My 5th Scales

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ya. the 2 speed is going on this beast. I was going to put on the car but still waiting for the tires to show up. traction sucks so the semi it is... while taking the back end apart I am cleaning the aluminum up. the front looks so shiny now the back looks like crap. so I am doing a little extra shining to make it look nice.

I sorted through all the gears and counted teeth and marked them with a felt pen (going to make a pinion rack today, spurs are marked) ... starting off with going 2 teeth down on pinion from stock for 1st and 2 teeth up for 2nd and see how that goes. it's all experimenting now... might change the pin in the 2 speed. have to ask moo if he tapped that pin in or not. it is still about 75% left so will work, but since it's out, I might as well change it

we'll be running this weekend, I'll have to drag ghostly out with his car(s).

I sold the bike to pay for the 2 speed and some other goodies, so down to only having my 2 fg's for now.... weather is changing to sun finally, so you'll see either an fg offroad or baja in this thread soon enough hehe
 
While I had things apart to put the 2 speed in, I decided to clean a few things up. A little steel wool (bull dawgs) to the aluminum bits made a big difference. That dif was in a Marder at one point so has some gouges and such. I Made the rear upper brace out of some really thick aircraft aluminum so not easy to file, but I reshaped it a little more. New loktite all around

I had de anodized the front shocks as they were old and most of the red had worn off. One rear shock is new and the other is worn, so next rip down I am going to clean up all the shocks and actually polish them up.

I was going to change the clutch but this one still has some life left. My new clutch has the red spring and I wanted to try it first as is for comparison before changing. The truck was fast before, but now with the 2 speed and having front brakes, I should really be able to push it. I had the brakes turned way down when only using the rears to keep from spinning out

Well here's a couple pics to show the progress. I am heading out to scope a new running spot in a couple minutes for tomorrow. We have new faces showing up, and I am going to be bringing along extra parts and such so I can help get the others setup. I think once people see this thing and how good it handles, they will be very afraid of the beast lol

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PIPE..looks good..what are you using ..cable & inner wire for the throttle?brake control?
or is that fiber push/pull rods that are used in airplanes for the throttle..with a bell end..
for the carb?...best on your running....Slawhammer...
 
I needed linkages so hit up my neighbour for some cables off his mountain bikes.

I am actually going to mount the throttle servo on the right side with cables and leave the brakes on the left. I don't have enough channels for mixing. I like using cables over the wires myself. They are flexible so easy to mount. I'll use a 10th scale suspension arm as a cable retainer for the throttle... I was a little short of the sleeve stuff so add libbed a bit (one has a piece of an antenna tube haha)

I agree Trip, that head is odd. I thought the 2 motors I had were different because of it but this must have been an add on. It's basically an additional head button.

We were running yesterday. I grabbed a buddy to drive my car and I ran the semi. The shift point is too low and kind of a pain to adjust so just ran it. Thatsaid a few times the front wheels lifted a bit on hard shifting. I really need to get a new layshaft and dif crown gear put on. It's getting rather noisy. Today I am off work so cleaning the shop and making some adjustments to the 2 speed and brakes for next outing...

Here's a pic with my ugly mug to show how big this thing really is. I really have to shave more I think. Grey is really showing in the whiskers now lol
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I just recently purchased a new body, 1970 'cuda
I also got new rally rims, like the original car, new tires and some 3 spoke wheel nuts/spinners.

I painted the center of the rims black last night, masked the wheel nuts so it would show the chrome better. These tires are solid rubber and sticky. can't wait to try it out this weekend. I'll get a pic of the width too as I had to use 15mm hubs to take up some thread (this car has abnormally long axle stubs)

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Here's a pic of a rim and tire. I did 2 rims at a time as I used crimping bits (red ones for wires) to cover the nuts and only had enough to do 2 rims at a time. 2 are glued and on the car.... very odd way of mounting these things and only fit one way. The chrome we usually sand to remove was nearly impossible to take off. I wore out a new dremmel sanding drum per rim so said screw it. if it's that hard to remove, it won't flake off like most rims.

I actually used shoe goo on almost the whole inner rim and ciovered the thicker bead that hits the outside edge of the rim, then slid the rim in and cleaned up the goo that came out. motorcycle guys have been using shoe goo for a long time. I hate crazy glue with a passion and usually buy pre mounted tires.... another reason to experiment. we'll see


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I'm curious of the shoe goo, I wonder how well it will hold the tires. If it works that would be a lot better than the CA glue (super glue) because then you could remove the tire if you so desired.

Is the body white, or clear with white over spray film?
 
Hey pipeous, that cuda will look wicked...What colour are you thinking? cant wait to see it mounted to the FG...
 
It's a clear body with white film.

I am doing a simple black paint job but masking all the chrome parts for a buddy to spray.

After a ton of research looking at google pics for paint ideas, I have realized the grill is from a 440 cuda, but the decals are for a 340 6 pack. 340 had single headlights. Not a big deal because I am using minimal decals anyway. All my old cars I blanked out anyway. I like the body lines. Hardest part will be doing the wheelwell trims. I am going to look at something to stick on the outside rather than paint as it'll wear off to fast there.

