The Barnyard Buster scale chassis

[slugzracing]

Bastard! How dare you post something like "IT IS HERE" and not post a pic of the cardboard box!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH
I should go build my bulu to take my mind off of this

[microgoat]

Yeah, I told the boss I had to go home early with a bad case of aluminitis, but he wasn't buying it. And I didn't bring the digi-cam to work. I've only test-fitted the chassis 30 or 40 times.

[slugzracing]

Originally Posted by microgoat

I've only test-fitted the chassis 30 or 40 times.

You're mean, very mean

[microgoat]

Okay guys, first pic. the first half hour after I got home was spent cutting down screw heads (the prototypes were counterbored by hand, and the shop didn't have any metric CB's, so they're a tad small).

Production models won't have the battery shoe. This is my personal Buster

Production models will, however, use stainless hardware and be CB'd to the proper size by CNC so I don't have to spend all day cutting screw heads.

I'm also considering adding a second set of link holes up front to use Bender's SW2 link mounts, because they're a lot slicker than the hack-a-licious homebrew the test mule has on it.

This is as far as I got at dinnertime.

[C_Money]

bad a$$ will this be good in competitions?

[WRMorrison]

Looks awesome goat, can't wait to see a suspension under it!

-WRM

[JasonInAugusta]

Stop fawkin' around and get that damn thing built!

Looking nice.

[Harley]

Do you except Vasa or Mustercard? How about trades for Wives/Girlfriends?

Looks awesome!!!!

[CronusTRD]

Looks good. Geometry is a bit off for doing a leafer build with it though.

[microgoat]

I didn't design it as a comp rig, but you can make a comp rig out of a cardboard box if you want to bad enough. Set it up with low ride height and lots of droop and it should do okay. No promises, though, and NO REFUNDS.

After thrashin' for a few hours, this is as far as I got tonight. I still have to make a front battery brace and install the hold-down strap for it, but other than that, it's a runner.

I ran into a couple of minor issues that need to be tweaked before production, but nothing major, and nothing I didn't see coming. The rear shocks hit the frame rails during articulation, which I'll probably solve by mounting them inboard on the axle rather than change the frame, unless it drives terrible that way. A few holes need to be moved half a millimeter.

Overall, considering it was designed by a self-taught engineer and cut by a guy I've never met except via PayPal, it turned out remarkably well. I'll test-drive it tomorrow.

[BENDER]

Nice work, that looks really sweet.

[microgoat]

Okay, shocks are fixed, so here's the Mandatory Flex Shot:

[microgoat]

Thanks Bender. Coming from you, that means a lot :grin:

[rctruckchopshop]

[syco133]

Welp looks like I know what my next truck will be guess it's a good thing I was gonna do a scale rig

[microgoat]

This is NOT the body it's going to wear on a daily basis, it's just the last unmolested E-Maxx body that I had laying around. I put it on there to show that the Buster will accept Maxx bodies using the factory holes, so once you've given me all your money you can re-use your old Maxx bodies.

The body posts come up right on the outskirts of the post holes, but they do fit without cutting.

[JasonInAugusta]

Originally Posted by microgoat

I put it on there to show that the Buster will accept Maxx bodies using the factory holes, so once you've given me all your money you can re-use your old Maxx bodies.

Funny stuff.

Neat lookin' rig. How's it feel with the battery that high on the chassis?

[slugzracing]

What kind of ground clearance is that right there? The front drive shaft worries me if it droops any more but dang I love the way that thing looks!

[JohnRobHolmes]

if you notice Slugz the front links are much shorter than the rear. The front shocks are straight up and down too. If the front was extended out a hair you could resolve any driveline concerns, soften the suspension, and get stretch too. The plates could be built with just about anything in mind if you are willing to modify. What is the wheelbase at now Goat? The Geometry of the susp looks killer for a capable basher!!

[microgoat]

The wheelbase is 12" using a 60/40 setup. If you angled the front shocks a bit you could run a 50/50 with the same wheelbase, using one of the forward holes for the rear shock location and shorter rear links.

Center clearance is a huge 3-1/4" with stock TLT shocks & springs. Using Maxx shocks and Mini LST springs will drop the ride height and give you much more droop than compression for more of a performance stance.

With the battery up high, the CG is predictably high. The low motor helps, but it's not a magic bullet. Expect side-hill performance of around 45-50* or so before it topples. If you link-mount the pack, you lose all your front compression, so use a HobbyZone Firebird pack zip-tied to the front links, or a Mini-T pack on the links or on the frame for better CG and less runtime.

This frame weighs almost a pound by itself, so CG isn't its strong point. The Buster won't lay on its side like my Deep Vee will. I went with the front-mount battery to simulate the weight of a big honkin' V8.

Another scale possibility (one that will require minor fabrication) is a frame-mounted steering servo. Make yourself an aluminum plate to cover the area where I have my battery, cut out an area to accept a servo, and put your steering servo up top, with a Mini-T pack behind it. You're bound to have all kinds of linkage issues regarding unwanted suspension movement, but your axle will look 10 times sweeter without a servo on it.

Speaking of sweeter, here's the body i'll be using. All the engraving is visible thru the fenders