What if... RC10B1.5 BFG 5LTi

[Frankentruck]

The Losi family has had a strong connection to Team Associated and the RC10. The question has been asked, what if there was a pan chassis RC10 that came before the RC10B2, and the results are really cool. Multiple people have done excellent builds and this is possibly the earliest:

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=10842

Taking this a step further, what if there had not been a JRX2 (what?!? ) and the 5 link setup had gone into the B1.5... my interpretation of this is the RC10B1.5 Black Fiberglass chassis 5 Link with titanium control links. I considered also making it mid motored but am holding off on that for now, even though the Factory Works BFG chassis is also drilled for a mid mount configuration.

(disclaimer: no RC10T2 chassis have been harmed *yet* in the course of this RC10B1.5 project)
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[1911Colt]

Whatever story you need to concoct to justify another cool build is fine by me

[Frankentruck]

It looks like the Turbo Mirage body has some extra space that should clear the planned linkages. I'll just have to notch the body for the chassis and adjust my plans for the nose area a bit. That is, unless there's an available body that's also wider in the front too.
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[MarkyDents]

Maybe a YZ10 body….

[Frankentruck]

I used a YZ10 body on my Frankenbuggy build. That buggy has a slightly lower, further forward rear shock tower with a low spot in the middle. I probably need something like a Turbo Ultima body for this but I was hoping to stay with something meant for the RC10 to keep it looking like an RC10.

[Frankentruck]

Based on some of my 3D printed arm and hub destructions with the Hyper Hornet I decided the hubs needed to be injection molded. Since I've been taking measurements from JRX2 hubs, getting actual JRX2 hubs seemed logical. They're a little wider than planned, but workable (I think).
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[Frankentruck]

Time for some progress on this build. I ended up reusing some titanium turnbuckles (Technicraft?) from my donor T2 because I like them better than the Schumacher turnbuckles as suspension links. They look more right here.
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[Frankentruck]

To get good measurements for the chassis pivot mounts I really need rear shocks and rear turnbuckles installed, so that's next. The shocks had to attach to the 3rd hole in for link clearance so I added stroke limiters. The custom Factory Works shock tower to bridge the gap between gold pan and T2 fits just right.
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[MarkyDents]

Looks like it’s coming together really well

[Frankentruck]

Rear suspension seems to be done. Everything works smoothly, almost like I knew what I was doing. Having a JRX2 to compare with and take measurements probably is cheating a bit, but I'm fine with that here. It saved a bit of trial and error, and error, and error...
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After reading about scr8pe's issues with coming up with a rear body mount with his first RC10B1.5 a design feature was added to the side link mount blocks that will allow use of side body mounts if needed. Just add longer screws and presto!
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[Frankentruck]

Time for the gearbox and rear axles. I'm thinking to myself how cool it is that the JRX2 rear hubs have only required some extra width in the rear arns to make them drop in replacements.
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So now a couple of discoveries. First, my rear shock tower belongs on the back side if the rear bulkhead. No problem, done. Second, the ends of the CVDs are bottoming out in the drive cups and limiting suspension travel. Hmmm, maybe the drop in replacement wasn't 100% simple. It looks like I can add 0.060" additional length to each suspension arm and make more clearance that safety keeps the ends within the drive cups. Hopefully that's enough.
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[Frankentruck]

I scored a T2 gearbox foam gasket at a LHS. The adhesive was long since dried out but some double side tape worked great.
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While I had the slipper off, I went ahead and 6 holed the hub. One of the 2 screws was backed off so it reminded me it needs the better gear attachment pattern. Using 2 screws isn't a great design choice.
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After making longer arms, it turns out the bones aren't quite bottoming out. The 5 link setup just doesn't want the suspension to compress any further. It looks to be plenty of suspension travel and I'm ok with that. The back end is basically done.
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[Frankentruck]

Original plans were to use a buggy nose but I haven't done much with the truck nose yet so its going that direction. The Factory Works front shock tower I have isn't compatible with a truck front suspension mount but a spare RC10 tower was able to be trimmed and drilled to fit. Some Custom Works front arms are a close enough fit that I think I can make them work.
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[1911Colt]

Dang it! I was hoping you would change gears and put a Top Cat front end on it. I always wanted to hash a JrX2 back end with a Top Cat front. I find it interesting that both are primarily known (and loved) for a suspension design that was soon binned and replaced with conventional bits.

RC was more fun before the inevitable convergence of design.

[Frankentruck]

I have been thinking about a Top Cat style front end, just haven't worked it out yet.