HiLifta-palooza - Clod bodied build

[OldSchoolRC]

Been away from RC for a bit, was burning out somewhat. Took some time off, cleaned and re-organized my shop a bit (always gets me pumped up) and it's time to get working!

I posted some pics here of my Junfac'd hilift, and since it didn't have a 3 speed and leafs, someone made the comment that it wasn't really a hilift anymore! Could not agree more, and decided to redo it with the original chassis and 3speed tranny.

BUT

That left a very nice 4 link'd Junfac chassis with TLT's and an R2 tranny left over. I've been inspired by Jeffro's chevy builds, and I had a clod body left over so I decided to build that up while I wait for some parts for the HL to come in.

And that of course leads to a whole 'nother project, so will post both as I sort them out. This thread is for the Chevy, which needs quite a bit of work.

I am using a set of TLT axles what were already on this chassis. I had made some large and ugly 4 link mounts that worked, but didn't look scale at all. I took them off, cut off all the mounts and used the axle trusses I cut for the blazer build. Much better! So far I've fabbed up the rear body mounts and mounted a PL front bumper.

The Palooza pair....HL is really only mocked up, though tranny and axles are on. Needs quite a few odds and ends. The Chevy is much closer to being done, so I decided to work on that first.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/Picture029.jpg

Junfac chassis....work of art!! Cliff climber chassis plates bolted to the side for 4-link mounts - actually fit in the stock holes with no mods. Will all be painted flat black though once everything is mocked up....hate to cover up that shine, but just doesn't look real under there. Moved the shock mounts a bit, and made a small acrylic plate to mount the electronics on, and the battery mounts between the frame rails.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/Picture030.jpg

Swapped out the shocks with a set of 80mm RC4wd scale shocks. Very stiff, have to sort that out yet but looks 100% better. Only have one pair, just ordered another pair today, as well as rear axle lockouts.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/Picture032.jpg

Stance I'm shooting for. Will be doing some body mods along the way, and have to shorten the rear links a bit.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/Picture034.jpg

More to come!

[Waterboy]

looking great Nick! Glad to see you back:)

[JAnderson]

Glad to see you are back, I get burnt out sometimes as well and cleaning things up or a little organizing sometimes sparks something. Or maybe when we come out with a new kit I have to have! LOL

Looks good, what else you going to do to it? You need to sand down that F350 on the chassis. LOL

[OldSchoolRC]

Who's Nick? :)

Yes, nice to take a break now and again - keeps you fresh! Canned some of my older projects as well for a fresh start.

Nothing too fancy (like the other clod body build going on here), just get the chassis worked out, get the body stripped and re-painted, do a few body mods and turn it into a decent trail runner for now. Pretty much the same plan for the F350 as well.

[OldSchoolRC]

Paint stripping....ugh!! 7 years worth of 4 layers of paint, and a ton of primer inbetween. Takes a while...doing it in stages. Going to pick up some brake fluid it try it out, not really a fan of the citri-strip, though it did not melt the plastic at all like it did the BF body. Strange. Works, but leaves a very hard coating on the body.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/Picture006.jpg

[OldSchoolRC]

Got a little more done over the weekend (before I got flooded out that is :( )

Straight axle adapters are on, wheelbase has been shortened, body mounts fabbed up, shocks are in and mounted (WAY too stiff, have to figure something out) and suprise suprise!! new body! Have the rest of the parts on the way as well, will continue stripping the other body for a clod roller that's on the way. Plan to remove the blower and mod the grill a bit.

Should be painting the chassis soon, just have a few more tweaks on the front body mounts to do first. Yes, i will be removing the F350 logo :)

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/picture002-1.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/picture004-1.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/picture005.jpg

[Arcocustom]

Looks good. Nice new shell. :thumb:

The springs in those shocks are hard as a rock. They make softer ones, but they are pretty stiff too. On mine, I replaced the original springs with the springs out of my stock High-Lift units.

