"Budget Basher" a.k.a. Poor mans mega truck

[Hoosierdady]

So I have been seeing all of these Mega truck builds and wanted to get in on some tall tire, high ridin', diff destroying, mud flinging fun . I've built a handfull of FOFF rigs using these same components, so it's just a matter of modifying what I have to make a Mega-ish truck. The goal on this build is to use spare parts I have laying around, and to use less than $100 out of my pocket. Should be very easy right? Well considering the tires alone will eat up 3/4 of that, maybe not. As a matter of fact, the only funds still left in that budget will go to tires of some sort as I have already ordered a couple of things. But enough talk, here's the pics .



I started with a scx10 frame...


As with most Mega/Monster truck frames I need it to drop at the skid so I can lift this thing and kill my COG. This chassis should do the trick. The trans is full of RRP gears. Part of my $100 went to a Lockeduprc slipper eliminator kit.


So I grabbed a RidgeCrest chassis and skid and chopped it in half. This spot on the chassis will give me 4 mounting points on each side to ensure it doesn't go anywhere. I used my Dremel to make the sides nice and smooth so it'll mount up solid.


Fastforward a few hours and I had this. I'm using some slightly upgraded axles from my FOFF project along with the Gmade XD piggy back shocks. The links are a miss matched mixture that'll work for the job.


Who knows, this project may die off as quick as my last FOFF project did. Until then it's a slider.


SO I planned on 2.2 Mayhem Evolution wheels and some RC4WD 2.2 Mud Basher Mega truck tires (the paddles are way to small).


But I have two of these 1.9 Giant Pullers staring at me. Decisions, decisions...

[Hoosierdady]

Well, the wheel and tire choice has been made. I bought a set of new Emaxx wheels off Ebay for $35 shipped. Once they show up I'll narrow the hell out of them and bolt on some 14mm hexes I have laying around. Doing the work myself on the wheels and tires has my budget right at the halfway point. I still have roughly $45 to spend on any extras I end up needing. I think a set of MIPs may be on the list.

[Elmo]

Those maxx 3.8s are going to look great. Have you decided on a body yet?

[hellbounder]

I need those pullers .

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by Elmo

Those maxx 3.8s are going to look great. Have you decided on a body yet?

Yes, the body is about halfway done.

Originally Posted by hellbounder

I need those pullers .

I could use another set myself

A little progress was made over the weekend. I swapped out my upper front links because they were a little sloppy from being punished on my last 2 FOFF projects. I cut some RC4WD links and re-tapped them. Then I stuck some mega wheels/tires I made a few years back on here for inspiration. On my last run in PA at the ECSC I snapped a front dogbone, so I dropped in a set of Axial CVDs I had laying around.


I started this body a while back for a FOFF/U4 build. I decided to build this thing instead so I'll just carry it over to this project. Here's a brief history on the body work. I filled the sunroof, added a cowl scoop and cut out the cab back to allow for some drivers to slide in. THe wheels wells needed to be opened up some, so I grabbed my Dremel and Sharpie.


You can see where I already stretched the front wells out, but the rear is drawn out so you can see the method to the madness.


A few minutes later...



After filler and primer I had this...




Since I'm going with Red I shot it in white.


I took a couple poser pics to get some more inspiration.



I started playing with some paint too. Italian red should do the trick.


A little red n white two tone action.


Tonight I'll clean up the two tone paint and start prepping for clear coat while I wait on my tailgate to show up. Once it gets here I'll just paint it seperately, attach it and then clear over the whole truck. I've got some MTHEAD decals for the sides and the tailgate laying on my work bench. My friend sickcivic95 is hooking me up with a grill for it. Kind of a "future favor" type trade on that one saved me from busting my budget. Obviously I have WAY more than $100 in the truck, but to keep the wife from flipping out I had to set myself the limit.

As for the $100 budget...
Wheels/tires $35
Slipper eliminator $20
14mm hexes $12
New hat bushings $10
Tailgate $8.50
Total so far is $85.50

[JBailey]

Looking good bud! I always enjoyed your builds and the body work involved!

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by JBailey

Looking good bud! I always enjoyed your builds and the body work involved!

Thanks man. I've got a bunch of parts holding me up right now. Guess I'll get some wheel time with the Exocutioner for a few days while I wait.

[Hoosierdady]

My slipper eliminator arrived from Lockeduprc yesterday, so after work I got busy on the installation. The kit from LURC has everything you'll need to get rid of the slipper and lock the trans down.


Just a few minutes later it was installed.


This truck will be getting some serious power. A 3400KV 1/8 scale Tenshock should do the trick .


I guessed at a 34/18T gear combo to start out with.


As with the brass lower links, I'll be keeping some weight up front to help keep the front end down in a mud bog or on take off.


