My Bf Xtreme Buildup...

[jwrAMC]

Here's the sealed box with all the required support and control items.

And here's the opened box...ahhhhh, that new tires smell! Remember way back when??

Sadly, the instructions start with the suspension, and I'm awaiting arrival of many custom parts for that...so I can do no more just yet.

I decided the body color will be the forest green of my real truck...

And I think I've found the wheels I'm going with. The price is pretty nice for true beadlocks, me thinks. I may even go with the Moabs as shown.

Details at http://www.junfac.com/shop/index.php?main_...products_id=125

I went ahead and did some work on an LED light kit I received. It is a pre-wired lighting kit that includes headlamp, foglight and tail light LEDs with a switch and 9-volt battery connector.

See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=170191508665

I'll be using the 'foglight' LEDs as turn signal/parking lamp bulbs.

The existing headlight holes in the grille fit the LEDs perfectly, but the turn signals needed to be opened up with a drill. I also drilled the tail light locations. Here it is with the bulbs press-fit into their locations with the wiring just tossed in...nothing permanently attached yet.

This next one is NOT showing them lit up...that's just reflection of my flash...

...and the tails in place.

Here's close-up of the front lights from behind the grille.

I'll be pushing the tail LEDs back into the body so they are flush with the outer surface. The tail area itself will be bare-foiled then covered with clear acetate to fake the altezza tails my real truck has. The front LEDs are fine as is.

I dug out a new 9-volt and killed the room lights for a test. I must say it looks FREAKIN' SWEET!!

[jwrAMC]

Here's a shot of the BFX bod on the BFO chassis, LEDs on in a darkened house. Who knew this decorative mod would end up so functional!?![]

Painted the grille and bumper strip, then painted the parking light area orange before Tenax-ing the light lenses into place. Then I yanked the lights and chrome, attached the tailgate and shot the primer.

OK, I have another coat or two of green to apply before moving on to the miscellaneous trim work...but I ran out of paint! So with the free time I had left over, I went and did all the chassis work I could that didn't involve the missing custom suspension parts. The electronics are in as well.

Oh...and in the 'pen is mightier than the sword' category, I contacted the folks that made the LED kit I tested earlier, and told them to check out this build. They were impressed enough to ask if I could provide them with some clean, posed, well-lit shots of the finished truck, showing off their lighting, for use on their website. In return, they're tossing me some more lighting for this truck! How sweet is that? Now you can expect to see FOUR red tail lights, five amber cab lights and the three off-road lights on the roll bar...all lit up. Kewl beans!

Check out their website to see the various lighting kits they have available: http://www.bitesizeshobby.com

[bfst24]

very nice mate.i have just ordered a set of those wheels.

[jwrAMC]

very nice mate.i have just ordered a set of those wheels.

Kewl.

While waiting for those 'display only' wheels and tires, I figured I'd prep a set of wheels/tires for actual driving duty. The stock wheels are fine, but yellow, so I fixed that with a can of spray paint. Good stuff, eh? []

I moved a set of Original Blackfoot tires to these rims for street/gravel duty, and will save the spikes for snow and deep dirt.

Here's a teaser shot, showing the partially painted body atop the suspensionless chassis and a painted wheel/BF tire posed at one corner...and the LEDs lit. Just a hint of its future appearance...

[bfst24]

the wheels look good.gives me more ideas for mine.

is it silver spray or chrome?

heres my foot/hunter

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=40802

[jwrAMC]

the wheels look good.gives me more ideas for mine.

is it silver spray or chrome?

heres my foot/hunter

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=40802

Nice truck! The wheels were painted with Rust-oleum CHROME #7718 (here in the US).

[markbt73]

Aaugh, cut it out! You guys are making me want another Blackfoot!

[jwrAMC]

Aaugh, cut it out! You guys are making me want another Blackfoot!

"Give in to your FEELINGS, Luke! You don't know the POWER of the Dark Side!"

C'mon...it's only money!

[jwrAMC]

The fourth coat of paint is now drying...

I'm still getting lightness in the crevices for some reason. I'll shoot the 5th coat with the body upside down to see if that helps any.

The new Moab tires arrived today. Still waiting on the Junfac wheels.

[jwrAMC]

OK, shot the fifth (and hopefully last) coat yesterday (snow storm, day off, woohoo!)...

I then went to work swapping parts between the two original BFs...but was interrupted by the mailman...

Now I can finish up the chassis work! Yee-Ha!

I figured out the towers and control arms so far. This is the rear setup...

Now the shocks themselves are making me nuts. The holes at the top of the tower are not threaded, and the screws came with no nuts. A couple of fittings are supplied, but none seems to fit the bill. The closest is a hollow ball that I slipped the remaining screw through. It barely is long enough to stick out the back of the tower, but I was able to get nuts to thread onto them. The nuts came from a spares box, not the shock kit. Here's how the front setup looks now.

