Off-road pan cars? Yep, it's a thing

[markbt73 5849]

So, as shown in the "postman brought me" thread, I am now the steward of Saito2's BoLINK Digger 10 project. This is right up my alley, as I love BoLINK, I love pan cars, and I have recently started to completely shun any "modern" designs. Well, they don't get much less modern than this:

Got that body in the mail today. It's an old Funco 2-seat buggy body, from the original BoLINK mold, sold by Sabula Tech. Fits like it was made for it, because, well, it was. No one makes a repop of the Lexan radio tray that's supposed to go on the chassis, but that's all right; it's not hard to figure out a substitute.

Now, I'd love to run this just as it is, but the old original tires are so dry-rotted that they'd probably crumble at the first use. And I'll never find direct replacements. But I did find some new-old-stock rear wheels, and some RC10 Classic tires, which together do a pretty convincing job of emulating the rear wheels and tires. The fronts are tougher; I think 1.7" semi-truck tires will probably fit, but I'll need to find another set of wheels for the front as well. In the meantime, I have some old Pro-Line wheels and tires for the Grasshopper/Hornet/Frog that will work.

But really, I don't want to run this one at all... yet. I want to copy it. But not quite a direct copy; eventually I'd like to create digital files of all the parts so I can 3D print and route out everything and have a cloned Digger 10. But for now, I have a better, easier idea:

This is an old Hyperdrive H10SC pan car that I got in a parts lot probably ten years ago now. It has a really neat 3-shock pivot setup for the rear pod, that actually allows quite a bit of suspension movement, way more than the old BoLINK design. The front is just the old Associated RC10L setup from before the Dynamic Strut days. The wheelbase matches the Digger 10 perfectly, and the width is close; about 1/4" narrower in the rear and 1/2" narrower in the front.

Looking at the two side-by-side, I think I can design a new chassis plate for the H10, to be able to use the rear pod as-is, and create a center-pivoting front plate similar to the BoLINK design, and hang the 10L suspension from the underside of it, to create the ground clearance. I'll also design it so the front is widened out a bit, to more closely match the Digger.

I knew I should have ordered two of these bodies. Oh well, it's just a little more shipping, I guess. Don't consider this a "build thread," because I'm lousy at keeping those up, but watch this space. This could get weird.

 

[bRIBEGuy 3378]

Very cool.  I used to have a Bolink dragster that was pretty sweet, and actually held it's own pretty well considering how primitive it was.

It will be fun to see how these progress.

[JimBear 1019]

Right up my alley, @markbt73! Will keep an eye on this.

Hmm ... is this supposed to be driect drive?

 

[BuggyDad 5903]

2 hours ago, markbt73 said:

... but watch this space. This could get weird.

If ever a few words are going to get a follow out of me, it's these ones! 

[markbt73 5849]

13 hours ago, JimBear said:

Right up my alley, @markbt73! Will keep an eye on this.

Hmm ... is this supposed to be driect drive?

 

Yes, direct drive, solid axle with a ball diff, just like an on-road car.

[Mouc-RC 650]

Nice

A few days ago, I had this one for sale... It was quite a thing in France during the Eighties. Many modelers started with those.

[JimBear 1019]

Yah, @Mouc-RC - I was sorely tempted on that one. But "luckily" someone else was more decisive.

I saw another one of these (with an unpainted shell) in @silvertriples photos in the What have you done today? thread. Are they common?

[BuggyDad 5903]

3 hours ago, Mouc-RC said:

 

Is that some front suspension by way of the chassis deck being split right back to where the motor is? Kind of ingenious, kind of bonkers! 

[silvertriple 4083]

2 hours ago, JimBear said:

Yah, @Mouc-RC - I was sorely tempted on that one. But "luckily" someone else was more decisive.

I saw another one of these (with an unpainted shell) in @silvertriples photos in the What have you done today? thread. Are they common?

MRC Bullit (MRC, the french company, not to be confused with the other MRC) was quite common in France. Probably the cheapest 1/8 RC GP offroad car at that time, designed by Jean-Michel Claudel before he left MRC to start his own company and design of the JMC Twist. The car was designed to be cheap, and there was quite a few ideas to reduce the cost. The way the chassis is designed is purposely done to give a front suspension with independant wheels at the front....

And yes, they are still quite common here... I would not say easy to find, as it's the first car of many out there, and it results in the fact it is quite sought after. But rare, certainly not.

[Mouc-RC 650]

2 hours ago, JimBear said:

Yah, @Mouc-RC - I was sorely tempted on that one. But "luckily" someone else was more decisive.

I saw another one of these (with an unpainted shell) in @silvertriples photos in the What have you done today? thread. Are they common?

