F-100 Boat Puller... the "Grave-Robber"

[dr frankenstyle]

You could call this another "twisted" build from Frankenstyle's laboratory. I've been told, by a few, that I needed a "street truck" to pull my boat trailer so I decided to go for it.
I want something to match the boat, old-school with some modern tech'. I'm a "work with what you have" kind of guy, and I don't have much of a build budget, so I thought back to my bygone days of RC on-roading and remembered my very first car .... and Associated RC-12 that I bought in the 70's ... so I got out the shovel and dug this out of it's grave.



The world of RC has changed LOTS since her debut. I'd forgotten these were "Americanized", all SAE threads and heads! I had to get tools out of the garage to fit it. So to get into the modern world, I needed to set her up for new wheels, and adapt the old ball-diff to new hex-drive.
Anyone who's messed with a ball-diff knows the hubs are different from one side to the other. Here's the original axle set-up...



...and the ball-diff parts.



To get to 12mm hexes, I took some aluminum tube (slightly loose on the old axle) and drilled the old hubs, and a set of Jato front hexes to fit the tube. Then JB epoxy'd the parts together to make adapter-hubs. I found a brass hose-barb fitting that fit the outside of the alum' tube and cut pieces to beef-up the hubs. The diff-side has to "compress" the diff to adjust, so it needed to be pretty strong. I swapped the old 1/4" thread in the diff end of the axle-tube with a 4mm for modern wheel-nuts and added one to the other side to hold the wheels on.



Then for the front, I just drilled another pair of hexes (and wheels) to accept the old Associated front bushings....



... and voila, new 1.9's mounted to the 30+ yr. old spindles.



Some of the nearby "Gasser" and "Funny Car" threads reminded me how much I like drag-racing, and I had some old Pro-line "Styrker II" tires (from the 80s) that are 2" wide, so I decided to go with a kind of "Pro-Street" style truck.
With that in mind, and I also want it to match the boat and trailer, so I sniffed up some rear wheels that would fit the Strykers and match the leftover trailer wheels that I'm using for the front. I found some on ebay, again Jato parts, but they're 2.8s ... so it was time to work over the tires. They were 2.2's so I cut out the beads, and strettttched them over the wheels and ended up with this.



...and more or less came up with this as a roller.



The original set-up is just a motor with a pinion driving a spur on the axle ... waaaay too fast for trailer-pulling. So I dug up an old GRU that I built back in the 80's and proceeded to fit it into the chassis. I wanted to fit it all inside the body so I tried to keep it as narrow as possible. After a little cutting and milling ...



and now she's a rolling chassis with modern wheels, LOTS of rear tire ( I can mount a set of small tires on the back too)and a power-plant.



I zip-tied some electrics on it and got her ready for some test-runs.



She's a bit of a handful to drive, like old trucks are. Still way too fast, but I've got lower gears on the way.
So it was time to find a proper body, something era-correct to the boat's style, that will fit the chassis. The front-end is "adjustable", so to speak, but the rear-end is about as narrow as I could get it ... so after checking sizes, I found Vaterra's '68 Ford F-100, short-bed.



PERFECT! And I owned a 1:1 back in the early 90's so since I'm using my first RC car and building another '68, this is kind of a nostalgia build for me too.

So anyway, this is the gist of the project.



I have to admit, I'm starting to like this build more than I expected to.
It needs a lot of refinement, I know .....We'll see where it goes.
This could be fun .... stay tuned.

[Bmxreeves]

Sub'ed. Like the look of the WIDE rear tires.


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

[QUOTE=Bmxreeves;5464869]Sub'ed. Like the look of the WIDE rear tires.

Thanks, I do too. And they hook-up pretty well too.
I remember one of my early trips to the racetrack with my dad, we went into the pits and those tires seemed 5 feet wide. I was hooked on tread from that moment.
I got the fever after driving her this afternoon and spent my birthday money to order a Leopard 3300kv combo, (the old XL-1 doesn't even have brakes ) so it will definitely be getting more interesting .... soon.
If I get some 3S, I may have to make a set of removable wheely bars.

[Bmxreeves]

[QUOTE=dr frankenstyle;5465103]

Originally Posted by Bmxreeves

Sub'ed. Like the look of the WIDE rear tires.

Thanks, I do too. And they hook-up pretty well too.
I remember one of my early trips to the racetrack with my dad, we went into the pits and those tires seemed 5 feet wide. I was hooked on tread from that moment.
I got the fever after driving her this afternoon and spent my birthday money to order a Leopard 3300kv combo, (the old XL-1 doesn't even have brakes ) so it will definitely be getting more interesting .... soon.
If I get some 3S, I may have to make a set of removable wheely bars.

Go big or go home!


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[joe122]

How freaking cool is this! Yep - I remember the old ball riffs very well. Truck looks amazing, color to match the boat, very creative build. With direct drive it should be a blast to drive.

[snapon boy]

Very nice work. The Ford is extremely creative. If it's still to fast could you get a slower turn motor 55 or something in that range?

[dr frankenstyle]

Yessir BMX', that's the law on the Quarter-Mile.

