Mary Shelley's MRC

[MRCrackhead]

It's a combination of many tools ultimately.

4" grinder with a cut-off wheel for rough cutting patterns.

Dremel with a drum sander to fine tune and blend the lines.

Hand file where needed in tight spots.

Many different grits of sandpaper to smooth and polish edges.

Bolt left and right sides together when sanding to assure they will be symmetrical when you're done....also do that for drilling holes to assure symmetry.

Glad you've enjoyed the build. Ask anything, I'll be glad to help. Home fab is where I live, always willing to assist a fellow craftsman.

[SLYKY09]

That is a awesome crawler you have good ideas.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by SLYKY09

That is a awesome crawler you have good ideas.

Thank you.

I've learned a lot from this little rig.

I do have a couple projects in the works and hope to get some updates soon.

If only I weren't such a lazy bum.......

[Dravpnir]

Originally Posted by MRCrackhead

I do have a couple projects in the works and hope to get some updates soon.

If only I weren't such a lazy bum.......

Well get out of that couch you lazy bum then!

You got a really inspiring thread and I am looking forward to see the other stuff you got in the works.

[89redranger]

I see what you mean about siping the tires. Thanks for the tips, and a bump for a bitchin build. Now get your @$$ to work, nice weather is coming!

[89redranger]

I see what you mean about siping the tires. Thanks for the tips, and a bump for a bitchin build. Now get your @$$ to work, nice weather is coming!

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by 89redranger

I see what you mean about siping the tires. Thanks for the tips, and a bump for a bitchin build. Now get your @$$ to work, nice weather is coming!

I've got the rig torn apart right now working on a new chassis.

Engineering it is proving more difficult than anticipated.

Lots of work, but alas, nothing to show for it.

That's the way it goes building from scratch sometimes.

[MRCrackhead]

Since this rig closed out last season with three 1st place finishes in a row, there was only one logical thing to do.....

Tear it all apart and custom build something completely different, and strange.

I've always hated the steering up front with such small tires. It's in the way all the time.

Limited space on a cramped rig makes true behind the axle steering virtually impossible.

My crack pipe solution.... eliminate the stuff that's in the way, and get the steering behind the axle.

Here are some terrible pictures of what I'm working on.



It's about 20mm too long with the AX10 links used for mockup.

However, you can see how short the upper links have become since I moved everything forward. The idea is to stretch the rear since it will be doing all the work.

60mm at the trans, 70mm under the rear links.

Tranny is close to normal elevation, but much closer to the front.



Again, this is a rough draft. Many details and issues to work out.

[winnerone23]

Leave it to you to mess with it own perfection!
Sold front and long rear.. I'm stocked to see where this is goin Kevin!

[Jslick]

So you have a Cracktorsion Chassis??

[chris.martell]

You always are on the cutting edge with your DiY!

Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

Leave it to you to mess with it own perfection!
Sold front and long rear.. I'm stocked to see where this is goin Kevin!

Like I said, it was the only logical thing to do!...........????

Originally Posted by Jslick

So you have a Cracktorsion Chassis??

The technical term is actually the Methadone Repository Chassis....or MRC for short.

I'm thinking of calling it "The Addict". BUT, it may be a huge piece of junk, so I guess we'll see.

(people are going to start wondering about me and my vices, lol)

Originally Posted by chris.martell

You always are on the cutting edge with your DiY!

Cutting edge is right.....and I've got the bandaids to prove it!

[MRCrackhead]

Got a bit more done tonight.

The whole point of this mess is to get the steering behind the axle and out of the way.

My sporty build just got an upgrade to actual VP knuckles.

So, my "Ghetto VP's" went on the mini.

This way, all the links will work when I get the real thing.



Here's the wide open front end. Servo is just behind the front of the pumpkin. Very nice.



Some nice straight links behind the servo without all that darn suspension in the way.

I put a slight bend in the servo arm so I could mount the drag link behind it to keep it a bit straighter overall.

I'm fine with it, but I'm considering moving the servo back so I'll be able to run different servo arms without having to tweak them.



Of course, what kind of steering setup wouldn't have the servo slammed down right on top of the pumpkin?

It sits well below the tops of the tires, hopefully that adds to recoverability.

[Ghost]

(people are going to start wondering about me and my vices, lol)

Start???? too late lol but definitely watching this new chassis

[MRCrackhead]

True to the spirit of Central PA, my rig is still up on blocks....

The "skid" area by the trans is still at 60mm.

The upper bend in the rear links is 73mm.

I'm not sure I'm happy with it at this point, but you've got to start somewhere.

The AX10 links are expendable to me, so they got cut for mockup.

Wheelbase is back within legal limits now.

As you can see, my rear links start about dead center of the rig. They'll hopefully have plenty of travel for the whole crawler now that the front is solid.



Keeping the drive shaft out of the dirt, with links this radical, took some pre-planning.

I found this helicopter shaft at the hobby store a while back, and it looks like it's going to work well for extending the pinion.

It's only mocked up at this point. I want to finalize a lot of other details before I pin it, and possibly cut it, if necessary.

The driveshaft angles aren't too bad considering all that's going on here.



Now I need some shocks on this thing so I can get it resting on the wheels, and off the blocks.

Upper links will be a challenge with the lowers up that high.

[winnerone23]

Oh man, oh man... I might have to misplace my rig for a comp or 2! I'm Stoked to see the "M.R.C." hit the garage flower for its first crawl along.... :thumbup:

[MRCrackhead]

Made up some brackets to hold the uppers and the shocks.

Shocks are full length with green mini-t springs.

I needed to know if I could get the travel I wanted before I started lowering/shortening things.

These brackets will likely get re-done, but as always, you gotta make a move (when it's all made up as you go).



Got the uppers mocked up using 4-40 rod and rod ends, just to get a look at how things were going to move and work.

So I went from being on blocks, to being on just one block.

Not quite bottoming the shocks out here due to some binding on the uppers.

The 4-40 rod ends just don't articulate as much as a Traxxas end. The issue should be resolved with the proper uppers installed.

Progress, maybe.

Smarter, definitely.

[MRCrackhead]

Got more done since I'm completely snowed in. I should be building a snowmobile!

Anyway, I was able to lower my test brackets some and get it looking less like a hotrod, and more like a crawler.

The brackets are nearly even with the top of the trans now.

No loss in ride height with these adjustments.



Tweaked a couple other things and got a bit more travel out of it.

With this measurement, I realize I can limit the shocks some, and lower my brackets even more which is awesome.

The problem is, the bracket won't allow it. No more room to drill holes higher.

Good thing I didn't invest a lot of time in them. Time to make some new ones.

[89redranger]

No f@wking way! I was just talking to a buddy about building a similar setup, but with a torsion style ass. No shocks no mo!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by 89redranger

No f@wking way! I was just talking to a buddy about building a similar setup, but with a torsion style ass. No shocks no mo!

F@wking Way Man!!

Torsion Style...

That's out of my scope of understanding.

I expect to have issues tuning a single pair of shocks to tame the entire crawler, but still be soft and smooth.

Torsion......I wouldn't know where to start.

I say build it, and I'll marvel at it!