RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Ok, so maybe there is not going to be much of a following for this sort of thing, but i now have a few and have done a few of these truck builds and will continue to do more. Even had friends and people i have just met who want me to build on demand, but i really just enjoying building for myself. Anyway.

I recently put a shout out for any WPL truck parts so i could build something a little different on the cheap with spare parts, rather than cutting up a brand new truck.

Big thanks to you know who out there who supplied an M35 truck cab and truck bed.

So i love building RC and not just military, but anything really and my RC collection in the past year has grown from 1 or 2, to be a little mad. All sorts really, but i fancied a Hot Rod! After watching Steve on Welderup, i was inspired!

This is going to take a while and be made up of all sorts of parts i can get from random places. It is supposed to be fun, but due to the recent military addiction in RC, it will follow that sort of theme.

I apologise if the next pictures offend or make you cry as a perfectly good cab gets cut up, but i will try to talk my way through the build as and when and share with where i am going with it!

The start
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Removed the bonnet, although i will refit later maybe with a few holes in it!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Side view
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Removing the mudguards with a SAW!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Mocking up the mudguards!
No they not high enough and it looks a bit odd, bit more cutting!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Thats a bit better, so moved the guards upwards and forwards. Although the step needs to move somewhere else!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Roof chop, yes you guessed it. With a SAW!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Well it looks better, but it still needs a bit more
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Thats better!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Hmmm, yes.
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Another view
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Comparison!
Cutting up the M35 cab. Roof chop and also raising the mud guards by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Grill a bit naff though
Grill work and getting rid of the small winch by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

Winch gone to another home! Perfectly fits on the Truggy, bonus. No waste here!
Grill work and getting rid of the small winch by Will Pattinson, on Flickr
I will cut out the top part aswell and fit a full height metal grill in the old school look.

Ok so the masking tape sagging a bit, but that looks better.
Grill work and getting rid of the small winch by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

So whats the plan for the rest of it i hear from the back.

Well! Nothing else on this WPL truck is going to be of use(i reckon). So from now on i have to scrounge and buy parts from elsewhere.
I have found a crawler 1/10 complete metal axle assembly which i will mount on custom suspension.
The frame rails will use aluminium u channel extrusion which i will cut and brace into the correct shape.
Rear wheels dual width style on back and i want a tow hitch for towing a trailer.

Motor power i want to use twin brushless motors driving mini 2mm pitch belts into a central RC boat propshaft and then use a flexible coupling on the back.

2 or 3s power i reckon but rwd only.

Front wheels out of alloy hub RC plane wheels machined with small metal ball races and fit on a custom narrow width fron axle lik you see on RC trucks.

Suspension i can't decide whether leaf spruung or coilovers. But i do want to have a 3rd channel so i can raise and slam the truck on the ground. So i need a moving suspension pivot mounting point at front and back, so will proabbly use twin motors operating linear actuator type device.

As for detailing, it will have huge exhausts and i want it to smoke and make a good noise, but i may put a small fan in the engine bay and use a diffuser cone to get that noise you get on old cars with fan operated from a belt.

Little bit of a beast. i hope

Here is my inspiration
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/66/c5/df ... 271e8a.jpg

Purchased building materials today.
Gas welding rod, copper pipe & various sizes of aluminium u channel extrusion. Now trying to sketch out my ideas for chassis.

I was going leaf springs, but now ditching that in flavour of coilovers. But going to have several servos to control ride height and camber so it can slam on the floor and scrape its belly

Now I need find a metal narrow width rear axle and start measuring up.

As for power brushless outrunners on belt drives.

Hi
where is your project?
I allow myself to put here
the pictures of my rat rod not finished yet
of jjrc q60
the engine is in plastic card
the grille and the bucket too
I still have to make the rust effect on the rims
as well as the exhaust manifold







see you soon

Excellent

Welcome to the forum ironjeff, I like your introduction

Looks good, nice customisation going on there. Maybe i should rename the thread for Rat Rods haha, but actually i just tend to post in the HL truck thread.

M35 Rat looks like a beast! by Will Pattinson, on Flickr

This is it so far, but still loads to do!

Welcome to the madhouse, these trucks are awesome

Yay, fantastic will