Thanks Joe', It took a bit of head-scratchin' to decide what I wanted to make out of what I had. And it's a RIOT to drive!! A little tricky (like a couple of yours, I'm sure) but with a bit of practice..... HOOO YEAH!

Thanks snapon', I've got the 3300kv coming for it, hopefully it'll have a slower bottom-end. I'm using the 30+ year-old Traxxas XL-1 esc right now. it's a first gen. electronic, made for speed, no brakes, just forward and reverse.

I just got a 60T spur for it today, up from a 48T. Surprised, but it fit perfectly, even the same diff-balls. So for now the GRU is 4:1, cranking a 10T pinion into the 60T spur.
I carried it down to the highway earlier today for some more test-runs. After a couple of passes and tightening the diff a little .....
Holy Staging-Lights Batman !!! This thing is gonna be FUN !! I had it carrying the front wheels for the first 6 to 14 inches on the first half-dozen launches, (when I kept her goin' straight ... wah wah) with a fresh 2S pack.
Which is still too fast for trailering, but I have a 7T pinion coming too, with the brushless set-up maybe I can get the low-end slow enough.... and still slap a 3S in her and drag the wheelie-bars. Git 'n the house, ma!

[Bmxreeves]

Sounds like a hell of a car. Light,WIDE tires.


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

Thanks BMX', it's turnin' out to be a LOT more fun than I thought it would be. The more I monkey with it, the more it earns my interest.
I can see an aluminum chassis... some nice wheelie-bars... black dye all of the plastic... and ...hmmm.....
I can't wait to get the brushless set-up in her, and lower gears. Then get some 3S to try in the 'Robber (and in the Jet-boat too) and see what I can tear up.

[Bmxreeves]

Wheelies 4 days is what I'm seein!


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

[QUOTE=Bmxreeves;5465795]Wheelies 4 days is what I'm seein!

Easy now, hopefully I can get her to "dual-purpose", Pro AND Street. I want it to pull my boat trailer (without leaving the boat on the road ) and then, trade the hitch for the wheelie-bars, and with an easy gear and batt'ry swap, do some nice launches off -the-line.
That and to look good WITH the boat too.

[Bmxreeves]

Dude, just drag race with they boat, the hitch is a wheelie bar... Lmao


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

[QUOTE=Bmxreeves;5465812]Dude, just drag race with they boat, the hitch is a wheelie bar... Lmao


That is HIGH-larious!!! That one's worthy of a "CAR-Toon"!
Me 'n' my buddy will get a BIG laugh out of that one tomorrow.

[Bmxreeves]

There yah go!


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

Well, after some practice and a recharge, I had her carryin' the front-end for 2-3 feet.... and then I put the 7t pinion in (it showed up yesterday) and shot my hole-shots in the hole. :( And it's still too fast for trailerin', but the Leopard should be here by the weekend, and a new round of experiments will begin.
I found some spec's on the current motor (hey, it's been over 25 years) and re-learned that it's a Trinity, Speedworks, Monster Mash 2... 16-turn, 40,000 rpm, reverse rotation (for the GRU) motor. They were built as 1/2 of a pair meant as an upgrade for a Clodbuster. So it's got a little more under the hood than I realized.
I have more gears on the way to play with, so maybe with them and/or new electricals, I can get her slow enough to pull, and it's pretty easy to swap her back to starting-line status.
I gotta get started on the body too .... dang, I'm gettin' old and slow.

[Bmxreeves]

Haha. I would keep it the same gearing so you could go drag racing. Then just be easy on the throttle when your towing.


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

Originally Posted by rally racer #75

any cool livery/design?
btw, nice!

Thanks , no design other than to match the boat and trailer. That was the whole reason for building this truck at all. But I'll admit, it's earned it's respect from me now, so the "creature" will be more than originally planned.
That said... the Leopard set arrived yesterday and all I can say is ...MEEOWOW !! It's JUST what I wanted!



Now, with the low gears, it's way more drivable for towing ... good slow speed, brakes and reverse. Then I can slip the 10/60 gears back in her and it'll flip over, every time (even with a 2S at 7.1v), if you lay into it too hard off the line.
So now I can get "both worlds".

Since she's proven to be a worthy project, I picked up a piece of .063 aluminum and worked up a first mock-up of a new chassis ...



it needs some trimming here and there, but I figure the general layout will give me room to strategically locate all of the electrics... and a dual 3S set-up when I want it.



And it will close up the lower sides, and give me a solid tail area to set-up mounts for a hitch and removable wheelie-bars.



I also got started on the body...



...first round masking, ready for the "Mazda" purple......



now if the weather will just cooperate.

[Bmxreeves]

Any wheelies yet?


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra

[dr frankenstyle]

[QUOTE=Bmxreeves;5469141]Any wheelies yet?



EVERY time ! (with the 10t pinion)
That is... IF you're easy with the throttle, otherwise she'll flip-over onto her back every time.

[Bmxreeves]

To be honest I'm Not suprised. I want to see a video of you drag racing with the boat... Lmao


__________________________
1.9 Ibex tuber - The Merica ibex.

R.I.P Dave Mirra