Homegrown brushgaurds

[sgtbham]

So i am that guy who puts a truck body on a Wraith, as you can imagine you have to chop the body up pretty good to make it fit. This is what I came up with to finish off my wheel wells - hope you guys enjoy!


IMG_3515 by sgtbforza, on Flickr


IMG_7136 by sgtbforza, on Flickr

The front needs some work, but thats what happens when your wife makes you stop what you are doing every 30 seconds to look at some stupid video of a cat on facebook or pictures of somebodies kids that you just have to look at right then......


IMG_9244 by sgtbforza, on Flickr

I will straighten them up tonight.

[mncrawler89]

It looks pretty cool. The only thing I don't like is the body is too narrow for the axles and looks more like a Traxxas stampede, but thats only because I like scale looking trucks. Only my opinion. I do like the fender flares.

[Perkolator]

what are they made from?

[sgtbham]

Originally Posted by Perkolator

what are they made from?

Its a winshield wiper blade, sewing pins, and more work than I would wish on my worst enemy - I still have to do the other side and the old lady should be asleep tonight so I can do it in peace, I will snap some pics of how I went about it. Its a nice cheap trick though, $8 should do a whole truck.

Also I agree, it doesnt look right - its my fault for choosing that wheel, with the stock offset on it it doesnt look too bad ( i just have to find some beadlocks with stock wraith offset)

[Phippy]

22" refills from any auto parts store. $4-$5 for a pair! Enough to do 2 bodies!

[sgtbham]

Originally Posted by Phippy

22" refills from any auto parts store. $4-$5 for a pair! Enough to do 2 bodies!

I hadnt thought of that! I just bought a blade and ripped the metal off, I took some how to pics - I will post them later tonight.

[sgtbham]

Alright, this is pretty easy to pull off - here are a efw pics to show you how.

To do this you will need a wiper blade, some straight pins for sewing, some pliers, and a lighter/torch.

Cut the wiper blade to the length you need and make sure it is straight. I did this by holding it up in the wheel well and guessing where it needs to be cut to make it flush BUT after you figure this out leave an extra 1/4" or so (once you start pinning it you loose a little length). See the big groove in the pic below? Thats the groove the lexan is going to sit in.


IMG_1203 by sgtbforza, on Flickr

Then grab a lighter or torch and heat up a pin. Try to make the holes as close as you can to the edge but if some end up a little far away dont worry just break out the dremel and sand the edge down till the holes super close to the edge of the wheel well. How close? Depends on the wiper blade you get really. The pic below has too many holes but its no big deal because the extras will be covered up. This part is up to you, the holes determine the spacing and quantity of your pins.

(this is before the dremel)

IMG_8661 by sgtbforza, on Flickr

Once your holes are done its time to start sticking. The Idea is to fit the lexan in the groove and stick a pin through both sides of the rubber.


IMG_5896 by sgtbforza, on Flickr

Just stick your pins in all the way around (start from an end ) then cut the back off of each pin. This rubber is very grippy so once you push the pins flush it hugs the body, you can see them curving with the body lines in the pic below (I know the body looks like crap, its FAR from complete so take it easy on me here )

IMG_0370 by sgtbforza, on Flickr

These end up being pretty sturdy, I would be surprised if you rip them off on the trail. I am very new to this, this is one of my first attempts at a body so im thinking of this as a "proof of concept" - who knows what you guys that are actually good at this stuff can do with this idea.

[Phippy]

Prolly wouldn't hurt to put a lil shoe goo on the backside as reinforcement.

[jboehler04]

Those are fender flares not brushguards. Title of thread is miss leading.

[sgtbham]

Originally Posted by jboehler04

Those are fender flares not brushguards. Title of thread is miss leading.

I have always thought thats what they were called - title changed.


[QUOTE=Prolly wouldn't hurt to put a lil shoe goo on the backside as reinforcement.[/QUOTE]

I agree but nothing sticks to these things - siliconized rubber and all.

[jboehler04]

U might be thinking of bushwhacker (brand name) fender flares. Brush guards are cheap light duty grille guards that only withstand taking on brush. not heavy duty enough to take on a deer or any other animal.

[jboehler04]

Besides that they look good. Good idea.

[sgtbham]

Originally Posted by jboehler04

U might be thinking of bushwhacker (brand name) fender flares. Brush guards are cheap light duty grille guards that only withstand taking on brush. not heavy duty enough to take on a deer or any other animal.

Its funny because I think you just hit the nail on the head, that has to be where I got that haha - It wouldnt let me edit the thread title, so I guess it is what it is.

[jboehler04]

Don't get me wrong they look good. Jus wondering did you ever try it with less pins. Putting them in the spots that most need them? Jus for a more scale look? Or Idk how big the holes are but maybe really small Allen head bolts would also help the scale look. I use to do vehicle accessories and we did a few fender flares on trucks n jeeps and some of them had the bolts exposed and would be cool if an Allen bolt would work for more scale look. Jus thoughts and ideas. Might have to try it on my hilux.

[sgtbham]

Originally Posted by jboehler04

Don't get me wrong they look good. Jus wondering did you ever try it with less pins. Putting them in the spots that most need them? Jus for a more scale look? Or Idk how big the holes are but maybe really small Allen head bolts would also help the scale look. I use to do vehicle accessories and we did a few fender flares on trucks n jeeps and some of them had the bolts exposed and would be cool if an Allen bolt would work for more scale look. Jus thoughts and ideas. Might have to try it on my hilux.

Allen bolts would look real good! Might have to shop around for the right wiper blade though, the one shown was barely big enough for the pins. I am now in the process of going back and eliminating pins to make it look better (my first shot at a body in 7 years or so, and I didnt have too many under my belt when I stepped away from RC back then). Im hoping someone takes this idea and runs with it, so I can see how it looks when a pro goes at it.

[jboehler04]

Maybe even look at like screen door weather stripping or some vehicle weather stripping. Jus some ideas.

[el_Fernando]

Nice looking rig man. After seeing this you may not be the only one with a truck body on a Wraith. How did you come up with the idea of using wiper blades?

[sgtbham]

Originally Posted by el_Fernando

Nice looking rig man. After seeing this you may not be the only one with a truck body on a Wraith. How did you come up with the idea of using wiper blades?

Thanks man, I just knew from the start that I would have to chop the hell out of the body so I started thinking up ways for my chops to look good!

[teifert2429]

Looks Good man. Keep up the good work.