's far from plug-and-play.

To get the wheelbase right we decided to cut out the center of the skid and epoxy the two ends back together. We then filled the frame rails with epoxy for strength. The wraith plate is a little wider than the frame, so we had to cut some chunks out of it to fit.

[STRAT]

Interesting, cant wait to see more!

[robbo]

Hey that's my idea..... Lol. It worked out great for my build!




Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

[Mike Flea]

Don't string us along for too long, we'll lose interest. Remember, most of us have a Jeep build already.

Bitter has a couple different builds. Are you going MOA or chassis mounted motor/trans/transfer case?

[Bitter End]

I wish I had been the one that paid $6.99 like someone must have at some point (post#2)

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

Bitter has a couple different builds. Are you going MOA or chassis mounted motor/trans/transfer case?

Quick side note; I picked up a set of Wraith axles for the orange one. I'll update that thread with the new axles and trans mod when I get it done.

[DuckTruck]

Hey Robbo, great minds think alike! Here's a few more picks of that skid plate set up. Mark, aka Bitterend, cut some pieces of delrin to use as spacers between the rails and the transfer case. I don't think he even had to cut twice. This guy is goooooood





We used a putty-like epoxy to fill the rails with. It was kind of heavy and cementish when it hardened.

Here's another update to the puzzle. At this point you can see we put some thought into the cage. Mark had been digging around for some reference of other Willys and dropped the bomb that an exo cage might be possible!!!

[TacoCrawler]

The mystery wait isn't sucking me in.
Hurry up already. I need some instant gratification !? Lol

Will the epoxy hold those nylon impregnated plastic skid halves together ?

Possibly the transfer case skid reinforces that bond ?

The original plastic skid is somewhat flexible,
the epoxy I've used... is generally not.

I've had little luck using epoxy to secure nylon impregnated plastics.

Maybe there's trick I'm missing ?

[Bitter End]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

The mystery wait isn't sucking me in.
Hurry up already. I need some instant gratification !? Lol

Will the epoxy hold those nylon impregnated plastic skid halves together ?

Possibly the transfer case skid reinforces that bond ?

The original plastic skid is somewhat flexible,
the epoxy I've used... is generally not.

I've had little luck using epoxy to secure nylon impregnated plastics.

Maybe there's trick I'm missing ?

The mystery wait is sucking me in! I wish it'd go faster!

Both halves of the skids are secured from the sides through the frame rails putting very little stress on the join. The transfer case is also independently secured from the side through the frame rails. If this configuration fails, it'll just be another upgrade opportunity to try out a printed one or an aluminum custom. Running time and a few tumbles down the rocks will tell.

!Ándele

[DuckTruck]

Haha! Don't want to spoil it!



While Mark was getting the base ready, I started mocking up the cage in 3d. This allowed me to easily iterate on design ideas without having to actually lift a finger. I use a program called blender that's free and open source. Not the best, but 3ds max is $3500, and blender has enough tools to get the job done.



During this process Mark and I started an inspiration board on Pinterest to get some ideas on where to take the build. I really love the Ultimate Adventure summer camp jeep and the icon cj-3.

[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by DuckTruck

Haha! Don't want to spoil it!

becoming a little more interesting and is sucking me in

Who's doing the tube work (bending) Mark ?
is that welding or brazing ?

What axle does it currently have ?
or are the AR60 axles already what is ?

Look forward to seeing and knowing more.

Tho' I'm still struggling with my instant gratification illness. Lol

Guess I'll need work on my impatience a little


more

And glad it's not ODG

[DuckTruck]

Thanks for hanging in there!

Who's doing the tube work (bending) Mark ?
is that welding or brazing ?

Yea, Mark did all the tube work, I just designed it. I believe he bent and brazed pieces of brake line to fab the cage.

What axle does it currently have ?
or are the AR60 axles already what is ?

It's got stock Wraith axles with vanquish lockers installed.

Here's some more reveal.



Here's a shot of the motor and electronics area. Mark cut and bent a piece of metal to serve as a platform for everything. One really cool thing about this set up, is that you can run this rig without the body or even swap out for anther body...



