The Diamondback build

[kdvanb]

I vote for a sweet brushed monster. Thats so cool man. Would an Emaxx body fit? I have a brand new HPI Jeep cherokee body here sized for an emaxx ive never used.

You could do a protrac kit and some traxxas aluminum at the wheels.... that would get you good width and it would be strong. Maybe try mounting the electronics up front or something different than standard.

I wish I could find one of these. There was actually a brand new one at a hobby shop here in ontario a few years ago. Guy wanted $500 for just the chassis. I looked at it but there as no way I was goign to pay more for the chassis than the whole truck costs new.

What hobby shop??

[rag6]

Yeah pave, Think its gonna be an s600/xl5 waterproof truck. I think some scale stuff will be in order also. Took some pics of some progress last night. Will post after I upload them...

[rag6]

Ok, belcrank steering is def gonna be possible. Just need to secure the shafts that hold the crank to the chassis somehow. The servo will mount to the side of the chassis with some generic servo mounts like this:

Here is a pic of the space I need to fill:

I can either make a block with cut outs for the tops of the screws to rest in like the 2wd slash has, or could drill new holes in the chassis, with longer bolts and spacers. I like the block idea best.

I ripped my slash mt apart and came up with a nice little roller:




I need a ton of hardware for this thing. The stock stuff is ugly!

Will post more pics of some details later. Must work...

[rag6]

Here's some more details of how this chassis goes together:

In the front, there is a delrin block that goes between the chassis and bulkhead



The front shock tower is trimmed down to just a camber mount.


The shocks mount to alum brackets, that are in turn, mounted to the chassis. There are 3 mounting positions for the brackets to either adjust ride height, or to drop the brackets down for shorter shocks. So you can run this thing with 2 sets of ft shocks.
In this pic you can see the brackets, and the other mounting holes to drop the brackets down. I opted to use the ft shocks in rear, and rear shocks in ft. This gives a ton of travel up ft, but takes away any chance of running the truck down low:

[rocpede4x2]

Sweet pics Rag6, now hurry up and finish it up so I can buy it form you, LOL!!!!

[rocpede4x2]

I forgot to ask you a Q. how thick is the spacer that goes between the block head and the frame.

[MAXXXMASHER]

As for the motor, have a look at the scale ones from Parma (if you can find one.) Pretty cool. I have always wanted to do a scale build and utilize one of them. I remember seeing one where the butterflies in the blowers opened whenever the throttle was applied. Nice find. I would love to restore an older RC. The closest I have is the E 4-Tec build that I just finished. Still had the mechanical speed control. Also give the stock wheel/tire combo for a Wraith rtr a look. Not as wide as those chevrons, but almost as tall, and utilize 12mm hexes. Pretty cool project!!

[rag6]

I forgot to ask you a Q. how thick is the spacer that goes between the block head and the frame.

dont have it here, but its around 3/4"

[rag6]

Now the rear:
Here is the broken chassis rails


No way to fix it other than making new rails. I could put a fiberglass patch in that area as a band aid, or cut the rails off.

The rear shock tower is chopped like the front



Here are the rear cantilevers
You can see there are many options for pushrod and shock locations. I was worried about the delrin washers, but they are in excellent shape and fit nice and tight.


The metal stoppers under the levers are like droop screws and can be adjusted to lower or raise ride height.


There is a good bit of slop in the system, but I'm gonna stay with it because of adjust-ability, and its just flippin cool...

[ReaperGN]

Thanks for all the detailed pics. I will end up adding them to my collection and should clear up some questions if another Thunder Tech Stampede shows up. But on your bell crank I think it would be cooler to find a way to mount the Slash 4x4 setup to the chassis where the original bell crank went. Having a bell crank on a Stampede will be cool either way but anyone can mount a Slash skid plate and bolt up a bell crank. But few can mount one to the chassis. If you need aluminum posts you could get the ones from a T/E-Maxx and trim them down. I used some on my Blue Eagle and it feels pretty strong even without a upper support.


As to the rear of the chassis the easiest fix would be to just cut it down. But if you want to keep it looking as stock as possible I would get some links from a small RC and use them to support the arms. The reason I suggest a small scale setup is so you dont have to drill large holes in the arms.

[AbSoLooT1]

Awesome, looking great so far rag ! Il be watching this thing for sure.

[Blaster75]

What a cool find, Rag! How about some Clod-sized tires from RC4WD on some aluminum wheels, a low KV 3674 4-pole, and some sort of strong rear axles? Maybe PL Slash 4x4 rear arms, FLM 1/8 scale fronts, those G-Made piggybacks- since you started this thread, I've been spending all of your money! I would probably just trim off the broken bits- it looks to me like that was a weak point anyway. This is shaping up to be a very, very cool build, one I wish that I could be doing.

