Mary Shelley's MRC

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by BliB

Great to see you gave the support a try!

Thanks for bugging me about it until I did it right.

Originally Posted by BliB

Great finish on the aluminum! What you use to get that brushed/blastered finish?
And what tools do you use? If those brackets are products of eagle eye and dremel. I really need to start practise

I'm typically using a 4" grinder with a cut-off wheel, and no regard for the safety of my fingers.

Dremel to round and smooth the patterns.

A file, if straight lines are present.

Then I hand sand the parts with 80 grit, 180 grit, and then 240 grit.

Once it's looking good, I'll hit it with Scotch-Brite to get the polished finish.

That's it....oh, and a little bit of luck since I still have all my fingers, lol.

Originally Posted by BliB

Some video on this maybe?

I'll see what I can do once it's running. Never tried to post a video before.

[MRCrackhead]

Didn't want to run body-less this time around.

It's just too much drama when you want to work on the rig.

The solid mounted panels are a P.I.A.

Picked up a bug body, though I don't care for the VW, personally.



Cut it very aggressively, the less bug, the better!

[BliB]

Originally Posted by MRCrackhead

Picked up a bug body, though I don't care for the VW, personally.


Cut it very aggressively, the less bug, the better!

A car powered by briggs & stratton ;)

Sad that the bug shape is so great

[Jslick]

You checked legal body dimensions before you cut right?

[winnerone23]

Even if ya don't like it Kevin, admit it, the lines on ur rig look dam sweet from the side!!!

I even like it just the way it is.. Clear! Show off all ur fine hand skills, nooo need to hide them with paint.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by Jslick

You checked legal body dimensions before you cut right?

Nope.

Re-read the rules, and I had body/bodyless mixed up.

It's not long enough by about 3/4" (9" minimum length).

Other dimensions are fine.

Just wasted $25.

Jeez.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

Even if ya don't like it Kevin, admit it, the lines on ur rig look dam sweet from the side!!!

I even like it just the way it is.. Clear! Show off all ur fine hand skills, nooo need to hide them with paint.

I'll admit, it does look very sleek with the rounded, smooth lines.

Nothing personal against bugs in the crawler world, function is more important than looks.

If this lid aids recovery, in any way, I will swear by it.

Just don't like VW bugs 1:1 scale, they're very ugly cars (just my personal opinion).

[daver18qc]

Originally Posted by MRCrackhead

Just don't like VW bugs 1:1 scale, they're very ugly cars (just my personal opinion).

I'm a VW fan and even i can admit that, don't worry !
But back on topic now

[winnerone23]

Originally Posted by MRCrackhead

Nope.

Re-read the rules, and I had body/bodiless mixed up.

It's not long enough by about 3/4" (9" minimum length).

Other dimensions are fine.

Just wasted $25.

Jeez.

Hmmm, does that make it to small for pro use too!? I know a guy....

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

Hmmm, does that make it to small for pro use too!? I know a guy....

Didn't read that far.

You can see how it's cut.

2-7/8" tall (sitting at this angle, if it were laid down, rear lower, that could change since the highest point of the dome is where I get that measurement).

8-1/4" long

1-3/4" x 2-1/4" (about 3.9 square inches) on the hood.

It's junk to me, beyond using it as a rough guide to cut the next one.

Let me know if you're interested.

[Ghost]

1.9 class only has to be 6 3/4 inches long body/bodyless
not sure where you are getting 9 inches
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/usrcc...013-rules.html

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by Ghost

1.9 class only has to be 6 3/4 inches long body/bodyless
not sure where you are getting 9 inches
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/usrcc...013-rules.html

Well that's a big relief!

I looked up the rules so I wouldn't look stupid when responding to the question.

I must have hit the wrong link.......scale class maybe??

I don't see 9" length anywhere, in any class, on the link you have here.

So I get to look stupid anyway......lol

I have the printed version around here somewhere, but I cut based on memory, and just wasn't sure since JSlick questioned it.

I guess it is legal, as far as my numb brain can tell.

Thank you sir, I was all set to order a new body!

[Ghost]

no problem lol looking good

[MRCrackhead]

Small update, I've been very busy on this rig while waiting on parts for my sportsman.

I've driven it a bunch, in house, due to the weather.

Much tuning has gotten it to drive decently, but torque twist is a big concern.

My theory was, the solid front axle would either cut the torque twist in half, or double it at the rear axle.

Not fully sure what the result is, but it still seems a problem.

It remains a work in progress, with some thoughts of total bail out.

But not yet......

[BliB]

I'm not sure, but underdrive should help torque twist?

I must say that the underdrive pinion i made feels really good, to bad it requires a lathe!

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by BliB

I'm not sure, but underdrive should help torque twist?

I must say that the underdrive pinion i made feels really good, to bad it requires a lathe!

You're right for sure, I think.....

I've got some stuff to make an under drive, just don't have the tools.

I'm on the road at the moment.

I haven't given up, just having trouble getting time in the fab shop to deal with its issues.

[MRCrackhead]

It's been a while since I've updated this build.

My solid front axle "experiment" is still giving me trouble.

Torque twist is a big problem.

I've tuned it the best I can, and am still not happy with it's performance.

It doesn't drive terribly, it's just not as smooth as a more conventional setup.

I think it's time to give up.

I've been tinkering with a new front axle lately, feeling this day would come.

Better, lower, behind the axle steering was the whole point of that build, so.....



I'm so happy with the way my Sportsman steering turned out, that I've decided to attempt to make something similar for the mini.

I'm hoping to fit the servo behind the axle, so I offset the pumpkin to make room.

It's going to sit rather high, so it's not dragging on the ground.

But, it will still be below the tires to help recovery.

I hope to gain a better COG with it down low, instead of on top of the axle.



Clearances are going to be interesting, but that's not really news to anybody.

I've got a long way to go from this mock-up photo to a full rig, but at least I'm moving forward again.

Worst case scenario, I end up with conventional steering and a cool offset pumpkin, which leaves room for electronics instead....

[winnerone23]

Ur Soooo Crazy! Love it!

How wide from face of knuckle to face of knuckle?

[MRCrackhead]

Found a few spare minutes this afternoon to fab up a servo mount.

I used lexan because it's much easier to work with.

Time was short, and speed was the key to progress today.

If it works, I'll make it out of aluminum using this bracket as a template.



The servo is hidden by the axle, for good ground clearance.

Yet, it's well below the tops of the tires.

This should net a low COG, and better tire contact during recovery efforts.

[MRCrackhead]

Originally Posted by winnerone23

Ur Soooo Crazy! Love it!

How wide from face of knuckle to face of knuckle?

Looks to be about 6-3/8".

With shift hubs it's just under the legal 8" max.

I wasn't as worried about adjustability on this rig, since the max width seems to be the only width to run at, for stability.

What I found on the sportsman was that .225 SLW hubs come out just a smidge narrower, so I have that option if I ended up over-width due to a tire change or whatever.

Link mounts are 57mm, stock is 62mm, so I lost a bit there; but that will just help clear the inside tire at full lock.

Now, if I only had a chassis......