Steel Marx Powerhouse Dump (Tonka Style)

[oxyjansen]

Picked up this 1960' Marx Powerhouse in a lot of Tonkas, and I just had to build it up. I think it comes in about 1/12 scale, so its little tricky width wise for axles, etc.

The plan: 6x6, tranny and transfer case, fender flares to accommodate axle width, and keeping some of the rust on the body too!

Parts:

Diffs: Traxxas Slash 4x4
Tranny: Traxxas Pede
Transfer: Traxxas Pede modified
Driveshafts: Tamiya and Ofna dogbones, Ofna joint cups
Hubs: Tamiya TA01/02 front , Traxxas Rustler rear
Bearings: All sealed
Wheels/Tires: 1.9 Tamiya TA02 Ford F150/BF Goodrich
Servo: Tower Pro MG995 metal gear high torque
Suspension: Modifies Traxxas Rustler arms, and/or custom made
Driveshafts: T-maxx w/steel diffs where possible

Original find:


Freshly stripped:



Mock up:

[doc.hamilton]

Damn, nice find. Kinda a shame to take the original finish off though. The mockup is looking good. Do you have an idea as to what the finished color will be? And are you going to do a full interior? I'm subbing this build...

cheers,
Doc

[oxyjansen]

My original thought was to fix the rust, but I've since changed my mind. For color I have an old school muted green, almost like a slightly darker satin mint, or seafoam, but 3-4 shades darker/ I'm going to hit the truck with rust inhibitor, orange, then green. Then, wet sand it down a bit to expose a little of the orange, and give it the worn/distressed look. I may do a dirty wash over it as well.

I'm putting a Pede tranny in the interior, so space will be a bit limited. I was thinking of trying to make a windshield, but not sure what exactly will work best. Any ideas?

Fender Flares:

[Kzzican]

Im doing sort of the same build o i will be following this tread. It will be awesome when your done.

[oxyjansen]

Any pics? What are you working with?

[oxyjansen]

Lots of pics of the real truck: Flickriver: Searching for photos matching 'ford c series'

[oxyjansen]

Hub choices:



The Ofna and Tamiya dogbones are about 1mm different in length. Ofna joint cups make the job alot easier.

Axles and cups:



A-arms need to be about 1" long diff to hub. Still working on the design to keep them strong. Adhesive suggestions are welcome.

A-arms headed for the saw:



Had to make a u-joint connector to fit into the tight space between the rear diffs. There's about 1/8" space between the diff balls.

U-joint:

[IMG]http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/oxyjansen
/RC/MarxJoint.jpg[/IMG]

Traxxas Slash 4x4 diffs. Flipped one case to add the 2nd pinion. Bearing on each size are a couple mm different, so the plastic epoxy was necessary to keep the bearings in alignment.

Biggest issue is the diffs need to be cranked into position to align the u-joints, so the diffs have to be on an angle. Hoping this wont affect the suspension too much. This system would be perfect for a 4x4, because the output shaft automatically faces at an upward angle. Its not so great in a 6x6. But, the diffs are cheap!

Diffs:

[oxyjansen]

Just made a brass u-joint to connect the rear diffs. The joint is made by hand, and aside from a little extra pressure to get one of the joint pins in it came out nearly perfect. Band saw, drill press, hacksaw, and file!

[Kzzican]

Originally Posted by oxyjansen

Any pics? What are you working with?

Non yet.. Will Take pics as i build and start a thread. I'm either doing a 79' mighty wrecker or thinking about doing a 8x8 with the dump truck and crane. I just bought a cheap clodbuster to steal parts from for the build.

Any updates since last week?

[doc.hamilton]

Wow, some awesome progress you've made with this!

Cheers,
Doc

[oxyjansen]

Finally got back to this one over the winter! I think its come along quite nicely.

Its not running just yet, but close.

The big list:

Motor: Tamiya silver can
Diffs: Traxxas Slash 4x4
Tranny: Traxxas Pede locked
Transfer: Traxxas Rustler rear hub carriers, threaded stainless rod, hardened shafts, shaft collars, 5mm pinion gears
Driveshafts: Tamiya dogbones, Ofna joint cups, hand cut brass joints, T-Maxx tranny shaft, and Rustler steel joints
Hubs: Tamiya TA01/02 front , Traxxas Rustler rear
Bearings: All sealed
Wheels/Tires: 1.9 Tamiya TA02 Ford F150/BF Goodrich
Servo: Tower Pro MG995 metal gear high torque
Suspension: Shortened rear Traxxas Rustler arms (rear), Tamiya TA02 rear arms (front)
Shocks: Tamiya DF01 long shocks with Rustler springs and spring retainers
Servo: Tower Pro MG995
ESC: Tamiya TA02

[lewlew]

Nice work so far.

[Greenskeeper]

what a body find!!!! mad props!

[oxyjansen]

Thank you! Turns out that people are asking quite a bit for these trucks on Ebay, yet it doesn't look like they sell. This one cost me about $2!

Still trying to decide on painting. I like the raw look, but I'm not sure it stands out enough. My thoughts are seafoam green and black distressed and keeping the rusted areas in place.. Any pinions?


Transfer case pics: I used 4 rear hub carriers from a Rustler, cut the shafts from a bicycle skewer, threaded some 3mm stainless rod, and picked up the gears and shaft collars on Ebay. I'm using a silver can motor to hopefully not put too much stress on the case till I know what it can handle.

[DaJester]

Amazing build! Great find on the body, it will definitely be unique!

[oxyjansen]

Thank you.

I'm looking at grabbing another one to possibly build up with chain drive Meccano parts. Doing the 6x6 as I've done with this truck was alot of work, so simplicity would be key on the next one.

[Szczerba]

Wow, you are all over this build with the custom parts! Great work.

[oxyjansen]

A few more shots:

The front end is a mix of the Slash diff, Tamiya TA02 rear control ams, knuckles, and dogbones. arms and knuckles.



Shocks are Tamiya DF01 with Rustler spring and retainers.



http://s1085.photobucket.com/user/ox...g.html?filters[user]=115362746&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=30



Rear suspension includes Rustler control arms shortened approx 1", Rustler rear hub carriers, Tamiya dogdones and hardened axles.

[ima_redneck]

I like the idea of the muted colors, definately nothing flashy.

[cg78]

Love the way you routed the drive system. Really smart actually.