Vic's low $$ build off, rc10 Rock Crawler ?!?!

[victor_cathedral]

i hope this counts, the concept started long ago but never really got off the ground. this low buck build off was the perfect excuse to waste some time throwing this wonderful gem together !!!! the body is an old terrible condition botched paint job body that came on a bay purchased RC10, i believe it was on the chassis i used for this build too. i didnt think too much about cutting it up to fit the MSC over on the side all wacky. the wing is from a b3 i think, one of my 1st paint jobs. i used the wrong white paint. yes, that is a vintage futaba conquest, the only radio i have with more than 2 channels. found the radio + half of an old gas plane with receiver and servos in the garbage. the battery is mounted on top, up front to get some weight up in the front of this machine, also, adds to the aesthetic quality.

i needed the extra channel for the 4 wheel steering !

lets turn left !

lets turn right !

i suppose by now you might be wondering what on earth i was thinking, and maybe noticed that strange transmission set up hiding back there ?

You guessed it !!! Home made gear reduction ! see that fancy steel spur gear ? its actually a gear from a mid 90's computer printer ! its secured to the stock associated transmission brace with a random hinge pin from some forgotten RC car. the soft aluminum obviously isnt strong enough for such a modification, so i made this steel ''brace'' of sorts. on the back of the printer gear is an old steel pinion gear, silver soldered in place to mesh up with the stock associated spur to create my underdrive ratio. so the fancy printer gear/pinion combo acts as an idler. ( i have not yet determined the exact ratio, but the car moves about 1/10th of the speed )

closer inspection of the printer idler and the transmission brace :

[Lowgear]

That is definitely something... I don't know what it is buy its definitely something. An abomination comes to mind.

It reminds me of back when I was younger I used to create some crazy contraptions with R/C's. Mainly using Midnight Pumpkins and Lunch Boxes.

[victor_cathedral]

seems i can attach 10 pictures to a message, so continuing ( yes abomination is the perfect description )

the rear of the transmission brace :

also, notice the alignment mark on the printer gear, now i can finally find top dead center on my motor ! i know bad joke...

i used some wire for my rear turnbuckles, very low budget, and i didn't have any spare long shocks to use on the rear anyway, so i used some draglinks i had previously upgraded from a losi mini rock crawler to hold the arms in place. ( come on guys, i at least needed one real rock crawler part on here )

here are the rear carriers, which are actually the front carriers and casters off my 1st nitro car, which has been deceased for quite some time. i think it was a traxxas maximum bx? if that sounds right. (edit, i just remembered, it was duratrax maximum BX lol ) i fitted them with some old rc10 stub axles, by means of a few strategically placed shims and bushings. its a miracle the dogbones fit, well with a few fine touches.

here is a look at the underside, and my special part #00054541 aluminum locate-a-servo brackets ( yes of course im kidding ) also, here we can see how i had to sacrifice these rear arms to accommodate the front casters from my BX. sorry guys.

here is a closer look at the front shocks. yep not associated, i believe kyosho. they were hand me downs from a friend. the spring retainers? were cracked so i could not adjust the spring tension. rather than remove the old ones and add the associated ones in their place, i opted to keep both sets

ahh the front axles, two bushings on each side with the rear wheels from previously mentioned maximum BX mounted backwards on them

the rear wheels are i believe old pro lines ? or some knock-offs from the toy RC arsenal.

i used some aluminum hex wheel adapters from the same lot my friend gave me.

notice my traction grabbers for dirt hill climbing.

[victor_cathedral]

i chose to use MSC out of my very 1st hobby grade rc car, a tamiya grasshopper. check out the great vintage TEKIN sticker on the inside edge of the gold pan back there !

i didnt even buy real batteries for the receiver power pack! ( the pack was also from the plane someone had discarded )

lastly but not least, my beautiful wire routing skillz

if you guys would like any more pics let me know. btw, takes some getting used to trying to drive it

[WillyThickfoot]

What a BEAST!!!

[Bormac]

.....More like a MONGREL!

Possibly one of the radest, most bodasciously crazy inventions ive ever ever ever seen.

C R A Z Y !!!!!!!

[PBR Allstar]

brilliant! that's the winner there!

[jwscab]

this is a great build, love the low-tech and low-buck approaches, along with the awesome retrofit of the gear reduction and rear steer!

[kaiser]

GNARLY! i love it.

[victor_cathedral]

lol ! thanks guys. i am very glad my mad sciencetry can be appreciated by others i alllmost wish the ground was not covered with 2 and a half feet of snow, and 4-8 foot drifts, almost ! then i could really test this. the house just is not working, seems like i can move for 2 seconds then i am out of room again, its too big. however, if the snow was gone, then i cant use my snowmobiles ! ohh well, ill make the best use of the time i have given to me now, and play snowmobile

ohh, here is a pic of where i keep the snowmobiles, and also proof i cannot run this outside atm ( dang i really wish i had a kyosho blizzard ) :

[GJW]

this is one funny thread, your build has really made me laugh thanks man!!! super crazy stuff, much respect

[vintage AE]

WOW which applies to many things in this thread

[tim.sanderson]

I alllmost wish the ground was not covered with 2 and a half feet of snow, and 4-8 foot drifts, almost ! then i could really test this.

When you do get a chance to test it out, make sure you get some video of it for us!

[victor_cathedral]

thanks guys , ill be sure to get some video when i do test. the drifts have now hardened pretty good, im almost thinking i can run on top of it. if i get a chance later today ill post some pics and a video or two

[m_vice]

Yes I want to see a video of this Rc10stine.

cool stuff