My 68' F-100 first run and mods (sway-bar)

[andymac0035]

Always wanted to try an Ascender, and I guess my wife listens because this showed up in the mail. (she's sneaky, she also got me a pair of CC-01's) (it's my B-day this month).

So after a run and learning 1st hand about some of this platform's quirks... I'm starting to really get into it. "thumbsup"

So here it is "out of the box", and yes, I am lucky enough to have a crawling course nearby. :mrgreen:

 

[andymac0035]

So after running into bad tire rub on that first run I tried some CC-01-sized tires on it. At first I thought it looked really odd, but I kinda' got used to it and it did climb steeper stuff better being lower and all, but those are going onto a CC-01 so they came off. I will be trimming the front fenders too, as even with these little tires at full articulation it would hit the front corners.

I need to pick something in the 4.4" to 4.5" range I think. That said, if anyone wants to show me one of these trucks with some of the new 4.1" tires that are getting more popular I might go that route, really undecided right now.

 

[andymac0035]

The first thing I did with this as far as modding/tuning was the front suspension. I noticed the front axle was sticking too far to the driver's side. Originally I just added some spacers, but I started fiddling some more after reading around here and was trying to make a curved panhard bar set-up but nothing was going my way as far as trying to minimize side-shifting of the axle during compression. So I settled on this, as at least it made it easy to make adjustments. It's a long steering turnbuckle and on the axle end I've got a bent rod-end to try and make the bare more parallel to the axle. It's still not how I want it, but it seems a lot better than what I started with. I also added a spacer between the drag link and the servo horn to try and make the angle similar to the panhard.

 

[andymac0035]

So.... after looking into sway-bar mods on here and realizing the I could not do the wraith set-up due to my body using the holes needed to mount it... giving up.... then reading more..... I came up with this:

This was put together using stuff that was handy. I have no idea how good it's going to work as I've not run it yet.

I used to have a tamiya DT-03 buggy and never used the sway-bar set I bought for it. This is the heavier of the two rear bars. I used some tubing to keep things from shifting around. The sway-bar links are from a team durango SCT 4x4.

The mount was made using old SCX10 servo blocks and some traxxas rod ends. They are held on with traxxas (shock) shoulder bolts and there are shock pistons in there as spacers as the bolts were a tad too long. Not seen are some tiny but long springs (like inside a pen) that were on some old throttle linkages in the parts-pile that slid perfectly over the bar and inside of the rod ends to take out the slop between the two.

Pictures here show full articulation just before the rear tire lifts:

 

[Itali83]

Here’s myF-100 with pit bull growlers that are 4.19” tall and 1.55 wheels. I’m partial to the smaller more scale size tires and wheels. I thought the 1.9 wheels look too big with this body.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Itali83]

Here’s the link to my build thread of my highly modified F-100.

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/vaterra-ascender/602097-finding-nemo%92s-new-setup.html

Ben

 

[Damatheus]

I really love this truck. My fondest memory was showing up to Corona Del Mar after literally taking my truck out of the box an hour ago, and watching a group of people with highly modded rigs trying to climb a steep obstacle for 20 minutes with no luck.

With my totally stock truck I carefully went up it..and completely embarrassed them.

Nice work on the f100, makes me want to buy another and keep it mostly stock.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[M1tch]

Very nice truck and good work you have done. I'm don't know much about 1.55"tires as usually run 1.9" . Rock Beasts or RC4WD goodyear MT/R's are my favourites, but it depends on what terrain you drive on that counts. I'm usually on leafy/dirt/rooty ground with occasional rock.

 

[andymac0035]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. As for 1.55/1.9, I plan to stick with 1.9, the lower profile does not bother me. I was able to get out for a bit of a test run today. That sway-bar works great! Also, because I'm using adjustable sway-bar links on it I was actually able to add pre-load to the bar on the drivers side of the truck. There is still some torque twist, but no more than what my OG SCX10s have. I ran it with the stock tires first, and then tried it with a set of (4.3") axial ripsaws (given to me today by my Father-in-law).

I got to say, I am torn now on running a shorter tire, as I was not expecting the sway-bar to work as well as it did. Still.... I dunno' we shall see, as Ive never tried a set of rock beasts, and this might be a good excuse to buy a set.

As for what kind of terrain, I run mountain trails mostly, so I see a bit of everything dirt/roots/rocks and ledge. There's mud and water too, but I try to limit that mainly due to clean up.......

My go-to spot is Mt Cardigan as I'm local to it, here's my OG SCX0 deadbolt on 4.7" tires running it. The summit is all ledge, but the trail is a healthy mix of dirt/roots/rocks and there's a bog and a mini waterfall as well. Can't wait to get out there with my Ascender.

 

[andymac0035]

Did a little more work on the ascender today getting it ready for it's first trail-run.

