Tommy R's TTC Build - "Big Oly"

[Tommy R]

Good news and bad news. The good news is that I finished making and drilling my leaf springs. The bad news is that they are pretty weak where the holes were drilled. I can certainly see them kinking in the future. I will definitely need to fab up an anti-wrap bar. If anyone has any suggestions or good examples, please feel free to share them. Anyway, here's a couple pics.

 

[Tommy R]

I'm still kicking around ideas for the anti-wrap bar for the leaf springs, but in the meantime I'm working on a metal 4 link bar for the rear so I can get rid of the original 3 link setup. Hopefully, I'll finish that up tonight.

I also need to find a way to get more arch out of my leaf springs. Once some weight is added, they will be inverted badly. I may need to look for more 1/4" wide spring steel that is coiled, not straight.

Last week I invested in a good tubing bender. Brad (Fastball on RCC) sold me this tubing bender. It's very high quality and I'm very happy with it. It'll bend 3/16" tube or 5/32" rod in a very tight radius. Easy, repeatable, and well built. Very happy with it!

I'll be working on the house Sat. and we've got a drifter get together on Sunday, but hopefully I'll find some time this weekend to get to work on this rig! :roll:

 

[Tomy]

You've got a nice build going on!

Where have you got the leaf mounts and shackles from? Or did you make them yourself?

Looking forward to more progress pics.

 

[tedo]

If you are having problem with your new handmade leafs, go back to the rc4wd and use the medium tamiya helper with them. That's what I am running and I am very impressed with the articulation, strength, droop, and control.

My truck weighs about 6lbs...

 

[Tommy R]

If you are having problem with your new handmade leafs, go back to the rc4wd and use the medium tamiya helper with them. That's what I am running and I am very impressed with the articulation, strength, droop, and control.

My truck weighs about 6lbs...

Thanks, but given the TTC nature of this build and the abuse it'll get (and its potential weight), I don't think the RC4WDs will not bend like pretzels.

Made some progress tonight... Brazed up a truss (still needs finishing), got my 2.2 Rock Lox in the mail, and my Scale4x4 d-rings finally made it across the pond. Not sure they're stout enough for this rig, though.

 

[Grizzly4x4]

That tube bender is sweet. "thumbsup"

Years ago I met a guy from Arizona while at the Dakota Territory Challenge. He had a CJ-5 with a parallel bar 4-link and leaf springs with a shackle at each end. Why not do something similar? Use the 4 link setup to control axle wrap and locate the axle front to rear, and let the leaf springs carry the weight and locate the axle left to right. No panhard bar needed. The double shackles let the leafs move with the 4-link.

 

[Tommy R]

That tube bender is sweet. "thumbsup"

Years ago I met a guy from Arizona while at the Dakota Territory Challenge. He had a CJ-5 with a parallel bar 4-link and leaf springs with a shackle at each end. Why not do something similar? Use the 4 link setup to control axle wrap and locate the axle front to rear, and let the leaf springs carry the weight and locate the axle left to right. No panhard bar needed. The double shackles let the leafs move with the 4-link.

Thanks! With all the tube work in my future, I figured a nice bender would be a good investment. Fastball makes a great product!

That's an interesting idea on the suspension setup. I'm thinking I'll try to fab up an anti-wrap bar for now because I want to keep the front suspension as simple and uncluttered as possible and adding 4 links in there might make it tough to keep my BTA tie rod arrangement. If my idea for the front suspension doesn't work like I hope, I will probably just wuss out and link it. It'll probably even perform better than the leafs and would certainly be easier to tune, but I just really want to make leafs work in this truck for some unknown reason. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment!

Do you see any potential issues with my brass axle truss? It's thick stuff and was tough to bend so I think it'll withstand the abuse if the brazing holds. If the truck takes a serious lateral hit, the brass upper link mounts may bend, but I may add a small plate on top to help it out some. Something like this:

 

[KevenP]

Maybe these will help ya?
They seem to work pretty well out of the box. I'll know more after this weekends comp. "thumbsup"

http://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/c63leafs.htm

 

[Tommy R]

Not ruling those out, but let me know how they work for you first!

 

[Tomy]

Any info on the leaf mounts and shackles?

Thanks!

 

[Tommy R]

Any info on the leaf mounts and shackles?

Thanks!

