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Radioshack 4x4 Off Roader Conversion

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I also wonder if anyone had tried the QD black motor as an option?

I've just fixed up another Nikko 280 powered Road Express, so having a 280 motor with more grunt would be great. Brushless would be an option, but at £40 it's double the price of the cars.

 

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I started skimming this thread at work this morning . I say skim because at this point it is quite long. 
I love what you and some others are doing converting old Toy grade cars to be a more modern sort of runner.  
 

I have a non RC ( drives in a straight line ) battery operated Playskool Bigfoot 4x4x4. From my youth But those are unique in their own right and I really don’t wanna to hack it up to add steering Etc. 
I may scour the thrift shops for a broken or incomplete Toy grade that looks cool to convert 

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On 4/30/2021 at 1:45 PM, Dakratfink said:

I started skimming this thread at work this morning . I say skim because at this point it is quite long. 
I love what you and some others are doing converting old Toy grade cars to be a more modern sort of runner.  
 

I have a non RC ( drives in a straight line ) battery operated Playskool Bigfoot 4x4x4. From my youth But those are unique in their own right and I really don’t wanna to hack it up to add steering Etc. 
I may scour the thrift shops for a broken or incomplete Toy grade that looks cool to convert 

The Playschool would be quite a hard job, as there's no steering on it.


Lots of these cars brush up pretty well. Although there are less spares, you can often pick up a whole car for £10 - 20 or so.

I need to add a servo saver to mine Tandy, as I keep breaking the steering mechanism when I crash. Or I could just learn to drive.


 

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3 hours ago, Nikko85 said:
On 4/30/2021 at 7:45 AM, Dakratfink said:

 

The Playschool would be quite a hard job, as there's no steering on it.

One would have to change so much to add steering it would almost be a scratch build. 
I plan to leave the Bigfoot alone for that reason 

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yep, there are lots of cheap cars out there. I've just picked up a Radio Shack Hot Machine 4x4 as for some reason I convinced myself I needed one.

After driving a few 'proper' rc cars over the weekend I've realised I really like the way these truck bounce along. Far less stable, far more fun!

 

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Do let us know how you get on please.

I also wonder if a 370 would work? I saw a video where someone had added one, but not sure how much cutting was needed? 

I picked up another car, a Taiyo Wild Ranger to play around with too.

These days I just wait till I can see something for around £15 or so posted - hopefully without the controls so don't feel to bad replacing the electronics. They are excellent little cars.

 

 

 

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Nice. I don't know that version but looks cool! Let us know how you get on.

Here are my latest two. Both shells are pretty identical. The chassis on the right is from a Radio Shack Wild Ranger. I thought the chassis would be identical to the Radio Shack Off Roader, but it has slightly smaller wheels with slightly lower stance, which makes it look more like a regular truck. I had to modify the chassis a little bit for it to work, but now it looks good.

Once again this has a 9.6V battery inside with full ESC and steering servo. I do need to add a bumper, as the steering mechanism is a weak spot.  I'll show some inside pictures to show what I did when I got the chance. This one has a forward located battery to reduce wheelies and flips going up hills.

The car is the left is a Radio Shack Hot Machine I bought for a huge £11 or so, with a different body shell. This one a 360 motor (upgraded to 390 motor) 4WD and real suspension - essentially it's a 4WD version of the QD MT series. And the QD bodies are a perfect match. With the motor upgrade it packs a decent punch, although still waiting to find a low turn 390 motor. It's pretty heavy, but low geared, and even in high just ploughs through heavy grass. 

Love these little 1/14 monsters. 

20210615_140816.jpg

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Found a neat solution to lower the centre of mass and fit in batteries. 

Cut of the top of the battery cover. An 8 x AA block is converted to a  6 x AA battery block, and then slotted in vertically. 

At 7.2V it's a little slower, but now doesn't roll every time you turn with any speed at all.

 

 

20210615_210634.jpg

20210615_210732.jpg

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That looks like a good solution. I noticed that with a small 2s lipo and gutted old electronics it's a little too lightweight making it bouncy. 

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On 6/16/2021 at 2:11 PM, phantomRC said:

That looks like a good solution. I noticed that with a small 2s lipo and gutted old electronics it's a little too lightweight making it bouncy. 

Thanks. For the regular truck you can use a 9.6 volt pack like this, with the ESC between the battery and the servo. If you tuck the battery wire under the battery you can access it from the battery door, meaning you can charge without opening up the car.

