clarkrw3's Beetle Juice Bully LW

[clarkrw3]

I have had this rig built up and working for about a year now and for all that time I have been meaning to do a build thread. But now that I am modding it a little more and have three different build threads I need to put up I decided to start with this one.

Here is the start list and I will update this as I go with the mods that have been done since it was built.

RC4WD LW black Bully axles Run in with tooth paste
Bully V3 chassis
STRC 30 deg lower links cut to length and tapped for 8-32
Traxxas upper front links and Delrin custom rear links
Traxxas big bore shocks with silver RC18 front springs and gold losi rear
30wt front 40wt rear
Hitech 5955 servo
Xirtac servo mount with a Hanger 9 1" clamp servo horn
Modded CVD's and tubes/knuckles for steering
Holmes 35t hand wound motors
Mamba Max esc
Punk dig
DX3R
Vanquish procomp with 585 and V4 0.7" rears with 225 and Rovers

Don't mind the dust:lmao:

 

[clarkrw3]

As you can see this mount makes the servo take a beating and I really need to move it btw the motor and axle. The only thing that has kept me from doing this already is right when I was planning on doing this the thread about the PRO bully axles came out and I think I will wait and see if anything gets produced :twisted: Also I have been playing with my XR V4 :mrgreen::twisted: more on that later.

As you can see I ground down the servo plate to allow for the new steering and up spaced link (and beefy delrin;-))

You can see here the modded knuckles/ tubes/ CVD's also how the link was spaced up to get it a little out of the way

 

[clarkrw3]

So a few things I wasn't thrilled with I had this thing set up too high and needed to limit the front shocks internally and needed to lay down the shocks in the back even more. The springs that I am using on the front actually limit externally by 0.375" so no external limiter is needed. Once I got and used my V4 on my XR it changed how I looked at this one quite a bit! I loved how low and narrow the V4 was and once I hung around CRAWLER-DAD I got thinking about what I could do to make the V3 more like a V4?? Well the answer was to make the V3 like the V3.5 team chassis:twisted: So I figured I would bring my torch home from work and if I ended up with a cool chassis than cool"thumbsup" If I ended up with a cracked or pile of melted delrin than than V4 side plates would be ordered:lmao:

Also forgot to mention that the new skid makes a big difference for Bully owners because it moves the links farther out at the chassis mounting location which allows for the HUGE gear cases on these axles...so if you are on the fence call Jeremy up and order one"thumbsup"

 

[ROCKEDUP RICKY]

Looks good , I like the ponit on the hood and roof.8)

 

[clarkrw3]

So I decided to make the front and back narrower to allow better shock mounting locations and also hide the shocks a little at the chassis. Also while I was at it I decided to narrow the roof line too:mrgreen: NOTICE THIS IS NOT MY IDEA I STOLE IT FROM JEREMY and his TEAM CHASSIS

This is the torch I used it is pretty cool little torch that can have a pretty modulated flame...I normally use this for adjusting dentures while in wax form:lmao:but with careful application It does great at melting Delrin:shock:

I used upper links from an original AX10 Artr...which I will have to measure but I think they are 50mm? correct me if I am wrong

This is the front and it worked so well that I then went to narrow the back

When I went to the back I decided that the roof was a little on the wide side so I narrowed that as well :twisted: Now it still has the wide middle to make it legal but pinches in at the top front and rear"thumbsup""thumbsup"
This shows how much I narrowed the front and middle roof support

nothing crazy but it does make a difference visually

This is with the rear and roof narrowed

It looks like the right shock is in the motor now...which it is but only because the rear lower links are not hooked up in these pictures so it is a little tweaked. It will be fine once all mounted up..the lower links are for another project.

here are some more pics (some look like the chassis is cracking but it isn't it is just the dust and texture of the chassis)

 

[Krakker]

I like it. Jeremy's got some good ideas and really knows that chassis. Nice work.

If you end up shaving the gear cases, you'll get a lot more room for the upper links as well as clearence at the shocks.

Oh yeah,,, please explain, what Run in with "tooth paste" means.

 

[clarkrw3]

Oh yeah,,, please explain, what Run in with "tooth paste" means.

Well the Bully's seem to be a little loud especially the rear. If you fill the cases with a tooth paste which has mild abrasives instead of grease and run them with a drill for say 10 min or so they are smooth and quiet. Wish I could take credit for this idea too....but I stole it too"thumbsup"

 

[strawb]

did i just read that right??? toothpaste???

 

[CRAWLER-DAD]

the bends came out GREAT...hope to see you and your son at the next comp.."thumbsup""thumbsup"

 

[clarkrw3]

did i just read that right??? toothpaste???

