80's Ford Ascender

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by smog

Well gotta say I am kinda happy that fall has hit.



... I swapped them out for a set of Pit Bull's Mad Beasts. Oh man! I gotta say, I love these tires! Its too bad the foams they come with are so soft )-:
My rig is not that heavy, but it was squishing the front tires right down flat. ultimately I lost the bead on one of my tires. I think I need a dual stage foam for these tires. Any recommendations are appreciated.

I mounted the Mad Beasts up on a set of them sexy Hot Racing D-Hole Steelies
The wheels have a less aggressive offset than the RC4WD steelies I was running which thankfully helped eliminate the annoying tire rubbing on the fender. the tire tucks beautifully now when stuffed in the well. They also look to have a relatively period correct aesthetic.

...and the cats that I now collectively refer to as the Ascenders. Here they are Assembling...

Yes, I'm thankful that our weather finally cooled down to a reasonable temperature, I love watching the seasons change.


These are the foams I'd go with, CI made for the Mad Beasts.

Deuce's Wild Single Stage 1.9 Pitbull Mad Beast Foam Pair (2) - Crawler Innovations


I've got a set of those HR D-holes on my TRX-4, they've been great wheels, but I left the little valve stem simulation screws off because I've cut my finger on them.


Thanks for the nice outdoor pics, beautiful down by the river and nice crawl spot. Kitties are very cute, good to see them getting along well! Love the old chair they're relaxing on too, looks comfy and has the old styling!

Edit: I've got couple old military electronics technician chairs that are very comfortable, adjustable and old styling, but not as cool as yours.

[smog]

Originally Posted by mgputer

Truck looks great! The aging you did on there is great. Looks great outside.

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Thank you. Learning how to weather these shells has definitely proved to be a slowly developing skill for me. I am definitely happy with the effort I put into this one, though having already tested some techniques since, I wish I would have applied Them here. It’s a fun ride to be sure.

[smog]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Yes, I'm thankful that our weather finally cooled down to a reasonable temperature, I love watching the seasons change.


These are the foams I'd go with, CI made for the Mad Beasts.

Deuce's Wild Single Stage 1.9 Pitbull Mad Beast Foam Pair (2) - Crawler Innovations


I've got a set of those HR D-holes on my TRX-4, they've been great wheels, but I left the little valve stem simulation screws off because I've cut my finger on them.


Thanks for the nice outdoor pics, beautiful down by the river and nice crawl spot. Kitties are very cute, good to see them getting along well! Love the old chair they're relaxing on too, looks comfy and has the old styling!

Edit: I've got couple old military electronics technician chairs that are very comfortable, adjustable and old styling, but not as cool as yours.

Ha!, the valve stem stem is definitely a finger dagger.

Thanks for the advice on the CI foams. I will look into them. The foams that came in it are actually dual stage, but I don’t think the deeper stage is quite dense enough. I am going to have to suggest my LHS start stocking CI foams. Perhaps they can order them for me.

Apparently I have a thing for chairs (so I have been told). I have a number of older ones. When I find them in excellent condition they often end up in the back of my truck

[mgputer]

Originally Posted by smog

Thank you. Learning how to weather these shells has definitely proved to be a slowly developing skill for me. I am definitely happy with the effort I put into this one, though having already tested some techniques since, I wish I would have applied Them here. It’s a fun ride to be sure.

Yes I am working on my first antiquing project, and know what you are talking about. I hope I remember the things I learned on the next one!

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[smog]

I am really enjoying the Pitbull Tires I put on the F150. The tall skinny tires do it for me.

I was having problems losing the bead on the Hot Racing steelies and so moved them over these grey Cheelies and they are doing the trick. They have a much more squared off lip that clamps nicely onto the soft PB rubber. The stock foams while still feeling a touch soft, seem to serve better on these wheels as well. I did order a set of Deuces Wild CI foams to firm things up, but they are on the peg board for now but definitely a future option. If mounting tires wasn't such a laborious exercise I would likely be a little more excited to try them out. Worked on the backyard crawler course with my son today. Snapped a few photos of some play









...and a slowww moving video...in 1080p!

[Shinchu]

These pics made me yell a very Sean Connery inspired
YYYESHHHH!!!!

[smog]

Originally Posted by Shinchu

These pics made me yell a very Sean Connery inspired
YYYESHHHH!!!!

Amazingly, a voice we can all hear without actually hearing it...

[mgputer]

Truck looks great. The pic on the rocks is really scale looking. I concur with Mr Connery.

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[smog]

Originally Posted by mgputer

Truck looks great. The pic on the rocks is really scale looking. I concur with Mr Connery.

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Thank you. What I really like that is captured in that photo is how the tire tucks nicely into the wheel well. No doubt a scale feature on a pickup

[smog]

My son and I added a feature to the backyard course today. Got the idea awhile back from a picture posted by imthatguy




The Ascender on a wire

[smog]

Found some pieces at my LHS this past week to help add some weight down low on the old Ford

[mgputer]

That looks like a great course. I was going to do that this summer but I never came up with the time. Maybe next year? I'm planning on making a basement course eventually too.

Great course I'm jealous!

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[smog]

Originally Posted by mgputer

That looks like a great course. I was going to do that this summer but I never came up with the time. Maybe next year? I'm planning on making a basement course eventually too.

Great course I'm jealous!

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Thanks. We lack natural rock structure less than an hours drive away so it’s nice to have some crawling structures to fool around on. It’s actually been quite enjoyable cobbling it together with all of the scrap wood I have stacked around over the years. Sadly it’s going to start snowing significantly here later today. Might be time for us to build an indoor track as well.

