Just a simple daily driver K5 Blazer

[jj650]

So this all started out last June, my son won a complete RC4WD Blazer body kit as a door prize at Team KNK Hardware's TTC 4. Thanks RC4WD and the Kirby family!
Well I purchased it from him for a price we were both happy with. Lol

It sat until I got the build itch being stuck indoors in our cold Ohio weather.
I wanted it true to form and looked for a TF2 chassis, or complete truck. I lucked out and made an awesome, seamless trade with a fellow on the other side of the states. I traded a well built SCX10-2 slider for a slightly used but heavily modified TF2 slider.

It arrived in a few days and in one piece. Thank you FedEx.
Here's a rundown of how it came equipped:
-kit version w/2 spd
-Holmes crawlmaster pro 35T
-Mamba Max pro esc
-Hitec HS-7954 steering servo
-Hitec HS-645 shift servo
-Castle BEC
-MIP driveshafts
-Xvd's in front axle
-Gelande 2 front shock hoops
-90mm shocks up front
-Bruiser front spring hangers and shackle reversal
-Bowhouse RC lo pro transfer skid
-Revolver shackles on rear springs
-Z boxes on rear springs

Here is how I received it.



Now I'm not a big fan of all the extra movement both the revolver shackles and Z boxes give the rear axle so I traded both them off for the stock pieces to put things back where they should be. After all this is a mild trail truck/trailer tow vehicle for my Yota TF2.




And I didn't like the well used soft red springs it came with. They were almost flat across. I mounted the body up, this is how bad it sagged.



Oh and I'm using Gear Head 1.55" aluminum glue on wheels I scored cheap at an event with 1.55 Pitbull Rock Beast tires. A perfect combo I think.

Stay tuned. I'll go over my suspension setup in next post......

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[Itali83]

Very nice. I love a good leafsprung blazer!

Ben

[jj650]

Ok so I removed the old red springs. I used soft black main leafs in front with the short helper spring on top of the main spring for axle wrap. The soft black main leaf in back plus the long and short helper springs under the main leaf, this body is heavy in the rear with the cap installed.
And of course I did the O ring mod on both axles.

So now it sits right where I want it.







I didn't get any pics of the body work, it's all the same stuff, sand out any mold lines etc. I did screw the body mounts on with SS hardware and then filled in the holes with Bondo spot putty.
I have a good way of keeping the body on tight. Not sure if this has been done this way but I utilize the rear body posts in the cargo area (I'll hide them later with scale gear) to hold down the rear. I then only use the forward most posts on the sides of the rocker panels. This locates the sides. Then I push the front bumper in it's mounting holes and let it capture the body in it's holes, with no screws in them and then insert body clips from underneath to hold it all together.
It's really solid and fast to remove, install the body this way.









Oops, kinda gave away colors there didn't I. Lol



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[jj650]

Hunter Dan is my chosen driver of this rig. Had to perform a little surgery from the waist down to get him vertically fit in this interior. Lol









Perfect fit.

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[jj650]

Now with the suspension where I want it and electrical parts where I think I want them we have a running, functional chassis. Yeah!

And the Bowhouse RC rear leaf brackets came in last night. These cure that dreaded lock up of the springs when fully compressed.



I purchased the RC4WD front inner fenders but did not want to cut out for the shock hoops of the longer Gelande 2's.
So I left extra material at the lower mounting edge and drilled holes accordingly to keep the hoops and shocks completely covered.
I sprayed the under side with truck bedliner and the under hood side flat black.





And if you caught in an earlier pic I got this chassis with the shift servo mounted between the frame rails up against the rear shock cross member. It's a real slick idea and puts it back out of the way of the interior. And it functions great.



You'll also notice that's a 5000 mah 2S and fits after I cut the back little ledge off the interior behind the seats. I usually run 2200 3S packs, which also fit perfect in same location.

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[jj650]

The interior got a coat of Rust-Oleum camo ultra flat sand color. I was going for an old tan look.





And then I washed some Citadel typhus corrosion all over it and wiped it down with a paper towel while it was still wet.





Yep. Old weathered interior look. Check.
I'm still looking for something for carpet material for front floor and rear cargo area.

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[Ironhide13]

Looking good, can't wait to see more of the final product!
I'm planning for a Blazer/TF2 build some time in the future.

[jj650]

Didn't find anything for carpet so just painted the rear cargo area with same interior flat sand.
First cut a filler piece.



Then sprayed on the flat sand.



Then used the citadel corrosion as a wash and wiped it down.



With a few hunting accessories thrown in..



So it's obvious the body colors so I'll post those up next.

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[jj650]

It's no show queen by any means but it's a clean daily driver anyways...



















And once I make a drop hitch this is what this rig was built for...



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[jj650]

Being a pipe smoker I just had too...









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[Zippy1]

Your "daily driver" looks great, good attention to detail.
Now ole Hunter Dan should know, he ain't getting close to game smokin' that pipe in his hunting garb...

[jj650]

Originally Posted by Zippy1

Your "daily driver" looks great, good attention to detail.
Now ole Hunter Dan should know, he ain't getting close to game smokin' that pipe in his hunting garb...

Thanks zippy!
Oh I know. Lol
I smoke a pipe while out in woods so I just had to do it.

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[Ironhide13]

Originally Posted by jj650

It's no show queen by any means but it's a clean daily driver anyways...

I have to wonder what you think is show queen worthy... That is looking really good!

[jj650]

Originally Posted by Ironhide13

I have to wonder what you think is show queen worthy... That is looking really good!

Thanks Ironhide!
It's not perfect up close in good light. Lol
Painted it at work since it's warm in my area. Couldn't keep the dust out of paint.

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[jj650]

Just some cold river side pics...









And I've since fixed that ugly Bowtie emblem with a better color.



And working on the tow package.....



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[jj650]

Tow package ready.











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[Ironhide13]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a grease fitting for a ball hitch?
And I'm not sure it's actually street legal in Ohio for your truck and trailer license plate to be the same... lol

One more thing, how does the tailgate stay upright? Is it in the hinges, or a magnet holding it?

Just noticing the COE flatbed hauler in the background, any better pics of it around?

[jj650]

Originally Posted by Ironhide13

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a grease fitting for a ball hitch?
And I'm not sure it's actually street legal in Ohio for your truck and trailer license plate to be the same... lol

One more thing, how does the tailgate stay upright? Is it in the hinges, or a magnet holding it?

Just noticing the COE flatbed hauler in the background, any better pics of it around?

No, the ball is an old Tamiya 3mm threaded ball end. Not sure where it came from but I need another one.

There's a build thread on the scx10 based 6x6 on here and SBG.


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[jj650]

Originally Posted by Ironhide13

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a grease fitting for a ball hitch?
And I'm not sure it's actually street legal in Ohio for your truck and trailer license plate to be the same... lol

One more thing, how does the tailgate stay upright? Is it in the hinges, or a magnet holding it?

Just noticing the COE flatbed hauler in the background, any better pics of it around?

And the tailgate is hinged and it snaps shut pretty tight with little pegs sticking out at top sides.

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[1.55Yota]

Nice job on the hitch!