Need some auto pinstripe in a couple sizes to do the window trims

this is my base to go by
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this is a 440 grill with the dual headlights
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The red Cuda is a 71.. It was the only year the Cuda's came with quad headlights and fender vents. Also the huge sticker on the back was also a single year only. The assemblers at the factory hated it, because it took too long to apply.

The top pic is a 70. Just a heads up.

P.S. I see it says elephant on the vanity plate, the 426 Hemi's were called elephants. It has a Hemi scoop.

Maybe you could use truck bed liner, the spray on stuff for your wheel wells?
 
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Thanks Trip. Like I said, I am learning new things about these cudas all the time I look. I googled 1970 Cuda and looked at pics. Even the lexan's body line is the same as the second, but the grill is indented more like my Charger was. Most people other than the purists will notice the difference. I figure if you are looking that close, then there better be a good cash offer to follow ;)

I don't claim to know everything, I know a lot about a lot, and very little about a lot, and then the stuff in between is how we bs through conversations making it seem like we know more

Anyway, here's a couple more pics to show the ends and the width of the tires. With the wide hubs on back, the old body won't fit, so I might have to use the standard hubs and add another washer. The thick washer on came with my hubs and I added a second washer or the spinner wouldn't tighten down. The package says for display only as it's not a nyloc nut and to keep fingers out of a moving wheel.... haha loved that one. I put loktite on and have a bent wrench that fits in to tighten it, though I could easily use normal nuts...

The thing with the Canadian flag is an air filter off a Smartech. I sanded the name off and put a decal on. not much room so experimenting with what I have kicking around before I order a new one

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I seem to stand corrected a lot lately.

This body is not a Cuda, it's a Challenger. I wondered about the grill being so deep and the Orange one above was close, but I was shown a few pics by a local friend and yup, it's definately a Challenger. Even the decal kit has the T/A in it and same stripe.

The grill, side decals, tail decals, dual headlights etc etc are identical.... Mike, change the name on the site.... it's a Challenger... It's all good cuz it looks cool no matter. Hell I even wondered about the gas cap and yup, Challenger has one on the side...

I have to make a custom front mount as the bumper from the Opel just doesn't work. Going to make a mini bumper and use some aluminum tmaxx mounts and use some cables to look like hoodlocks.

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We had the beasts out yesterday and ran for a good 4 plus hrs. The old layshaft gear I filed worked but the damned thing came loose 3 times. I understand since it doesn't mesh perfect it would cause extra heat, but I dremmeled all the setscrews flat and loktited... I think it's time to use red loktite on this gear.

other than that, the semi is dialed man. I was smoking the cars. even swapped radios with my bud. he didn't want to at first as he didn't think it would be much different. only time I lose traction is crazy throttle out of a corner or when I get on 2 wheels. after a few mins he said take this controller, I like this truck far too much LOL.

I didn't try the new on road tires out yet, wanted to save them for when the body is painted. Sorry no pics or vids this time. Totally forgot to setup the camera as we were having too much fun. and the turnouts are growing each weekend. this new location we got is perfect. West Coast Express station.

Train tracks behind us and a bus depot at the other end of the lot. nobody came into our section except spectators, which we had a lot of. even the bus drivers were taking their breaks and watching. after getting complaints at a couple locations we use, this was a breath of fresh air... props to Roger Brown at Racetech Hobbies (where I get some of my FG parts) for suggesting this spot. We might even see him out there with us soon
 
Hi!

I have to say that I love this thread :) Great video and pictures. I have just bought a FG Truck aswell and I love it. I bought a quit simple one and the plan is to upgrade it bit by bit. Maybe you can give me som info what I need to upgrade first (see my thread for more info about the car)?

So what has happend to your truck lately then? Any more upgrades on the way? Maybe more videos :)

Looking forward discussing this FG truck with you man :)

//waqr
 
I took the camera last time but forgot to set it up. I just need red loktite for my layshaft gear now. work has sucked recently so no moola for goodies. I have a redcat rally sitting at vancouverhobbies.com so this weeks work goes to pay for that hehe.

I might be trading off the car to a buddy and parting out the trade to fund my semi. the challenger will mount right up to the same chassis anyway

front brakes. first and foremost. 60/40 braking and you'll be able to push it much harder. braces under the servo tray to stop the flex, or I believe you got an aluminum one now right?

I do wish I had taken videos each time out as it has gotten progressively better to drive each time. I won't change much, except I want a better dif. cleaning the spewed grease off is a pain. I tried sealing with gasket maker, self hardening type, but one side still leaked some. aluminum case with seals for me next.
 
PIPE..I file the grub screws & use RED lock tite on all my gears...I let set up over night
or good 24 hours....Never had any come loose again....I had some problems early with
the lay shaft gears and diff gear.....I went thru 3 sets before I figured out I was having rear chassie flex....I did a small mod to take care of that......Just remember to heat up the grub screws to get loose......Slawhammer
 
I did file them flat. funny thing is with the car, they never come loose. I just drive the semi much harder. red loktite for sure now... then a rear brake kit. it needs discs behind all the wheels anyway ;)
 
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