PROJECT CETANE... dieselfuel's BMVII

[dieselfuel]

ce·tane –noun a colorless, liquid hydrocarbon of the alkane series, C16H34, used as a solvent and in cetane number determinations.
[Origin: 1930–35; cet(yl) + ANE]
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i started working on my first torsion rig a few days ago. the BMVii, it was the first 2.2 torsion design thats impressed me to be honest. its lightweight, simple and effective. what more does a crawler need to be? i preordered it, toyofast was very quick on the shipping. i just love how rediculously simple it is...

the supplied hardware included some plastic spacers to use for the outer plate mounting bolts. i used them on the front but on the rear i did my own thing. i cut down some plastic spacers that came with the TLT kit and put my steer lockouts there, mounted in front of the axle for a cleaner look. i mounted up a 645MG servo on it and mocked up the steering, which is already one its second design, it'll stay where it is now. it felt like a waste of time even assembling the axles without fat-rock Cs and run2's knuckles on them but this is still just a mock up phase. it wil have them on within the next couple weeks.

thats about as far as ive gotten so far.
heres a quick spec list of what it will have;
BMVii chassis
locked and shaved TLTs
fat-rock Cs
run2jeepin's knuckles
645mg servo
pede or R2 tranny
hyperion 3013
mamba ESC
maxx shafts
rc4wd super narrow beadlocks
moabs or mashers (depending on where im crawling at)
unimoger's wideners
airtronics MX-3S radio system

damn... thats it... i love how minimal it is! anyway how about some pics?

i shaved one of the axles a little too deep. so i filled it with jb weld, now i need to sand it smooth and paint it black. my work area, the kitchen counter... i love this bachelor pad thing! hahahahaaa

[dieselfuel]

today i stopped by hobby people and picked up an HPI baja bug body. i got it trimmed painted and mounted. the mounting situation is a little different partially because the body ended up being shorter than planned, and partially so that it doesnt restrict chassis twist at all.

[Cloak]

Looks good, so you have one point straight up and down in the front of the body, and it pivots in the back?

[shocker]

kool build and nice toys!

[FrankyRizzo]

That body turned out really nice. I can't wait to see how it does on the rocks.

[dieselfuel]

yeah the rear mount sticks straight out the back... we'll see how it works, i like it so far... yeah rizzo i decided to try a fade paint job, i think im gonna do a lot more of those, theyre sooo farkin easy.

[dezfan]

It'll never work!

















Looks sweet man!

[Unimoger]

Nice work diesel, I see your tlt addiction is growing, it is not even close to over yet.

[Bam Bam]

The rig looks awesome I might have to try the chassis.

[dieselfuel]

thanks guys. im waiting on wideners and brushless. still need to order wheels, tranny, Cs, knuckles and pick up some misc hardware here and there. a few weeks and it should be running.

i like the body but i still kinda want a truck body on it. something i can set really low on the chassis. but the bug is the ultimate cheater body, it isnt anywhere clost to rubbing the tires, it doesnt hang over anywhere and with how it pivots, rocks will just push it out of the way rather than hang up on it.

[Unholy]

Originally Posted by dieselfuel

...because the body ended up being shorter than planned...

Hopefully the body is still at least 12.5" long.

Looks great! I am still not convinced how effective these things are really going to be, but glad to see a lot of people trying them out.

[dieselfuel]

Originally Posted by Unholy

Hopefully the body is still at least 12.5" long.

why? does that matter? i thought only the wheelbase had to be 12.5" and you had to maintain 70% of the body.

[Unholy]

Originally Posted by dieselfuel

why? does that matter? i thought only the wheelbase had to be 12.5" and you had to maintain 70% of the body.

Not for 2007. Here's rule number 6 in 2.2:

6. * You must run a body, 10th scale or larger, 70% of the original body, to be determined by judges, 3" minimum height on sides, no less than 12.5" total length and full width in the center.

[dieselfuel]

hmmm. ill have to measure it.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by dieselfuel

...i like the body but i still kinda want a truck body on it. something i can set really low on the chassis...

How bout the Proline Rock Pleazer? Nice lookin body that is kinda narrow and it's a truck.

[@tw!ll]

Looking good. They're great rigs. I'm very impressed with mine after it's shakedown run today.

[dieselfuel]

the rockpleazer is too square, it doesnt roll back over as easily. if i get a truck bod it'll be a stadium truck body like ive always run on my SW2. i measured the bug its 12 3/4" long and 4" tall at the doors so im pretty sure it'll pass. i dont think removing the fenders violates the 70% rule.

semi update, the Cs, tranny and 5mm pinions are ordered, hurry up and wait.

[EvilTwin v2]

A great example of the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method of building.

I like it.

[FrankyRizzo]

Your body is fine. Don't let that big meany Unholy scare you. I wouldn't let you run an illegal body for comp.

I do have some cool video on how well the bug body works in a pinch.

[Unholy]

Originally Posted by FrankyRizzo

Your body is fine. Don't let that big meany Unholy scare you. I wouldn't let you run an illegal body for comp.

I do have some cool video on how well the bug body works in a pinch.

I though it was legal, looking at the pics it looked like it was close but legal. Glad that it is!

I wouldn't have said anything at all if he wasn't someone who I knew would be competing.

Though I can't argue that i am a big meany, I wasn't trying to be.... this time.