Oh, sorry! They are RC Bros. components. Good stuff! "thumbsup"

 

[mascman]

Maybe these will help ya?
They seem to work pretty well out of the box. I'll know more after this weekends comp. "thumbsup"

http://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/c63leafs.htm

Can you tell me the length from eye to eye? Thanks!

 

[Tommy R]

Rear end all assembled.

Links are temporary. I'll build some one-piece links later on. I'm going to need a really long rear driveshaft!

I moved the skidplate/trans back ~1/2". Should still have room for an interior with a stock SCX10/AX10 trans/spur.

Running a 13" wheelbase, this is where the body will sit. I may eventually stretch the rear another 1/4"-1/2". And it's about time a 2.2 rig actually gets some 2.2 tires! Rock Lox on some stock AX-10 wheels.

Enough room left on the front framerails to mount a winch. It just barely has a 90 degree approach angle.

Chino'd the leaf springs since they were a little wide for the RC Bros. hangers. They flex really well!

 

[Tommy R]

Well, I finally addressed a concern I've had for quite some time. I wasn't really sure how to resolve it, but I think I did it. Anyone care to take a guess what the bajeezus this thingie is?? :shock:

A poorly designed fork? An ineffective weapon of some sort? A cattle prod? All would be excellent guesses, but all wrong. The next pic should explain things better... :mrgreen:

Yep, it's an anti-wrap bar for my leaf spring front end. Basically what I did was bend up some 3/16" brake line and brazed two pieces together. At the top of the "Y" I brazed in two nuts. These would be the locations that would attach to the axle like such.

At the bottom of the "Y" I inserted an 1/8" drill bit into the tube, business end first. This left a nice smooth rod protruding from the tube. This is held in position by a chassis mounted endlink.

The theory is that the axle is free to move about essentially without restrictions from the anti-wrap bar. I'll need to keep it greased to prevent rust, of course. The ball inside the endlink wasn't large enough for the 1/8" drill bit so I drilled it out.

Does it work? Stay tuned. First some more assembled pics.

At full bump:

And at forced droop:

And if you'd like to see how it works, here's a video I put together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rzIyaogSu4

I wish I understood the magical secret to posting/embedding videos here on RCC...

 

[RcBro]

Lookin good!

 

[Grizzly4x4]

And if you'd like to see how it works, here's a video I put together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rzIyaogSu4

I wish I understood the magical secret to posting/embedding videos here on RCC...

Just click on the "embed" option on Youtube, copy, and paste the link. The catch is that not all sections of RCC will allow embedding.

Look at the bottom of this page on the left hand side where it says "Posting Rules". For this section it says "HTML code is OFF", that means you can't embed videos. Look in the videos forum and it says "HTML code is ON".

I love the anti-wrap bar. "thumbsup" The slider in the rod end is a good idea. My buddy's 1:1 Bronc has one in the rear with a shackle on it.

 

[Tommy R]

Thanks, Chris. I happened to figure it out a little later after I posted. Ah well...

And thanks for the kind words about the wrap bar, too. I hope it'll work out. So far it seems to not hinder suspension movement at all other than eliminating axle twist. I may have a bit of clearance issue at full bump when the bar's rod may contact the motor plate, but it's nothing some clearancing won't take care of. :mrgreen:

Finally feeling like I'm making some real progress on this dang thing! 8)

 

[Tommy R]

I'd like some input on driveshafts. Currently my rear driveshaft looks like it needs to be at least 5.25" long, which is the max length offered by MIP. Are there other off-the-shelf solutions for longer driveshafts? I was even hoping to extend my wheelbase another 1/4"-1/2" and it would be nice to have some room to grow. Looks like the front shaft could use either a long or short version, but I'm not worried about that.

 

[Tommy R]

So I guess I'm flaunting some ignorance with drive shafts since it's never been a concern before. The run of the mill stockers have always sufficed for me, but now that I'm building an extended wheelbase, heavy, high powered rig....well, drivetrain reliability is coming into question in ways I've never had to think about before.

So I just found out about RC4WD's Punisher and Punisher II shafts and they have one that is long enough (up to 6.5"). Are they worthwhile or what?

Any other input on items I should upgrade before hooking up the 10t puller would be appreciated, too....like tranny gears, lockers, CVDs (currently running Axials), and whether or not I should consider a slipper on my AX10 trans?

Thanks! :mrgreen:

 

[82-Toyota-SR5]

were did you get the beedlocks for the 1.9 ?