I think I'm going to the hardware store today to find some matching, proper screws and nuts to mount all the shocks. More later.

[Corpse Thrower]

Looks like you've got yourself some extra suspension travel!!

If you use standard dogbones they might pop out. Have you got some unis coming as well?

[jwrAMC]

If you use standard dogbones they might pop out. Have you got some unis coming as well?

Not yet. Got a source? It sure looks like this might be an issue! Thanks.

[billg4]

Not yet. Got a source? It sure looks like this might be an issue! Thanks.

Take the shocks apart, put some fuel tubing on the shaft then slip them back inside the shock body. That will reduce the length.

[RichieRich]

If the shocks are longer than 4", then you'll probably need to shorten them. Looks fantastic. Great color.

[jwrAMC]

The shocks are 110mm. The suspension is taller this way, but it seems like 50/50 chances that the dogbones will or won't stay put. If when run, they fly out, I'll consider limiting the shock length a bit. I'm dying to see what the completed truck looks like at this new height, tho!

Thanks for the tips and kudos.

[billg4]

the angle of those suspension arms means that track width will change with compression causing strange handling

if it's a shelf queen fine, but if your driving it the fuel tubing trick will shorten them and ride better.

[jwrAMC]

the angle of those suspension arms means that track width will change with compression causing strange handling

if it's a shelf queen fine, but if your driving it the fuel tubing trick will shorten them and ride better.

Now I get it. Perhaps a hiar more drop would be good, but the loaded ride height doesn't look quite so (ahem) 'xtreme'.

I just moved my body clips to the lowest factory setting in front and 1 higher in back, then shot these pics (purely for self-motivation, because I need it right now!)...

This one is great for showing the ground clearance...which measures 2.75" in the center with all the radio gear and charged battery on board...

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......!!

[mansellpants]

That is looking sweet, keep up the good work and the pics.

Cheers

Mansellpants

[jwrAMC]

That is looking sweet, keep up the good work and the pics.

But of course!

OK, as I was doing final chassis assembly today, I found out why the ride height was a problem. The extreme angle puts the steering rods at the same angle, and they scrape and are interfered with by the black empty gearbox below. I *could* cut the box down a bit to create clearance, but for now decided to do the rubber-tube shock-shortening trick instead. Here's a shot with one shortened up and the other still at full length...

I also solved the missing hardware issue by visiting a local hobby shop and buying some screws and nuts. By accident, I even color-coordinated the lock nuts to the shock caps...happy accident...

I then fired it up and took it for a ten minute spin in the street in front of the house (minus a body). The spkes ain't so spikey no more, and things got a wee bit dusty already...but she handled real nice. There's a mild issue with reverse (intermittently chooses to ignore that request) but I'll tweak that this week. Now to finish up detailing the body.

Here's a couple more posed shots with the not-yet-done body on (taken after the test run)...

EDIT: My old Jeep J20 body will do for 'abuse' runs for now.

[skip665]

Looking good! Regarding the reverse problem - are you using the TEU101BK? Ther first time you pull back on the stick (or wheel) is actually a brake - you need to pull back again to start reversing.

[Corpse Thrower]

You can bend the steering rods so they clear the gearbox on that side when using long travel shocks. I did it to both of mine.

[jwrAMC]

Looking good! Regarding the reverse problem - are you using the TEU101BK? Ther first time you pull back on the stick (or wheel) is actually a brake - you need to pull back again to start reversing.

Yea, after several tires at re-seting it up, I've figured that out. Grrrr! Makes me long for my old BF's MSC! Reverse-induced power slides! Those were the days!

I'll have to pickup some 4-40 rod and see if the bending is workable for me. Thanks guys.

[markbt73]

With a little practice, you can sort of "double click" it and get reverse almost right away. I got my Hotshot to do a "stoppie" on grass doing that. (bad for the gears, I know, but my nephew's giggles were worth it.)

Truck looks great, and I'm kind of digging that J20 body - is that still available?

[jwrAMC]

I doubt it big time. I got it about 15-18 years ago (and painted it at that time, so the scheme no longer impresses me).

I'm a lifelong 'AMC/Jeep' fan, so anytime I find a body based on one of their designs, I grab it...which explains the unpainted Comanche I have lying here, waiting for me to buy a Tamiya H1 kit.

I just came in from torturing...err...running the Xtreme in the wonderfual 52-degree sunshine outside. All the neighborhood kids were out, hanging on each other, skateboarding. It was fun cutting across their paths as they were trying stunts, only to stumble off their boards to avoid the truck. Hehehe. It's good and wet now, so it's sitting on the stove, air-drying. I'll clean it up later.

I also received my shelf-queen TL01 Ford Cobra (bought on eBay), and it looks better than the auction photos! See the new thread at: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=41520

[Rambo John J]

Hey, when u gonna put some pics on of those Beadlocks, debating getting a set for my Det, your truck is coming along nicely, keep it up marra!