Ford Ranger XLT Re Re/Sand Scorcher

[Busdriver 6209]

So before you all bombard whoever you bombard when there’s a new release this is my Re Re not Tamiya’s so unofficial 🤫🤫🤫   (Though if I can do it why can’t Tamiya, just call it the Blackfoot SRB or something)

. So here are nearly all the bits. We have a Re Re Sand Scorcher with the following, JK coilovers for SRB, JK aluminium chassis plate, a set of Brat wheels and tyres,  bearings( didn’t realise they were included) RZ Superstock brushed motor and ball diff, oh and I forgot a quite passable fake Ranger body!! Will be running a 2s lipo shorty. Before I really even have got started I’ve realised I will have to address the motor location issue that the Superstock motor presents. I have sorted it but will detail it in the build as I go along. I haven’t exactly worked everything out especially how I’m going to fix the body especially as I want to be able to use the SS body as well!!!

[Busdriver 6209]

Part 1: transmission and rear suspension.

I had forgotten how nice it is to bolt together an RC car rather than screw into plastic! Everything went to plan. You will see in the pictures the extra 2 holes that were drilled were the nibs inside the transmission casing that hold the motor in place. This means the plastic cover over the bell end does not need( in fact it can’t) with the super stock motor as it is now bolted in from the other side. The transmission cover needed a little tweak to get round one of those bolts. Well they say a picture is better than a thousand words so here goes!!! 












You May notice that I first assembled the gear casing with the kit solid axle, I completely forgot about the ball diff. So 7 bolts undone and assembled the ball diff and 7 bolts done back up again. Really liked the fact that the ball diff comes with a thrust bearing rather than haven to put it all together. The rear suspension has no torsion bars in so I had to cut them to get the brass suspension arm pivots off the bars. The shocks at JK budget shocks especially for the SRB. Seem to work ok so far. Also bolted up the Ally chassis just to see.

More to follow soon

[Busdriver 6209]

So with the rear end is done time to move onto the front. It’s a very straightforward construction but once again I have left the torsion springs out in favour of coil over shocks.     Had to grind away a little of the upright to ensure a smooth action.            




having fixed the front end to the chassis I need to deal with the elephant in the room and that how to fix a Ranger body on to a Sand Scorcher!!! The front post needs to be raised so that should be a case of some M4 rod and spacers. I’m not using the kit steering rather going for direct from the servo, it’s the rear that was causing me problems. I could buy a repro roll hoop and front post but at nearly £70 delivered I thought I could do better. So I’ve ordered a new roll hoop from Modelsport so that I can play with the existing one. I had two magnetic mount bases that seemed to have the right diameter so cut the hoop top of to leave me with two stubs sticking up and inwards. The mounts fitted perfectly and once angled sit flat on the bed of the truck. Still a work in process but the concept works!!! 

Finally a rough layout of how it’s going to look inside. I might use the radio box but without the front part so that I can put the servo there.

[Busdriver 6209]

Played around with the internal layout. I will be using the electrics box as you can see. Just needs a little fettleing to get the shorty to sit flat. Servo is only on double sided tape but I have some l shaped ally to make a permanent mount. I mounted the balls to the top of the arms rather than underneath and it seems to give zero bumpsteer. The mounts work really well, I still need to raise the front a bit but the m4 rod I had was too short. Have a longer bit in the shed. Then I just played around with bodies. My plan is to be able to swap bodies around with the minimum of fuss. The Ranger body will still fit on the ORV chassis as it is, the open top bugs needs some magnets but otherwise it too will fit this chassis and the Blitzer that it’s currently on. Will look better with scorcher or Blitzer wheels though. I think I’m also going to get another Blackfoot body , but not add all the Ford details land paint it box art . I have a second set of stickers so will see how we go. So some more pictures 

[Kpowell911 1899]

Might just be me but pics dont work?

[Busdriver 6209]

This is the end of part one of this build. Here are some outdoors shots 


It does run but only indoors so far. The next stage will be to do a runner shell in classic colours but with out the additional logos, cut out radiator shell etc. I have a spare set of stickers in the beige but think I need white so will have to order. Does anybody know what blue the original was? I gather there were some red ones as well?  When this is done I’m going to do the Scorcher shell but I need a new roll bar to fit it as I’ve cut the original to fit magnets. It’s on order from Modelsport along with the Blackfoot shell and ancillaries. I might eventually source a roll over bar for the Blackfoot shell but not the Blackfoot one as I don’t want the lights. May have to check out Shapeways?

