Land Cruiser 70 build

[cooper_xl]

Hi!

Some time ago, my buddy TheGamer sent me a nice Killerbody LC70 loaded with extras. Not related to this particular event but shout-out to him, one of the few people I can call a friend :).

 

Was happy and surprised to get a LC70 because  always wanted one but I had nothing clear  in mind for it,besides knowing that wouldn't be "hardcore"

 

Gambled on  these Austar 1.55s and were a pleasant surprise. A 90x24mm tire,super affordable, sidewalls with many details and a soft compound? to top it off, they don't seem knockoff of a know brand tire(correct me if I'm wrong)

 

Next, ordered  Yota II axles and designed  a set of narrow 1.55 wheels  to allow the wheels being tucked inside the body. Stuck on the idea of rear leafs like the real ones

 

 

Start tinkering with frame rail design and laser cut these .

 

 

 

 

 

 

A RC4WD Hammer found it's place here

 

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by cooper_xl

[Stormbringer]

amazing how you have some bits then fabricate other bits to turn it into a crawler/trail truck 

[cooper_xl]

21 minutes ago, Stormbringer said:

amazing how you have some bits then fabricate other bits to turn it into a crawler/trail truck 

Thanks! I have the perfect job to do this kind of things. And during the day, half of my  brain is thinking about RCs 🙂

 

 

 

Thought a lot on how the front suspension will be and because of the gearbox chosen, the best option was to copy the 1:1 and do radius arms! I just did a compromise to have front shock towers to use this nice pair of shocks instead of the springs on the frame

 

The 3D printer was useful to mock up the mounts and even the arms and had those laser cut afterwards and threaded for the rod ends . The mounts are 2 pieces of 10x30 steel tubing shaped to look like axle mounts.  The bushings are servo rubber bushings. Every modeller has plenty laying around

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unpainted, they stand out too much, a bit of black would help. The extra "fin" on one of them is to shape for the panhard mount

 

And because I want a bit of performance on this truck, did this panhard mount out of brass 😛    . Brass is like stickers, it adds performance

 

[tomr]

You can already tell this is going to be a fantastic build 👍

[cooper_xl]

8 hours ago, tomr said:

You can already tell this is going to be a fantastic build 👍

 Eheh... Thanks! It is been a great experience, that's for sure 

 

[QUOTE="Tango91, post: 324345, member: 33681"]
Amazing, how's the articulation with the radius arms?
[/QUOTE]

How about all this flex? 

 

 

Honestly, I was expecting less. Seems enough for the type of truck

 

The first choice for gearbox was the gearbox from the KingKong CA10. Is an affordable gearbox with scale looks and nice features: 18.2:1 ratio, wide steel gears,aluminium motor plate and full bearings. The only bad thing about it is that it's shape( with motor) is not builder friendly. Needs a bit of tinkering to make it work on a chassis. This is the third chassis I put this on. 

 

First experience with servo location  and it's mount doubles as front body mount

 

 

 

 

This is what I'm aiming for:

 

[Stormbringer]

going to look great when you finish it mate 

[Shergar]

I like that gearbox @cooper_xl, off to google!

[cooper_xl]

1 hour ago, Shergar said:

I like that gearbox @cooper_xl, off to google!

 

Not all are roses. Wait for developments in this soap opera 🙂 . I can tell that the gearbox looked promising but I didn't like the bores on the gears being  0.10 or 0.15mm bigger than they should. Doesn't seem much but in a 5mm hole, it's a lot. That play over all those gears, really adds up in the end. Machined 2 shafts oversized in the middle and the correct size for bearings at the ends.  Then, there's the mounting issue. There's 2 holes each side. The problem with the holes is that there's little material around them and they are just 3mm deep. You stick a slightly longer screw and it hits a gear inside. I've put epoxy around them and even applied helicoils with no luck . I think that the best way for a builder is to make a steel plate to be between the motor and the motor plate, and that plate be welded or screwed to the chassis.

[Lone-wolf]

Lovely build mate, doing  right job on it

[cooper_xl]

The 3D printed rims served their purpose so  machined a set in aluminium 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were machined on a lathe and drilled on a drill press. There's a thin 12mm hex mount behind(5 bolts instead of 6 😞 ) and M2.5 scale bolts holding everything. The "hubs" are an eBay special that I've ordered for the Unimog but there stands out too much. I think it sits well here. 

