Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
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Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
This afternoon I cut a piece of styrene and screwed it to the "light module" lugs to make a platform for my winch and light controls. Then I was able to clean up my wiring quite a bit. I can't handle a spaghetti mess, so I took out some of the slack and tied things up nice and tidy. :) http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3p4y3vrj.jpg I wrapped the light and winch wires and fed them thru the shock tower. I even added a plug for the back bumper, so when I get the red LED's in it. It came with white ones. :roll: You can see the plug for the body lights sticking thru the front body mount. When I get around to wiring the headlights and taillights back up, I'll pop in a pic. Meanwhile here's another shot from this morning on the wet rocks. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pstbgd6ybo.jpg Tune in next time ... and Thanks for lookin' an' likin', jim 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco I finally got the headlights and taillights wired back up. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psg7ftmexd.jpg I siliconed a pair of the 1W headlights in behind the molded lenses. They line up just right in the '73's light rings. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psgljjpyac.jpg I always hate dealing with a leash harness and trying to plug and unplug the body, so while I was wiring, I grabbed a couple of left over Traxxas "legacy" male connectors and did a low-budget ez connector. I took one TRX connector and epoxied it to the top of the rear body post, like so .... http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7ihufcul.jpg ... then I grabbed some .060 styrene sheet and made a mount/guide plate to silicone into the top of the body. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psdcfqhvyh.jpg I made the channel section to hold the two pugs in line and try to prevent any shorts. Once it was painted black and ready, I used the body posts to line it up and stick it in the roof. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psamfjzh7m.jpg Then I used some double sided foam trim tape to stick the other male connector, facing down, into the channel. The foam gives it a little cushion, and puts a little pressure at the connecting point. When I clip the body on the two connectors mate up and presto .... http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9vwgtad0.jpg I set my heyok regulator to 3V for the body lights. That keeps the headlights nice and bright, but nice and cool too. :) The taillights had resistors already soldered in. I left them in, so the taillights are kinda dim. That's ok, I don't think I'll have to worry much about gettin' rear-ended. :D The bumper lights are wired separately, and controlled separately thru the heyok remote control. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psu3mmce8t.jpg Now to see how it holds up to roll-overs. :D Thanks for lookin'. jim 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Those puppies are bright! Creative connection technique there, doc. "thumbsup" I really like the looks of that rig. |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psiz3gveoe.jpg .... while the headlights shine about 40 or 50 ft or more. "thumbsup" http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psltenx4zl.jpg You can barely tell when the off-roaders are added in front, http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pstn00o8n2.jpg but the rear gets brighter. :roll: Even across the yard, it hurts to look straight at it when it's comin' at you. I'm supposed to go hit the rocks with a buddy Saturday, so I'll get a chance to really see how much things have improved (or not ;-) ). Tune in next time. jim 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco You ought to be able to see now! |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
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Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Finally got in a little crawlin'. My buddy has had a dose of the flu, so we didn't get to the rocks as much as we wanted. In the meantime, he got a set of overdrive gears for the front end of his kit TRX that he's buildin'. Well I went with the lower gearing and got the underdrive set for the rear axle on mine. :D Gotta say I'm REALLY happy with that upgrade. It practically eliminates the under-steer or "push". Even with the diff's locked in, it turns a lot better. It seems to climb better too. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5gs28f00.jpg I didn't get many pic's, I have a hard time driving and shooting pictures at the same time. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pseymefmee.jpg Also, last week, I added in some little custom rock lights. I like the factory set-up, but I'm not running the inner-fenders on my truck. So I just got some white 1206 smd led's to use. My eyes are getting old and blurry, and the little bastards are too big a pita for me to solder, so i just got the pre-wired ones with diodes this time. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5zvply16.jpg I then used a 2mm drill bit and drilled holes at the corners of the floor-boards. After using a hobby knife to make the holes rectangular, I taped a smd into each corner from the top. Then I flipped the chassis and filled each hole with clear 5-min epoxy, to glue them in and seal the lights from water and dirt. The epoxy makes a nice lens too. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psf8rebzku.jpg After 5 or 10 minutes, I pulled the tape off of the top side and put a bit more epoxy on the tops of all 4 lights. I just made small brackets from sheet metal to hold lights at the bumpers. I made L-brackets for the rear .... http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psmjwrd0vl.jpg ... and twisted brackets for the front. I used the end screws for the bumper mounts to hold them on. I just spread a layer of the epoxy onto the brackets and let it set, then stuck the lights into it and put more epoxy on top of them to seal them too. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psctvecdzm.jpg I hooked them in with the off-road lights and switch them with the hey-ok controller. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9fy14fhc.jpg They're not as bright as the factory set, but they're plenty bright enough. And they only cost me $8 for 10 lites. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psw2hucwqh.jpg With the days getting shorter they'll come in handy for evening runs. :) 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
Actually, what you are showing there is not camber it's referred to as "King Pin Inclination". https://www.quora.com/What-is-king-pin-inclination |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Hot Dawg! The things you can learn on the RCC forums these days. :D Thanks for the info, Inspector'. 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco A few weeks ago I was cleaning up the back yard and decided to take some of the junk and turn it into an obstacle to crawl on. So I screwed a few 2x4 scraps to some trees in the front yard, took an old landscape timber as a main beam, and screwed some cut-offs from a picket fence repair as planks and made a "spike" bridge. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psjiclfh67.jpg I just used some more scrap boards and some old wire fencing for ramps, turning the fence wire sideways so the rectangle openings work like ladder rungs. I added a corner section hanging between a couple more trees at one end and put a couple extra ramps to give multi approaches. Here's a shot from the end, so you can see how jagged the deck really is. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pswef68aum.jpg You can't just roll up the middle, you have to actually drive your way across it. The single ramp is a 42 degree climb, and the middle ramp at the other end is 43. :) The other ramps aren't quite as steep, but they're still a little challenge. We got 2 or 3 inches of snow yesterday, so I took the Bronco out to see how she does in it. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psdehuqxip.jpg Did really well. The portals help keep the snow from piling up in front of the axles. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psfja5fabm.jpg The Krawler T/A's really impressed me. Of course the wire ramps help the climb, since they don't hold snow, but the tread unloads really well too. They drop the snow, or mud, back out just about as fast as they pick it up. I thought it was gonna slide off the side once, but it got a bite and pulled itself back on. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psce2ykedd.jpg I think she likes playing in the snow. :D http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pszpwolkty.jpg Then my Ipod battery died so I didn't get any shots on the snowy rock pile. Maybe next time. :) 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Looks like fun! Looking forward to some snow here to try the same thing.:mrgreen: |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Looks awesome, but how do you have snow already?? |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
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Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Well, 2 weekends ago my buddy and I took our TRX's to the rocks and after about 30 or 40 minutes I lost another steering servo. :( It was a 20kg this time, but just one of the 3218's (at $15 ea. it's not that bad). It didn't buzz or twitch or smoke .... just quit turnin'. I ordered a couple more and my buddy loaned me one so I could get 'er workin' again, 'til mine get here. :) While I was swapping it out, I decided to put in my Castle BEC too. I want to throw a THANKS to papabash for hooking it to his link and setting the voltage for me. https://i1315.photobucket.com/albums...pshsnzmyhq.jpg We set it at the 6.8v max for my servo, and as soon as I hooked it up the steering seemed faster and more solid. I had noticed, when I installed the first 20kg servo, that the panhard link was hitting the servo arm when the suspension was compressed. So while I had it torn down I took the dremel and ground the top of the servo arm. I filed away about a quarter to a third of the thickness of the arm and then polished it up. