Ive always wanted to do a leaf spring rig. I was planing on a 4TEN chassis, I walked into my LHS looking for some new drill bits...and walked out with this;
I like the simplicity of this kit and quality of the parts. No screws tap into plastic. Everything is screwed into nylock nuts. I don't plan to build this kit as a box stock build, its more of a foundation. There are some mods that I need right out of the gate to get this thing where I am imagining it going.
I started with the standard axle build. The outer rear axle bearings are held in place by 4mm e-clips. (this kit is so scale, they even copped the crapy YJ c-clip axle retention flaw!) I dont have a pic, but I accidentally bent BOTH e-clips trying to get them in the axle...had to order some more from amazon. oops. Ill have to install them later, but for now, the build must go on.
One "glaring" issue I have with this kit is the nickel plated chassis rails and metal parts. I personally am not a fan of chrome and this build is loosely based on my first car. A '63 Scout Harvester 80. So the chrome has gotta go.
I started by hand sanding the nickel plating off of all the metal parts.
I then hit everything with some rust colored automotive primer. No more shiny bling.
The axle housing will be painted and drybrushed once assembled, but for now we have a good base to start with.
Woke up way to early this morning and decided to sneak in a hour on the sawback before the kids woke up.
Lots of goodies coming from RC4WD and Amazon for this build. Thats all I got for now though.
This is the doner body from my old SCX10. Proline Ambush.
Wraith interior and some extra scale details. Random parts are mostly from a wild willy parts tree. Dashboard and cup holder are Axial shock internals and washers.
After a little Walmart rattle can action.
...and some detail brush painting. Mocked up with roll cage in place.
Added some more details and replaced the wraith seats with Dinky RC Cheap Seats. This is a comp rig, so weight is a priority.
I moved the steering servo to the left side of the frame and flipped it to gain more servo horn clearance at the pumpkin. Using the extra servo mounting plate in the box, I mounted a second servo on the passenger side rail in the reverse direction. This second servo will be converted to a servo-winch w/ internal spool.
I replaced the stock "engine" looking electronics box cover with a piece of styrene that doubles as a forward mount battery tray. I mounted it using the same holes and screws and it sits right on top of the twin servos up front. Makes for a nice compact little package.
The old Axial factory driveshafts can be used on the Sawback. The Sawback driveshafts look like a beefier clone of the older axial shafts but the use a full pin like the Wild Bore shafts. I'll use the Sawback shafts until they give me any issues. If they do, its good to know any after marker SCX10 upgrade shafts will work. Also, the wraith axles ALMOST fit. The through-hole in the Sawback output shaft is about .5mm to small. If you could bore the hardened steel output shafts slightly over, you could use the wraith shafts. Here is an old SCX10 shaft mounted.
Working on body mount locations and tire clearances.
Far from done, but I couldn't resist a few back yard poser shots while giving it an initial test drive.
Still need to finish the body and come up with a back bumper and rock slider solution. Body still needs a windshield and tailgate would be cool. The farther I get on this build, the farther I seem to get to finishing it. Gotta love it!
Getting ready for tomorrow's comp. I stuffed some old 1.9 rocklocks into the wheel wells and started working on the scale factor. Made a bedroll out of an old painting shirt and a twostrap from may daughter's shoelace. One fuel can is a Proline piece an the other can is scavenged from a GI joe type jeep "borrowed" from my son's toy box.
I added a roof (not sure if I like it yet) out of some scrap styrene and a windshield cut from a box of cookies I found in the back of the fridge.
About to go to bed for the night, and I realized it still needed a tailgate. I found enough scrap styrene to cobble together a tailgate. After some sanding and paint and this hack job will do the trick!
Thank you FedEx Santa Claus!
Finished up the tailgate.
Final update: The Sawback performed great at the comp today. Considering I ran it in class1 form except for 1.9 Rocklocks in a class2 comp, I could not have been happier with it. "thumbsup"
For any one who is building on of these, heres my setup:
2s 2800mah Reedy shorty
Tekin FXR Pro/45t tekin combo
stock pinion and spur
soft option springs pack (small on top) - no shocks.
caster mod (Chubs upside down)
Hi steer mod
factory servo mount CMS
Whoever I was talking to that called this rig "Ol Busted", its the perfect name. So from here on, it shall be known as Ol Busted. Perfect name. Super fun truck!
