It's 2011, and I'm building a TLT...

[grob23]

Originally Posted by bugman72

I have contacted someone about possibly machining me a set of clocked Cs. As for the wedge, I might be wrong but I think I was the first one to put a wedge on the rear axle. In fact, I still have the original wood wedge on the rear axle now.

Ah! I see all these awesome ideas and mods and rarely ever associate em with a name... I guess I should pay more attention

[dezfan]

Originally Posted by bugman72

I have contacted someone about possibly machining me a set of clocked Cs. As for the wedge, I might be wrong but I think I was the first one to put a wedge on the rear axle. In fact, I still have the original wood wedge on the rear axle now.

Remember this?







The Blue Meanie Grunt and the Punisher TLTs circa 2006.

[bugman72]

Joe, that takes me back! I actually went back to some of my subscribed threads this week and came across the BMVII's inaugural event. Shocking to realize that I've been using this chassis for 5 years now. From the RBX to the P4 Delrin to the BMVII. And as for the wood wedge, that was the extent of my fabbing abilities at that time. But, it's still there today, so I must have done something right.

[Garrett]

Best thread ever, this is mine:

[sionshards]

Wow, after my scale tlt is done I'm thinking of doing a comp crawler! These things are amazing to look at and you should all be impressed at yourselves! I'm just glad I got a dremel set for xmas, will come in handy =D

[mattnin]

At a comp it is funny when people ask, "What are you running?", "A TLT". Their eyes almost always open wide and they have to look. Awesome thread! When I get my TLT finished, I will post some pics too!

Friggen awesome thread, keep it alive! It seems we can still get nearly all the parts necessary for TLT based rig. Delrin axle housing, updated hardened axle internals, etc....

[bugman72]

Where did you see the delrin axle housings? Wouldn't mind getting a pair of those.

[dezfan]

http://www.tcscrawlers.com/On-Sale-4...0-p-16585.html

[dkur]

Originally Posted by Badmuthatrucker

Keep it alive

I (re)built this last year for old time's sake...

Nice truck!

[crawlin247]

is the stock tranny and chassie plate worth using or should i just sell them they are brand new

[bugman72]

I have a friend that STILL uses the stock plates and tranny. He doesn't wheel it much, but it's still going. Of course, we call it "The Ratchet" because of the sound his tranny makes when it gets into a bind. I'd say ditch them and look for a different chassis and tranny. Nowadays there are a multitude of small, but very capable transmissions to use and an equal amount of aftermarket chassis.

[lunchbox]

I started blowing the dust off my TLT's just a few weeks back. I tore one apart for a junk yard FOFF build, but, I like the idea of Nostalgia Class...

TLT axles, no dig, pede or stealth trans, BRUSHED, and '06 body rules.... Oh, wow, look! I'm already set up!!

[grob23]

Well, I tried the whole scale game. Hit a block, and got bummed. I will soon be building a TLT "comp" rig. Basically a rig that GOES, because I don't care

Specs will include:

Pimp Slap style chassis
Decked out TLT axles
Axial Transmission
Pede shafts/yokes
2.2 Axial Beadlocks
2.2 Comp Claws
HS645MG with HD horn
Axial AE-1 ESC
Integy 45t motor

Basically. No shocks, no links, no dig, no drag brake, no BEC, nothing! It's what I've got, it's what I'll build, It's what I'll love!

After all, I don't care!

I just placed an order with RPP, and am waiting on tires from a member, so expect updates not to happen for a while. I know that under "normal" circumstances it wouldn't be too cool to "bump" a thread that hasn't been updated in so long, but since this was on the first page (almost at the top) I just figured I wouldn't make a new thread. And plus, I dont care!

[grob23]

This post marks the beginning of my "new" build.

I'm still waiting on a few things, so I started with an overhaul/rebuild of the rear axle

Upon opening the axle, I found this!:


I did a bit of research, and based on the pictures I've found, I believe this is an RCP unit. Both the pinion and the spool I have match visually to the pictures they have listed.

I'll be running stock axle shafts with BEARINGS



Since I got the axles used, the case was already shaved. It's got the servo plate posts shaved, the lip underneath, and it's been cut to accept lockouts



The grease inside this axle looked alot like poop. A bit of scrubbing and I had an awesomely-clean housing. I then panicked, as I don't have any "suitable" grease. I found some cheap stuff from Wal-Mart that will have to do untill I can get something from a vendor...

