Dr. F's Kit Bronco

[dr frankenstyle]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Congrats on the winnings!


I'll be keeping an eye out for the new build thread!

Thanks Brian It caught up my bills and got the new project goin'.
The shorty's gonna be a bit tricky. By the time I make new front links too, the wheelbase will be right at 282mm. The wheel stance will be almost a square. It should be fun tho' .... to build AND to drive.





I'll get a thread goin' soon.


jim

[dr frankenstyle]

I got a new set of under-drive gears in the mail today. This time I went with Hot Racing's "helical" cut gears.



They don't seem that much different until you look closely at the size of the teeth. They're about 40% longer than the stock gear-teeth and with the helical design they should give about 50% more contact between the pinion and ring gear. I know .... I'm buildin' the short-bed , but this is still my #1 crawler so I'll put the stronger gears in her and pull out the old UD's for the Shorty. So I DID get these for the short-bed .... kinda. This one will get new rear shock mounts too, and the F100 will get the old ones, along with the drivelines and the V-1 skid-plate.
Thanks for lookin'. Tune in for our next episode ..... "The little guy always gets the shaft!" or "The feel of new under-wear."


jim

[dr frankenstyle]

All of the parts got here last month so this past weekend I put the Bronco in the new garage and got the wrenches out. The full list included .... a new V2 BowHouse slid-plate, Jazrider steel drivelines, HR helical cut gears for both diff's (still OD and UD), all new Power HD mini servos and a fresh 46KG steering servo, and Xtra Speed rear shock mounts.




I LIKE the new skid'. Definitely improved the fit and finish. I still had to install the rear driveline to the trans' from the top, you can't get to the screw-pin from the bottom because the skid covers it, but no big deal. It's smoother and the link pockets fit much better now. The Jazrider rear driveline was a little too long for my rig, but the grinder "adjusted" it just right. The new keeper sleeves should be more trouble free than the spring coils, and they're nice and heavy hardened steel.




While I had the axles torn down for new rings and pinions, I figured I'd re-grease the gears. Then while the front was apart I decided to swap sides with the c-hubs. After reading a few other threads and studyin' a bit on steering geometry, I wanted to try eliminating as much caster as I could. Ended up just damned near zeroin' out. It seems to turn tighter now. The inner tires cut about a 20-22 inch circle now, with both diff's unlocked.



Of course that put the shock mount holes on the front side of the axle, so I drilled and tapped some on the back side of the C's and voila. The extra holes are still there, but whatever.



The steering was really the only performance improvement. Everything else was just stronger or smoother, but didn't make it much "better" at crawlin'. It didn't really need new servos, but like the other stuff, I thought I'd upgrade the Bronco and the hand-me-down take-offs can go into the shorty build. I really like the Xtra Speed front shock mounts. The panhard mount is nice and beefy, so I got a set of them for the shorty too. The pull-off rears will be fine for now. The Xtra rears are beefy too, and they match.



I was thrilled after all the surgeries that everything still worked .... lights, winch and all the new servos are spot on. The new gears are smoother, and the skid seems to have lowered the truck's "voice". It still whines .... just at a lower pitch.



Now Goof' and the pup are ready to drop it off of the stands and go find some rocks.
And I can work on the Shorty. Thanks for lookin' .... tune in next time.


jim

[dr frankenstyle]

I went to town last week and I took the Bronco along with me. I wanted to try out all the new parts, and the roadside rocks are overgrown with weeds 'til the hiway dept mows again, so I stopped by the park for a little crawlin'.





Dave was feeling under the weather so I didn't have a stock TRX to compare to, but the new steering set-up seems to improve the agility.





Or maybe Goof' is just improving his driving skill.






It was a fun time at the wheel for both of us. I think Pluto enjoyed the ride too. :-)
Now I need to work on the Shorty. Thanks for checkin' it out, tune in next time.


jim

[borlo]

Originally Posted by dr frankenstyle

I went to town last week and I took the Bronco along with me. I wanted to try out all the new parts, and the roadside rocks are overgrown with weeds 'til the hiway dept mows again, so I stopped by the park for a little crawlin'.

Hey man, I recently came across your build and I really dig it. I'll catch up on the thread in time, but want to ask what wheelbase you are running with that Bronco body?

[Cyclist]

I'm curious about what wheelbase you are running with that body as well. I like the old bronco body but didn't know if it would fit ok on a 12.3" wheelbase.

[dr frankenstyle]

Originally Posted by borlo

Hey man, I recently came across your build and I really dig it. I'll catch up on the thread in time, but want to ask what wheelbase you are running with that Bronco body?

Originally Posted by Cyclist

I'm curious about what wheelbase you are running with that body as well. I like the old bronco body but didn't know if it would fit ok on a 12.3" wheelbase.

Sorry guys, I've been kinda lazy. I know my threads can stretch on a bit. To answer both of you, the body I use is Pro-Line's part#3313-60, with the wheelbase at 312 - 313mm.. It lists for 12" (305mm) wheelbase, but I mount it with the rear axle pushed about 2 or 3mm behind the center of the wheel opening ... and the front axle pushed about 5mm ahead of center. By trimming the front fenders a little more at the front, it allows for the extra stretch.
Hope that helps.
Memory FLASH!! In case you didn't catch it in the thread .... I DID have to cut off the frame rails to fit the Bronco body! The stock frame is too long!

[dr frankenstyle]

Winter has been crappy, and I've had other distractions, but it hasn't been completely fruitless. I haven't gotten out on any rocks in months. Got the Shorty out in the snow one day, for a few minutes with the body taped on.



But I have done a little wrenchin'. I got the GRC axle housings, painted 'em silver (the silver ones are twice the price for some reason), and set 'em up with the helical OD and UD gears.



I painted the brass portal covers and used them to retrieve some of the weight.




I like the look of the silver.




Now Shorty will get some more hand-me-downs, but they're upgrade hand-me-downs. I picked up one of GRC's SS steering linkage sets too, just to finish it off. I'll get some pic's when I test crawl everything .... soon, I hope!

Thanks for lookin'. teeeya

[dr frankenstyle]

Well, yesterday started out nice. By dinner time it was raining again, but while it was nice, I took li'l Bronco down to the roadside rocks.






I hadn't been there since early last summer, so it was all fun again.




The snow and ice from winter cracks the rock, so duckin' around the over-hangin' rock gets a bit trickier every year.







I rolled her 2 or 3 times, but kept her from cliff divin', so no injuries.





Before I realized it, an hour and a half went by .... so it was obviously a good time.
Now, wave g'bye.



I'm really likin' the silver axles. I'll have to take it out after dark and see how they look with the rock lights on.
Now I need to work on Shorty.
Thanks for lookin'. Tune in next time.

[dr frankenstyle]

I wanted to see the axles at night, with the rock lites on, so I took it out the other evening on the spike-bridge.




It was cloudy, like most of the time lately, so the moonlight was blocked. The rock lites do a nice job, so the silver shows up pretty well.
I like the glow thru the wheels.





.... and a awaaaay we go!



c ya next time.