My new TLT...build that is takin too long...

[Natedog]

My new TLT...build that is takin too long...too many projects and not enough time...lol! Anyways been working on this longer than I want to tell.

This madness began one Wednesday evening (weeks ago, LOL!)...got a pile of extra parts to mod onto it. Decided to skip the stock configuration and started cuttin and hackin right away.

Got my Stampede tranny all built up...shimmed all the bearings and gears, JB Welded the diff into a spool, used my 4.5" Milwaukee angle grinder to smooth the bottom as their was a good bit to remove from the tranny (Dremel woulda taken alot longer!) also cut off the rear suspension hingepin mounts.

Both axles are built with bearings and JB Welded diffs, suspension link mounts are relocated, rear upper link mount is fabricated and attached, front servo mount/upper suspension link mount is cut out but needs the holes marked and drilled.

Drilled several new holes in the stock (for now anyways) chassis for my lower suspension links, marked up where it needs cut out for the Stampede tranny to fit. Time to assemble the chassis and setup the wheelbase...then make my upper links and drill mounting holes in the chassis for em. Once that is done, need some chassis cuttin and test fittin'...then more cutting until the tranny fits.

Bought Proline's new 70 Ford F100 pickup body (for the Savage, T-Maxx, etc.), Some Pactra Bright Yellow paint that looks like it'll be pretty close to Caterpillar yellow (after my 1:1 Toyota...just wont be makin a tube frame rear and bed area.)

Also bought Pro-Lines new Moab 2.2" tires/foams...undecided on wheels still...need to get suspension dialed in and then see how much wheel offset I'll need for sure...I've got a couple different wheels in mind.

More to come later...gotta get back to work now!

Here's a few pics:

...yeah I know some of my pics could be better, I'm still learning this digicam and it's only a 2 megapixel...

[armedtotheteeth]

good lookin so far... want to sell me those tlt axles?

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by armedtotheteeth

good lookin so far... want to sell me those tlt axles?

Soons I get the gear teeth properly smoothed out...

Little more progress as time permits! Some links set, rear upper link mount done, both axles built, except for the front one that I need to trim the stub axle drive cups to prevent binding during steering. Also front servo/upper link mount all marked ready to be drilled.

TVPs cut and drilled...waitin to get mounted up!

I'm farther along than this, need to take a few more pics and post em up.

EDIT: and here they are! Chassis with lower links all setup...about to mount uppers to chassis (with ruler showing that wb is just a tad over 12"):


And from the spurgear side (rear) of the chassis:

[Natedog]

Couple more pics from last night added...

[Natedog]

Couple more pics...stub axles trimmed and re-bevelled for tighter steering (note height difference due to trimming):

Right side with most suspension done and bottom of chassis cut off:

Left side chassis bottom cut off:

Top view of chassis with suspension mostly done. Need to finalize front suspension upper link length and servo/link mounting bracket on axle:

[Natedog]

DONE finally! Did I mention that I have too many projects??? The Tamiya Sport-Tuned black can motor is temporary until my 45 turn lathe gets here. Also need a better esc, Novak Rooster at the moment.

Airtronics MX-3, Hi-tec micro rx, Novak Rooster esc, Tamiya sport-tuned black can motor (until Integy 45T gets here), 12:87 gearing, TG-10 axles clearanced for more steering, HS645MG steering servo, Kimbrough black (nitro) servo saver, Associated 4" shocks with 30 wt Losi oil and AE green springs, Maxx linkage rods on all lowers and rear upper, TLT linkage rods on front upper, Traxxas ball ends everywhere, critique at will...lol! Batteries are GP3300 six cell packs, I have some GP110s built into Mini LST and RC18T packs to try also. Need to finalize my battery mounting...suggestions are welcome.

[Brandon M]

That took 11 months to finish?? or am I seeing things

[bruiserin2002]

I am seeing that too. Maybe we were drinking the same thing tonight. A couple of bud lights.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by Skylineracer

That took 11 months to finish?? or am I seeing things

LOL, yeah and I worked on it everyday. Like I said..."too many projects," Drove it around the house and it goes real nice. Gotta get outside tomorrow for a real test. I'm sure it needs some refining. No Bud Light here...lately. Guinness Stout...

