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GeeWings

A tale of two cities

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Since I got back into Tamiya last year I have been building a list of cars that I loved years back but missed out on. One of those is the Willys Wheeler. Of course they are hard to find and  expensive now and I would t want one that was already built. So then I refocused on the City Turbo and over the last few weeks two have come up for sale locally at a great price so I grabbed both ;) 

It’s pretty well documented that the changes made to the HCT from the Wheeler created a number of issues. No.1 for me is the aesthetic of the chassis sitting too high and slightly offset.

With that in mind my tentative plan is to build the first kit pretty much as standard; Upgrade to metal bearings, swap in a sports tuned motor and some decent shocks. From there I will play with the shell positioning.

I’ve also ordered some bits from Shapeways including replacement lights, wing mirrors and grills for the air intakes. These are still slowly making their way to me. 

With the second kit I’m going to be a bit more adventurous. I know a few people have used the MF01x chassis with the body shell so might go that route but I think it’s more likely I will end up with a 4WD Turbo thanks to @nicherotors custom chassis (using the GF01 as a base). Niche has created a super cool design that has lots of upsides. The only real downside I see is the Shapeways price. That’s not Niche’s fault of course.

So, on with build one…

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Here’s kits #1.

IMG_6228

My first observation was that the body shell is MUCH bigger than I had imagined. Here it is next to my GF01 and Jimny shell:

IMG_6246

I don’t think the pic gives an idea of just how big it is. Anyway, the next is that it’s a pretty simple looking kit, you could certainly put this together in just a few hours.

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The box also contained an error correction:

IMG_6232

I wonder if I would have noticed the error without this sheet.

This kit comes with the gearbox already assembled with the motor:

IMG_6234

 So the first stage was to disassemble:

IMG_6239

It was interesting too to see how much (or actually little) grease had been used in the factory assembly. Makes me think I’ve been using too much on my builds to date 😬

Then it was on to the few hop-ups;  

IMG_6238

 

IMG_6237

And then reassembly:

IMG_6241

 

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I had also purchased some CVDs (which I usually forget to buy until it’s build time).

IMG_6242

And then it was just a case of a few screws to get the back half complete:

IMG_6243

Then the instructions already wanted me to get electrics sorted. I’m fittingmy usual go-to of a Hobbywing 1080 and a Savox 1258 TG servo. Both probably overkill but they have been great so far so it’s now a case of stick to what you know!

So I thought I would quickly swap out connectors and it’s then that I hit the first hiccup… where has my roll of solder gone? I’ve turned my room upside down and been through every kit box. No joy. So, quickly jumped in the car to get some. But by the time I got home I remembered I had a work call I had to jump on 🥲

To he continued…

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So, today I got a little bit of time to continue…

Servo quickly put together and then sandwiched in the two chassis halves.

52205194677_660cbfb7c6_b.jpg

 

 

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The chassis is very lightweight, concerningly so! But I guess it gets strengthened once the gearbox is attached.

Next up is the front hubs. Again all straightforward until fitting. That’s when the amendment page comes in. Weirdly one of my kits had this page and one didn’t.

52206210676_f9f58f6acb_b.jpg

somebody smarter than me (just about everyone) could maybe tell me why they reversed this? Presumably so that the hub is sandwiched between screw head and arm?

Then it was shock building time.

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On all my GF01 kits I’ve replaced these standard friction shocks with either Tamiya or Yeah Racing oil filled. For this build I decided to stick with the standard and try them out. First impressions aren’t great, they feel ‘binary’ , like they are just on or off. Not sure how they will feel in action but I guess I will find out soon enough. 

Then it was time to fit them to the chassis. Again a first for me was this small plastic spacer straw that fits partially in the arm but not flush, providing clearance for the shocks:

52206289838_21bafb0087_b.jpg

Then it was a case of attaching them all. Interesting again (at least to me) that front and back have different methods. One uses the step screw straight through the shock, the other uses a metal ‘flanged tube’ within the shock eyelet.

Once that was done it was time to attach the gearbox to the chassis:

52206678925_12d3880a06_b.jpg

And that’s where I had to stop for today. 

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Had a few minutes here and there between meetings to make progress.

