emory70

now that's what i'm talking about. that split window baja is sweet, and the street one is pretty nice also. if i get the abs i can chop it into a volksrod. hmm...

why are you running two super roosters? one can handle those two 15 turns.

the monster beetle was my first real rc car, and i loved it. now, (many) years later, i see the sand scorcher re re and i wanna do another beetle rc. i'm too cheap for the ss, so i wanna do something different. i'm considering a hornet, frog, or some other 2wd buggy with a beetle body. i really like the parma bug body, but nobody seems to be selling it. does anyone know of anyone selling that body? i know i can get it direct from parma, but i'd like to save some money. yes, i know of the pro line bodies, but i don't like them.

although a lower profile than the stock tires, the pro line dirt hawgs are the best all terrain tire for a 2.2 truck. that said, i am also a huge fan of imex tires. the next 2.2 build i do will have g-hawgs.

how much steering throw do you have on the rear? if you are using a 2 channel radio, you may wanna choke up on the rear linkage and only use a small amount of travel. chevy made a 4 wheel steer iroc camaro back in the 80s, and the rear wheels only turned a max of 3 degrees.

i just wish it was a bit longer for doing the clod wheels. but i have never worked on my metric rc cars without one.

it looks like a very unique approach to a clod, and after all these years, that's something special. i'm curious how well it works.

i've done the velcro body mount thing too. the truck is on hold right now, so i have time to figure out what i wanna do with it. i need to get a proper setup for truck building/maintenance. the lopsided round kitchen table just isn't cutting it anymore. i also have a few ideas for my clod(s), and it/they are probably gonna take top priority now.

gives a good scale look too.

so what i thought was my last order showed up the other day. i was very happy until i realized that i can't read a ruler. i got rear shocks that are just plain r-o-n-g. grr!!! anyway... i have other things to work on like the steering and body mounts, which brings me to the point of my rant... has anyone looked at doing more conventional long vertical body mounts for the lunchbox? i'm going to stare at my truck over the coming week to find a solution. i know a lot of folks are using aluminum mounts, but i know those have no give and will destroy a lexan body (esp used to warn against using aluminum mounts on serious runners and racers for that reason). long bolink style 1/4x20 nylon hardware seems to be a much better choice for those of us willing to depart from tamiya's engineering. the longer mounts flex more without breaking or damaging the body. tests to follow, hopefully with some killer cell phone pics.

man, that mad bull story just killed me. makes me wanna get one... sorta. we will just have to see how my brushless lunchbox does if/when i finish it.

don't know about these trucks, but a softly sprung clod is the king of body lean. sway bars are the only way to stop it as far as i know, outside of stiffening up the shocks. unfortunately, it takes a toll on articulation.

bearings, tires, wheels, shocks and springs, lexan body, novak brushless, radio, batteries, charger, servo, pinion, crp steering kit, paint... just the usual stuff. i've had to kinda start over, as my original stash of rc junk had been decimated.

lunchbox and pumpkin are the same thing, so it's really a choice of what body you like better. i think the pumpkin is only available in the metallic finish right now, so that may be something to consider. i personally find the hard bodies to be garbage for a runner. lexan is the way to go. the pumpkin has more conventional body mounts, so it breaks them less often than the lunchbox does. i got my start in hobby rc with a monster beetle back when they were new (don't make me count the years). after all this time, i still believe that monster trucks are the best to learn with, and just the most fun overall. i'm building a brushless lunchbox now, and have about $550 in it now. so yeah, they are upgradeable, if not in the conventional sense. i would also suggest the clod as another candidate. the buy in is more, but it's (in my opinion) the most fun you can have with an rc.

the clod is like a B52. newer trucks will come along, and they will go. the clod is forever. back in 99, i remember the clod vs usa1 debates. now it's clod vs emaxx or whatever else is "cool."

ok, so i placed my "final" order for my lunchbox project. $525 so far. oh, wait, i forgot the crp front end from ebay... gr... ok, $550 total. am i just a total tool, or is this normal?

hate super clod stickers. looks like a retarded wolverine.

a clod may not be much when it's stock, but that's not the point. it what you can make them into that makes the clod so special. a clod is a canvas, for your imagination, engineering, and checkbook to make into the monster, crawler, or racer of your dreams. i posted a while back on a thread about putting clod tires on a monster beetle. just the other day, while working on my lunchbox, i saw one of my "new" clod's pro line giant tracs sitting next to the pro line dirt paws my lunchbox is now wearing. wow! i never compared them side by side.

i'd have to nominate the clod. just it, the bullhead and super clod... but a virtually unchanged chassis still in production since 87? that's success

probably not. my buddy says it is very expensive, and this is a guy that's building a $150,000 camaro

if you are gonna run the tires til they die, then super glue is fine. when you wanna change the tire, cut it off, leaving only the sidewall. then soak the whole thing in acetone. it will break down the super glue without hurting the wheel. i did this with my rc18t when the pin spikes wore down to slicks. don't know if the acetone will hurt chrome rims, so if that's what you have, be careful.

thanks. i hope to have some progress soon. my body came in the other day, so i'm gonna try and paint and trim it for a poser shot

i have a project in mind that may or may not be close to what you want to do. back in 90-91, rcca had a buildup of a hotshot with a parma 57 chevy sedan body. i always loved that car, and have wanted to to my own version ever since. also, back in the 80s, there was a guy that used to desert race a 55 chevy and always won his class. i'd kinda like to do my own take on that. so now, i'm thinking of building a frog (or maybe a 4wd chassis of some sort) as a vintage desert racer with a mcallister 57 ford bomber body, done in vintage style. rc4wd makes some 1.55 tires that are dead ringers for bfg all terrain ta tires, and at 3" would be perfect for such a car. they also make adapters for 2wd trucks to run 4x4 rims up front, and they also have some sweet 1.55 rims. doing the same thing with a truck body would be no more difficult.

to me what makes tamiya great is the brutal reliability and simplicity of the best models. clods, the frog and it's children, the hornet and lunchbox family... (add your own favorites of course). tamiya jumped the shark when they went to compete with the real racing companies. the avante? gimme a break. it was phenomenally more expensive than the cars it was supposed to compete with. what would i do? i'd revamp most everything retro and entry level vehicles only everything gets bearings everything gets oil shocks everything gets real electronics or no electronics no rtr vehicles, kits only no more parts trees for replacement parts. individual parts availability no weird one model vehicles more clod based models

i don't know about compatibilty with steel and stainless steel, but there is a glue available for metal that is stronger than welding. it was developed for NASCAR, and it is so strong that when panels properly bonded, the metal will break before the glue does. my buddy uses it in the real cars he builds, cause it eliminates the chance of warping from welding. needless to say, it is VERY expensive. ok, so i'm not a lot of help, but i have a vast wealth of useless knowledge