My ZZMT: The Rubi
- Smoke&Mirrors
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:52 am
- Location: Nor Cal
My ZZMT: The Rubi
Hey all you pimps out there. This is one of my first posts and my first crawler.
It's very much so a work in progress, but I thought I'd post up what I have now to get some input and advice.
What I have done is
-the articulation mod
-extended the driveshaft (To 2 3/8" to fit a 1:35 scale body)
-trimmed the front suspension
What I will do is
-4th gear it down (via the instructions found here)
-add springs to the body and the top to control flex
-find a way to mount the jeep body to the crawler (excuse my lack of terminology)
What I hope to built/do is
-make a winch (anyone have some detailed instructions?)
-find some tires with more ground clearance
Here are most of the parts I used. Not pictured is the antenna I picked up from RadioShack for the lengthened drive shaft. Ignore the monocular in the upper right.

Here is the beast so far.


Here is the body I hope to mount. It is die cast. Does anyone have some advice on how I can do it? Please?




Also, I have photos of the stock insides if anyone needs them for reference.
It's very much so a work in progress, but I thought I'd post up what I have now to get some input and advice.
What I have done is
-the articulation mod
-extended the driveshaft (To 2 3/8" to fit a 1:35 scale body)
-trimmed the front suspension
What I will do is
-4th gear it down (via the instructions found here)
-add springs to the body and the top to control flex
-find a way to mount the jeep body to the crawler (excuse my lack of terminology)
What I hope to built/do is
-make a winch (anyone have some detailed instructions?)
-find some tires with more ground clearance
Here are most of the parts I used. Not pictured is the antenna I picked up from RadioShack for the lengthened drive shaft. Ignore the monocular in the upper right.

Here is the beast so far.


Here is the body I hope to mount. It is die cast. Does anyone have some advice on how I can do it? Please?




Also, I have photos of the stock insides if anyone needs them for reference.
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- bitProphet
- Posts: 3165
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- redrustbucket
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:41 pm
- Location: sunny acres, fl
Looks good. That die cast body is going to be tricky because of the weight. I tried to do the same scale in diecast on an mt and it wasn't worth it to me because of the crappy performance it caused.
I would first suggest trying to find a plastic body. If you are dead set on running the diecast, the way I did it was to sleeve the d/s with brass tubing and bearings and then brazed a frame off of that to mount the body to. I hated the way it drove though. Way too top heavy for me.
I would first suggest trying to find a plastic body. If you are dead set on running the diecast, the way I did it was to sleeve the d/s with brass tubing and bearings and then brazed a frame off of that to mount the body to. I hated the way it drove though. Way too top heavy for me.
The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own...
tlca # 14622
tlca # 14622
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- bitProphet
- Posts: 3165
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:31 pm
- Location: Walmart
Or if you really love it you could check out steelwoolghandi's tutorial on resin casting. Its not that hard or expensive and it can be a lot of fun. Not to mention how much weight it save over pot metal. But to each his own, great work, hope we see more of you.
The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. - Ayn Rand
- Smoke&Mirrors
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:52 am
- Location: Nor Cal
Yeah I was thinking about that. The only reason I wanted to to use the Jeep body is because I have an actual wrangler that I drive. I supose that if I make the mold my self, I could paint it just like the real deal. I think I'm sold.sidewinder wrote:Or if you really love it you could check out steelwoolghandi's tutorial on resin casting. Its not that hard or expensive and it can be a lot of fun. Not to mention how much weight it save over pot metal. But to each his own, great work, hope we see more of you.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'm glad to see I was able to generate some responses. Do you happen to have any other tips or a location of where I could the bearings? I know my local Ratshack doesn't have the Xmods ones. I have noticed that my wires keep breaking, so I think I'll resolder them all with a single wire each instead of two per.
- redrustbucket
- bitGangsta'
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- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:41 pm
- Location: sunny acres, fl
I dunno I got mine from Radio Shack.Smoke&Mirrors wrote: Do you happen to have any other tips or a location of where I could the bearings? I know my local Ratshack doesn't have the Xmods ones. I have noticed that my wires keep breaking, so I think I'll resolder them all with a single wire each instead of two per.
What do you mean by re-soldering them with a single wire? You talkin' about using single strand wire? Not sure that's a good idea. An easy way to keep the wires from breaking is to super glue them to the board. Just make sure you catch some of the insulation. I usually re-solder mine with old servo wires and use liquid electrical tape over the board to secure the wires.
The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own...
tlca # 14622
tlca # 14622
- Smoke&Mirrors
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:52 am
- Location: Nor Cal
UPDATE:
It's been a while, so here is an update on what I've done.
Project Rubi