 

I'm aiming for the stock TOYOTA steelie so they are painted silver. A fellow builder challenged to do the valve stems as a joke. Was something I didn't consider before and went for it. Nothing fancy, just M1 bolts with painted tips

 

 

 

 

 

[Stormbringer]

the wheels look stunning mate 

[Shergar]

Incredible machinist skills there, really immoresive.

[cooper_xl]

Major disappointment

 

Built the wheels around these hubs although they were  6 holes. While mounting a wheel, the nut went through .Upon closer inspection, hubs are bad designed as the nut tightens against a section that's only 0.4mm thick and have nothing behind.

Quality hubs wouldn't have that problem..live and learn(to not go after Aliexpress specials...) , I suppose.

Why didn't I've made my own 5 hole hubs? machining the 12mm hex shaped hole is the most challenging part to do.But,it doesn't need an hex, so designed my own hubs but for pin, machined from brass  Did the printed prototypes and lost 6mm on wheel to wheel width!

 

(By the way, the M3 threads come out pretty good, considering the size..used a tap to clean them though)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still bummed for not thinking of this before making the wheels. 5 bolt wheels would be perfect

[cooper_xl]

Tried something different and mounted a 17.5t sensored brushless I had for a while . It's a LRP so it should be good. Tried a 2s and seems that low RPMs are nice and there's no cogging . The problem was that the motor was so close of the servo that the sensor plug wouldn't fit...So I've returned to the old idea of having the servo next to the motor and did this new mount:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holds the servo, will hold the front of the body and is also the spacer for the gearbox. I think it looks cleaner

[Lone-wolf]

On 20/11/2022 at 12:15, cooper_xl said:

The 3D printed rims served their purpose so  machined a set in aluminium 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were machined on a lathe and drilled on a drill press. There's a thin 12mm hex mount behind(5 bolts instead of 6 😞 ) and M2.5 scale bolts holding everything. The "hubs" are an eBay special that I've ordered for the Unimog but there stands out too much. I think it sits well here. 

 

I'm aiming for the stock TOYOTA steelie so they are painted silver. A fellow builder challenged to do the valve stems as a joke. Was something I didn't consider before and went for it. Nothing fancy, just M1 bolts with painted tips

 

 

 

 

 

Im in awe, those wheels are a work of art, im guessing the tyre valve is just for show and that you dont have inflatable tyres

[Stormbringer]

it does look cleaner mate 

[cooper_xl]

2 hours ago, Lone-wolf said:

Im in awe, those wheels are a work of art, im guessing the tyre valve is just for show and that you dont have inflatable tyres

 

Thanks!  I'm not at that level of working tire valves :)   they are M1 screws, in a hole threaded at an angle. Cut to size and to finish, a drop of black nail varnish to simulate the cap. Pretty happy with how the whole wheels turned out (except being 6 holes) 

[cooper_xl]

 

Saw 1:1 LCs with a different grille and copied them to 3D print in resin...Already printed the V1 and looks amazing. This photo is the V2 with cosmetic improvements :

 

 

 

[cooper_xl]

All black and the logo was done with a silver Sharpie...

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry guys...I'm turning going stock again

 

 

[Stormbringer]

for the writing ,small detail etc i use a chrome paint pen 

[cooper_xl]

25 minutes ago, Stormbringer said:

for the writing ,small detail etc i use a chrome paint pen 

Molotow?

 

I forgot to share the 1:1 grille:

 

[Stormbringer]

yep its a molotow pump pen and they come in different nib sizes

[cooper_xl]

Had to order offset rod-ends to do the steering link. Did this one like some trucks have, altough different to the real LC79s. It should have been BTA with a drag link on the front but lack of space didn't let me do that. 

 

 

 

Video:

https://i.imgur.com/77c3aO1.mp4

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by cooper_xl

[Lone-wolf]

This build is really taking shape, i hope my next build is half as good as this

[cooper_xl]

17 hours ago, Lone-wolf said:

This build is really taking shape, i hope my next build is half as good as this

 

Thanks! Believe in yourself and things will happen!

 

An idea came to mind today and did these bolts for the rear leafs

 

They are a bit rough but were made when I should be working in another things 🤫

 

 

 

 

Video:

https://i.imgur.com/9v31skI.mp4

 

These leaf springs shackles came with 4mm holes in one end(3mm on the other) and no matching hardware. And like the leaf holes are 4mm, thought on these "cheater" bolts that allow some rotation to help when flexing. I also shaved a little on the leaf ends. Don't know if was made before. It is a small bump in performance that doesn't hurt the looks

Edited November 24, 2022 by cooper_xl