I had some binding in the front suspension on the left side. This turned out to be the rod end on the new pandhard bar, so that came off and the original went back on. I removed the spacer on it though, and added an angled link end at the axle end. It was longer, so without the spacer it was perfect.

Then I decided to remove the spare tire carrier. You ever have one of those 2-minute jobs that turn into a 20-minute job? Well the nut in the cage that the long bolt threads into was either put in with red loctite... or cross-threaded, because it wasn't budging. I ended up drilling and grinding the head off to get that thing out of there. :evil:

Hitting up Cascade falls on Mt Ascuteney tomorrow, can't wait!

 

[M1tch]

Have a good time. First drives are always an experience. I came back from mine with a busted front cvd and didnt realise it until I got it stuck in some soft ground. I carry a few spare parts now, also screws and obviously tools.

 

[meatmonkey]

Any chance your local crawling course is out behind the Barn raceway? I've been there a couple times. Is the track still open?

Dont get worked up over the slight side-side shift as the front axle travels. All rigs with a panhard bar exhibit this same trait. The ascended actually has a longer panhard than most trucks, so it has less lateral shift then most.

 

[andymac0035]

Any chance your local crawling course is out behind the Barn raceway? I've been there a couple times. Is the track still open?

Dont get worked up over the slight side-side shift as the front axle travels. All rigs with a panhard bar exhibit this same trait. The ascended actually has a longer panhard than most trucks, so it has less lateral shift then most.

Yes, that's where that course is, and sadly, it closed last year. I had many good races there.

As for the lateral shift, it seems like it has more than my TRX4 does, but I could be wrong about that. Funny thing though, I did the same thing to the TRX4 and adjusted it to be at "neutral" when the suspension was at rest with the trucks weight on it. I guess I'm not used to panhard setups yet, as my SCX10's are servo on axle and CC01's are independent front suspension.

 

[andymac0035]

Some pics from Saturday's trail run up to Cascade Falls (Mt Ascutney). The ascender did pretty good. It took some adjusting on my part though, as it doesn't drive like my other trucks a lot of the time. It struggles on some obstacles my other trucks do fine, but will sometimes do much better on others. I was really pleased with how it did climbing the "little falls" (2nd pic).

 

[andymac0035]

Sunday's run up Mt Cardigan:

There was still a little bit of ice up there.

I'm not sure this is the right way to do side hilling.....

 

[M1tch]

Nice photos. Lockdown over here has been eased so can get out now. Only problem everyone else is out at weekends.

 

[Natedog]

So after running into bad tire rub on that first run I tried some CC-01-sized tires on it. At first I thought it looked really odd, but I kinda' got used to it and it did climb steeper stuff better being lower and all, but those are going onto a CC-01 so they came off. I will be trimming the front fenders too, as even with these little tires at full articulation it would hit the front corners.

Welcome to RCC, a little tire rub is fine, even real trucks with larger tires sometimes have it, as long at it's not cutting into the sidewall. I spot a kitty in your pictures!

Here’s myF-100 with pit bull growlers that are 4.19” tall and 1.55 wheels. I’m partial to the smaller more scale size tires and wheels. I thought the 1.9 wheels look too big with this body.

Always good to see pics of your trucks Ben, love the stance with the 1.55s too!

The first thing I did with this as far as modding/tuning was the front suspension. I noticed the front axle was sticking too far to the driver's side. Originally I just added some spacers, but I started fiddling some more after reading around here and was trying to make a curved panhard bar set-up but nothing was going my way as far as trying to minimize side-shifting of the axle during compression. So I settled on this, as at least it made it easy to make adjustments. It's a long steering turnbuckle and on the axle end I've got a bent rod-end to try and make the bare more parallel to the axle. It's still not how I want it, but it seems a lot better than what I started with. I also added a spacer between the drag link and the servo horn to try and make the angle similar to the panhard.

I've tried a bunch of different panhard bar lengths and stock for me is the best, but every truck setup is different, some sideways shift of the front axle is the nature of this suspension in RC and 1:1. Offset rod ends don't affect geometry unless the length changed, the rod end mount locations are all that matter, offset ends and bent rods only create clearance for suspension cycling. "thumbsup"

I really love this truck. My fondest memory was showing up to Corona Del Mar after literally taking my truck out of the box an hour ago, and watching a group of people with highly modded rigs trying to climb a steep obstacle for 20 minutes with no luck.

With my totally stock truck I carefully went up it..and completely embarrassed them.

Nice work on the f100, makes me want to buy another and keep it mostly stock.

Me too, thanks for sharing your good-times memory! Took my first Ascender right out of the box, out to the lake for an afternoon of box stock fun, had a blast! "thumbsup"

Very nice truck and good work you have done. I'm don't know much about 1.55"tires as usually run 1.9" . Rock Beasts or RC4WD goodyear MT/R's are my favourites, but it depends on what terrain you drive on that counts. I'm usually on leafy/dirt/rooty ground with occasional rock.

