Baja bit

Learn how to chop a body properly, how to install alloy rims, and more. If it's about makin' it look good, it belongs here.
User avatar
Sporttracguy
bitNinja
Posts: 507
Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 4:25 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington USA

Baja bit

Post by Sporttracguy »

I must have ADD or something, i cant even get finished with one project before i have to start another one. anyways, i was crusing wallyworld and came upon this tiny baja truck, its fairly detailed and is made of extreamly thin die cast (its smaller than a microsizer so the weight is about that of a zipzap body, no big deal)

So i purchased it ($2.00) and took it home. Soon after looking at it i started chopping parts off of it to see if a tiny rc truck was even going to work. This thing is tiny, here is a pic of it next to a microsizer body:

Image

The biggest problem ive found so far is the width, its just bairly wide enough to fit two cells in there if i grind the paper thin diecast just slightly.

So far i have mounted a zipzap motor to the models rear suspension arms along with a gear and i swaped the stock axle and tires to a zipzap axle and gears. They were a perfect fit in the origional mount.

I used a piece of WD-40 tube and a paperclip as a hinge for the rear suspension but have yet to add the springs and mounted it to the front end of a microsizer chassis. For the front i extended all of the suspension arms and did a hell of alot of grinding to give me the maximum amount of travel up front, i then added some zipzap springs that i had to streatch to meet the new ground clearance.

I had to use a microsizer pcb because no other brand had a small enough circuit board, everything just wouldnt even come close to fitting, the microsizer is close but it fits.

Im actualy going to mount the pcb in the bed of the truck (didnt have anywhere else to put it)

here are some mock up shots, i still have alot of work to do on this before its ready to run but its to the point that i could show some pics.
This shot was early in the build process when i was trying to figure out how to secure the rear suspension:
Image

and here is a sloppy mock up with the body:
Image

When this is done it should have a ton of travel. Ive found through my many different suspension mods that the "hinge" style rear suspension is best for racing (not a good rock crawler) and keeps it from leaning in corners (causing it to flip easy)

anyways, let me know what you think so far.

STG
Last edited by Sporttracguy on Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
civicsr2cool
bitNinja
Posts: 521
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2005 10:01 pm
Location: Sagnasty, MI
Contact:

Post by civicsr2cool »

damn now i gotta compete with that? u make my projects soo hard.

nice job pimp! :-o cant wait to see this one
[]D [] []V[] []D
User avatar
Zenith
bitGangsta'
Posts: 455
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:15 pm
Contact:

Post by Zenith »

Holy Shit! That is one of the most awesome bits I've seen yet. Cant wait to see the finished product.
Image
User avatar
SuperFly
bitPimp
Posts: 2760
Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 6:37 pm
Location: nationwide

Post by SuperFly »

That's insane! :eek:
Image
User avatar
betty.k
bitPimp
Posts: 4090
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2003 4:52 pm
Location: la la land
Contact:

Post by betty.k »

faaaaaaaaarrrrk! :eek:

you're right about the wider hinge, better stability in cornering.

looks awesome, hope it drives awesome for ya! :cool:
i used to be cool
Image
User avatar
Finks
bitPimp
Posts: 2174
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 10:31 am
Location: Red Sox and Pats Nation BITCHES!

Post by Finks »

Oh man! :eek:

That is so damn cool. 2 questions, how will you attach the shell due to the rear suspensions movment? Also, are those tires grippy enough? I hope so because they look damn cool!
Suck My Bits
Image
:twisted:©2005 Finks fucked your girlfriend in highschool inc
yakboy
bitPlaya'
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2004 8:56 am
Location: North Yorkshire, England

Post by yakboy »

God, you guys always have to push the envelope that bit further :shock: Just when I thought I was catching up.....Nice work man
CaboWabo
Site Admin
Posts: 10259
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 4:05 pm
Location: The Adult Table
Contact:

Post by CaboWabo »