 

EDIT::: apologies just realised I just basically repeated myself from previous post🫢

Edited March 11, 2023 by Busdriver

[Grumpy pants 4485]

J you are spoiling me!

Love this @Busdriver edition, great colour combo and nice hop ups! 

Hope  you are keeping well buddy 👍

 

[Busdriver 6209]

There’s more to come. I’m going to attempt a Sand Scorcher body 😬 and a box artist Ranger. I also think I’m going to change the rear fixings from magnets to some kind of Velcro. I’m concerned the slightest knock will dislodge the bodies????

[Ziddan 947]

2 hours ago, Busdriver said:

slightest knock will dislodge the bodies

Why not both? Mayhaps try clamping a brace under the magnets and between the two mounts with a raiser and putting velcro there? Velcro should resist slipping and magnets should make alignment super easy and eliminate most of motion velcro might allow.

Looking excellent!

[Busdriver 6209]

17 minutes ago, Ziddan said:

Why not both? Mayhaps try clamping a brace under the magnets and between the two mounts with a raiser and putting velcro there? Velcro should resist slipping and magnets should make alignment super easy and eliminate most of motion velcro might allow.

Looking excellent!

Not a bad idea🙏🏻

[Busdriver 6209]

On 3/12/2023 at 12:17 PM, Ziddan said:

Why not both? Mayhaps try clamping a brace under the magnets and between the two mounts with a raiser and putting velcro there? Velcro should resist slipping and magnets should make alignment super easy and eliminate most of motion velcro might allow.

Looking excellent!

Tried Velcro but with the magnetic mounts it actually made it very difficult to get the Velcro to stick well enough even though I cleaned all the surfaces with alcohol 🍺 ( rubbing) It was very high grip Velcro so instead I drilled/threaded a hole in the mount plate right in the middle and put in a 4mm threaded stud in. I cut the top of the stud to make a screwdriver slot so I could adjust it. I then put some yellow paint on the end then put the body on. Hey presto it marks where the hole needs to be on the body. Drilled a 4mm hole in the body and bobs your uncle. I’m going to drill a clip hole through the rod so I can fit a body clip.It can also have the antenna antt to it!!! Even without that it’s now pretty secure. Another little trick is I glued a magnet under the bonnet so that when you pull the body clip off it attaches itsel to the body!!! 



Took it out for a shakedown on the drive and the road. What a sweetheart ❤️ with the superstock motor, 2S shorty lipo , the ball diff and direct servo it’s nothing like any SRB I’ve ever driven. My original with a humpback nicad would do 6-10 minutes depending on how I drove. I reckon this would do 30-40 mins. Need to find some sand somewhere and fit the Scorcher rears to it, tighten up the ball diff and let it run🐓.

 

Waiting for my Blackfoot body to arrive so I can do a box art runner body. Torn between classic blue and white and Mica Red and beige? I have beige stickers so probably red. Once I’ve done that I’ll move on to the Scorcher which will be box art but maybe metallic blue. Although I’ve got a new roll bar on the way I think I’m going to work out a similar mount for the Scorcher as the current one. Good for 💭 

[ploots 185]

Looks great where did you get the blackfoot body from I'm looking to do similar also would the ball diff work on original gearbox 

[Busdriver 6209]

2 hours ago, ploots said:

Looks great where did you get the blackfoot body from I'm looking to do similar also would the ball diff work on original gearbox 

My body came from Modelsport in the UK. On this one the added Ford insignia came from Shapeways/Ampro as did the radiator grill. I filled all the holes on the rear deck and sanded it flat, then made new holes where I needed them. Modelsport have them in stock as I just received another one to do the runner body for this chassis. As far as the diff is concerned I don’t see why not. I think the gearboxes are the same at least looking at an original set of instructions they seem so?

[ploots 185]

Great thanks for the reply it's on my ever growing list of things to do

[ploots 185]

18 hours ago, Busdriver said:

My body came from Modelsport in the UK. On this one the added Ford insignia came from Shapeways/Ampro as did the radiator grill. I filled all the holes on the rear deck and sanded it flat, then made new holes where I needed them. Modelsport have them in stock as I just received another one to do the runner body for this chassis. As far as the diff is concerned I don’t see why not. I think the gearboxes are the same at least looking at an original set of instructions they seem so?

