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1976 Ford Courier Build

JohnnyAnguish

Rock Crawler
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
707
Location
Waltham
Growing up, my grandfather had a blue Ford Courier that made so many trips to the Agway and the lumber yard I'm pretty sure could drive itself there and back on its own. I loved that truck. Even as a little kid my grandfather would let me shift while he held down the clutch.

My grandfather is also partially responsible for me getting into R/C. His neighbor across the street had a Tamiya Hornet that he would race up and down the road. It was the coolest thing my 11 year old eyes had ever seen. I studied the Tower Hobbies catalog obsessively, saved my money and picked up a Tamiya Falcon when I was 12. I was hooked.

Enter my dad. He's always been super supportive of my R/C interest. When my Falcon kicked its rear dogbones for the umpteenth time, he went halfsies with me on a Kyosho Ultima. He thought it'd be a great bonding experience. It probably would have been had I not worked around the clock to build the thing before he even had a chance to sit down. He painted the body.

Time to make it up to him! When I recently found out Pro-Line used to make a Ford Courier body, I knew I had to make a version of my gradfather's truck as a surprise for my dad. I managed to track down a body from Australia. The wheelbase is right around 11.5", so I picked up a Dingo kit and a bunch of other parts to get ready for a build.

Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr

I'd love to make it a real stock looking truck, but that's probably not practical, given they were 2WD compact trucks. I want this thing to be relatively trail-worthy, so my dad will actually drive it (also the reason why I went with an SCX-10 over, say a TF2... readily available replacement parts!). In the end it will likely be "inspired-by" my grandfather's truck more than a replica. Let's hope dad likes it so the kids and I can go out trailing with Grampy.

Oh, here's some of my inspiration...

1974_Ford_Courier_For_Sale_Side_resize.jpg


canopenercourierbig.jpg


SasquatchMudsnow2.JPG
 
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Axles

Got them set up with the 4-link trusses here. As you'll see, I go back and forth. The truck is currently set up with 3-link front and 4-link rear. We'll get to that eventually...

Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Shocks

Box stock. These seem a lot stiffer than when I built my G6 kit. Do the different kits come with different spring rates?

Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axles & Shocks

Ta-da!

Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr
 
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nice body wonder if they are still available...Long story short.When i was 17 my father bought the Ford Courier 2WD.It was at the Ford dealership more then it was in the drive way. and it was yellow too....Maybe the burn outs at the wharf would explain it.lol....
great start will be watching this ....Now I have to go look for a ford courier body..Ya I'm a ford guy...."thumbsup"
 
going to be a sweet build, i'll definetly keep and eye on this build. ahh yes, the good old days. I remember couriers, the old Datsun bullet sides, the later years mazda sundowners, and their ford cousin. a guy I know found an early 70's Datsun bullet side that had been in a barn since the early 80'.30k original miles, had new exhaust,radiator, and hoses installed, then was parked.stole it for $500.keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished truck.
 
Was checking ebay but couldn't find one 'Ford Courier".anybody have a link to were i could buy one..there was no luck at pro-line web site...:cry:

Mine came from Australia. Can't remember where exactly. I remember using the item number to find it: PR3197-00

I think some distributor there found a box of 'em lying around, because they've been discontinued for a long time. When I contacted Pro-Line, they said it must be leftover stock because they're not being reissued. Lucky timing.
 
While I was waiting for the appropriate parts to finish off the transmission, I forged ahead with the rest of the build. Got the chassis together...


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr

For a wheel/tire combo I'm starting out with 1.9 Dirt Grabbers on white G Made VR01s. There are only 3 pictured here because I tried a coat of matte clear on one of them and ended up not liking the results. Size and look wise, I think the Dirt Grabbers will work well. I'm a little worried about performance, but there aren't a ton of "stock" looking options out there. The wheel arches on the Courier body are really small. I'm trying not to chop it up too much. I also have a set of the metal G Made SR03 wheels which would add some nice weight down low, but the look isn't quite right. All of these decisions are subject to change once we get this thing out on the trails.

Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr

Here's everything bolted together. If you look carefully, you'll see it's back to a 3-link setup here. The stock plastic links are too long to use as uppers in a 4-link setup with the short wheelbase. You end up with funky pinion/steering angles. You might be able to get away with it in the rear, but the front was a no-no.

Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr
 
Mine came from Australia. Can't remember where exactly. I remember using the item number to find it: PR3197-00

I think some distributor there found a box of 'em lying around, because they've been discontinued for a long time. When I contacted Pro-Line, they said it must be leftover stock because they're not being reissued. Lucky timing.

Hey man thanks for the part number without it I would have never of found it.
But looks like just maybe these bodies were only distributed in Australia only.
they have some old 1966 Ford f100 i never seen before to.
well you check it out.
just a couple of hobby shops i found AU.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...8qiszSYWH-JS4wwsQ&sig2=n5JKQpl19HVEZS8DHetr0A

this next hobby shop has them on sale...

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...2XxihzoZusdZvjtcA&sig2=SDZMQuoiHJTKK3aY65vZGg
 
Here it is with the body roughly trimmed out. I've since enlarged the wheel wells a little, but I'm trying not to chop it up too bad. I'd love to have it sit lower, but that's about as low as it'll go if I want to run bumpers and sliders (and not trim up the wheel wells even more). I was originally going to run bumperless for a stock look, but there's no rear bumper on the body, so I'd at least have to have a rear bumper. And once that gate is open, I might as well go all out... :)

The electronics are in and it's runnin':
  • Axial 27t motor
  • HobbyWing QUICRUN 1060 ESC (swapped on a Dean's connector)
  • Hitec HS-5646WP servo (the Savox I originally picked out was a little to big and the cable was binding on the frame)
  • Castle 10A BEC
  • Spectrum SR410 receiver


Also of note, the rear is 4-linked again. I added a couple of spacers to the rear links to get the wheelbase exactly how I want it (rear wheels centered in the wheel wells, fronts ever so slightly forward to try to get those smaller tires onto the rocks). That meant I could run the plastic upper links from the kit in the rear and still have a good pinion angle.


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr
 
OK, now that this thing is running it's time to have some fun!

The Pro-Line body is really nice quality (thick!), but it doesn't have a whole lot of front end detail. Adding some three dimensional lights to the front should help with the overall look. Plus... lights! My dad digs the lights on my other scalers, so the Ford is definitely getting some.

I used some Axial buckets and lenses. The size is just about perfect. Once these are painted silver they should blend in pretty well.


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr
 
I had a Ford Courier I bought it new it had a Mazda chassis and suspension with a big Ford overhead cam four cylinder motor 4 sp tranny and sheet metal. I lowered mine slightly added a body kit, headers, exhaust system, audio, wheels and tires it was a very fun reliable little cruiser pretty quick too.

I was able to pick up two Australian Courier bodies great score thanks. "thumbsup"
 
Gotta have a driver!

When I picked up the Courier body, I wondered if I could get an interior to fit. The Bruiser interior looked pretty close, so I took a chance thinking I might be able to get it to work with a little trimming. Turns out, it's a very good fit! Phew. I just had to notch out the bench seat for the transmission. I also had to get a stick shift in there, since I have such fond memories of my grandfather letting me shift when I was just a kid. This one came off a Wraith spare parts tree.

Ready for paint!


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr


Axial SCX-10 Ford Courier Build by johnny anguish, on Flickr
 
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