Dodge T-Rex 6x6 Project

[Mastah Kyler]

oh yeah man i hear ya

[THX_138]

Good thing you have 2 kits.....Looks like you'll be needing that second bed to get it to look anywhere close.

[8695Beaters]

I'm hoping I won't have to. I think it'll be tight, but it should work. Provided I get that far in this millennium...

[THX_138]

Originally Posted by 8695Beaters

I'm hoping I won't have to. I think it'll be tight, but it should work. Provided I get that far in this millennium...

errrrrrrr....... ummmm......

The 1:1 has almost a full tires diameter of space between front of wheel well opening and cab corner.....

You are already close to 1/4 of the tire diameter PAST the cab corner forward

The 1:1 has close to maybe 3/4 of the tires diameter of body past the rear of the wheel well opening...

You are already 1/2 the tires diameter PAST the opening and also flat even with the tailgate


I thinkkkkkkk you may need the second bed and a wee bit of cutting, extending and glueing.
Will be cool when it's all done though



.

[TheScaleAddict]

Originally Posted by THX_138

errrrrrrr....... ummmm......

The 1:1 has almost a full tires diameter of space between front of wheel well opening and cab corner.....

You are already close to 1/4 of the tire diameter PAST the cab corner forward

The 1:1 has close to maybe 3/4 of the tires diameter of body past the rear of the wheel well opening...

You are already 1/2 the tires diameter PAST the opening and also flat even with the tailgate


I thinkkkkkkk you may need the second bed and a wee bit of cutting, extending and glueing.
Will be cool when it's all done though



.

Agreed. Second bed will give you the second wheel well you need and the extension that you need. I love the t-rex. Do it justice by doing it right. I'm looking forward to watching your build.

Here's a VERY quick and VERY dirty photochop....

[TheScaleAddict]

These 8Trax Micro Crawler Wheels will help your build authenticity too.... They're not dished like the wheels on the t-rex, but they're pretty darn close.



set of 4
singles

[Fumbles]

Originally Posted by 8695Beaters

It's tough but it can also be very gratifying. I built a few of these lead models a few years ago. They are probably the hardest thing I've ever painted. For reference, that is a AA battery next to the blue dragster.



I'm working on a whole vintage drag racing diorama. I've got another dragster, an old motorcycle, and a few other garage items. Should be a neat little box when it's all done...if it ever gets done. Kinda like this T-Rex eh?

I used to have a full scale HO drag strip in my basement. Love those slingshots !

[Mastah Kyler]

I love my black derlin 8trax! I don't think they make the derlin anymore

[spoo76]

Originally Posted by Mastah Kyler

I love my black derlin 8trax! I don't think they make the derlin anymore

Sadly they dont, I dont know if it was sales, materials,or machining but I wish they were still available. I wonder if they would do a limited run for a group buy? would only work if people put down a deposit. it never works out when people say "Id be down for a set" lol

[Mastah Kyler]

ive always wanted to pick up a few sets of the white derlin! itd be awesome to dye some!

[8695Beaters]

Wow glad to see the interest all of a sudden! Guess I'll have to get off my ass and do some work!

Once I get the front end done, I'll be looking at how to do the rear. It will definitely be 4-link with springs (probably leftover XMODS springs). The plan is still to use twin-motors/transmissions, but it's going to be tight. For the wheels, I'm thinking of sticking with the stock rims and possible gluing the model Ram's wheel faces to a nut and making a hubcap/barrel nut cover. In one of the model kits, I also got a set of Viper wheels, and I am a HUGE Viper fan, so I may use them somewhere (too bad there isn't six of those). Tires will eventually be Bajas or possibly MiClaws if they fit.

And as for the bed, in my OP, I did say this was going to be a mix of the original, and the custom T-Rex. I'm not so hot with the fab work and if I can avoid cutting the body and splicing it, that would be best. Just got to wait and see. I should have enough time this weekend to get the front axle finished up. Updates soon!

[8695Beaters]

So my new idea didn't work, but that's ok because my original idea for the shocks did. Quick recap: When I gutted the chassis to make room for all the McRC goodies, I had to cut out the front shock towers, as seen here:

Luckily, the shock towers are the perfect height to get full compression without tire rub, so I made some extensions out of styrene L-bracket stock:

And with some drilling and patience, I had shock mounts.

I now need to drill new upper link mounts and the front end is done (the unused ball studs in that last pic are way to close to the axle to allow any kind of flex). Oh and let the super glue dry just a bit more haha. I should have it all buttoned up by tonight. I need to trim a few more bits here and there and then it'll be time to work on the rear axles.

Anyone have an extra transmission and axle they don't need? I will need those to finish this project (I really don't want to raid another functioning crawler to finish this one). Reasonable offers accepted!

[Mastah Kyler]

Wish I could help man! Great build you have going! Why use a second tranny? Why not make a pass through axle with a big block motor?

[8695Beaters]

I don't have the tools to work brass and I want to see if this will work. So half because I can't do the fab, and half because of pure stubbornness. Also, if this works out, I can flip a switch and have a front or rear dig by cutting one of the motors. Finally, if I can use the stock motors, I will have some speed to go with my crawling torque. So there is a performance benefit as well.

[Mastah Kyler]

what esc will you use?

[8695Beaters]

I plan to use the stock ESC. Hopefully it can handle the twin motors.

Front end is about 95% done. I just need to tweak the length of the links to get full suspension travel, but the fab work is out of the way (also need to put some nuts on the backside of the ball studs so they don't pull through the plastic). Here is the front at full compression:

Plenty of room for bigger tires if need be. And now at full droop:

And here is an idea of how much flex there is available:

There is more flex available, but the box of screwdrivers was what was handy. Not too shabby for something slapped together in my head. The driveshaft is a female Trekker driveshaft with a modified McRC male end (I glued a male driveshaft to the end of a female shaft to double the length). Everything works perfectly so far. I'll add springs in a bit once I am satisfied with the travel, etc.


That's all for now. Going to work on the Stepside a bit and then do some real work. No idea when I'll get started on the rear end, depends on how exams and homework falls.

[Mastah Kyler]

I'm about 95% sure the stock esc/rx will not handle 2 motors or why else would they make dual motor esc I know the losi mini lst has dual motors that might be a good place to start

[8695Beaters]

Sorry I haven't been around, I haven't had a computer since Sunday.

That's a bigass piece of hardware and probably overkill in this tiny rig. The key thing is how much voltage does two motors draw. I think I will have to get in touch with Danally and see what kind of draw his Predators pull. I will also have to see what the maximum output of the ESC is. Also, running them in parallel (which I would have to do to make them selectable) will pull less power than running in series, so I may be able to get away with it. Or I might just fry the ESC. We'll find out once the rear suspension is worked out.

[Fungi]

Ok slow down here... You never run DC motors in series, because what happens is they will not have the same load, they will not draw the same current and one motor will run faster than the other. You must run them in parallel. If you don't have a current meter you can do a guesstimate by monitoring run time. You see run time basically equals the inverse proportional current draw. In other words the longer the run time the lower the current draw. You may not be able to run two stock motors from a stock ESC, but I'll bet you a dollar it can easily handle two Danally winds.

[8695Beaters]

I was never planning to wire them in series. I was trying to make a point that the resistance of the two motors may not be as bad as one would think. And two Danally motors would be sweet, but expensive. Once the suspension is in, I will figure out electronics and wiring. Just have to tackle one little project at a time.