Skid Plate - Wheelie Bar on the Cheap Part I
Get a piece of ABS Plastic from the hobby shop.
Cut to width. Use the brace as a template and make the counter sunk holes in the plastic. Bolt it to the chassis using the existing stock screws.
Use a torch carefully to make the bends in the plastic to mold around the chassis. The back potion of the plate I folds over and is doubled for strength and folds back to just under the tranny housing. I made it just long enough so that it acts as not only as a wheelie bar but also a springy rear bumper (which I need). I was actually attempting to fit a RPM front bumper on the back when I engineered this instead. It has worked great and has taken a real beating and has saved I am sure countless part replacements.
Another side benefit has been that it works great in the taller grass, and fields where there are lots of tings for the x brace to hang or get caught on. It also adds "some" floatation during snow outings, but not enough to actually support the Pede.
I later cut off the very rear portion of the plate and removed the second layer (really un-needed) and bolted on the stock front bumper for a less ghetto and more finished look. Also added an extra margin of protection.
Wheeled Wheelie Bar Part II
This was a recent creation due in part from the shear power put out by the Novak GTB 4.5R Brushless system. Before I had this wheelie bar in place I was flipping constantly - kind of annoying. Swami has a sweet wheelie bar, but I wanted to give my hand at it before I forked over the dough to the all mighty R/C'er himself.
Basically I recreated the above skid plate but extended it out another 2 inches so I would have enough to install brackets that held a 4-40 threaded rod with the mini-aircraft wheels attached. That didn't work and I broke the bar within minutes.
The next version has worked great and went back to my very first original design with about 6 inches so I would have enough to fold back (double thick from the end of the transmission housing on) and hold a heavier 1/8" rod with the mini-aircraft wheels attached, with everything bolted together for strength. Definitely lighter than Swami's, but probably a little less durable in the long run than the beefy aluminum he uses.
What has been nice is the ability to easily tune the wheelie bar. Wheelies too much and still flips, break out the torch and straighten it out a bit. So far this has been a great setup. Pics to come.
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