NB2pnUw.jpg

However this version, the Wild Ranger has a different chassis, and there isn't enough space between the top of chassis and the body at the rear of the truck where the cab ends, as the truck bed is too low. This meant having the battery higher and horizontally in the cab section, which then meant the ESC had to sit above the battery meaning a super high weight distribution. 

Now the majority of the mass of the battery sits in the battery well, and the ESC can be placed at the same height it was in the original. I've lots a few volts however, and I did have to cut up a 9.6 volt pack that cost as much as the kit! Still, less weight and voltage means a greater chance I won't get a burned out motor, but still looking at 280 and 370 options too. 

Edit: I took it to the park. One full throttle it will still start to roll, but only when you go full steering lock, before it would roll like mad.

 I've lost more speed than I would like with the reduced voltage, and this is particularly noticeable in reverse and low gear, so I'm looking for a 370 motor option, so I can keep the same ESC and set up. Still good for driving in the house.

Other random thought, I wonder if I could use a micro servo to change gear? My cheap little Tx has a 3rd channel switch that would work perfectly.  

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Well, the inevitable happened

dZCe8AI.jpeg

I picked up a classic yellow version. 

I'm going to go small brushless on this version, with what should be a new battery placement to keep the 9.6 V pack.
 

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10 hours ago, phantomRC said:

Awesome! And it looks like it's in mint condition too! 

Yes, when I picked it up it was quite dirty, and lots of the chrome looked tarnished, but in scrubbed up really really well. The front bumper was wrecked, but I use my own design on these with something that actually protects the wheels in head on collisions. 

This one is going brushless with a 2030 Ezrun, which should be more than enough! I might use a 6 x AA set up (7.2 v), as I think the 9.6 volt will be too much for what I want it for - after all they don't have any suspension. 

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That sounds like a good plan. I also think 9.6V would be too much to handle. BTW, shapeways has the entire front bumper available.

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Yes, I've got a 6 x AA holder I'll wire up to a Tamiya Plug.  If that's too hot I'll play around with some dummy batteries to lower further. The car at the moment has a speed sweet spot just out of being charged, so I'll try and find that but across the usual range of the NiMH batteries, not just the first five mins.

That's a good shout for the bumper, but to be honest I prefer mine as it actually protects the steering a little more.

 

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So it's now got a little 2030 Ezrun 18T motor, just like the Tamiya Pumpkin QD.

I've got a 7.2v AA pack to power it all, as the 9.6v was just stupid! 

I've turned the punch down to reduce cogging, it's now super smooth and the top speed is great. 4x4 makes for a great drive on mud and gravel.

I'll take a few photos soon. 

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On 3/27/2021 at 5:33 PM, Nikko85 said:

thanks,

It's a little smaller than the QD trucks I've got, I think it's around 1/15 to 1/16 scale, although I think it was described as 1/12 scale to make it seem bigger to kids!

Those TLT do look nice, but I've not got three small scale (1/14 - 1/16) trucks, so I probably don't need any more.

Left to right is 1/18, 1/18, 1/16, 1/15? 1/14, 1/14 
 

nk7zGmO.jpg

The "Turbo Dasher" is a 1/16 scale truck? I thought it was a 1/14 scale body--just with a short wheelbase because it's based on a Datsun mini-truck. I have its sister the Big Bubba with a wrecked chassis from when I was a kid, and this thread has got me thinking of fixing it up... and wondering if the body would just plonk right onto a GF01TR chassis from the Monster Beetle Trail. I've been considering a CW-01 or WR02 as well, but I'm not sure the real sizes/wheelbases of any of them in comparison. I think the CW-01 is too long and the WR02 is a smidge too short.

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According to Nikko it is, although these things have to be taken with a pinch of salt and a rough guide. It is as likely to refer the to wheelbase as the scale of the body. I remember thinking they were all very similar.
 

I was also debating the QD Clod or Pumpkin body on a Monster Beetle Trail, but I ended up getting a 4x4 Tandy which is hitting that proper 4x4 itch.

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So, a quick edit, I've now added a 370 motor. Super easy, you just need to cut one of the nubs that stop the motor rotating.

I'm using an FTX colt

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163646935302?epid=1042600230&hash=item261a1e1106:g:T2kAAOSw7E5csPC4

It will fit in without too much hassle. Lots more power than the 280 motor. Not sure about heat, but running at 7.2 v now.

 

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