Just a TF2 Hilux Flatbed

[neilus]

New year, and a new project. Since winning an RC4WD Bivouac Trailer on Instagram a few weeks ago I thought it was only fair that I did an RC4WD build. So, I purchased a TF2 kit from Martin @RCBitz and a few other bits and pieces and here we are, my first leaf sprung truck, ever!

Now, since I already have a linked and bobbed Hilux on a GCM Skeleton chassis (which I love), I thought i'd do a leaf sprung flatbed Hilux this time.

This first post contains a fair few photos because my laptop packed up just before Christmas, and the photos have been backing up until I could get a new one to start this build thread. I've already posted up some of these pics on my Instagram page (@toyolien) so apologies if you've already seen them.

GCM scale transmission. I love GCM products, and with the added benefit of overdriving the front, I opted for this.



I'm hoping to “shoe horn” this beast in too.



Upgraded the axles to come cast Yota 2's with some CVD's.



Beginnings of the chassis build.




Swapped out the GCM motor mount for the RC4WD one, so that the GCM transmission bolts straight in. (Yes I know the outputs are on the wrong side. It was originally destined for my SCX10ii Jeep build that's now on hold.)





BowhouseRC leaf shackle mounts, to get rid of the 'lock down'.



Fabbed up a mount for the other end of the transmission.






RC4WD Old Man Emu shocks, that i've 'borrowed' off another truck for now.




Also added some Gelande 2 hoops.



And lastly for now, sculpted out a DinkyRC Skid to fit the GCM transmission, until someone brings out a better option.




Thanks for looking, and more coming soon.

[JatoTheRipper]

Awesome start to a build!

Does no company offer a rear mount for the GCM transmission?

[neilus]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Awesome start to a build!

Does no company offer a rear mount for the GCM transmission?

Thanks. The RC4WD V8 mount fits directly, but it comes with a load of stuff i didn't need, so i just made my own

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by neilus

Thanks. The RC4WD V8 mount fits directly, but it comes with a load of stuff i didn't need, so i just made my own

Yours is very cool. I love the way it looks. I was just curious.

I just looked up that GCM trans. The price did this to me =>

[RattleKan]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Awesome start to a build!

Does no company offer a rear mount for the GCM transmission?

GCM now offers the mount. They gave me two of the. They work great. I just modified the trans brace.
I sent them an email and they hooked me. So just talk to them and they will work with you. Very nice people and very nice products. I run the Trans/T-case combo in my Marlin and I love having the 11% overdrive up front.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[distinctive pd]

Originally Posted by neilus

New year, and a new project. Since winning an RC4WD Bivouac Trailer on Instagram a few weeks ago I thought it was only fair that I did an RC4WD build. So, I purchased a TF2 kit from Martin @RCBitz and a few other bits and pieces and here we are, my first leaf sprung truck, ever!

Now, since I already have a linked and bobbed Hilux on a GCM Skeleton chassis (which I love), I thought i'd do a leaf sprung flatbed Hilux this time.

This first post contains a fair few photos because my laptop packed up just before Christmas, and the photos have been backing up until I could get a new one to start this build thread. I've already posted up some of these pics on my Instagram page (@toyolien) so apologies if you've already seen them.

GCM scale transmission. I love GCM products, and with the added benefit of overdriving the front, I opted for this.



I'm hoping to “shoe horn” this beast in too.



Upgraded the axles to come cast Yota 2's with some CVD's.



Beginnings of the chassis build.




Swapped out the GCM motor mount for the RC4WD one, so that the GCM transmission bolts straight in. (Yes I know the outputs are on the wrong side. It was originally destined for my SCX10ii Jeep build that's now on hold.)





BowhouseRC leaf shackle mounts, to get rid of the 'lock down'.



Fabbed up a mount for the other end of the transmission.






RC4WD Old Man Emu shocks, that i've 'borrowed' off another truck for now.




Also added some Gelande 2 hoops.



And lastly for now, sculpted out a DinkyRC Skid to fit the GCM transmission, until someone brings out a better option.




Thanks for looking, and more coming soon.

Very cool on the trans rear mount! Keep up the good work im stoked to see the progress!

[neilus]

Originally Posted by distinctive pd

Very cool on the trans rear mount! Keep up the good work im stoked to see the progress!

Thanks. More coming soon.

[neilus]

Small update. I've been waiting for some tires to arrive. I wanted to get the wheels fitted before I start bending the tube for the rear flatbed. So, until they are here, i've not done much more. I have, however, been working on a 90 body for my Dad's Gelande 2 he's building (see below).

So, I decided to be brave and chop up the bed of the Hilux. The 2 tabs where the bed bolts to the cab were the perfect pieces for filling in the gap on the back of the cab. So, off they came.