[smog]

Made a cup of coffee and decided I better get on board addressing the rigs Torque Twist before I get this long in the tooth


Thanks to this great Ascender forum all I have to do follow instructions. Between Natedogs build thread and Rich's great Shock mod thread I knew exactly what I needed to do to get the ball rolling. So I opened the wallet and picked up a set of the aluminum Vaterra shocks at the local hobby shop. Then I modified my shocks, filled them with 32.5w silicon shock fluid and bolted them back up on the outside of the rear axle mount.



Here is a side by side comparative of the modified vs. stock spring compression



...and outboarded my rear shocks

[Shinchu]

ahhh... great way to start the day. a narwhal full of joe on the hobby bench. i need to do that soon.

nice work on the vid, too!
looking forward to see what you think of the difference.

[smog]

It's been too long since I posted in my Ascender thread. I guess I will start by saying Happy New Year!

Been focused on my Tundy build which I am documenting in a similarly slack manner over in the 1.9 sub-forum.

Sooo, I outboarded the shocks and did the 'Trujillo' mod last year. While it definitely made a difference, I couldn't honestly say it eliminated the twist out of this torqueing rig. All said, I am happy with the result. Perhaps it just wouldn't be an Ascender if it didn't do the twist...

A while back I had some scale license plates made for this Ford. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, this truck is a tiny version of my 1980 F150 that I curiously rolled around Western North America back in the 90's. Foe that reason the scale plates bear the same numbers



It's -25 degrees C here today. Significantly worse out in the arctic winds which are particularly nasty at the moment. For those south of the 49th parallel, -25 C is the equivalent of -13 degrees F. Fricking Cold! The way I see it, a perfect day for a crawl!







Because my hands were already numb, I figured I would shoot a short video and gives some of you warm bastards down in California(yeah, you know who you are) an idea of how painfully beautiful it can be in what might as well be the Arctic...

[mgputer]

Great time to be out and about...... I feel you though, we have been getting cold temps too. Cuts the lipo run time for sure. Oh and then body parts start to crack off from the frost bite.

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[smog]

Originally Posted by mgputer

Great time to be out and about...... I feel you though, we have been getting cold temps too. Cuts the lipo run time for sure. Oh and then body parts start to crack off from the frost bite.

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I didn't manage to stay out long enough to drain out the lipo. The hands were screaming. I think on Sunday afternoon I will put on a pot of coffee and do short runs broken up by warm up breaks.

@yeti.stealth : I most definitely should have included 'Down Under' in my previous reference to those who 'know who they are'

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by smog

It's been too long since I posted in my Ascender thread. I guess I will start by saying Happy New Year!

Sooo, I outboarded the shocks and did the 'Trujillo' mod last year. While it definitely made a difference, I couldn't honestly say it eliminated the twist out of this torqueing rig. All said, I am happy with the result. Perhaps it just wouldn't be an Ascender if it didn't do the twist...

It's -25 degrees C here today. Significantly worse out in the arctic winds which are particularly nasty at the moment. For those south of the 49th parallel, -25 C is the equivalent of -13 degrees F. Fricking Cold! The way I see it, a perfect day for a crawl!

Because my hands were already numb, I figured I would shoot a short video and gives some of you warm bastards down in California(yeah, you know who you are) an idea of how painfully beautiful it can be in what might as well be the Arctic...

Yes, it has been, Happy New Years!
Oooh, need to check out your Tundra 1.9 build!
Yes, Trujillo shock mod with outboarded shocks helps.
Scale plates looks great! Were you rolling around west coast surfing?

Originally Posted by mgputer

Great time to be out and about...... I feel you though, we have been getting cold temps too. Cuts the lipo run time for sure. Oh and then body parts start to crack off from the frost bite.

Wee bit chilly, cold here lately but not like that, been awhile since I lived in the below zero fahrenheit zone. Mukluks, arctic coat, arctic hat (think tank commander with the fold down side of your head and neck cover fuzzy inside lol) longjohns and handwarmers are your friend.
https://www.zippo.com/collections/hand-warmers

Originally Posted by smog

I didn't manage to stay out long enough to drain out the lipo. The hands were screaming. I think on Sunday afternoon I will put on a pot of coffee and do short runs broken up by warm up breaks.

Great idea! BTW, truck looks very nice and realistic crawling along your snowy roads! Tire/wheel combo is just right!

[smog]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Yes, it has been, Happy New Years!
Oooh, need to check out your Tundra 1.9 build!
Yes, Trujillo shock mod with outboarded shocks helps.
Scale plates looks great! Were you rolling around west coast surfing?



Wee bit chilly, cold here lately but not like that, been awhile since I lived in the below zero fahrenheit zone. Mukluks, arctic coat, arctic hat (think tank commander with the fold down side of your head and neck cover fuzzy inside lol) longjohns and handwarmers are your friend.
https://www.zippo.com/collections/hand-warmers



Great idea! BTW, truck looks very nice and realistic crawling along your snowy roads! Tire/wheel combo is just right!

Not surfing around that time so much. There aren't any breaks in Vancouver and the nearest ones were simply too cold for my taste. Tofino is cold and I swear the Oregon coast is even colder I feel pain just thinking about how cold that water is. My hobbies were snowboarding and mountain biking while living out there.

Definitely check out the Tundra build. I am always looking for ideas and such. It coming along a bit slow. I am working with some SSD parts, many of which are taking some time to arrive from the US.

There is a defiant enjoyment in pulling on the insulated coveralls and Sorels to head out into the snow with a transmitter and crawler. I have a few of those hats you decribed They are great!

The snowy road network is slowly expanding. My kid and I dug a few on Sunday and took out the Ascenders.