I mounted up part of the battery tray from the Ridgecrest chassis to hold my electronics.


The HobbyWing SC8 1/8 scale SCT esc fits perfectly. 4S should get this beast moving.


Profile shot...


I opened up the RX and coated the board in liquid electrical tape. Once it setup I filled the case with dielectric grease to keep the water out.


With everything wired up and tucked away I plugged it in. No smoke came out so I guess I did everything right .



I also freshened up my Junfac drive shafts by breaking them down, cleaning them with some PB Blaster and coating the moving parts with some Lucas Marine grease. Followed by some large shrink wrap to help keep things together.

[Hoosierdady]

I'm a few steps closer to completion on the Mega Basher.
I started on my wheels and tires the other night. I tried boiling the tires off with no luck. The boiling water was starting to mess up the wheels so I pulled the plug on that method. I decided to narrow them with the tires glued on . I measured them all and made some guidelines with a paint marker. Then I started cutting.


I made a bit for my drill to mount the wheels to so I could "spin cut" them. Basically I spun the wheels on high speed and then used a utility knife to score the wheels as they spun. Eventually the wheels just seperated. Then I cleaned up the edges, sanded them down, treated them with Bondene and CA glued them together with the new width. After they set up I ran another bead down the inside of the rim.



I used some Loctite Epoxy to glue some RC4WD wideners in place. This epoxy has a 3355lb breaking point and I thouroghly glued them in place so I should be good to go....I hope.


After allowing them to cure for a few hours I mounted them up.




I had this bumper laying on the bench that I bought from Scalerfab.com. I had it custom made for my K5 Blazer, but it was a little thicker than I liked for that rig. It fits perfectly on here with my custom plates from Krawler Koncepts.


I also mounted up a battery plate too.


After that I made some front body mounts that'll be glued in place under the front end and removable with 2 screws ran thru the front cross member. Once the tailgate was done I had to try it on for size.


Two tones are a pain in the butt for me. It's currently under a fresh coat and awaiting one more coat of red on the tailgate. Then it'll get water sanded and a full coat of Wet clear followed by some emblems and detailing.






Now I just need a front bumper. I'll have to make one myself as I am near my budget limit on this project. I drove it for a little last night and it's is very quick. I didn't want to get crazy though until the epoxy had a full day or two to cure. Either way it's getting closer to the mud bog.

[JBailey]

Sure looks monster truck-ie to me! Great job so far man, especially narrowing the wheels and tires.

[Ballistic17]

Awesome looking. Really liking this build.

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by JBailey

Sure looks monster truck-ie to me! Great job so far man, especially narrowing the wheels and tires.

Thanks. I hope it's as fun to drive as it is to look at, lol.

Originally Posted by Ballistic17

Awesome looking. Really liking this build.

Thanks


So sickcivic sent me this Clod grill. It had a blue stripe down the middle. While I was laying down the last coat of red I went ahead and shot the grill.


A little touch up and a gold bowtie later I had this...


I finally finished the paint work on the body except for the clear coat.

[Derek Larsen]

That's a crisp body. I hope you don't get it dirty...

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by Derek Larsen

That's a crisp body. I hope you don't get it dirty...

You and me both.


So the body work is completely done minus some scale touches. I ordered a bed cover for it and that busted my budget by a few bucks . All that's left is making a front bumper.






So on the first test drive there was so much torque tqist that the truck wanted to roll back on its passenger side rear with nearly any blip of the throttle. So a rear sway bar was definately needed. I drilled out 2 1/8" holes and used a piece of 1/8 steel as the bar.


Next up I needed to attach the links to the rear axle some way. I had these two light brackets from my VP light bar on my Exocutioner rig laying around so I tapped the holes and screwed them to the rear truss.


I used some angled rod ends up top to get the full swing.




The result...no torque twist, just wheelies....and alot of them.

[Elmo]

That thing looks amazing! Love the look of the narrowed 3.8s.

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by Elmo

That thing looks amazing! Love the look of the narrowed 3.8s.

Thanks .

I ordered a Dinkys bed cover a week or so ago. I have to say that I'm not impressed at all. But it'll do the trick I suppose.




I'm going to use some magnets and maybe a hinge system to hold it in place.

[Hoosierdady]

Snow day pics...

[Derek Larsen]

What are the issues with the bed cover? Fitment?

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by Derek Larsen

What are the issues with the bed cover? Fitment?

Fitment is the biggest one, the other issues are the manner in which you have to cut it out. It's nearly impossible to cut it out without breaking the plastic in multiple places because the material is so brittle. I finally got it mounted by using some velcro and making a hinge system that attaches it to the interior piece. It works, just not very well IMO.

[Castrol92]

how much does it weigh? rtr