All greased up, pinion installed:



Upon closer inspection, I was pleased to see that the lockouts aren't completely rashed. They do have a few nicks, but that's expected



I forgot to get a complete-axle shot...

Once my parts come in I'll have alot more updates, and do a mini tutorial on shaving the front case (new one on the way)

Until then, keep posting up TLT rigs from present day, I love seein em

[grob23]

I've been quite busy, but not too busy to work on the crawler! This will be a decently big update...

All of my parts came in, including the stuff to do the front axle. Here's what all I did to adapt c's to my axle.

Here's the case I had. I wanted to use the stock servo posts, so I got a new housing





Here's the case all layed out and ready for me:



This is the front half of the case. The only trimming to be done is on the outer-most edges. I've taken a before and after picture to show the material I removed.

Before



After



The rear of the case is done in almost the same manner. The stock C's are molded to the rear case, and even those must be removed. Again, a before and after picture will explain it better than my typing.

Before:



After:



The last thing to trim is the lip on the bottom of the axle.



I find that it's easier to do when the axle is apart, to get a better angle when cutting. I just use a sharp razor and take my time. and end up with this:



I wont bore you with more pictures of random internals or a greased case, but the front also has bearings, and an RCP spool and pinion. A set of MIP CVD's will take care of the shafts



Here's my C, installed on the axle. A previous owner drilled the kingpin holes bigger, and added top-hat bearings. This makes for an amazingly slop-free setup.



I find that with my camera it's practically impossibe to take some shots, so a shot of just the C, just the Knuckle, just the bearing... they all turn out crappy. Maybe it's the camera, but it's probably operator error

I used the stock servo plate (for now) with a pair of Axial servo mounts, and mounted my servo



I added a Racer's Edge servo horn:



Added some links, and the steering is ready to go (for now) I plan to eventually make some new steering links, but untill I bend these I'm going to run them



These are the wheels I'll be running:



They're just basic Axial beadlocks, but they were cheap, and they're in amazing shape. I'm thinking about hitting up MTHead for a set of rings eventually.

I got weights for the front:



I should have got more weight, but since I'm dumb, I had to cut the segments apart to have enough to do the entire wheel



Here are the tires and wheels mounted on the axles. I'm beginning to love this!





Lastly for tonight, here is the transmission I'll be using. It's an Axial, with a spur cover, Pede yokes and shafts, and an Integy 45t. This has been through hell and back, and somehow keeps on kickin





Tomorrow, I'll build my chassis, and hopefully by Monday this will RUN!

[grob23]

Time to cut some aluminum!

I started mocking up the chassis to get my measurements. I clamped the aluminum in position on the front axle housing, moved the rear axle fore and aft untill my wheelbase was where I wanted it, and made my mark to cut on.





While I'm in the "hey, let's cut aluminum" mood, I figured I'd do a front battery/servo mount. This will let me mount both the servo and the battery on the front axle. I've made some before and liked em, and I had the aluminum laying around to do it, so I figured "why not". Here I am eyeballing it to the axle:



I'd like to take a second to showcase my awesome workspace.



I literally clamped a mitre box to the side of my grill to cut these... apartment life sucks! My neighbors shot me all kinds of weird looks Sketchy but effective!

And here's the main chassis all cut and filed smooth



I tried to take a picture of the chassis being marked, but the camera went dead. I then tried to drill the chassis, but the drill is dead. Basically, I'm unwillingly taking a break to replace batteries and charge the drill

More later!

[grob23]

Progress!

Here it is drilled and bolted to the axles:



Mocking-up a support "brace":



My ending spot for today:





I basically just need to mount the tranny, mount the electronics, and mount a body. I have an old OG Grappler body I may hack up (more) and use, but I'd really like to find a way to mount my OG HPI Bug!

[dkur]

TLT's are not dead. Glad to see all the trucks that are still around sporting the vintage technology. People always ask what kit I used on my Silverado and when I say TLT axles they usually don't know what I'm talking about.
Then I tell them it wasn't a kit and they really don't know what to say.
Here are a couple of pics of my rendition of a TLT axle based truck:











Sorry to have highjacked the thread. I just think TLT crawlers are the best!!

[grob23]

Awesome Chevy!

[SINister]

Hows the flex on this setup? I've got a pair of tlt axles that served me well on my first comp rig and would love to do something like this with them.