"thumbsup"

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. As for 1.55/1.9, I plan to stick with 1.9, the lower profile does not bother me. I was able to get out for a bit of a test run today. That sway-bar works great! Also, because I'm using adjustable sway-bar links on it I was actually able to add pre-load to the bar on the drivers side of the truck. There is still some torque twist, but no more than what my OG SCX10s have. I ran it with the stock tires first, and then tried it with a set of (4.3") axial ripsaws (given to me today by my Father-in-law).

I got to say, I am torn now on running a shorter tire, as I was not expecting the sway-bar to work as well as it did. Still.... I dunno' we shall see, as Ive never tried a set of rock beasts, and this might be a good excuse to buy a set.

As for what kind of terrain, I run mountain trails mostly, so I see a bit of everything dirt/roots/rocks and ledge. There's mud and water too, but I try to limit that mainly due to clean up.......

My go-to spot is Mt Cardigan as I'm local to it, here's my OG SCX0 deadbolt on 4.7" tires running it. The summit is all ledge, but the trail is a healthy mix of dirt/roots/rocks and there's a bog and a mini waterfall as well. Can't wait to get out there with my Ascender.

Great looking terrain and nice pics of your OG SCX10, I've got fond memories of mine too.



For your type of terrain (actually all terrain ime), the stock tires work very well, mount them on some metal beadlocks for a bit more weight (and good looks) but not that high mass way too heavy wheels you might come across. I really like Crawler Innovations single stage Deuces Wild foams for the PitBull RockBeastII in the stock Vaterra Swampers.

https://crawlerinnovations.com/deuces-wild-single-stage-1-9-pitbull-rock-beast-foam-pair/

Pro-Line Swampers in 1.9 x4.3" are very good too and almost as big as the stock tires, little narrower and slighty shorter.

Nice photos. Lockdown over here has been eased so can get out now. Only problem everyone else is out at weekends.

About time they let people out and about, just wash our hands and be careful as usual. "thumbsup"

 

[andymac0035]

Welcome to RCC, a little tire rub is fine, even real trucks with larger tires sometimes have it, as long at it's not cutting into the sidewall. I spot a kitty in your pictures!

Kitty's name is Ratchet (care to guess my favorite game series? LOL)

As for the tire rub, it was pretty bad, so bad (before any trimming) that the lugs of the tire would grab the front fender and pull down on the body. :shock:

So here's some updates:

OG SCX10 rock sliders were almost a perfect fit!

I also added a hard foam backing behind the front bumper. This has proven to be perfect, as the foam hits right against the leading edge of the frame rails.

Little side-note, I am NOT a fan of spectrum stuff, but this stock servo took that to a new level for me. I noticed it was not that strong, and also that there was a lot of slop in it. I took it apart to find it had brass bushings in it. Really spectrum?... Metal gears and brass bushings? :roll: So... I had some bearings that fit it, and put them in. This took care of the slop and all seemed good. It had more power (as I think that slop was making it bind) and all seemed well. I took it on the trail and didn't get very far before losing steering (and it was working so well till that point). So I carried it back and got my TRX4, as I always bring a back-up, and I was not far into the trail, so that got me going faster than swapping a servo would have. I now have a CYS 0150 in there. It's nothing fancy, but it's a good cheap and strong analog servo. I run them in lots of trucks so I always keep a few handy.


...and lastly, some new wheels and tires. G-made steelies and 4.3" axial ripsaws. The wheels are pretty heavy, but I love the way it looks!

 

[andymac0035]

So these pics are from the abbreviated run up Mt Cardigan Tuesday, but I just went back out there today. I am impressed and happy with this truck! There were some steep lines I still could not do, but many more that I could do (and some that my other trucks could not!). The SWB is a mixed bag, as it does hurt me on the steepest climbs and places where the front tires don't reach in time before the rears lose traction, but it ads sooo much maneuverability! The front and rear approach/departure is the best of anything I currently have too. I used to not like rear-cage bodies, but this one I like. Despite the weight of the steelies, battery mileage is still great too. Still impressed with the sway bar too. The only time it leans is in reverse, or with the drag brake going forward on decents.

Got some video too! (this was right before the servo died). Not the best driving IMO, but I was holding a camera and the radio..... while getting attacked by black flies....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ql_MRA2uvk0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Yeti.stealth]

Great pics, area looks great for crawling!
Get rid of the stock ESC and get yourself a 1080. The drag brake on the stock ESC is non adjustable and comes on pretty hard, a tuned 1080 can bring the brake on smoothly.
Wheels look good, I’m using the same.
FYI You can stretch the wheel base a bit with minimal effort by installing longer rear links ( same as kit Ascender wheelbase 4 ) and the longer rear driveshaft parts too.