Next up was fitting the body posts:

ZZ HCT 21

From what I've read in the past I think I'm going to need to make adjustments. The Hot has a longer wheelbase than the Willys Wheeler and so the body doesn't sit as well and the front wheels can catch on the wheel arch. It seems some people trim the arches and others make adjustments to the body posts. But I will build as per instructions first, see what I'm up against and then play and shim later.

So, then I put the wheels together while on a work 'All hands' call:

ZZ HCT 22

Every other kit I've built is 4WD so it's weird not having hexes all round! The rears here are hex but the front wheels have the black adapters (above). 

I purchased these hexes which 'lock':

ZZ HCT 24

 

ZZ HCT 25

Then it was wheels on and sidebars added (which will need to come off again of the body mount adjustments...

ZZ HCT 28

This is a cool little chassis!

Next up is the experimenting to get the body sitting right. @moffman @Exit13 @Grumpy pants I'm sure I've read that you've all dealt with this. Any advice please?

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, GeeWings said:

Had a few minutes here and there between meetings to make progress.

Next up was fitting the body posts:

ZZ HCT 21

From what I've read in the past I think I'm going to need to make adjustments. The Hot has a longer wheelbase than the Willys Wheeler and so the body doesn't sit as well and the front wheels can catch on the wheel arch. It seems some people trim the arches and others make adjustments to the body posts. But I will build as per instructions first, see what I'm up against and then play and shim later.

So, then I put the wheels together while on a work 'All hands' call:

ZZ HCT 22

Every other kit I've built is 4WD so it's weird not having hexes all round! The rears here are hex but the front wheels have the black adapters (above). 

I purchased these hexes which 'lock':

ZZ HCT 24

 

ZZ HCT 25

Then it was wheels on and sidebars added (which will need to come off again of the body mount adjustments...

ZZ HCT 28

This is a cool little chassis!

Next up is the experimenting to get the body sitting right. @moffman @Exit13 @Grumpy pants I'm sure I've read that you've all dealt with this. Any advice please?

 

 

 

 

Yeah I did a bit of very lightly bending the body posts forward! They are very flexible anyway but I bent them forward ever so slightly then very neatly where the body rubs against the bottom of the front arches carved the said arches a absolutely tiny bit at a time with a fresh blade it was time consuming but definitely worth it:)! But I did hear at the time that equal amount of people when they were building didn't have any problems with the body rubbing on the tyres? 

IMG_20150816_132426.jpg

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Thanks @moffman I will have a play. I would also like to get the body a bit lower than standard to be closer to the WW version but assume that's going to exaggerate the front wheel issue. Would also like to tuck the back wheels in a little bit. Wonder if that's as simple as slightly smaller hexes?

@nicherotorsany thoughts given your work on the GF01 HCT? 

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I wanted to keep the body untouched so found it helpful to reduce the track of the front axle; we shaved a mm off each side be redesigning the 'black adapters'. 

Naturally two will be needed and can be found at cost here:

Wheeler - front wheel hub (VCD6AD4MC) by Nicherotors (shapeways.com)

One thing to bear in mind is; just because you can compress the front suspension and find rubbing when the steering is turned to the extremes you may find that in real life the car never fully compresses the front suspension under normal driving conditions anyway - with the HCT you are more likely to scuff the bottom lip of the front bumper on the ground.

For the custom chassis we also moved the axle further forward (~1.25 mm) relative to the body.

Smaller hexes at the back will reduce the rear track too.  It's all good fun and interesting to see the difference in the handling.

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Great stuff, thanks @nicherotors! I previously ordered a few parts for this build from Shapeways including your Wing mirrors and the AMPro grill set but will get your front wheel hubs too.

I think I'm also going to bite the bullet and order your whole GF01 chassis setup for my second HCT build. But that really needs to be the end of my spending for a while (where have I heard that before) :P

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I used Comical Grasshopper shocks on my HCT and it lowered the stance and imo looked really good.

What I didn’t do was try it out as it was just for the shelf.

It looked more racey and less like it was on stilts 😂

I’ve just checked and I haven’t got photos to share 🤦

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24 minutes ago, Grumpy pants said:

I used Comical Grasshopper shocks on my HCT and it lowered the stance and imo looked really good.

What I didn’t do was try it out as it was just for the shelf.

