I went down to the shop last night to do what I thought, was a bit of tweeking n the Clod. People had advized me to move my lower links to a different position to make it stronger. made sense. 2 hours later, I am getting SOME progress. I have to redesign the chassis, move the anti-sway bars move the shock mounts, cut down the length on the chassis.. Oh yeah, while doing this I found the tranny was binding. Opened it up and it's a mess! Starting with that there are bushings- no bearings at all! Even Tamiya puts bearings in the tranny. The guy who sold it must have taken them out :rolleyes: I lubed the bushings and that seemed to help but it still binds. I think one of the axles is bent. I have to determine whether that really matters or if it is just a tightness in the diff. If only the diff, I can live with it but :freak: . It is going to take a while to get on top of this "adjustment".

Hoping to take the bl pede over to hobby town today for their road races. Just to see how it does on pavement. I don't even know what they have for a course but supposedly they set something up. I have no need to just go do drag races against dual engine nitro buggies and T-maxxes. :eek:

Well, never made it to HobbyTown but I did get lots done on the truck!

Pretty much rebuilt the Clod chassis. Sits a couple inches lower than it did which is all good from a race point of view. Still haven't figured out exactly what is up with the tranny but I know which side of which axle needs attention so that is fixable. Thing still scoots even with all that drag! Jumps awesomely without breaking links!! Which of course was the whole point. I realized though, after the hack job that I am now commited to running ONE body unless I make up some side posts. The Jeep is nice but...

Got the BL out and that seems good! Handles really well considering I haven't done much for it recently. Sean's Pede even saw the light of day! Took a beating but now he has steel shock caps (I am running Hot Bodies so they were idle. That shouldn't happen again. Then again, He came down from about 6' straight onto the rear end so a shock cap is a cheap price! :devil: .

Time for a hot motor in the TLT and I should be almost good to go.

Later all!

Cool Chris, Glad to hear you're having fun!

I went racing with the boys Saturday, had a good time but blew my fastest motor, it threw a wind for some reason, a nice 10x1 in my xxx4 ruined. I put so much load on it when it was stuck that it melted the endbell... oops!

Ouch. that stinks. At least armatures are not all that expensive. Hope it was fun until the smoke started!:p

Eh, it happens.... That 10x1 was cool but it took ALOT of maintenance (as all low wind motors do)! I had to turn the com and put new brushes in every 5 runs because performance dropped significantly. It was a Reedy Platinum motor with quad magnets so the can is nice. I happened to have a 14x2 Reedy Ti with a loose magnet so I took the endbell & arm and dropped it in the the Platinum can, Works great! Put my Mystery wind EBX in the XXX4 & it screams now. I call it my mystery wind because I got it in a package deal & its not labelled, I can tell its a triple wind but not how many turns. All I know is that it is FAST, I never ran it much because in off road I could never make run time no matter how low I geared it & no matter how I geared it it was super fast. Now with the 3300's it's not so much of an issue, although my son dumped with it.... But he played too much prior to the start of the race.

Checkin' in..... Werd.

well we got a puppy last night. my wife finally broke me down. she is a three color shiz zu(don't know if i spelled it right??). 7 and a half weeks old, very friendly and kept me up till 5:30 this mornig. will post a pic later if anybody wants to see.

good morning all!
:)

Post a pic! I think it's Shih Tzu..... But I could be wrong, wouldn't be the 1st time!

tom you know your guess is better then mine, i find my self "SAYING" it without the the right shih sound;)

Cute! It looks like one of those little furry things from Star Wars!

Cute! It looks like one of those little furry things from Star Wars!
there called EWOKES ;) i know how to spell that!
we are still trying to figure out a name for her.

Looks more like a furby to me! Or a gremlin before the evil transformation.........

Cute little bugger.

Tom, if the dog is keeping Peter up until 5:30 in the morning then the evil transformation has already occured.

Hi Guys.

Sorry about the puppy crack Peter, I'm sure it is as cute as a botton.

I've not been a good thread contributor lately just to much work and no energy afterwards to do much of anything else. That includes all things RC, even got a few mags around I haven't read yet.

Anyway take care ya all.

Hi Guys.

Sorry about the puppy crack Peter, I'm sure it is as cute as a botton.

I've not been a good thread contributor lately just to much work and no energy afterwards to do much of anything else. That includes all things RC, even got a few mags around I haven't read yet.

Anyway take care ya all.
i thought it was funny!
the neighbor girl dosen't know who gizmo is!
dang youts(my cousin vinny youths;) )

Alexis wanted to get a puppy about 6 months ago.. i wasnt too fond of the idea of scooping up after it and tho i Love dogs, i prefer it be someone elses dog..

to cure her 'wants' to have a puppy i asked my sister if we could puppy sit for the weekend.

IN came an 8 week old yellow lab.. OUT went her 'wants' for a Dog :D


ps.. is anyone else not getting the "new message has been posted" emails?

the no email with new posts hits me a few times a week.

we were both feeling a little bad we both had dogs growing up, but or kids hadn't had the oppertunity.

it's going pretty good. she has welted today from the heat! ;(

peter
:)

I'm not subscribed to the thread so I don't get the E-mails, Check & make sure you're still subscribed.

We have two cats. Those are pets that can be left with occasional care for overnights away from home and the like. Dogs? I had a wonderful beagle when I was growing up. Had to be home all the time or finding kennels... I love dogs but...

Q- Thanks for hosting the photos for me!

Here is a shot of my "race clod" in it's current low rider set-up.
http://www.stipart.com/rc_pics/Chris/newsideview.jpg

I had to hack the chassis up to move links and stuff. Now I can only run my Jeep body unless I come up with some fancy side mounts. oops.

very cool.
how much bigger is that clod chassis versus the tlt chasis?
know you need to post(or q does) a pic with batts and everything.

not like we go anywhere to begain with;)
it will give me someone to hang ith when the kids start school.
peter;)

Well, Q is indespensible for posting on many sites but here, I can put up my own photos. Just need them small and then YOU need to click on them. way too much trouble most of the time. But, because you asked so nicely.

oops!

After I posted the shots I realized that the body was on backwards on the TLT both times! That is the trouble with these two ended 4WS sorts of contraptions! :freak:

That second shot really gives you an idea of how slammed that Clod is! It has jsut over 2" of ground clearance. But it doesn't bottom when it lands!

very cool.
i get a little backwards when i go to install the tires back on the tlt. i have to check twice i'm doing it right:)
and thanks for the extra pics.
are you ready for the monster jam race?

peter

I am getting closer to being ready! The Clod is well on it's way although I still have more work to do, both on one of the axles (might just steal Jesse's ;) ) And I don't have anti-sways on it yet. The thing is so low to the ground I might not need them that much but I want them for cornering. Also have to glue up my sexy new tires and rims. Might even do a new lid if I get inspired/

I went out to Radio Shack last night and picked up a little fan to put over the 5800 ESC in the Pede. I am running the batts under the chassis for this event so I have dropped the ESC into the battery tray and attached the fan blowing down onto the fins. It is raining cats and dogs around here so I don't think I will get a chance to try it out just yet. I have it geared pretty low but it still gets way hotter than I think electronics should be. This fan doesn't blow much air but I think it should be enough. I hope it will be enough!

I have no idea what I want to do for the TLT. Probably something other than the Stinker. Just not sure what. Jay Jordan is trying to rebuild some of my motors (some were in "rough shape"). Among those was a Chameleon which might work well, and a 15 turn P-94. that might be a bit too hot but I wont know until I try it. Then there is the Jet... Hey, it has an 8t ESc, why not?

Hey all!

Nothing R/C to relate really just wanted to share that we, in the Boston area, are about to go into the most bizarre lock down of all times. also known as the DNC! I am so glad that even though I live very near Boston, I commute in the opposite direction. I also ride my bike whenever possible, further easing the upcoming insanity. They will be closing the main highways into the city in the afternoons this whole week. Any poor fool that tries to come in will be shunted off into my town! There are no obvious ways to get from Medford into Boston. I am tempted to ride down to the Square and just watch the insanity. :devil:

As always, at least these last couple months, I've got nothing to share that is RC related either. Just wanted to check in and say Hi. Hi:wave:

At least I will be seeing my family in a couple of days. They have been staying at our other house starting on the first of this month. I'm going up to do some work on the place, nice way to spend my vacation. After a long week we will all drive back together and get back to our normal lives.

Looks like the Harris Family visit will be my real vacation this year. Looking forward to that.

Take care everyone.

PS That would be something to see Chris. Try that in LA and people would die.

You mean because of riots, complaining about a loss of civil liberties: meaning the use of their car?

Around here it seems that most eople have taken vacation! There was an absolue traffic nightmare last Thursday afternoon as tons of people left town. :lol: Apparently by sundown the roads were empty.

We shall see how it goes. :rolleyes:

Bill, I hope we can make your vacation a good one!

Well I can't say as I blame the people for leaving, why not go somewhere else and enjoy yourself instead of subjecting yourself to all the traffic problems and security issues. God forbid you actually had to work in a building next to the convention center! That would be CRAZY! We heard a news report that some of the businesses in the area are actually going to close up for the week?

As this has evolved from a Democratic showcase to a disaster in the making :) people's expectations have changed so much. Initially people from as much as 20-30 miles out were planning on cashing in by renting their hosues to delegates for outrageous sums of money. Then, it turned out that all the roads were going to be closed and the mass transit was going to shut down and suddenly nobody WANTS to rent a house that far out. All the restaurants were thrilled with the expected influx of people. Then it turned out that the delegates will be fed at private parties. All those dollar signs went away. I think they were saying that "Boston" would be making around $50 million on the event. Now they are saying it will cost us that much in terms of actual expense and lost business. *sigh*

That's just what I ment. Everyone is "OK" with the idea until it starts. I hope it works out for the best though.

hopefully it won't turn into a WTO riot. like we had here a few years ago. people from out of area coming to your community and ripping it up is no fun:( depleeting(one of theese days i will get this spelling thing down) resorses.....

hope things go well, and as always safe.

peter

I honestly don't see that happening. I mean, what is it they are doing that would outrage the world the way the WTO had? And there are more people truely pissed off at the current administration than there currently are with the Dems.

It is sad to see the state of paranoia we have worked ourselves into. I rode through Lexington at the end of a bike ride yesterday. "the birthplace of the American revolution" and all that. They were having one of many reenactments specifically for the DNC folk. The security was insane! I was talking with this older woman who was all worried that the motorcycle cops could be frauds and they could have whatever in their bike packs! I just shook my head and told her to look at everybody else! People had coolers and backpacks and whatever. She was all worried about "what if". I figure that you take precautions and you hope that nobody wants to go out in a blaze of glory (or whatever). Heck, I wear a seatbelt and on a bike, I wear a helmet. If I really wanted to avoid an accident, I just wouldn't go outside! And then you would get a paper cut or a splinter and bleed to death! :p

There was a news report last week about a guy, driving his car with his teenage son in the passenger seat. A manhole cover blew up as they approached and it flew through the window doing serious damage to the kid. Very sad but totally inavoidable. You going to start worrying about redesigning manhole covers? Not on my dime I hope.

I'll be quiet now.

Heck, I wear a seatbelt and on a bike,
HOW DO U WEAR a SEATBELT ON A BIKE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

-Tone

Yes! Some people call it a jock strap though. ;) Actually , I meant that in a car, I wear a belt, on a bike, I wear a helmet... some times my brain moves in different lanes than my fingers do. We try to connect every once in a while. Mostly on Wednesdays.

Yes! Some people call it a jock strap though. ;) Actually , I meant that in a car, I wear a belt, on a bike, I wear a helmet... some times my brain moves in different lanes than my fingers do. We try to connect every once in a while. Mostly on Wednesdays.rofl.... thats funny!

-Tone

:lol: It's only Tuesday, I hope they meet up soon....

Morning everybody! :wave: Rainy and dreary here today.

well Tom, looks like I'm gonna get YOUR rain tonight, and have RAIN till THursday!! i live on a flippin side of a MOUNTAIN and i am in a FLOOD WATCH!! last wek, they closed the major highway to get to my place, and the town that is the back way was also closed (the main street that is)... i dont think i can TAKE this RAIN stuff any longer.... our offroad track on FRIDAY and Saturday was a SWIMMING pool!! apparently it dried up pretty good on sunday, so they wwere able to race, but i didnt go, i didnt want mud-caked toys! Let me know how bad the rain is, please, so that i can prepare fopr the worst!!

I hope everyone is havin a great day so far! Oh yah, Chris, its only 1 more day b4 your mind and your fingers meet... happy happy joy joy!!

-Tone

It's just rain here, no biggie. Who knows what it will be like by the time it gets to NJ

Well, the DNC has come and almost gone with nary a problem! How boring. I was so looking forward to some chaos but everybody left town. No traffic issues anywhere. No protests. Also, no people eating at the restaurants or buying stuff at the stores which stinks for them. I think this is going to end up costing this area about $60 million! Ouch. Glad that's not my business.

I feel bad for all the folk that went on vacation to get away from here too. The weather stinks. Not nasty bad, jsut cold and gray with rain here and there. Enough that I would be VERY unhappy if I were camping, or worse, at the beach! Might as well be working.

Spent some more time on the Clod last night. I decided to steal Jesse's front tranny/axle! That actually takes quite a bit of work as he has a completely differnt set-up so I had to remove pretty much everything: bumper, servo mount, shock mount, suspension links, etc. Got it almost done I guess. I found that not only is my drive unit all bunged up but it is cracked as well! It would NOT have lasted! Jesse also has some cool strengthening stuff on his axles which I will take advantage of. I think he got a great deal on his truck. This stuff alone sells for over $50 and it was just part of the deal.

Some of you may remember my late 50's pick-up shell I had on my Pede for a while (the one with the lights). I have decided to run that for the race. This Clod is really low slung and that body sits low. It looks cool! There may be a bit of interference but the jumps are not big so it should be OK. I will post pix of the whole package once I get the body mounts tweaked.

If/when it dries up, I really have to get the Pede out and make sure that it is running right. I think it is good to go but... Hopefully I will be getting my motors back so if there is any issue with the 5800 I have a fall back for MJ5. The Pede already has a new F-150 lid! :D Pix for sure. later all- I have typed way too much!

Things should be returning to normal this weekend in Boston, Wonder what the actual total dollars lost will be? News says about 8 million lost.

So it's been a day, where's the Pics??:p

I haven't painted the other lid yet. Gee, give a guy a break! I did spend some more time last night on the truck but I need some more bits to properly mount the Chevy lid on the Clod. Should be able to find some scrap here at work.

I am blown away at how much freer Jesse's tranny runs than mine did! Plus, I found (don't laugh too loud please), that while threadlocking the bolts that hold on the steering blocks, I had almost completely seized up one of my bearings! I guess I dripped too much on! It was nasty! You put the free running tranny and wheel bearings onto what was already a fast truck? Oh, and I made up an 8 cell pack the other night... I can't wait to see what this puppy will do! I am stumped on how to secure sway bars though and this truck is going to need them!:cool:

It's gunna suck when I get back from CA and have to rebuild Jess's truck for him. I have parted it out pretty badly.:p

the fear factor uses zip ties to hold down it's oem sway bars.
other then that i have never really looked at the sway bars on a monster....:(

ohh well.
peter
:)

the first set of sways I had on there were done just that way but they were supported by the chassis. I can't do that with the latest changes. I tried just strapping them down but the zips just weren't strong enough or tight enough to do anything.

I have a design in mind which will basically bolt each end of the sway to a link and the rest will float. should work but I need to find the scrap aluminum to do it. Should be very cool if it works.

Well, I never got the chance to make my parts at work- or even find the scrap! But, I did get it all together tonight without the swaybars. frankly I am not sure I even need them! The CG is so low on this puppy there is no wheel lifting going on. I swear, it seems like the body leans IN! All the weight is so low I could imagine that. And probably did! :rolleyes:

This sucker is FAST too. 8 cells with dual P-94 14 turns. I can't wait to see how it compares with other trucks in it's class!

got the body posts on as well but the sun had gone down so you all will have to wait for a nice photo until tomorrow when you get up! It looks awesome with the chevy lid! Getting excited here!

OK, I have a couple shots of the trucks for you. I need to PS some others so they will fit on this forum. These two are of the Cldo and the Pede as they will see action next weekend. You have already seen the TLT so I wont waste electrons on that one.

Kewl!

Thanx!

Had them both out for a romp today. Mixed results. The Clod is great but there is something funky with it's shocks so the rear end gets tossed way the hell up in the air on bumps. I THINK I may have fixed it. then the Pede has this totally annoying habit of rolling over if you THINK of turning! I spent a bunch of time taking toe-in out and increasing camber. Still rolly but much less so.

I have this fan on the Pede's 5800 ESc and now it runs totally cool. I will melt the motor and the batts before I tax the ESC. That means I han increase the gearing to get the top end back! I don't get the wheelies that so many people talk about but it does get out of it's own way! Without seeing the course at MJ5 I don't know whether speed or acceleration is the way to go. At least now I have a choice.

Traction Rolls while turning? Stiffen the suspension, Either by oil or spring. I's go up a couple weights on the oil. Maybe a 40 wt all around and see if that does the trick. Depends on the track surface though, this coild be carpet?

Yeah, it is going to be carpet. I have been told by Devestator2000 (Mike) to ditch the M2K tires for this event. I have found some stock tires and some regular Mashers that I can try.

I will try heavier oil though. I am just running out of time to play with this stuff. I am busy the next two nights and packing Thursday for an EARLY get-out-of-town. And then there is the work thing... *sigh*

I was gonna say, the M2K's wouldn't be the best choice for carpet or pavement, too soft and grippy. I ran road course with my 'pede last year after my 1st line truck broke, it had the stock tires on it with fresh 40wt all around, I was actually able to drift it thru the corners. It wasn't the fast way around the track against XXXT's that were slammed and cornering tight, but it was a blast & had people watching as I came into a hairpin almost sideways! Wheee! It was too much fun. I think I took 4th that day.

Try the different tires before you do the shock thing, the tires alone may solve your problem.