Yes toothpaste...you just want to make sure after break in you clean in all out and put in a good grease ... works like a charm!!"thumbsup"

 

[clarkrw3]

the bends came out GREAT...hope to see you and your son at the next comp.."thumbsup""thumbsup"

Thanks"thumbsup" It worked just as I had imagined it:shock: that NEVER happens:lmao:

Plan to see you there!!

 

[blitz14]

Bj v3

So a few things I wasn't thrilled with I had this thing set up too high and needed to limit the front shocks internally and needed to lay down the shocks in the back even more. The springs that I am using on the front actually limit externally by 0.375" so no external limiter is needed. Once I got and used my V4 on my XR it changed how I looked at this one quite a bit! I loved how low and narrow the V4 was and once I hung around CRAWLER-DAD I got thinking about what I could do to make the V3 more like a V4?? Well the answer was to make the V3 like the V3.5 team chassis:twisted: So I figured I would bring my torch home from work and if I ended up with a cool chassis than cool"thumbsup" If I ended up with a cracked or pile of melted delrin than than V4 side plates would be ordered:lmao:

Also forgot to mention that the new skid makes a big difference for Bully owners because it moves the links farther out at the chassis mounting location which allows for the HUGE gear cases on these axles...so if you are on the fence call Jeremy up and order one"thumbsup"

Hi...I am actually on the fence of buying a used V3 or a new V4, mostly because of conflicting things I've read. I heard that the V3 is more suited to the Bully axles because it's wider than the V4. But then I read your build thread where you wanted it narrow like the V4 for better shock clearance. I guess, in my confusion, I'm asking which is more suited to the Bullys. Thanks!"thumbsup"

 

[clarkrw3]

Hi...I am actually on the fence of buying a used V3 or a new V4, mostly because of conflicting things I've read. I heard that the V3 is more suited to the Bully axles because it's wider than the V4. But then I read your build thread where you wanted it narrow like the V4 for better shock clearance. I guess, in my confusion, I'm asking which is more suited to the Bullys. Thanks!"thumbsup"

Both chassis are great! I think the V4 is just killer looking but it has it's challenges on a bully. I am not sure I have seen anyone that has done a build on Bullies so I am not sure. I know that building a V3 is super easy and depending on how many crawlers you have built I might just start there. The bullies have their challenges due to how narrow the axles are and how wide the gear boxes are. I would think that running a V4 (which is quite a bit narrower than my narrowed V3 would require you to space out the shocks quite a bit which would defeat most of the advantage of the v4.

 

[1iDriver]

hey, i picked up a V3 and some bullys and right now have everything mounted up using some axial limited shocks custom bent links on the rear lowers and straight on the front bent upper rears and straight uppers in the front. I am not able to drop my clearance though. I sit without tires at about 3 1/4 inches. I have tried limiting the shocks even more but it doesnt matter. all my link have to have spacers to push them out to get around the gearbox. right now as it sits it looks like something from junkyard wars. how much clearance do you have on yours without tires? doo you have to run any spacers on your links on the axles? how long are your shocks?

 

[clarkrw3]

hey, i picked up a V3 and some bullys and right now have everything mounted up using some axial limited shocks custom bent links on the rear lowers and straight on the front bent upper rears and straight uppers in the front. I am not able to drop my clearance though. I sit without tires at about 3 1/4 inches. I have tried limiting the shocks even more but it doesnt matter. all my link have to have spacers to push them out to get around the gearbox. right now as it sits it looks like something from junkyard wars. how much clearance do you have on yours without tires? doo you have to run any spacers on your links on the axles? how long are your shocks?

It depends I have never measured without wheels on but if you are running the stock axial shocks they are 5" the axial comp shocks are the standard 4" once you limit 5" shocks enough for this chassis you will have no travel. I am running 100mm or 4" traxxas big bore shocks but have also used Losi crawler shocks and have a set of comp axial shocks on my xr all are good in my book.

I do have the links spacered out at the axles btw 4-6mm you can see the orange spacers in some of the photos. Also I have the clear mesh covers changed out for some lexan ones I cut to limit the need to go out too far at the axle. Some have also ground the gear cases to gain a little more clearance. That is the BIGGEST drawback to the bully axles is they have large gears which makes them indistructable but also with the narrow width of the axles makes them hard to link up.

 

[1iDriver]

thats my issue. i am way too tallim trying to keep under 3 inches but i dont think its possible.

 

[stubs179]

thats my issue. i am way too tallim trying to keep under 3 inches but i dont think its possible.

You got bully's"thumbsup" There is no need to space out the shock at the axle. When i get the Blinky from you i will show you some tricks with these axles.