From D110 to TRXFord

[high plains drifter]

Going to document the transformation of my buddy's TRX4 Defender to a '70's model Ford F150 here in this thread. Over the course of the last couple years of adding a lot of scale accessories to his D110 and subsequently producing a fairly top-heavy rig, he made the decision not only to shave weight & increase performance, but to also give it a major facelift at the same time. Since he and I are both working on this project, I figured why not post it here on RCC.

Because my bud is a long-time die-hard Ford guy, he was adamant to make this as period-correct as possible as well as to create something unique. I'm personally pretty happy with the progress so far although there's still a ways to go before she's done. Suffice it to say that there have been many details that have presented a lot of head-scratching, trial & error, and overall unique solutions/ fab-work/ modifications along the way.

Parts used so far, or that we're planning to use:

Carisma Ford F150 Body part# 15988 SCA-1E
Traxxas TRX4 Front & Rear Body Posts ( Sport) part# 8115
Traxxas TRX4 Single Speed Transmission Gear-set part# TRA8296
Traxxas TRX4 Extended Axle Stub Shaft part# TRA8255A
RC4WD Tuff Truck Saddle Tool Box part# Z-S0839
RC4WD/ CChand TRX4 Chevy K5 Bucks Front Bumper part# RC4VVVC0789
RC4WD KC HILITES Daylighter Light Set part# Z-S0839
RC4WD Warn 8274 Planetary Winch part# RC4ZE0075
GRC Aluminum C-Style Rock Sliders part# GAX0102CB
GRC Aluminum Pioneer Differential Covers part# GAX 0121BC
Integy 1/10 Winch part# OBM-022
DJ Metal Simulation Fuel Tank & Exhaust part# DJC 9158 A3B2
Turtle Laboratories TRX4 Low CG Compact Battery Tray Powder-coated Alum part# N/A
Generic Chinese 9' 100lb Braided Steel Cable part# N/A

After taking way too long to figure out the best location for the body to rest on the chassis, we started to get things underway. At this point he's planning to use magnets instead of posts fwiw. Front bumper was almost exactly what he wanted aside from the fact that it hung too low, too far out, and was too wide. So I came up with the idea to modify the front TRX4 bumper mount as well as flip it around and bring it in towards the chassis. After that, we needed to shave the bumper width as well as angle the top plate in towards the body and make it look as if in the 1:1 world, that the plate was welded to the tube. We achieved this by cutting away some of the plate... effectively making the tube stick out a few mm from the plate portion.

He was dead-set on using the RC4WD Warn 8274 winch but that also presented some issues with this particular bumper. Fortunately he was able to cut away enough of the top plate to make it fit. I like that the strength/ integrity of the bumper was not compromised as a result of the material that was removed. Next came the fitment of the winch plate which meant relocating the four mounting holes. After that was done, we had a nice fitting winch and bumper to use for the new body.

Additional small details: Replaced the bright red WARN logo decal with a more realistic darker-red one... Also got rid of the synthetic line in favor of braided steel cable.

Modified front bumper mount-




Bumper finished up... KC Daylighter housings are actually bolted to the buckets for added strength ( non functional).







Here you can see the modified little screwdriver that I drilled an indention into in order to more easily access and press the free-spool pin that sits down in the winch. Makes it easier than trying to get a finger in there.




Lots more to come!

[JatoTheRipper]

Looks good. Are you doing a portal delete? 70's F150's didn't have those!

[mewalsh100]

I like that front bumper. Looks perfect on that Ferd!

[high plains drifter]

Thanks guys! Planning to keep the portals. We actually discussed putting more "correct" axles under it but since the portals are a really nice feature of the trx4's capability, he opted to keep 'em. He doesn't want performance to suffer so there will have to be some trade-offs along the way.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Thanks guys! Planning to keep the portals. We actually discussed putting more "correct" axles under it but since the portals are a really nice feature of the trx4's capability, he opted to keep 'em. He doesn't want performance to suffer so there will have to be some trade-offs along the way.

That's what I figured. I don't blame him for wanting to keep them.

[high plains drifter]

Indeed, Jato... portals were what drew us both to the trx4 when it was released. Quick "btw" here. Guys name is Travis and tbh he's like a brother. I really like seeing his enthusiasm with rc's b/c I think I kinda pushed him down this road lol. But he's insanely innovative and he knows his shit when it comes to old muscle and Detroit iron. Sometimes it's pretty damned interesting... trying to accomplish something insanely specific out of thin air but I'm happy to collaborate with him on things because he and I are so like-minded. He's helped me a ton as well and I gotta say that iit's pretty damned cool to have somebody you can count on to lend a hand and that shares valid opinions. Wish my wife was so intuitive lol. I guess most folks here on RCC know that all too well.

Anyway... got a little more done on this thing now...

So the Carisma Ford body comes with an optional bed that we're obviously going to use. Travis also insisted on doing a tool box which complicated things a bit more lol. Fit side to side at the top of the rail was perfect. But the bed tapers in so we had to decide weather to cut the box or the bed. Thin lexan won out over thick aluminum. Plus I just didn't have the heart to cut that thing up.. really well made.

Travis cut the lexan and did a great job imo. To finalize this step we'll use probably e6000 or whatever he has in mind, to seal & secure it into the lexan. Also he removed the diamond plate on the sides ( adhesive applied) but he still needs to sand and paint the sides black ( since a little bit of the box will be visible from outside ( up inside the fender well). Then when the inside of the wheel wells are painted black, the sides of the box will blend in. The unfortunate thing here is that we had to flip the bad backwards in order for the shock mounts to line up with the relief of the lexan. Not a huge deal even though all you have to do is look inside the bed to see the boxed portion is on the wrong side of the wheel wells. We may address it later... may not.

[dr frankenstyle]

Looks Great so far!! Gotta love another blue oval rig! Nice work!!



jim

[Shinchu]

Consider me interested for obvious reasons...

Looking great so far!
Have you noticed the carisma ford body to be a bit narrow? Pretty sure the traxxas bronco is just as wide as those intercos. That's why I had to get a 3d printed ferd from overseas. Tragically ironic...

Anyway looks great and cant wait to see it with some paint!

[high plains drifter]

Hey, Jim... I'm a Toyota and Jeep guy myself but I admit that I get all kinds of "weak in the knees" when I see 60s/ 70s Fords & Chevys.

Shinchu- Body width on the Carisma is approx 7 1/4". Bronco is roughly 9" at the same location ( across the hood flare to flare). The tires are going to stick out a bit but with tires as large in diameter as these Thornbirds are, they still look pretty legit. We did have to open the wheel wells more than we wanted but it still works since a lot of these old trucks wound up with huge tires/ axles. And really with the suspension articulation of the TRX4 we had no choice but to make some room.

Side by side comparison although the Carisma is harder to see lol.