It looked more racey and less like it was on stilts 😂

I’ve just checked and I haven’t got photos to share 🤦

Ah, good thinking on the Comical grasshopper shocks. I hadn’t realised until I just looked that they are oil filled. Do you happen to know if they are the same dimensions as mini CVAs? 

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1 hour ago, GeeWings said:

Ah, good thinking on the Comical grasshopper shocks. I hadn’t realised until I just looked that they are oil filled. Do you happen to know if they are the same dimensions as mini CVAs? 

I’ll dig them out and measure the CGH shocks for you. 
 

I don’t know how the compare to the mini CVA’s though. 

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4 hours ago, Grumpy pants said:

Here you are - 60mm eye to eye.

image.jpg

Great, thanks @Grumpy pants. That’s the same as mini CVAs

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10 hours ago, GeeWings said:

Thanks @moffman I will have a play. I would also like to get the body a bit lower than standard to be closer to the WW version but assume that's going to exaggerate the front wheel issue. Would also like to tuck the back wheels in a little bit. Wonder if that's as simple as slightly smaller hexes?

@nicherotorsany thoughts given your work on the GF01 HCT? 

I think probably no more than if it was set at normal height because it's a gradual curve! no harm in trying?

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On 7/14/2022 at 1:52 PM, GeeWings said:

Oh, and @nicherotors does your custom chassis allow the body to sit lower? It looks like it from your pictures.

Yes, the ride height can be lowered by reducing the throw of the piston with washers (.5 mm) or one/ two of those spare little pistons/ doughnuts (2 mm) found on the damper sprue.

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42 minutes ago, nicherotors said:

Yes, the ride height can be lowered by reducing the throw of the piston with washers (.5 mm) or one/ two of those spare little pistons/ doughnuts (2 mm) found on the damper sprue.

Thanks.

I've ordered the adapters, will let you know how I go once they arrive but it will be a few weeks :( 

BTW I assume the rest of your parts such as the exhaust module are only for your chassis?

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Yes - the exhaust has been designed to mount onto the custom chassis. Let us know how you get on with the wheel adapters. 

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Today I got the electrics installed. Had to do some soldering to make everything Deans. My soldering skills are truly awful! It doesn't help that I've got no way to secure what I'm soldering while doing it!

Anyway, I've fitted a Sports Tuned motor, Hobbywing 1080 and Savox 1258TG servo. 

Had a very quick drive. This thing is going to be fun! It really darts around. I might have to do some fiddling with the ESC settings though because there's no sign of a wheelie yet :P

I then mounted the body in anticipation of needing to do lots of fiddling. But actually it seems pretty spot-on. The wheels sit almost perfectly in the middle of the arches and the front wheels don't catch. Not quite sure why! The only thing I did differently to the manual was to mount lower at the front.

52221306308_57c7f9c1cd_b.jpg

 

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It sits lower than the picture imply. Given the way I've got it sitting, along with the fact the shocks are woeful means this is going to be a runner for flat surfaces only I think!

I'm going non-box art I think but haven't quite decided on a colour scheme yet. I'm away anyway for a few days so will see if inspiration comes to me!

I've got wing mirrors, grill mesh and new wheel adapters all on their way from Shapeways. 

 

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1 hour ago, Grumpy pants said:

Coming along nicely 👏

Yes, it’s a super simple build but I love it. It’s so much bigger than I imagined it was going to be. 

I’ve been surfing for inspiration and seen a few really interesting versions. There’s a nice rally one out there with roof rack, spare wheel, spotlights etc. I’m now tempted to buy another shell so I can have more options ;) This hobby!  

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17 hours ago, GeeWings said:

 

52221306308_57c7f9c1cd_b.jpg

 

52221310173_21cdf9e7bb_b.jpg

Nice work mate, looks top notch. Will look forward to seeing this puppy finished up!:)

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Yes, thanks @Kol__it will likely sit for a bit now as finding any paint seems like a nightmare at the moment. I might start the second build and try to use the MF01x chassis that others have done. 

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The mirrors (designed by@nicherotors) and the grills (AMPro) showed up today along with some parts for another build. I will have to order more now though for my second HCT build :D

shape.jpg.0a076deda945f01ce6867cfe5181c636.jpg

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