Have you got a link to the grill there's pages on shapeways, I am in the uk

[Busdriver 6209]

Can’t seem to copy a link but if you google Shapeways Blackfoot Ampro you should find all the details 

[David B 66]

8 hours ago, ploots said:

Have you got a link to the grill there's pages on shapeways, I am in the uk

https://www.shapeways.com/product/9QK2KYQBS/027001-00-f-150-ranger-grill?optionId=60455141&li=shops

I bought the stl and printed it myself, been trying to find the link, I have it somewhere.

 

[EDIT] Here's his stl shop https://www.myminifactory.com/users/Ampro_Engineering

[ploots 185]

Thanks 

[Busdriver 6209]

So part 2. This was supposed to be the runner body but I think I’ve spent more time on it that the Bronze one!! But it’s got no Ford Logos or special grill etc. I’ve revisited the body mounts and the connecting plate is now aluminium rather than steel!!  The body post has had a groove cut around it so it’s the same as the front post. Now it doesn’t need magnets though they’re still there for extra security.  Much like Tamiya’s original!! So then I moved on to body no2 and wheel set no2. The body is Ford Ocean Blue metallic with white stripes and the wheels are ts100  gunmetal. I primed the whole body in Halfords grey then laid down the white stripes ( eagle eyed members will notice that I used different width tape for the rear panel by mistake)    I also masked up the front panel  to paint the grill and light surrounds   Then got the shed nice and warm a laid down the Ocean Blue. Then I painted the lights in the front panel, orange indicators and yellow lights then put it all together with the gunmetal wheels      and obviously as it’s a race car it needs a driver. I might ad a co driver as well. I have a set of Ranger Stickers with white panels on the way and I think this body needs  a roll bar but I don’t like the Blackfoot one so will have to look around. I also think it needs a more aggressive bumper!!!. More to follow……..

[David B 66]

What about the Ampro Blackfoot rollbar?

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-tamiya-blackfoot-ford-f150-roll-bar-129145

[Busdriver 6209]

1 hour ago, David B said:

What about the Ampro Blackfoot rollbar?

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-tamiya-blackfoot-ford-f150-roll-bar-129145

Good call, I’ll have a look. I don’t have a 3 d printer so will need it to be on shapeways!!

[Busdriver 6209]

Ordered👍👍

[Busdriver 6209]

Now whilst I wait for the roll bar and a set of stickers I thought I’d start part No3. After all this all started with a Scorcher so it seems right to finish as on. Now all the way through this I have tried to make the bodies interchangeable with as little interference to the stock set up. So to fit the SS body you need to drop the front post to its original height. Approx 30 seconds and then you have raise the rear post so that it goes through the hole I drilled in the original bracket. ( if I wanted to I could also fit a full roll bar and then clip as intended.) To fix the rear post you use a body clip just like the front. It helps to use a set of long nose pliers but it can be done with fingers. 

[Busdriver 6209]

So this build is coming to a close. The plan from day one was to build a modern SRB with direct steering, coilovers, Superstock motor and Lipo capable. But as well as that it had to accommodate both a Scorcher shell and a Blackfoot (Ranger) shell. Well here are some photos to show what I achieved 
. This conversation takes about 2 minutes to achieve. I didn’t actually raise the front post for this picture so the nose is a little low. You may notice that the Scorcher has its distinctive stinger exhaust but it’s gone on the Ranger. Any body that has fitted/replaced this will know it is more than a 2 minute job and couldn’t be done in the field!!! So I had to come up with a solution and this is it.
. So I cut the top part off and rebuilt it inserting an M2 nut in the base. I then inserted an M2 bolt up through the bottom part. Then gave them a coat of Humbrol metalcote and job done. The stinger simply screws off. This could be used when running as I seem to remember it got easily damaged. I do have 2 bits to add but they are on slow boats from somewhere!!!! I will update when they arrive. Finally a couple of shots of them with their half brother the ORV.

They all have personal number plates. SS10 SRB, F150 SRB and F150 ORV

[Re-Bugged 10155]

Cracking job 👍🏻 Love the racing stripes over the Ranger & the Scorcher looking like it’s team mate is the Cherry on the cake.