viper's creeper build
 

okay i am gonna attempt to do a build thread . i ended up getting my creeper from one of the guys in my local crawler group , it was completely stock ( didn't come with a body ) . i was told early on that the factory tires were not well suited to alot of crawling , so i replaced them first with losi claws then with white dot rovers ( great tire ). as far electronics go i had a tazer 15t speedo and an integy 55 turn motor , and a tower pro servo ( my setup needed some help). i tried my hand at crawling with this setup ( not very good ) so i decided after talking to one of my friends that i was going to go lipo so i needed to get new electronics , thought i would go brushless so i bought a quark speed control 9 after reading about them on rcc) and an outrunner motor and went to an 11.1v lipo . this new setup worked pretty well massive torque and decent wheelspeed , so i moved my attention to the rest of the creeper . I started reading alot of the builds in the creeper section , found alot of good info and advice so i started looking at what the people were doing , link setups shocks bodies everything . first thing i did was get a new body ( stage killah ) then i inverted my shocks , and made a bta steering setup well it was going better on the courses but still not great ( bad tt) . i ran across rmdesignworks thread and started following his work , at the same time i was looking around for a different chassis or at least the side plates ( still haven't found one that i want ). well two comps ago i rolled my truck and somehow fried my speedcontroller :cry: ( first time i have seen sparks fly out from under a r/c car ) so time for new speedo and motor , got a good deal on a brand new sidewinder and ccbec ( much better setup than the brushless one ) . okay here are some early pics

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...crawler001.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...crawler005.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...herocks003.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...herocks004.jpg

well it wasn't to long and i discovered that you had to be careful with the throttle application especially with the brushless setup

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...scooter006.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...scooter007.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...scooter003.jpg


ouch !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:shock: sorry about the blurry pics cheap camera

the next mods i made were to remove the axle skids and grind down the mounting lug on the diff , also had to make a new steering link cause the one i had made for the bta setup broke in a fall , new one is titanium "thumbsup".
i also ordered some flm stub axles for the front cause of the carnage with my front tire and wheel beating me down the hill :cry:.

Nice build, I love that body you put on it. I would be interested in swing how you set up your bta kit

thanks the body was a rc10gt body that i cut into pieces and made work cause that was all i had , as far as the bta setup i used the original connecting link , i turned the hubs around put the link on the bottom of the hub tabs ( instead of in between them ) put spacers in the middle , my first link from the servo horn down wasn't very good ( broke on the first comp:cry: ) so i was looking for a way to make a new one , i was going through my box of parts and ran across several lundsford titanium links "thumbsup" now the fun part how to bend them . well after a little research on the net i found out how to do it and not lose the inherant strength of the titanium , it worked like a charm i flipped the mounts for the servo around to face the rear mounted the srevo and connected the steering link . on a side note this will not work with the shocks mounted down where the links connect ( i don't have the bta setup in place right now it is back to the front ) ( at least till i make a new connecting link to clear everything ) . i am going to post some new pics tomorrow of the new setup and the installation of the flm lockers also planning on making a shield for the reciever to keep it and the servo wires safe from rocks ( probably out of lexan and maybe an aluminum rod ) "thumbsup"

Bta
 

Once you get your bta done.. Could you take pictures for me?

If you are interested in other chassis might I recommend checking out my 4VP v2 chassis if you haven't already. I'm having a sale till sept 11

abavuso i took this picture after i took the bta apart and switched it to the front but it is exactly the same setup just on the front

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2001.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2002.jpg

okay i got some work done today as well as some pics taken ( not the best pics it is a cheap camera ). okay so first things first i put in my new flm lockers "thumbsup" no play now , the axles fit in the machined holes tightly. next i changed out the shocks for a set of traxxas shocks w/ losi springs white in front , yellow in rear , i also moved the shocks down to the lower link mounting point ( front shocks on the inside , rear shocks on the outside) i also changed the lower shock ends to the long bent ends that were on the upper links . also changed out the upper links to a slightly longer one so i get a better pinion angle and used straight ends so i could mover the rear links out and up at the axle . i was looking at the ckrc stage 2 suspension but i am one that likes to attempt to make it himself so............ i eliminated the battery tray and made new chassis spacers/stiffeners ( aluminum tube and all thread for the rear and angle brackets and delrin for the front ). as a result of the homemade stage 2 kit i also changed the body mounts from the side to the top . okay on to the new pics .

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2013.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2015.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2016.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2003.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2005.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2009.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2010.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2017.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...reeper2020.jpg

Do you notice any tranny movement in the chassis without anything tying the top of the tranny to the TVPs, and how is the TT with your shock/link setup?

well i am not sure as of yet i haven't had the opportunity to run it in the new configuration i am hoping that it works alot better than the stock configuration , as far as the tranny movement i will have to look into that if so then i will have to make a brace to tie it in to the tvp's

I did notice a bit of tranny movement with my 55T motor when it was under hard loading forward or reverse...I have a simple link form the top front hole in the tranny case to the front upper chassis brace.

viper...waht are you using for the upper rear link mount...The purple part?

yeah i will probably have to raise them further but it is a starting point i am hoping to get the electrics in tomorrow and maybe get to test it out a little

ok,,,but what is that purple part in between the tabs?

i had a bunch of aluminum parts for a tc3 ( if i remember right ) i think these were for a sway bar setup of some sort they move the links up about 3/8 of an inch or so i had to drill the upper hole bigger sp the threaded rod would fit in there , if i don't figure anything else out i am probably gonna order one of your plates ( does it come with the standoffs and the uprights ?) also i have my new wheels ( well new to me anyways) on the way they are rc4wd lowboys (the ones with the pendlum weight inside the wheel ) finally some aluminum wheels no more plastic (and stripped out hexes ) one of the stock creeper wheels is starting to try to round out .

I make the plate with the "uprights" that your links attach to. I will provide the info on the spacers and screws necessary to screw them to your axle in hte configuration I use...I dont want to mess the hardware and spacers but if the need is there Ill start rpoviding the hardware package including the spacers and hardware.

cool i may be ordering it from you gotta see how it works this way

okay got a chance to work on the creeper and i made good progress , i made a rear plate and standoffs to mount the rear upper links higher and farther out and i got all of my electronics back in .

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper004.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper005.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper006.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper007.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper008.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper009.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/q...creeper010.jpg

now i need to get out on the rocks and test it out "thumbsup"

you arent even gonna know what to do with what your rig is gonna do......nice plate man

thanks man i kinda cheated for now the plate is a nailer plate ( well actually three of them ) from the hardware store , i plan on making one out of aluminum sheet later when i have the funds and the time . i really hope it does improve it's vertical abilities that has been my biggest beef with the creeper da*n tt is really annoying . oh i also checked to see where my balance point is and it is right at the front edge of the transmission case .

Good deal man,,,Sounds about right on the balance point too,,,yours is about where mine is.