Derek West Ultra4

[ngward79]

So about two years ago i went to my first Ultra4 race in Indiana and though at the time Derek West was not my favorite driver I did get a once in a lifetime chance to ride in his Ultra4 car and instantly started to become a fan. Last year in Indiana I cheered him on and he went on to win the race and finished out the season taking 2nd in the series championship points. So after building my brother a scale Miller Motorsports Ultra4 car I decided to build the car of my favorite driver.

Photos from when I got to ride





Photo at the finish line when he won in Indiana last year





What I intend to replicate as well as possible

 

[ngward79]

So I got to work on this about 3 weeks ago and I've been making good time on it so far.





















So looking for rims that best matched his truck the best thing I found was the Gearhead rc Rubicomp 2.2 and all I had to do was remove the anodizing from the beadlock rings with oven cleaner and get some scale bolts.


Stock rim




After I finished

 

[ngward79]

After sand blasting all the flux off








Also picked up some SSD axles and put Boca Bearings in them. They are the yellow rubber sealed stainless race with ceramic balls packed with grease from the factory. I have a set in my other Ultra4 I ran all last year and haven't had a single failure. Also FYI for the SSD axles they use a larger bearing on the pinion gear of the diff so I had to order those separate as well as the Wraith bearing kit. And these also have new Vanquish axle shafts, Grip fab lockers ( which work great ) and under/ over drive harden ring and Pinion gears front/rear as well.




A little mock up which is sitting high in the pic, I'll have it lower for sure

 

[Ants87ss]

Where did you get that tubing jig with the vise grips?

 

[ngward79]

Where did you get that tubing jig with the vise grips?

I'm not sure as it was a gift given to me. No name brand on it either, probably made in China or something. Try looking at Harbor Frieght maybe.

 

[bilinvic]

Spectacular...Looking forward to seeing this project progress.

 

[northkona]

Awesome work ! Gotta love an Ultra4 replica !

 

[ngward79]

Spectacular...Looking forward to seeing this project progress.

Awesome work ! Gotta love an Ultra4 replica !

Thanks guys, if only someone made a Nitto Trail Grappler in a 2.2 I'd be happy !

 

[dirk379]

Beautiful! I've always love the looks of this rig. Can't wait for the progress!

 

[ShowMeTJ]

That's looking great. Derek mentioned you were building his car so I had to jump on here and see if there was a build thread. I'm the one that sent you the wrap file so if you need more pictures of anything specific just let me know and I will run by and get them for you. Can't wait to see the finished rig.

 

[ngward79]

Beautiful! I've always love the looks of this rig. Can't wait for the progress!

That's looking great. Derek mentioned you were building his car so I had to jump on here and see if there was a build thread. I'm the one that sent you the wrap file so if you need more pictures of anything specific just let me know and I will run by and get them for you. Can't wait to see the finished rig.

Thanks guys ! ShowMeTJ, I really appreciate you getting the file to me which should makes this turn out great. I should be good with the pics and graphic file I sent to Freqeskinz , I'm still waiting to hear back from him and I'll be sure to let you know if I need more.

Thanks again, - Nick -

 

[ngward79]

So it's been awhile since I've last updated and though I've been busy with work I've managed to get a lot done with the truck. So on with the onslaught of pictures !

So I decided to make my own radiator since the one on the 1:1 truck is so large and using the typical Exo radiator wouldn't look quite right.














Also made the panel that separates behind the driver seat from the radiator and the back of the truck.











The rear panel and lights.

 

[ngward79]

I got the chassis completed adding mounts for the body panels, front running lights, light bars and fuel fill mount. Sand blasted a second time and then painted.














Got my drivers all painted up by hand.





Got the body panels made !








Fuel cell / storage area from what the 1:1 looks like





Also decided to make side mirror out of metal by brazing small pieces together.








Lastly, I got FreqesKinz to do up a vinyl wrap for me which should make it look about spot on to the 1:1 and I should be getting it in the mail within the next few days.

 

[1tuff40]

Looks unreal, great work mate.
Tubework is extremely clean, looking forward to seeing the car finished.

 

[Poprivet]

Just when I start to feel good about the level of detail I have put into my build, I see something like this, and I just have to bow my head in defeat.

Great job man! "thumbsup"

 

[ngward79]

Looks unreal, great work mate.
Tubework is extremely clean, looking forward to seeing the car finished.

Just when I start to feel good about the level of detail I have put into my build, I see something like this, and I just have to bow my head in defeat.

Great job man! "thumbsup"

Thanks guy's ! I appreciate it a lot !

 

[ngward79]

Sneak peak at what she will look like.

 

[dubAron]

Very clean!! Great work

 

[ngward79]

So I think I finally got something that looks like a dual arm hydraulic ram that functions well with the servo on the axle but I'm going to have to strengthen it a little down the road.











Mounted up my gearhead light bars with the Heyok remote light switch control.





So she's about 99% completed ! Need to get extended MIP and a few other things.














Light bars are nice and bright





Even took a minute to snap a few photos with the Miller Motorsports Ultra4 I made for my brother.

 

[Wade]

Man those look fantastic. "thumbsup"

Cheers,
Wade