I fixed them in place, and clamped the sides together before adding some splashes of MEK.





And, here's how it looks after the first filling and sanding.



Also, started the bend up the roll bar, but I won't do anymore until the tires arrive.




And lastly, here's the D90 body. My dad wanted it converting to a flat back truck cab, so here's the progress so far. I just need to put the bench seats and base in the back and it'll be done.




More to come once my tires arrive!

[neilus]

Body work is not really my thing, but I thought I'd better have a go at filling in the 2 bolts holes in the cab that the rear bed attaches to. So, I decided to use a few pieces of rc4wd plastic and a steel punch to punch a few circles out. I MEK'd these into place and set about sanding and filing. I'm not too happy with the results, but I think I'll get away with it once it's painted. We'll see though...










Next up was to start the rear flatbed. I have been thinking about how I wanted it to look for a few weeks now, and although I have an idea in my mind, it may deviate as I progress. I started by fixing the rear hoop mount to the chassis.



All my previous metal work I've done as I went along. But, this time, I thought I would be a little more prepared and actually draw out the shape I wanted first. This made making the bends in the correct place much, much easier. I used a washer the same size as the bearing to mark out exactly where I needed to line up the bends on my bender, and it worked out great.






The next part was the rear part of the bed. This involved plenty of head scratching as the bends and notches were kind of compounded.










This is where I'm up to with it now. The main part is done. I now need to add the rear mounts, and then the detailed tube work etc... Apologies for so many pics. I do seem to get carried away with the camera.

[neilus]

I made a little bit more progress on the flatbed this evening. It's now at a stage where I'm beginning to see how it will actually look. I'm pretty pleased. I still need to add the mounts for the bed floor/base, and maybe some sort of bumper to house the rear lights, but that may be a separate piece that fixes to the chassis rather than the flatbed.

I'm undecided whether to add 2 stays/supports from the top corners of the roll bar to the top of the bed sides. I may have a look at that next week. I need to address my garage/wife time balance for the next few days...

Also, I am completely undecided on a colour for the body. Any thoughts?

Anyway, here's a few more pics of where I am up to now.














*
Thanks for looking.

[calcagno45]

Nice job sir.

[distinctive pd]

X2 the truck and toob looks great!

[stimpy]

Looking great mate!

[neilus]

Originally Posted by calcagno45

Nice job sir.

Thanks very much

Originally Posted by distinctive pd

X2 the truck and toob looks great!

Thank you.

Originally Posted by stimpy

Looking great mate!

Thank you.


Only a small update for this evening. I've been spending most of my available spare time working on my Dad's D90, which is almost now ready for paint so i'm hoping to spend some more evenings on the TF2.

I started work on the flatbed part of the rear cage. I wasn't really sure what look I wanted, so I just decided to start with a flat sheet and go from there. I'm quite pleased with the look so far.







I can't decide how to mount the spare wheel. Do I go for flat, or raised. Any thoughts?





That's all for now. Hopefully next up will be the battery mount, fit the electrics and make a start on the front bumper and sliders.

[Szczerba]

Following this on IG as well. Super clean work!

[neilus]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Following this on IG as well. Super clean work!

Thanks very much. Your TF2 Flatbed is one of my favorites, and I will admit to stealing a couple of ideas from it

[iFrog]

Outstanding work! WOW

[neilus]

Originally Posted by iFrog

Outstanding work! WOW

Thank you very much

After an evening yesterday spent just looking at ways of mounting the battery and not getting anything done, I spent this evening actually making something. And I'm relieved to say the battery mount is done. The reason I spend so long on it was because I didn't want to just put it in a box on the flatbed when there so much empty space under the flatbed. So, I decided to cut a hole in the styrene to allow the battery to rest on the chassis rails. Then make a tool box to hide the top of the battery. And here it is.













Next I'll be working on the front bumper. I'm not a fan of how far it has to stick out to fit a winch, so I may see if I can recess the winch into the grille a little, or I may resort to a hidden servo winch. We'll see...

[THUG LIFE]

Awesome work. Rig is looking on point. Thanks for sharing.

[neilus]

Originally Posted by THUG LIFE

Awesome work. Rig is looking on point. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for taking a look


Made a start on the interior. Now, working with styrene is not my strong point, so although in my head I have a nicely designed curvy interior, in reality I'm going to have to resort to straight lines and square edges, but hopefully it'll turn out reasonable.
So, here's where I'm at.





Beginnings of the fire wall and centre console.







And, I've made the centre console a little wider than I intended because I realised that I could squeeze the ESC in there.







More coming soon...