Would have been glad to ship it to you, Dear Gentleman

Tons of these were sold in France, Silvertriple is a compatriot by the way. I guess there's still a lot in attics, but they hardly pop-up in good shape. "Leboncoin.fr" is your best chance to find one, write "MRC Bullit" in the search field. If you need any help, just let me know, we'll proceed "as usual"!

59 minutes ago, BuggyDad said:

Is that some front suspension by way of the chassis deck being split right back to where the motor is? Kind of ingenious, kind of bonkers! 

Ingenious on the paper, works poorly in real life, but yes, the long arms going forward are supposed to have the ability to bend a bit and absorb the bumps... Rear suspension is a bit better, trailing arms pivot around the transmission pulleys axis, and the spring+damping effect is theoretically done by "Paulstra" silent-blocks. At least there's articulation...

But it was quite cheap for the time, and the car runs well and was reliable when the plastics were OK.

Please let me insert a playlist where you can see my former car running, both electricity & gas powered.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSJ33xcFh72xN_O5bNWY9Nr1E1fJFQpc4

And thanks for starting the thread, I love vintage things like this

Edited September 13 by Mouc-RC
Typos

[markbt73 5849]

Had the morning to myself, so I made quite a bit of progress on this. I dug through my parts stash and found a Bolink Eliminator "wide" front axle plate, so I decided to just use that. I also found a longer rear axle, so I was able to use spacers to make the rear as wide as the front. And since delivery of my 3018 CNC machine is delayed due to weather (thanks, Francine), I decided to see what I could do with a scroll saw and a drill press.

The chassis plate is just .060 FR4 sheet, so it's a bit flexible. I will brace it somehow, either by doubling it up or adding rods to brace it. It has a lot more front suspension travel than I thought it might; the plate pivots upward and has a spring on the center post, and there are still springs on the kingpins, and of course the plate flexes some.

With the wheels and tires on, it has plenty of ground clearance, and i will get it its own Funco body, maybe the single-seater style for this one:

Next step: make a steering linkage, throw some electronics in it, glue up the rear tires, and take it for a test drive...

[BuggyDad 5903]

14 hours ago, Mouc-RC said:

Would have been glad to ship it to you, Dear Gentleman

Tons of these were sold in France, Silvertriple is a compatriot by the way. I guess there's still a lot in attics, but they hardly pop-up in good shape. "Leboncoin.fr" is your best chance to find one, write "MRC Bullit" in the search field. If you need any help, just let me know, we'll proceed "as usual"!

Ingenious on the paper, works poorly in real life, but yes, the long arms going forward are supposed to have the ability to bend a bit and absorb the bumps... Rear suspension is a bit better, trailing arms pivot around the transmission pulleys axis, and the spring+damping effect is theoretically done by "Paulstra" silent-blocks. At least there's articulation...

But it was quite cheap for the time, and the car runs well and was reliable when the plastics were OK.

Please let me insert a playlist where you can see my former car running, both electricity & gas powered.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSJ33xcFh72xN_O5bNWY9Nr1E1fJFQpc4

And thanks for starting the thread, I love vintage things like this

Not going to perform amazingly, but ingenious all the same. Ditto at the back with its extreme anti-squat, but they found a reliable form of independent suspension without universals or shocks - did they have to be avoided for unavailability or cost I guess?

Anyhoo, I think these cars

13 hours ago, markbt73 said:

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Mouc-RC said:

 

 

are both simply epic. 

[JimBear 1019]

18 hours ago, Mouc-RC said:

Tons of these were sold in France, Silvertriple is a compatriot by the way. I guess there's still a lot in attics, but they hardly pop-up in good shape. "Leboncoin.fr" is your best chance to find one, write "MRC Bullit" in the search field. If you need any help, just let me know, we'll proceed "as usual"!

Ingenious on the paper, works poorly in real life, but yes, the long arms going forward are supposed to have the ability to bend a bit and absorb the bumps... Rear suspension is a bit better, trailing arms pivot around the transmission pulleys axis, and the spring+damping effect is theoretically done by "Paulstra" silent-blocks. At least there's articulation...

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out, since I am looking for a template to copy (on-road or off-road). Somewhat driven by the release of the Yokomo 870c and even more the 834b (both are too expensive unless i knock my head on something and spend my yearly RC budget), I have started looking back into RC history for "simple and fun" stuff.

[Dan1891 228]

Wow! That BoLink seems to have almost the same parts as my Minicars XII Saab Turbo!

[JimBear 1019]

1 hour ago, Dan1891 said:

Wow! That BoLink seems to have almost the same parts as my Minicars XII Saab Turbo!

I think there is a connection between MInicars and BoLink somehow. I think some of the Carlsson RC bodies look a bit similar to the Minicars ... something fishy in there.