That kicks ass. Nice job dude.
Dear Life Cereal, Where do you get off? Part of a balanced breakfast and delicious? Who do you think you are? By now you may have guessed I'm speaking ironically and have nothing but good things to say about what you do. Life cereal do not change a thing.
User avatar
Sporttracguy
bitNinja
Posts: 507
Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 4:25 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington USA

Post by Sporttracguy »

Finks wrote:Oh man! :eek:

That is so damn cool. 2 questions, how will you attach the shell due to the rear suspensions movment? Also, are those tires grippy enough? I hope so because they look damn cool!
Im still working on the shell but the plan is to permanently secure it to the front portion of the chassis. It will have a rear charge plug that comes out under the pcb so i should never have to remove the shell once this sucker is finished. Thats the plan anyways, i may find a better way to do it later or find that this poses a problem but at the moment i dont see any.

As for those tires and wheels, i agree, they look awsome and really complete the truck but they dont work too well on hard kitchen floors, they are a little too hard for that. I did a test run out in the sand and on smoother concrete though and they kick ass for that. Although it would be nice to run it in the kitchen or on my table(ill make a nice off road course for inside) its really meant to be where the true baja truck were designed for(outside off road)

Thanks

STG
User avatar
steelwoolghandi
bitPimp
Posts: 1696
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:53 am
Location: RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!
Contact:

Post by steelwoolghandi »

STG that is just da" Bomb! That is some sweet work! :-o
My other hangout! R7R
My Bitpimps Gallery of Pics:
User avatar
crazydave
bitPimp
Posts: 6874
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2003 9:05 am
Location: Koolsville

Post by crazydave »

Alright, I've seen you do a bunch of really cool stuff, and not quite finish it. Finish this one, dammit! I wanna see this one done! :lol:


I wanna make one now. Is that one of them 1:87th cars that come in the little display cases? You think maybe one of them 1:87th scale RCs that ToyEast has would come in handy for parts?
...crazy man, crazy...dig it.
crazydave's Gallery
Ratfink says: "Man, it's the craziest"
Fordman212
bitHood
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:23 am

Post by Fordman212 »

Man, that's gonna be a beast when you're done. Sporttracguy, i remember you from rcmod.com. I was pretty quiet there, so you wouldnt remember me.
User avatar
hue35
bitPimp
Posts: 2244
Joined: Tue May 20, 2003 3:03 pm
Location: all up in ya fuckin' mind, yo.

Post by hue35 »

I agree with the others... that thing is insane. The work you've done on that chassis is too cool. Like crazydave said, get that thing done, dammit!

I totally understand your process, though... I like to get 'em to about 75%, then start something new.
Image
User avatar
Sporttracguy
bitNinja
Posts: 507
Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 4:25 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington USA

Post by Sporttracguy »

yeah, im currentlly working on 3 bits at the moment. I have this one, the overland bit and a mini t style bit using 5 cells, full indipenant suspension, mt motor, zzse pcb and xmod shocks, its pretty wicked but the U joints are slowing me down a bit.

Ill get them all done guys, i promise...Im thinking these three will be my contest entries so they must be done by december or so.

Crazydave, yep these are those $1.95 die cast toys you were talking about that come in the little display case,,i purchased two of them, one to chop and the other just for display (or to chop later) they have amazing detail. When i took the body off there is even serious detail under it, stuff you would never see if you didnt take the time to rip it apart.

UPDATE:
Just finished getting everything wired up and it turns out the two cells i used wont hold a good charge so its time to take it all apart and put some new cells in there. Its the little things that set ya back and drive you nuts :?

stg
Fordman212
bitHood
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:23 am

Post by Fordman212 »

Hey sporttrac, these diecast toys you speak of. Are they made by the same company that makes the rock crawler looking ones? I bought one of those intending to make it r/c, but never got around to it. And now I dont know where it is, so much for that project.
Post Reply