[rag6]

Thanks for all the detailed pics. I will end up adding them to my collection and should clear up some questions if another Thunder Tech Stampede shows up. But on your bell crank I think it would be cooler to find a way to mount the Slash 4x4 setup to the chassis where the original bell crank went. Having a bell crank on a Stampede will be cool either way but anyone can mount a Slash skid plate and bolt up a bell crank. But few can mount one to the chassis. If you need aluminum posts you could get the ones from a T/E-Maxx and trim them down. I used some on my Blue Eagle and it feels pretty strong even without a upper support.


As to the rear of the chassis the easiest fix would be to just cut it down. But if you want to keep it looking as stock as possible I would get some links from a small RC and use them to support the arms. The reason I suggest a small scale setup is so you dont have to drill large holes in the arms.

I will try to post up as many pics as I can. This chassis needs to have a record, and a database should any more samples peek their way out of the closet. By the way, could anyone scan a copy of the rcca article in the march 2003 issue? They did a custom build on the chassis...

I can still mount those cranks to the chassis. 2 new holes drilled and some kind of spacers in there and it will work. It will not work the way it sits, thats for sure. The cranks need to be supported. 1 whack to 1 of the ft tires at 10mph could snap the crank supports off the skid. I will look into what it would take to mount the servo in the original location, but I dont like how tight the parts are in the thundertech setup. The side mounted servo will be the most efficient setup I think, and I can buy an adjustable alum crank that will drop right in, in the future. Blue of course! I like the black and blue theme and will stick with it. Need to get a blue ft bulk and pull the red one out. If anyone wants to swap a used red for used blue one, let me know.

There are so many options going the scaler route with this truck. A full restore is out of the question. I cannot source any of the options avail without dragging it out for years... I am too impatient for that. I have some really sweet ideas for scale stuff, I hope I can do it justice with my weak hand made parts skills.

I think I will just trim the rear of the chassis. Where they are broken, it is very thin. I am afraid that any rear impact or cartwheel will just break it again, possibly damaging the area just in front, where the metal cross brace bolts in. That would ruin the chassis rails for good, and I will not risk that. I will not trim them off before I am ready to run it though, I may get an idea to save them. Makes me wonder why They did not make that section more beefy? A big minus in the design... Maybe why they have a different version of the rear in most of reapers pics?


Loot, gonna eventually send you a pm for hardware help. This may need to be lootified, right down to a nos bottle lol! Yes, you can put your sig on it for any help you can provide.

Blaster, the clod tires do sound (and would look)cool. No clue on what tires I will end with. RC4wd alum rims are so sweet, and are not out of the question. I am still considering a high turn brushless. I have 3 unused mmps sitting here, and even know I mentioned a brushed waterproof setup, now am thinking that water is a bad idea. The carbon is in such good condition, with no delamination, that water should come no where near this thing.

[rag6]

As for the motor, have a look at the scale ones from Parma (if you can find one.) Pretty cool. I have always wanted to do a scale build and utilize one of them. I remember seeing one where the butterflies in the blowers opened whenever the throttle was applied. Nice find. I would love to restore an older RC. The closest I have is the E 4-Tec build that I just finished. Still had the mechanical speed control. Also give the stock wheel/tire combo for a Wraith rtr a look. Not as wide as those chevrons, but almost as tall, and utilize 12mm hexes. Pretty cool project!!

If anyone has any suggestions or can source a parma hemi 1/10 v8, pm me! I dont want to make one from scratch! But this thing needs a v8 with open headers exiting out the bottom! I have to find out if it wil fit between the rails...

[rag6]

What not to do with extenda blocks:

[ReaperGN]

RC4WD's site has just about every scale part you could want. Even a 1/10 V8 engine.

[rag6]

Drool, slurp, stepped on my tongue. Now we are talkin'!

Hope its not 200$. I will check it out...
So much room under the hood, hope they have a master cylinder.

Ok, 270$ is a bit steep lol... I thought it was a model, not a motor housing with tranny lol... That thing is the coolest ever, but way overkill and not practical for this...

[ReaperGN]

You better not look at the price on that one. Its made of aluminum and houses a trans and room to mount a 540 motor. Something that would be considerably cheaper would be to mount the hood scoop/supercharger from a Clod Buster on what ever body your going to run. I think the parts tree for it is only 15 dollars.

[rag6]

I think I still have my hirider vette hood parts around somewhere...