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psavi03w3j.jpg That little trim gained about 3/16 in. of travel at the wheel. I also filed the top of the link end, and together it really reduces any bind in the steering when the suspension is compressed. https://i1315.photobucket.com/albums...psuvyect6j.jpg It doesn't seem like much, but it "scales up" to about 2 inches more wheel travel AND smoother action. I got a pair of CI foams for the front tires too. I didn't like the way the stock Proline foams squished. The truck weighs in right at 9 lbs. so it mashes the tires a bit. I went with the Li'l Nova 2025's, which are the 4.5 comp cut with medium outer's. I like the "squish" a lot better now. They fill the tires a bit more so the tread is a little less flat across the top. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pswbmvpnod.jpg They seem plenty soft and flexible at the tread, but stand a little taller at the sidewall. Just what I was wanting. :) We hit the rocks again this past weekend and everything performed flawlessly. The new steering set-up seems a lot stronger and faster. The tires were hookin' up great on the rocks, even in the muddy areas. We got into some sticky mud and they started slipping a bit, but my buddy's a lot worse. The BFG's seem to unload mud about as quick as they collect it, so they don't cake up as bad as some others. I took it out to the rock pile the other day in the drizzle to clean up the tires a little and try them on the wet rocks. Even on the damp rocks they were grabbing nicely .... http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pscubmocgc.jpg and climbed everything I tried. Spike bridge was fun too. https://i1315.photobucket.com/albums...psxvo8jh7m.jpg http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psax2qpqmm.jpg The fence-wire ramps help clean the tread lugs too. :) 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
https://i1315.photobucket.com/albums...pshemw86wd.jpg Okay ... http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psiydjemei.jpg .... maybe not straight up. :lmao: Thanks for checkin' it out. 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Me and the little green Bronco had a really good afternoon at the park today. My buddy got a set of Pit Bull "alien" Rock Beast XL's and SSD slotted mags for his kit rig, so we hit the rocks to try 'em out. https://i1315.photobucket.com/albums...ps6jkdccsb.jpg He opted for a "light" set-up, so my truck outweighs his by about 2 lbs. (for now :D). The rocks were damp so available traction wasn't the best, but it made for some fun crawlin'. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pswopoi4vz.jpg I gotta say, I'm super happy with the Pro-Line BF Goodrich Krawler TA's. My truck went up and over anything his would climb. Even in the leaf-covered areas, the little Bronco was holding it's own. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psm8puawkv.jpg There were even a few spots that his wasn't able to follow mine. :D To be perfectly honest, my BF-Goody's were actually outperforming the pit's. We got into some more sticky mud and it seemed to cling into his tires when mine were clearing out between mud zones. You can see here the difference in mud-pack, and we'd been playing follow-the-leader so they'd both hit the same areas. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psmblnlxjs.jpg His got slippery enough that it ended up like this (I'm looking down the hill, so it's at about a 45 deg angle, nose down) at one point. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psqwy1fs8l.jpg By the end of the session, he's now ready to add a little weight to the rear axle .... http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pszuk9crk6.jpg ... and buy a set of BFG's for his Bronco RTR :lmao: And mine are just G8 compound too. :D Thanks for lookin' and likin' 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Made a couple of small tweaks to the Bronco today. I drilled new holes in the sliders and moved 'em in about 1/4 in each. https://i1315.photobucket.com/albums...pskfkybrvn.jpg Isn't a big difference, but I noticed it rubbing the sides on a couple of the rocks yesterday, so what the heck. It pulls the bottom of the body sides in a little too, giving it a bit more curve to the sides too. I also noticed the rear bumper draggin' a few times at the start of ascents, so I decided to cut off the frame rails... again ... and tuck the bumper in a little more. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psptxo5scg.jpg I actually did it twice, 1/4 in at a time, so now that makes 3 times all together. :roll: But it definitely helps with approach angle. Had to trim the body a bit too. Looks better and should help performance. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psxxeii4su.jpg Now it's ready for another day on the rocks. http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psy1dktbjh.jpg I guess she'd better be .... my buddy just ordered a set of BF Goody's :) in the Predator compound too. :( We'll be ready. 8) |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco So how does it compare to the predator BFGs? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco Quote:
I may ask Santa for a set of Red label Krawlers, just to keep up. :roll: :lmao: 8) |
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