Getting Back into RC - My Willys MB

[DrewHammer]

Hey everyone! I've been out of the game for a long time now, but getting back into it. Not really sure what happened to the hobby as a whole, it seems like it's died off a bit. But I see some familiar names are still posting here. Nothing I could find on social media really is similar to what this place offered, as far as community, knowledge, support, and general fun. It's good to see this place still around.

A few weeks ago I started playing in Fusion again, and picked back up on a project I've wanted to do for a while. Life got in the way a couple times, moves for work, etc. My building skills were also limited as far as scratch building bodies and stuff was concerned. So to help myself a bit, I picked up a fairly large 3d printer, got it working well and dove into the project.

This build will be more trail focused. There's not too much for rocks around me, so no need for something to be excessively capable. To make my life easy/keep the rig fairly low maintenance, I am throwing some nice parts under it that should be plenty strong.

Plans are as follows;

SSDlux axles
SSDlux Nod2 trans
Dravtech shocks
Hobbywing AXE 2300kv motor and esc
12" wheelbase
4.75" tires

And current pics of the CAD work. Please note, the cage is super rough, but I wanted to start to visualize it. I don't like the current rear shocks mounts and will be integrating them into the cage.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Not sure why this thread hasn't gotten any responses. Nice design on the body and killer parts list to start. Do you have any updates on the project?

 

[Speedy-Triple]

Plans are as follows;

SSDlux axles
SSDlux Nod2 trans
Dravtech shocks
Hobbywing AXE 2300kv motor and esc
12" wheelbase
4.75" tires

Parts list looks great to start of, I have never messed with the SSDlux axles or transmissions but they sure look nice with all their bling and engineering. I do have a set of dravtechs that I have stashed for a sporty build that someday will get to.

The Fusion work looks good. I try to make copies of the pieces I like before I work on the smoothing and give them the finish look so I can go back to redesigning if necessary. The mirror feature is great for symmetry when building parts. (Build half of the part and mirror at the right length and voila you have the exact same on the other side of the mirror plane.)

 

[DrewHammer]

Not sure why this thread hasn't gotten any responses. Nice design on the body and killer parts list to start. Do you have any updates on the project?

Nothing major. Lots of re-designs and tweaks to move things around a little here and there. I've been focused a lot on the house and holidays as well, but managed to get a bunch of the parts printed and tested. Also designed some military looking 1.9 beadlocks that seem more fitting for the build than anything else I could find. I'll post photos when I get home and can figure out a new hosting service.

 

[DrewHammer]

The Fusion work looks good. I try to make copies of the pieces I like before I work on the smoothing and give them the finish look so I can go back to redesigning if necessary. The mirror feature is great for symmetry when building parts. (Build half of the part and mirror at the right length and voila you have the exact same on the other side of the mirror plane.)

Thanks, been doing CAD on and off for a while. I do really like some of the "history" features and whatnot with Fusion. I'm probably not calling it the right thing.

 

[Saltrock]

For photo hosting.

Imgur

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

imgur.com

 

[DrewHammer]

Sorry for the slow updates y'all.

I wound up buying a star to help support the forum, and host photos.

I've done a bit more tweaking in CAD since these prints, but it was nice to bolt it together and visualize.

I'm playing a bit with tire sizes and bought some 5.25" Scorpios. They're a bit too tall for this, but were what I drew my wheels around. I'll shrink these down to 1.9's and make them proportional. Only 5 of the screws are required to disassemble and they clear dlux knuckles. I'll definitely wind up using these on something else. Please note - These prints are low quality on a quick machine and wouldn't ever be used in a structural application like wheels.



Also tweaked the frame rails to be a bit better looking and to shorten the front overhang, but that won't show up until I do another round of printing. I had way more clearance than needed in front of the drag link and it's really not doing anything but getting in the way and making the hood even longer. Unfortunately I've messed up the firmware on my printer, and need to do quite a bit to get it going again. I'm really hoping to get that done this weekend. Currently it's snowing in Dallas so I doubt I'll be getting out of the house.

Final version will be a .028" wall stainless cage to keep the weight down. I'll get around to sketching that this weekend as well to help visualize in CAD.

Also put a cut out in the tub for the motor, but this hobbywing stubby doesn't need it. This ESC is huge, which ruined my plans of hanging it under the dash, but that's fine. There's still plenty of room up front for a battery and ESC. Final revision of this will include a full electronics tray and inner fenders to hide it all.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

The wheel is cool and that "rock rod" is bad ass!

 

[DrewHammer]

The wheel is cool and that "rock rod" is bad ass!

Thanks! Still has pretty good clearance for how low it sits at full droop. It'll be just a bit higher on springs. Not that gc matters here where I am, it's pretty flat...

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Thanks!

You're welcome.