It's been a while, so here is an update on what I've done.
Project Rubi
- ZipZaps SE Servo Mod
Removed front suspension
bigger tires (walmart atv)
mostly mounted the Jeep Body
Hydro Steering mod





Project Willy
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
- crazydave
- bitPimp
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- Location: Koolsville
- Smoke&Mirrors
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:52 am
- Location: Nor Cal
Absolutely, I can always use a jeep body. I've been looking for a zipzaps one (or same size) to put over my rig Black Bear. How much would you like for it? Do you have a pic or two? Thanks!crazydave wrote:I have a plastic Nikko Rubicon body that's ever so slightly larger than a Zip Zap body. Probably too small for that chassis as its set up, but I'd send it to you if you thought you'd make use of it.
Project Willy
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
-
- bitNinja
- Posts: 525
- Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:24 am
- Location: SoCal
- Contact:
- Smoke&Mirrors
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:52 am
- Location: Nor Cal
Thanks, I'll have to. I built one for my xmod so I have a good idea of what I need. I've already got my se servo all wired up and a 5th gear mod. I put a switch on each so that I can run the winch by itself, the motor by itself, or both together. I'm definitely going to make a tutorial as best I can with my pictures.Nasphere wrote:hey for a winch, if you're still looking, check frizzen's posts... I believe he was working on one a while back..
Project Willy
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
-
- bitDisciple
- Posts: 1730
- Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2005 7:48 am
- Location: Big Left Turn, Indiana
- Contact:
Frizzen is a fuckin' lazy poser! His closest thing to a winch so far is really only a spring-loaded self-retracting pull strap. (Desperado project)
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
Redrustbucket built atleast one.
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
Guerd started on one
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
Supergroup Crawler built one, but many pics bad linked and went away
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
There could be a few more dirving around pimptown, these were just the ones I could find.
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
Redrustbucket built atleast one.
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
Guerd started on one
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
Supergroup Crawler built one, but many pics bad linked and went away
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com./pages/phpF ... 5b1ce45a34
There could be a few more dirving around pimptown, these were just the ones I could find.
Jack of all trades, master of none; yet often better than master of one.
-
End genital mutilation, don't circumcise. Restore your fore'
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End genital mutilation, don't circumcise. Restore your fore'
- redrustbucket
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:41 pm
- Location: sunny acres, fl
Yeah, I built two.
One was just an mt green motor under the hood on this one. Didn't work too good but helped with climbs as it kept the front end planted.

Second one I built was with an se servo. Would lift truck into the air with the line doubled. This one was fun!

You can just make out the gearbox in the cab of the 45 in the 2nd pic. The on off switch from the se is perfect for the winch. Just wire it to your motor leads to spool in or out under power and cut a small block off out of plastic to cut power to the drive motor when winching another truck.
One was just an mt green motor under the hood on this one. Didn't work too good but helped with climbs as it kept the front end planted.

Second one I built was with an se servo. Would lift truck into the air with the line doubled. This one was fun!

You can just make out the gearbox in the cab of the 45 in the 2nd pic. The on off switch from the se is perfect for the winch. Just wire it to your motor leads to spool in or out under power and cut a small block off out of plastic to cut power to the drive motor when winching another truck.
The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own...
tlca # 14622
tlca # 14622
- Smoke&Mirrors
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:52 am
- Location: Nor Cal
Frizzen
I love that idea. It's like a snap strap for the crawlers. I like that it doesn't require wiring, which I need a break from. Where did you get that mechinism and do you happen to have a spare one lying around?
RedRustBucket
It seems like no matter how far out there I go, you've already been there and have some expertise to lend. I did end up building the ZZSE winch and just 5th geared my crawler instead. It's a good slow speed, so as always, thanks for the inspiration.
I love that idea. It's like a snap strap for the crawlers. I like that it doesn't require wiring, which I need a break from. Where did you get that mechinism and do you happen to have a spare one lying around?
RedRustBucket
It seems like no matter how far out there I go, you've already been there and have some expertise to lend. I did end up building the ZZSE winch and just 5th geared my crawler instead. It's a good slow speed, so as always, thanks for the inspiration.
Project Willy
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
ZZMT
-Articulation Mod
-288:1 Gear Ratio
-BB Steering Servo
-Extended Wheelbase
-Widened Axles
-Polaris ATV Tires
-Dean Plugs
-1:35 Scale Willy's Flatfender body
- redrustbucket
- bitGangsta'
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:41 pm
- Location: sunny acres, fl
No worries, start molding some sticky tires and you'll be smokin' my ass. The great thing about this site is the mass amount of inspiration. Good luck and happy modding!Smoke&Mirrors wrote:It seems like no matter how far out there I go, you've already been there and have some expertise to lend.
The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own...
tlca # 14622
tlca # 14622