[jeffro]

I've been meaning to tell you that I have been keeping an eye on your chevy and ford build, since you blamed me :D

Looks like your clod body turned out purty good. Now to find a chevy grille or grind the 4x4x4 out of it. :)

[OldSchoolRC]

Thanks guys, it's coming along slowly!

I'm not sure if it's the spring itself or the seals, the fronts are pretty well used and filled with 20wt, while the rears are new and unfilled. The front ones feel like a rock, rears are not much better even without oir (assume the seals needs to break in) May remove the seals and try running w/o oil, or remove the piston and just use the e-clips as the piston. Will experiment and see what works best since it all has to come back apart. Do have some springs to play with as well.

Not feeling the bumper - like the style, but is a little big. Might make a new one, have to think about it.

And yes, the 4x4x4 is coming out!

[OldSchoolRC]

Small update: started the body mods, chassis is pretty much finished except for paint and since the body takes forever, figured I'd get started. Built a cowl hood, filled in the sunroof and body mount holes, as well as the vertical cut lines in the fenders. Tried using some Bondo spot filler, but not really happy with it - cracked everwhere as it dried. Will take a few rounds of filling and sanding anyway, just a pain in the rear. Going back to squadron putty.

Rest of the new body parts should be here this week. Spent a very expensive hour scouring Tower this weekend... :):)

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/picture018.jpg

[jeffro]

Small update: started the body mods, chassis is pretty much finished except for paint and since the body takes forever, figured I'd get started. Built a cowl hood, filled in the sunroof and body mount holes, as well as the vertical cut lines in the fenders. Tried using some Bondo spot filler, but not really happy with it - cracked everwhere as it dried. Will take a few rounds of filling and sanding anyway, just a pain in the rear. Going back to squadron putty.

Rest of the new body parts should be here this week. Spent a very expensive hour scouring Tower this weekend... :):)

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/picture018.jpg

Coming along nicely, I like the hood scoop for a change.

I have a tube of the bondo spot filler, but what I really like so far is something Bondo makes, its called Plastic Metal, walmart carries it also. So far it doesn't crack or split, then I use the spot filler on very small areas after sanding down the plastic metal

[OldSchoolRC]

Thanks for the tip! This stuff even cracked in the little lines in the front fenders. I've had it for a while, I looked on the date on the back and it was from 2002.....wonder if this goes bad and that's why it is cracking so bad? It was defintely starting to seperate somewhat.

[OldSchoolRC]

Took advantage of the nice weather to get some painting done. Chassis looks much better in black! Little glossy though, but that will wear off after a while. I went light on the paint, so it's not a perfect paint job as i didn't want the screw holes clogged with paint. But with the body on, should look fine.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004022010016.jpg

Speaking of, laid on a coat of primer - couldn't see where I was sanding anymore! Couple small areas to finish up, but coming along well.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004022010015.jpg

Starting to come together!
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004022010017.jpg

Will not be using the shocks and wheels, saving for a set of 1.5's and though I like the look of the scale shocks, they are far too stiff. Tried all kinds of different springs, and just not happy with them. Will be looking for something softer, I have a set of TLT's that might fit the bill.

[Arcocustom]

Looking good OldSchool. Those 1.55's should look pretty good on there. You got your color/colors picked out yet? You just gotta love those Clod Buster bodies. NICE!!!


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4289087731_6a17a25a1a_m.jpg

[OldSchoolRC]

Coming along slowly.....but coming! Got a few builds going :)

I do have colors, just picked them up tonight - but SHHH!!! it's a secret!

[Wyoming]

Nice looking body work, and I love the black frame

[OldSchoolRC]

Just took the plunge and ordered some 1.55 wheels and tires! Yahoo! First set I've tried, we'll see how they work out.

[OldSchoolRC]

Struggling with this one a bit, the sunroof fill is giving me fits. Had a heck of a time getting it flat and smooth, and when I did finally, the styrene joint cracked. So I added more styrene support underneath, and re-filled and have been resanding.

