'93 Ford F-150 XLT
 

Here is the inspiration for the build.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/...1e9b28e357.jpg
(I know the truck in the pic is an F-250. Its just for inspiration. I'm not building a replica.)

This is the frame cut for this rig. It's basically a styrene micro x-trail.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2725/...6f09d4d922.jpg
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Here is a comparison with it sitting next to my 4-Runner.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/...0e0cd2e28a.jpg

The frame rails looked a little thick in places so I shaved them down some. While I was working on it I took the transmission apart. With the motor out I could feel just a little binding so I took it apart, dremeled out the bearing hole, added some grease, and reassembled it. That pretty well fixed the binding. With the transmission back together I mounted it in the frame. I also cut up part of the battery box to make some chassis braces.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/...c432ccca78.jpg
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Here is the body that is going on it.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/...1f3b41ca1b.jpg

With a little dremeling on the floorboard the cab set on the chassis nicely. It even lined up so that the stock links and driveshaft will work. I am going to put custom links up front anyway so they will all match. You really have to pick it up and look to see that anything is missing the way the dash and seat fit in so that worked out good.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/...7d24811ab9.jpg
With all that done I started on the links. I couldn't find 4/40 threaded rod so I got 4/40 bolts like I did for my 4-Runner. They were too short. I tried brazing 2 together and couldn't get it to work so I finally just cut a bolt in half and brazed it in each end of some 3/16 brake line.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/...77497a5e2e.jpg
As you can see in the above pic the rear shocks are at a bad angle. That's the good thing about styrene though. It will be easy to cut those shock towers off and glue on some new ones.

This is how she is sitting now. I think its looking pretty good.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2761/...0de49e0402.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/...57c9f1988b.jpg

Looks cool! It reminds me of the old street-legal Black Stallion monster truck. How well does it articulate?


BTW: the truck in the first pic is a F-150 (coil springs up front; F250's had leafs). [/geek mode]

very nice build! how strong is the styrene chassis?

I thought the badge said F-250 but its hard to tell. That plus the marker lights. I'm a Chevy guy though so I believe ya."thumbsup"

Came out pretty nice."thumbsup" Does it get hung up at all with the tranny mounted where it is on the chassis?

Maybe if I get another micro I'll try a '92-'96 F-150 extended cab. Got somethin else planned for the one I have now.

This is such a noob question, I hope you respond. I'm looking to start the whole scale build. That being said, when it comes to Styrene, how do you join two pieces together? CA glue, Just plain ol' heat?

My not trying to take over nascarkeith's thread. I use Model Master liquid cement for plastics. The bottle has a needle applicator for exact gluing and it melts the plastic together like a weld, especially styrene. Prefect for tiny 1:24th builds."thumbsup"

I like your ford!!!! wanna have a mud pulling comp.:mrgreen:

Thanks for all the compliments. Its a long way from finished.

Let's see if I can answer some of those questions.

For bonding styrene I used Ambroid Weld or Tenax 7. If I need it to be really strong I add a coat of super glue after the first joint dries. You can even add some baby powder or flower to the super glue and get a sandable filler.

As far as the transmission getting hung up, I have ran this truck yet but no. It is set up the same way as my 4-Runner which is actually the stock position on the Losi TVP chassis. I used it as my guide. It keeps the weight low and does pretty good.

I did some more work in this project today. I cut off the rear shock mounts and made some farther back on the frame rails. That caused me to have to cut more of the bed out so I came up with a way to hide it and make it look good. A couple summers ago I recovered my motorcycle seat with some vinyl so I had a piece left and decided to use it as a bedcover. Too bad it was white.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/...657f91342d.jpg

A little black paint fixed that.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/...87d33d63b8.jpg

I think it looks good and kinda adds to that black and chrome show truck look. I also go the rear links all finished up and did a little detailing on the body. This is how its sitting now.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/...1acc6a72ed.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/...3ca6e65ca8.jpg

And the mandatory flex shot.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/...e3723966f9.jpg

looks sweet. like the FORD"thumbsup"

I got velcro installed for body mounts and cut 2 coils off of the shocks. I think that was enough to drop it down and get that wheel lined up. Thanks for the suggestion azxj91. I started a driveshaft. That thing is long. I bout extras to make one like you do with the Traxxas shafts for a 1/10 but they were too short and I still had to do the ol' Bic pen mod.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/...7fe3479296.jpg
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Here is pretty much the finished chassis. I've just got to do some painting and finish up some little stuff. I even got the spare mounted.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/...cacf7a4a1f.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/...0dbcfce9f5.jpg
The other thing I did today was a little servo work. I opened up the case for the wire to come out the top through the middle of the chassis so it would be out of the way and I took the servo saver off for more clearance. To get rid of the servo saver just take it apart and glue the two pieces in the pic back together.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/...e6355993_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/...0b09a489_o.jpg
So far so good. I want to get this thing running and take it for a test drive.

looks good over here too.. did you ever cut the springs and get it like you wanted?

You gotta read Jay! You can't just look at the purdy pictures.:mrgreen: Joking man, yeah I cut 2 coils off and got it about right.

Well ladies and gents, its finished!
I'll let the pictures do the talking.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...h/DSC04017.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...h/DSC04014.jpg
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Here is a close up of the magazine on the front seat. I think the truck on the cover might look familiar.:nice:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2...DSC04007-1.jpg
I did a really short test run last night on my micro course just to make all the gears meshed and stuff like that. It does really well. The long wheelbase hurts the turning radius a little but it helps it climb like a champ. The little hill that gives my 4-Runner fits was nothing for this rig.

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFDWlfUiruA