Guess big greg's suspicions were confirmed. Keep up the good work though!

.dk

Yea I thought with the lexan braces it would be stiff enough but apparently not. That's ok though I rather have it beefier than it needs to be then to be weak. Thanks

i think im gona have to turn my revo into a buggy now. yours looks really good

I FINALLY got this buggy back into my hands. I have already started to tear it down partially so that I make the needed changes. Next week I have off from school and will be working on this. Soo this will be running in the next couple weeks. I'll post updates once progress is made.

keep us posted

My buddy that was going to test the buggy recommend that I throw out the 2 piece upper chassis's and replace them with a single upper chassis. This is because their was way to much flex front to back and he was afraid the buggy the chassis would bend if it nose dived. So..

For the last about week or so I have slowly been making a single piece upper chassis for the buggy. Next to the main chassis this part is the largest and the most difficult to make. That's why it has taken so long. The hardest part is figuring out where the shocks need to be mounted and getting the holes aligned correctly. The process I used to make this part is I drew it out on a piece of graph paper and also drew where all the holes need to be. I then made a copy of the drawing and taped it to a piece of aluminum using packaging tape so I could see where I needed to cut. I then used a hand held jigsaw to make all the cuts. After filing and drilling the piece and re drilling holes I have finished the piece.

Now after bolting down the piece the buggy is very still and I don't even think I need to make chassis braces for it.. though I'm not positive about that yet because of how thin the main chassis is.

Mind you I still have to finish filing the edges and I also will be covering it with the same flat black vinyl that I covered the last upper chassis's with and the main chassis. In these pictures you can also see the Feigao 8xl motor with rc-monster heatsink I purchased for the buggy and my new bluebird servo.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2165.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2166.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2163.jpg

Next I will be working on reworking the battery compartment and taping my saddle pack batteries together.

Today I didn't have any homework so I was able to make further progress on the buggy. I redesigned the battery tray and decided to keep it simple. I just used some 1/4" lexan to make a "craddle"/Tray then used some tekno velcro straps I had laying around. This holds the battery in very securly and I am able to hold the buggy upside down by the battery haha
I also taped and vinyled the batteries together and I also go the upper deck covered with the vinyl too.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2179.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2183.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2171.jpg

The last custom work I have to do is make a new wing mount. After that its just little stuff like filling the diffs and shocks, mounting the esc and receiver, doing some soldering, and setting up the buggy.

The buggy will be shipped out to location X next week after testing.

Nice. I'm definitely going to copy that battery tray idea!!

I love it man! It looks totally factory.

Thanks guys

Wednesday I filled the shocks with oil and the diffs with fluid. Yesterday I spent alot of time installing the electronics. I tried to wires the best I could. To make room for the hobbyking 100a esc I decided to stand the servo up. So I had to make lexan servo mounts and then extend the servo saver arm upwards to make for a better angle.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2195.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2197.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2198.jpg

Today I glued up the tires which went horribly because the Losi Step Pin tires didn't fit the Jconcepts wheels very good. I believe the losi's use a different bead type then the wheels but I did my best.. Afterwards I charged up the battery and took it out for a test run even though I had a couple things to finish up on like the wing mount and drilling out the shock mount screws ( the ones that go thru the shocks) The test runs went surprisingly well! Everything in the transmission held up. I definatly need put the front sway bars back on because it easily traction rolled but this is also because it was on the street. I broke the shock mounts because the screws to hold the shocks on weren't in all the way and I couldn't drive it with the body on becuase I have to save the body for when its sent to location X. Thus when the buggy traction flipped it slid on the rockers and shock screws. The buggy is fast at full throttle. Everything worked great. The real test will come in the next couple of days when I take it to the track.. I will be trying to get a video of it but it probably won't be a great video because I will have to use a digital camera.

Video soon though =)

I love the buggy, i really hope it performs good after all the work you've done to it:yipi:

Thomas G

thanks man


Well.. more bad luck has come with this buggy.

Location X was R/C car magazine...
About a month ago an editor emailed saying he was interested in featuring it in the magazine.. that's why I got it all fixed up and bought electronics for it so I could make it drivable for the magazine. He also asked me to write the article because he wanted in my own words. Soo ofcourse I was excited and everything was going great.. I sent the buggy and sent my article which he really liked...
This wednesday I was informed that the publisher of R/C car magazine had discontinued R/C car and the editors last day was the day after I sent the buggy. So basically....my car won't be in the magazine.. and my article won't be printed. The buggy is on its way back to me.

In the mean time.. I sent a few emails to the other magazines to see if they are interested.

This buggy has brought me a lot of bad luck.. first the guy who was going to test and race it for me couldn't and it took him for ever to send it back.. then I get an awesome offer from a magazine and then the magazine goes out of business..

Once I get the buggy back I will be testing it on the track and get some videos of it.. after that.. I think I'm going to disassemble it.. sell the parts I don't need and turn it into another project that I will actually need.

In the mean time here is some pictures of the finished buggy with out the body on.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2216.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...8/IMG_2211.jpg

Ethan.

It looks great finished, why disassemble it? If it performs well I hope you change your mind:yes:

Thomas Garvik

Where I'm at.. their isn't a big 1/8th e buggy class and I don't have the money to race it anyway.. and since it was built to be a race buggy I'm not going to bash it.

I was thinking of selling it but now I'm either thinking of trying to find someone to race it for me.. or dissemble it and convert it into a custom 1/10th e revo.. (single battery, motor) like a 4x4 stampede.. but better.

I got the buggy back a couple days ago. Decided to start making you guys some videos of it.. the first video is just me running it around the street and the yard. Once I can get to the track I will do a track test video. Sorry its a bit shaky.
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmIos15p24Q

Sony stopped the vid, could you upload again without music perhaps. Thanks anyways.

TG

I haven't had any problems playing the video.. even when I'm signed out of youtube..?

It blocked "in your(my) country", it says:whip: Please:yes:

Thomas from norway, yeah

Haha Thomas from Norway!
Ethan from America

here you go.. just for thomas.
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/...Evo8movie1.mp4

THANKS!:yipi::party:

It looks like it handles well.


Thomas G

Shame to see such a great project go waste side. I would say keep it as is and use what you have learned to make that single pack 1/10 revo. This was and always will be the coolest buggy conversion on a Traxxas platform. So what if it doesn't get raced or placed in a magazine.

The thing is.. as a poor student I rather not keep the buggy laying around when it uses alot of the parts I would need for the 1/10th e-revo.
Thanks for the awesome compliment!

Today it was a nice sunny day in Colorado which is rare for end of November so I decided to take advantage of it.. and got out to the track. For its first time on the track and with my bad driving skills ( I just build the cars I don't race them.. yet) The track was very dusty and loose so it was sort of hard to get traction but I think the buggy did just fine.. I think that with a good driver, and some testing and tuning this could possibly be a winner. I was surprised by the durability and you can see in the video I wasn't easy on it.. at the end of the day i broke the lexan wing mount I made and a turnbuckle end but that's all.
Overall pretty impressed!
TRACK VIDEO!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHaU_nz0I8U

Thanks for the vid:yipi:

TG

This thing is finally getting into Rcdriver magazine! Look for it in the July issue of Rcdriver.. words and photos by me :D