[ReaperGN]

Using that would give you the look your after. Just dont break it. That's kind of a hard piece to come by. Some of the scaler guys like to buy up toy grade vehicles and use the body parts off of them. Maybe there is something out there that would be perfect for your needs.

[rag6]

I want stuff under the hood. I just found this, but am waiting for a reply on dimensions:

[rocpede4x2]

I want stuff under the hood. I just found this, but am waiting for a reply on dimensions:

that is killer looking.

[rag6]

I dont think it will work. It is a bit small. Still would be cool in a bandit though.

Mccalister makes a hot rod body:



Wonder if I could cut that motor out, build off of it? Could cover up the esc.

[MAXXXMASHER]

Have you checked out scale 4x4.com or perhaps gardentrucking.com? Also, try outlaw hobbies.com. Its all rc truck pulling stuff and those guys have scale motors on the big tractors. Maybe someone on the rccrawler forums could help in the scale motor department. I tried a simple google search for the Parma Hemi for ya and came up empty. The last mention of them on forum threads was around '08, and people were trying to find them then! My hobby shop had one in stock when we closed the doors around that time and I contemplated buying it but never did. Good luck! Very cool project!!

[rag6]

I went and checked out all of those sites, and its hard to believe that no one makes little engines for the scale guys. Most guys just go to wall mart and rip apart toys to get them.

I am gonna try to make my own body. I spent a couple hours the other night messing around and cut up my battered 1/8 scale late model body, and produced a cowl to cover the front of the chassis using only shoogoo and flat lexan panels I cut from the body. I need to figure out how I will do it as it is complicated, but with some patience, and painting the lex on the outside, I think it can work. I will post pics of what I did as soon as I get my cams mem card near my laptop...

[dave00bear]

Hey Rag, Definitely a unique set-up/ build. Found the article in RCCA 03/03 that you mentioned.

Their running a Proline Maxx body.

Funny how much the build cost was....$1468

Heres a copy of the article, hard to read though. I sent you a PM with a link to my PDF of the whole RCCA issue.

[ROB311952]

Dont know how heavy, not home yet. I have a few options with motors. If I restore, it will have a stinger with xl1 esc, plastic gears, orig pede chevrons, plastic links etc... Custom, I could do anything, but am leaning toward a brushed setup. Dont want this thing to fast...

An electrify s600 could work well for a motor...

That thing is cool. I was thinking a high turn brushed motor and make a crawler out of it with all that caging.

[rag6]

Thanks daveo. That is a cool issue overall... Back when mags were still cool!

Not a crawler, but it will have some scale stuff into it.

[dave00bear]

Thanks daveo. That is a cool issue overall... Back when mags were still cool!

No problem man!
I have quite a nice collection of back issues on file

[rag6]

I have the cab built. shoogoo and lexan. Will get pics up soon

[rag6]

Now, dont judge it yet as it is not painted. It will look much better once painted.

I still have to cut out the wheel wells and make the removable hood:

[rocpede4x2]

That is different and ill be watching to see how it turns out.

[rag6]

I won that motor from post#61. He said it was 2"x2"x2". It is 2 1/4" between the chassis rails. I hope it will fit the scale of the body...

[DiggerPede]

I won that motor from post#61. He said it was 2"x2"x2". It is 2 1/4" between the chassis rails. I hope it will fit the scale of the body...

Nice find. I'm thinking it's going to look good in there. Did you get a good deal on it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2

[rag6]

8.50 shipped, but its in alaska, so it may take a while... Cant make the hood until it gets here though. Was just looking at summit fender flares. Think they will look good on this. I cant wait to paint it, but need some warmer weather first.

[dave00bear]

Lookin good there Rag, It is definitely a good start to a custom body, That motor looks pretty cool, hopefully it "fits" well with the scale of the truck. If it does some mocked up or custom fit headers would be the next cool factor.

[rag6]

Yup. I want some headers viewable through the wheel wells. I was thinkin some fuel tubing, but not sure how to stiffin it up to hold its shape, or if paint will stick to it. The standard stuff may be too thick also.

Have another idea to mount a master cyl to the drivers side firewall...

[bashhound]

You could use some pieces of wire clothes hanger through the fuel tubing to make it hold its shape.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

[rag6]

Thats a good idea, maybe some mechanics wire...

[rag6]

I would be stupid to buy a brushed esc, and not use one of the spare mmp's I have sitting idle. I need a mild 2s motor. Will an 18.5 crawler motor be able to push 5 lbs to 25 on 2s? I dont want ballistic acceleration, just something with a stock trucks xl5 power...