While I was at it, I glued the front and rear body parts and and filled and sanded the seams and screw holes.

Getting tired of sanding and filling, Got to get it into my head that it is not a static model, and it is going to get all scratched up anyway - think i'm to the point where it's just going to be get it close, paint it and go. :)

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004112010012.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004112010013.jpg

[Wyoming]

More nice body work, coming along nicely

[OldSchoolRC]

Got paint? (and 1.55 wheels? lol) - just finished the paint tonight. Defintely did not come out as well as I had hoped, the burgundy looks great, but the cream color did not cover well at all, and has a few runs. Defintely have some sanding and touching up to do. Thankfully, my camera abilities are worse than my painting, so it looks good in the pics!

Love the new wheels, though my last 2 orders with RC4wd have been a complete mess! Either getting extra stuff, stuff I never even ordered at all at my door (and being honest enough to send it back though still waiting for a shipping credit or refund)....pretty much not a great experience, Giving them 1 more chance, then I'm done.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004222010004.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004222010005.jpg

Defintely learned what NOT do do when painting....this is the original body I started with and it's almost stripped and ready for primer. 1 side is really rough, and then I discovered brake fluid and the other side is super smooth. Going on an (almost) stock clod...just a few pics, I'll put up a build thread eventually. :) Can see my grill experiment here too. Debating on what to do to remove the 4x4x4.
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/004222010006.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/misc/004222010011.jpg

Want to get these 2 highlifts off the workbench, got some really cool projects coming (can see the nose on one of them poking out in the first pic :):))

[Arcocustom]

Is that the General Lee hiding back there?

Light colors are a pain to spray because it is very hard to see how well it is covering and all it takes is one small deviation in the over-lap and presto, flow indicators.

:agree: RC4WD is the worst. Once they have your money... I have had my share of problems with them. I don't buy anything from RC4WD anymore. Good luck getting that credit from them.

[OldSchoolRC]

it is....looking for an M02 chassis for it. Going to be a fun ride!

It was my bad on the paint, I wet sanded where the red had oversprayed, but missed a few spots in my haste and the light paint did not stick at all to the glossy areas and just ran. It is fixable though...lesson learned!

[OldSchoolRC]

:agree: RC4WD is the worst. Once they have your money... I have had my share of problems with them. I don't buy anything from RC4WD anymore. Good luck getting that credit from them.

Good call. Took 2 e-mails to remind them and I got a credit for shipping for a totally unrelated order for 1/2 of what was owed. I have no idea what they are doing, and not sure they do either. At this point, I'll eat what I paid to ship back the order that never should have arrived at my door in the first place just to avoid the headache, and officially wash my hands of RC$WD (spelling intentional) as well. Tired of the mess everytime I order lately.

[OldSchoolRC]

Getting oh so much closer!!

Grill came out pretty good I think, not bad for about 20 minutes total. Took care of painting some details, and am down to a few odds and ends. I did re-mount the front bumper, I didn't like it at first but it has grown on me. Have to mess with the mounts a bit, the body is not quite centered over the wheels now, but it's an easy fix. I have 2 different winch options for the front, not sure if I'm sticking with the fakey pro-line or a modded WW2 winch. PL is on there for now.

Use aluminum tape for the window surrounds and door handles, worked GREAT! Corners were a little rough, but very happy overall with how it came out. Looks far better than silver paint.

Have to track down a rear bumper, headlight lenses, and some other small stuff.

(note the hacked in 1/2 JK in the background...:) got bored with the dremel)

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/05062010011.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/05062010010.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr84/dschlegel/F350/05062010005.jpg

[Northwest 4x4]

looks really great I like the flow of the hood

[Budhatrain]

the cal hood looks real! Something I would see on a local's truck. I can say that I live in the middle of ohio- it would just need rust :)