Range Rover SUT 1.55 Build

[TheB1GDude]

Hey all,

I picked up an MRC in a trade early last year... this is how it started life:



I've torn my MRC down and rebuilt it so many times, for example:



I was at the point of getting rid of it, I did in fact try to sell it but didn't get any bites so one day last week when I was bored I figured I would take another stab at a scale build using a chassis and body I bought from BlazinKreeper a while back...

Here is the link to his original build thread:

not your average range rover

As I am not yet finished assembling or if you don't want to click this is an idea of how it will look:



In terms of my progress... well I have pretty much everything installed and the chassis is basically running. I recently picked up a second PunkRC electronic dig and figured I would setup rear steering on this, the one piece I need is a 4 link servo plate which should be here in the next day or so then once I have that I'll get the rear steer setup and should be ready to crawl.

Here's a few shots of the chassis as it stands:







The electronics end up being tucked away between the body and the panel I added to mount them on. The PunkRC dig sits behind them which isn't ideal as it is exposed to the elements but I'll deal with this when I do the wiring for the rear servo.

The transmission has been flipped which is how BlazinKreeper designed it.

The front axle has with aluminum C's, knuckles, lockouts, metal lockers and overdrive gears.

The rear axle has aluminum lock outs and metal lockers.

Tires are 1.55 Mud Thrashes mounted on white steel stamped wheels.

Shocks have internal springs and are in the process of being setup for droop.

Front servo is a Hitec HS-645MG, the rear is the stock MRC servo but I will probably replace both with waterproof servos some point soon.

The motor at the moment is just the stock one but I have a really nice 22T Holmes Hobby motor that I plan on sending in for a rebuild before installing.

Photos aren't the best but once the rear servo is in and the body is mounted I'll come up with a much better set.

Q&C welcome.

Thanks!

[TheB1GDude]

Finished setting up my shocks...



I originally had them with just an internal soft spring and a short length of nitro fuel line tubing to control the height but I've since changed them to have soft springs on the outside as well then adjusted the shocks to control the spacing.

[TheB1GDude]

Here's a few shots with the body mounted:






I may need to rethink my electronics placement as they interfere a little with how well the body sits, I also need to have a think about final mounting of the body as at the moment there is just a hole cut into the underside of the interior that allows it to rest on the transmissions, that isn't really secure for outdoor use.

Still waiting on my rear servo / 4 link mount, once I have that installed I'll start to finalize the placement of everything.

[TheB1GDude]

Started to redo my wiring and component layout...



Still struggling with the battery... don't have the money to go lipo so stick with the original Ni-Mh packs... thinking about maybe fitting it under the hood of the body to add some additional front end weight.

[TheB1GDude]

Did a little work on the Range Rover body, it already had headlights / brake lights so I planned on wiring in power to them using a light circuit I already had for one of my other rides:



However it quickly became apparent that the wiring would not be long enough so I re-did it all:





Also added lower fog lights although they don't really show up in the photos...

Wiring still needs a little tidying up and hiding better but for the moment it will do nicely.

[TheB1GDude]

Oh also got my rear steer setup:

[TheB1GDude]

Got a driver for the Range Rover:



1983 Series 1 GI Joe going by the name Wild Bill - he flew the Dragonfly attack helicopter in case anyone is interested

He is 3 3/4 inches in height which I believe makes him 1/18 scale but the body is 1/14 I believe so he's a little off in the proportions but either way he will do nicely.

Photos of him fitted coming soon.

[TheB1GDude]

Here it is as an almost finished product:





Few things still to do:

1. Tidy up wiring for lights
2. Get Holmes Hobby motor repaired and installed
3. Figure out under the hood mounting solution for battery pack

Then I'll be ready to hit the rocks

[elf69]

Awesome rig!

Love the nice clean lines of that cut down range rover

[TheB1GDude]

Originally Posted by elf69

Awesome rig!

Love the nice clean lines of that cut down range rover

Thank you! It is a sweet body isn't it...

Here's a slightly better shot showing the ride height, you can still see some of the wires under to hood so definitely a few steps still to go:

[winnerone23]

One bad a$$ build dude! That body is sick! Don't kill urself hiding wires, get a black magic marker or some black paint on a q-tip.. I personally like liquid tape, spray on is the easiest an protects the wires at the same time.. just an idea! It's hard to get them hidden completely, but blended in is easy... Now let's see it on some rocks!