I bought mip driveshafts originally but there was too much binding at the angle they were at, so we switched to Junfac. They seem to handle the angle much better with little to no rubbing.

[TacoCrawler]

My AR60 axles have proven to be both durable and reliable.

Tho' spools, beef tubes, alloy Chubs/Sknuckles and steel DMG skid plates
make them even stronger and more durable.

the Alloy AR60's look cool... albeit: more coin then I would pony up for.
but alloy does not slide on/off rocks as well as the original plastic or steel surfaces might.

Plus IMO it sucks to grind up them high dollar alloy axle housings.

If I had alloy AR60 axles... would likely become a shelf queen.
'cause I'm not rich enough to destroy those costly axle housings
and replace them after they've become boogered.

I'll stick to the original AR60 plastic housings if I actually use it.
$ 12.00 each and easy to refresh.

[DuckTruck]

I agree with your sentiment re: high-dollar axles! I want to run this rig and dont want to cringe everytime I approach a rock, lol. The price is plenty high already as is! Here's another update. Happy Thanksgiving y'all!



Around this point in the build Mark fabbed up a hood hinge out of brass. This thing is tits!







Pay no attention to Sly photobombing the last pic...

Nice pics Taco, did you make a custom chassis for your Willys?

[Bitter End]

Originally Posted by DuckTruck

I want to run this rig and dont want to cringe everytime I approach a rock, lol.

Oh, you're going to cringe alright! I'll bring a box of tissues!

[TacoCrawler]

Curious as to why your shocks are mounted upside down ?

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

just a few of my guesses... ( 'cuz i was bored ) Lol

Won't clear the turning tires when positioned upright ?

Can't space out the upper shock eyes/ends and still clear the turning tires
And requires the upper mounts be a little more progressive (inboard)
then the lower shock eye's/ends ?

Possibly spacing out the upper shock eye/end pushes the shock(s) outward too much ?

I'd think you'd be able to invert the shock(s) and space out the upper
shock eyes/ends a few more millimeters ?

I used some plastic 3-4mm L X 3mm ID spacers I had on my spare parts trees to space outward my upper shock eyes/ends.

Yes I realize your build is not the same as mine was.

ie:





Possibly the your wheel's slw hub could be slightly longer
so the wheels/tires are a positioned a little more outboard/offset...
And more easily clear the shocks when turning ?

The alloy spacers could also be used to space out the upper shock mount eyes/ends... they are available from 1mm - 30mm lengths.
And 2 , 3, 4 millimeter lengths are likely near to what you'd need use
to space outboard the shocks upper eye/end mounting(s).

Should work awrite as is...
But the shocks will work best when they're positioned upright.

-----------

Done guessing...

so will just wait for your response

[Bitter End]

They were just like that during the mock up and build. Positioned correctly for the final assembly.

[TacoCrawler]

...thanks

^ no... not a Willys

I made my own chassis to fit a Wraith driveline/susp/axles.
And mounted the Nylint TJ body atop that.

The body is a 1:6 Nylint TJ Jeep (originally was an 1:6 scale RC toy/crawler)
that was originally sold at Walmart and other dept stores some years back.

12 screws removed...
and the Wraith's original plastic cage/chassis could be utilized instead.
so it's very easy to swap from the 1:6 TJ to the 1:10 Wraith if one wished.

2 in 1 if that makes any sense.

I purchased a Wraith kit specifically to utilize its drivetrain/suspension...
And so... the unused Wraith chassis/body remain unassembled (new)
and still in it's original box.

[DuckTruck]

Looks cool! Love modular design like that. The way we set up the Willys chassis, you could potentially swap other bodies on to it as well!

Enough teasing the goods, here's the complete Willys.



Photo: Bitter End

[TacoCrawler]

...looks swell

tho' I think you'd want to lengthen the wheel base a little.

[Mike Flea]

Got a profile pic?

Need a driver too

Looks good, don't have to worry about damaging the body on a rollover