I like the simplicity of this kit and quality of the parts. No screws tap into plastic. Everything is screwed into nylock nuts. I don't plan to build this kit as a box stock build, its more of a foundation. There are some mods that I need right out of the gate to get this thing where I am imagining it going.
I started with the standard axle build. The outer rear axle bearings are held in place by 4mm e-clips. (this kit is so scale, they even copped the crapy YJ c-clip axle retention flaw!) I dont have a pic, but I accidentally bent BOTH e-clips trying to get them in the axle...had to order some more from amazon. oops. Ill have to install them later, but for now, the build must go on.
One "glaring" issue I have with this kit is the nickel plated chassis rails and metal parts. I personally am not a fan of chrome and this build is loosely based on my first car. A '63 Scout Harvester 80. So the chrome has gotta go.
I started by hand sanding the nickel plating off of all the metal parts.
I then hit everything with some rust colored automotive primer. No more shiny bling.
The axle housing will be painted and drybrushed once assembled, but for now we have a good base to start with.
Woke up way to early this morning and decided to sneak in a hour on the sawback before the kids woke up.
Lots of goodies coming from RC4WD and Amazon for this build. Thats all I got for now though.
This is the doner body from my old SCX10. Proline Ambush.
Wraith interior and some extra scale details. Random parts are mostly from a wild willy parts tree. Dashboard and cup holder are Axial shock internals and washers.
After a little Walmart rattle can action.
...and some detail brush painting. Mocked up with roll cage in place.
Added some more details and replaced the wraith seats with Dinky RC Cheap Seats. This is a comp rig, so weight is a priority.
I moved the steering servo to the left side of the frame and flipped it to gain more servo horn clearance at the pumpkin. Using the extra servo mounting plate in the box, I mounted a second servo on the passenger side rail in the reverse direction. This second servo will be converted to a servo-winch w/ internal spool.
I replaced the stock "engine" looking electronics box cover with a piece of styrene that doubles as a forward mount battery tray. I mounted it using the same holes and screws and it sits right on top of the twin servos up front. Makes for a nice compact little package.
The old Axial factory driveshafts can be used on the Sawback. The Sawback driveshafts look like a beefier clone of the older axial shafts but the use a full pin like the Wild Bore shafts. I'll use the Sawback shafts until they give me any issues. If they do, its good to know any after marker SCX10 upgrade shafts will work. Also, the wraith axles ALMOST fit. The through-hole in the Sawback output shaft is about .5mm to small. If you could bore the hardened steel output shafts slightly over, you could use the wraith shafts. Here is an old SCX10 shaft mounted.
Working on body mount locations and tire clearances.
Far from done, but I couldn't resist a few back yard poser shots while giving it an initial test drive.
Still need to finish the body and come up with a back bumper and rock slider solution. Body still needs a windshield and tailgate would be cool. The farther I get on this build, the farther I seem to get to finishing it. Gotta love it!
Getting ready for tomorrow's comp. I stuffed some old 1.9 rocklocks into the wheel wells and started working on the scale factor. Made a bedroll out of an old painting shirt and a twostrap from may daughter's shoelace. One fuel can is a Proline piece an the other can is scavenged from a GI joe type jeep "borrowed" from my son's toy box.
I added a roof (not sure if I like it yet) out of some scrap styrene and a windshield cut from a box of cookies I found in the back of the fridge.
About to go to bed for the night, and I realized it still needed a tailgate. I found enough scrap styrene to cobble together a tailgate. After some sanding and paint and this hack job will do the trick!
Thank you FedEx Santa Claus!
Finished up the tailgate.
Final update: The Sawback performed great at the comp today. Considering I ran it in class1 form except for 1.9 Rocklocks in a class2 comp, I could not have been happier with it. "thumbsup"
For any one who is building on of these, heres my setup:
2s 2800mah Reedy shorty
Tekin FXR Pro/45t tekin combo
stock pinion and spur
soft option springs pack (small on top) - no shocks.
caster mod (Chubs upside down)
Hi steer mod
factory servo mount CMS
Whoever I was talking to that called this rig "Ol Busted", its the perfect name. So from here on, it shall be known as Ol Busted. Perfect name. Super fun truck!
