1/8 scale Grave Digger

[CM9000]

yes! those tires are awesome!

[jlhustad]

Centered servo mount, the quick & easy way:





Nothing fancy, but it'll do for now.......

[jlhustad]

Decided i needed to slap another tie rod on the thing, just for looks...
I use the classic sleeved allthread solution, using; M4 rod, Revo rod ends and carbon tubes (Od: 6mm, Id: 4mm)





Should I paint the tie rods & suspesion links green? I cannot decide...

[jlhustad]

Super shafty shark fin "heavy metal replica" :-)


Same ish shape, but made of 3mm steel




Will be a lot prettier in black, but hey, it'll work..

[jlhustad]

New axle & hex...











Does anyone know of a planetary cover i could use? I dont like the blue/red aluminium showing...

[jlhustad]

todays status:




The flames on the front/hood is a pain to apply, and I went out of patience..
If anyone know of a guy who could make me a killer paint job for a new GD body, let me know...
Future plans;
1. 3D printed planetary hub covers.
2. Swaybar setup
3. Some extra tubes and/or plates
4. Test drive
5. Inspection of chassis
6. Painting and final assembly

My hope is to have the truck finished around Christmas...

That being said, I'm still faster then rcwizard and his 1/4 scale Grave Digger (If you've not seen it, youtube it straight away!).

[JatoTheRipper]

That's nice. I can't wait until it's painted to see it.

[USA1]

That dudes 1/4 scale Grave Digger has a real 1/4 scale V8 right? Is that the one your referring to?

[jlhustad]

@USA1; that's the one..
what I'm reffering to is the speed of the building process :-)

[jlhustad]

Getting some small details done..





Mock-up of the new swaybar solution

[suzuki]

Mint!

[jlhustad]

Quick status update.

The reason I've not been able to work on the truck is that I broke both bones in my left leg, motocross fail.

Not much has happened, but small changes has been made.
1. a couple of tubes has been added to stiffen the chassis
2. started on the X in the B pillar
3. The base plate for the motor/trans is now mounted underneath the mounting brackets.

The reason for moving the base plate is that it will make the truck a lot easier to work on (it now drops straight out, like a wraith..) and as a side effect also lowers the truck center of gravity a bit.


1/2


1/2/3


3.


3.


planned battery location.


altertaive battery location

I am also considering using both locations, so I can use my single 4s or my two 3s batteries in series.. time will show

[LSXGMC]

I would have gone with the JConcepts wheel & tire, those wheels look like "toy" wheels. Not trying to be a dick at all, just my opinion. The chassis looks great!

[Mudsy]

Originally Posted by LSXGMC

I would have gone with the JConcepts wheel & tire, those wheels look like "toy" wheels. Not trying to be a dick at all, just my opinion. The chassis looks great!

I think the wheels looks good, however I think it needs to be dechromed and painted to match whatever the color the body gonna be.

[jlhustad]

@LSXGMC, at the time i ordered tires the JConcepts wasn't on the market, but I agree they look really good. If I had to pick again it would have been tough.

@Mudsy, I agree, they are waaay to shiny :-) I'll address the wheels when the chassis is done..

[JatoTheRipper]

Sorry to hear about your MX crash. Did you case a jump? I hope you heal quickly. Damn that makes me cringe.

My uncle's friend back in the day was a pro motocross racer (Ty Wallace) and he broke both legs in a bad wreck. Ouch! Another racer, whose name escapes me, broke both wrists. Can you imagine bathroom time with two broken wrists?!

I was always into quads not bikes in my dirt days and my head always seemed to lead and take the brunt of my crashes. No broken bones, but more concussions than I can count. I think that's why I don't remember anything!

Anyway, the truck looks AWESOME! I hope to see running video soon.

[suzuki]

Looks great. Looking forward to se it in action!

[jlhustad]

@JatoTheRipper
Got hit by another bike, healing well and will soon be back on my feet :-)
As to making a running vid, I've had two short test runs with the truck last year and it rips. Zip ties all over the place to hold electronics , but I just had to give it a go.
That was when I found out that the SuperShafty aluminium center link mounts ("shark fins") was the weak link in my front suspension. I'm sure the next time SS get around to make new ones they'll be made out of steel...

I will post a running video when the chassis work is done, so if there are any weak points I can sort them out BEFORE it's painted..
I'm sorry to say that it will be a while before that glorious moment, too many reasons to list, but I'll post pictures from time to time..

[jlhustad]

A few more tubes added in the B-pillar (the X ) and on the lower section of the chassis (bracing).

Also note the start of the new swaybar fastening; 3D printed ABS blocks, which will be bolted to a plate.

I'm currently waiting for more silver solder in the mail, so a short production break will occur...

[jlhustad]

NEW SHINY PARTS :-)

Got this in the mail recently, it looked so good I had to have one:



For those of you who don't know, this is the Freestyle RC transmission/transfercase.

Whatt's inside I hear you ask, have a peak;


I only ran into one problem. My shaft was too long (If I had a nickle....) :-P


So me and a buddy of mine made a shim to space the motor further back;




Here's how it sits inside the truck:



All I did was to solder on two tube pieces, the length of the aluminium bar fit perfectly without cutting (WIN!).

I still have more work left on the chassis, but it's winter so I'm not in a rush..