[Knoc]

Looks good man. Im with ya on the too many projects list. I hgave myself all winter to get my crawler done.. we'll see if I make it..lol..

You running wheel wideners?

[Natedog]

No wheel wideners....yet anyways. Trying to keep it scale, but some outdoor testing will see. I have a set of Blackfoot axles on hand and some nylon for spacers that I may go with. They are not alot wider, but enough to help on sidehills.

[Natedog]

Installed my Blackfoot axles on the rear last night to see how they look and I like it! Still scale lookin and a bit more stability on sidehills. Used two of the TLT shock pivot arm (cantilever) bushings per wheel and one Traxxas grey/black teflon shim per wheel, just right. Will grind and install the front axles soon.

Took it out today in the hills at a rock lined creek/hill climb thingy for a parking lot run-off to a real creek. Pretty nasty rock area...forgot my digicam, will get pics though. This was it's first real test run other than in the house over laundry piles and shoes...lol. Took it to a friend's house and tried it in his backyard over good sized river rock and some small cinder blocks. Wasn't sure how it would do, but it ran pretty well. We bashed it for about 45 minutes today...so that's a bit over an hour of run-time on GP3300 six-cell pack and Tamiya cheapo motor. Geared at 12/87 (RRP #1012 and Traxxas spur) and it's too high, thinking a 9 or 10 tooth pinion. What's pinion and spur do you all recommend for this motor? How about with my 45T lathe motor? Motor was pretty warm after the whole pack, but esc was barely warm.

Today's damage:

Lost one wheel nut, need to grind down my pede wheels where the wheelnut tightens down so that I can get full nylock engagement.

Spun a rear wheel hex inside a pede wheel...dang the wheelnut was only slightly loose. May need some better hexes and wheels with stronger wheel hex area. Maybe some RPM wheels as the ones I used on my Savage lasted better than most Savage wheels. Tightened the **** out of the wheelnuts with Loctite and it helped, but they like to work loose even so.

Scratched the heck out of my pretty new F150 body.

Need to make a little center skidplate out of some thick lexan, maybe some 0.060 or 0.080" thick to keep the bottom of the chassis from getting scraped away to nothing.

Got too much chassis roll from motor torque, tries to roll itself sometimes. Going to try swapping opposite corner springs for some stiffer AE blues that I have...stiffer springs on left front and right rear sound good? Maybe I should go to some Losi or Maxx shocks for the springs and better mounting so that I can invert my shocks....tried inverting the AEs and the shock cap binds badly against the lower mounting bracket, somethings going to bend or break...shaved the caps a bit but wasn't enough. The cap mounting hole and tab is too short (close to the cap) and the hole is too small to drill out enough for good clearance on mounting ball and bolt. :(

[Natedog]

Nobody has any suggestions on how to make it better??? Seems like maybe I have too much flex...definitely torques the chassis to the left on acceleration...****!

[BENDER]

Post some pics of your set-up, it'll be easier to help if we can see how everything looks.

[Natedog]

Thanks Bender, I'll get some pics up.

[jebs]

It looks good but 11 months thats along time

[mxer611]

man that looks framiliar almost freaky

first tlt build

[Natedog]

Going to take a few more pics tonight...need some pointers on getting better pics with a 2 megapixel digicam with digital zoom, no actual zoom lense. Seems like the best way so far is taking the pictures from farther away and then using Adobe Photoshop Album to crop, zoom, fix colors etc. Problem is it still seems to make it kinda grainy even though the camera is set on the highest resolution. Also try to use a well lit area without the flash and a background that is not to dark or too light (to decrease the contrast between the truck and the background) so that the detail can be seen instead of lost in a blur.

Jebs, yeah took awhile.

Mxer611, yes looks alot alike.

[mxer611]

i just changed to a k2 chassis. but i think im going back to what i had

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by mxer611

i just changed to a k2 chassis. but i think im going back to what i had

Why? And here's some more pics...going to try for better ones this weekend in the daylight...think the lighting and background are playing havoc with my camera.

Stub axle length comparison, stock, TG-10, and Super Blackfoot: