Class 8 Ford F-150 (Contest entry)

[SteveK2003]

The guys at the Yahoo! Desert Racing Modelers group are having a contest, with prizes, for off-road builds (Racers, rock crawlers, pre-runners, mall queens, etc), and this is my entry. Or one of the entries I am considering (The other is a Baja-modified VW Ghia).

This is an AMT 1992 F-150 modified for Class 8, which states stock frame and stock body style and location (within a few inches). It is loosely based on the F-150 that Robby Gordon and then Rob MacCachren in the late '80s and early '90s, and also this that I saw online:


There are pictures of Robby's old truck on www.robbygordon.com

This is a mock-up of the truck, approximately how it will sit at ride height.








The truck will use the frame, body, rear axle, and interior tub from the AMT kit. The engine, wheels, dashboard, and some other parts will come from an old Monogram Hut Stricklin McDonald's NASCAR kit. The tires are from a 1/20th scale Lindbergh S-10 (They are about 31" in 1/20th scale, but they have become a staple of the off-road guys because they are about 35" in 1/25 scale).

The rear suspension will be a swing-arm with coil-over shocks, and the front end will have a beefed-up version of the stock Twin I-Beam suspension.

So far all I have done to the frame is chop out the sections of the underside of the bed that were molded in, along with the fuel tank and the front inner fenders.

[SteveK2003]

Start of the body modifications.

Class 8 rules allow you to open up the stock fender by 3", and also to extend them by 4". Since flares are a PITA for an anal-retentive perfectionist like me, and Robby Gordon's truck didn't use them in most of the pictures, I am just going to open up the front fenders for now.

I used my Olfa circle cutter to trim this masking tape slightly larger than the diameter of the tire, which I affixed to the body and used it as a template for trimming the fenders. After measuring, I found that the opening shown in the first two pics would be too big, so I moved the tape down a bit, as seen in the last two pics.




I tried to trace the tape with a backwards hobby knife, but it was taking forever, so I just broke out the Dremel tool and buzzed out the openings in about 15 seconds each.





Since these pics I have also sanded off the 'Flareside' scripts on the side of the fenders, those are the bulges under the tape, and I will also remove the door handles and front window frames before final assembly.

[quadzero]

this is really cool. i have been always amazed by these rigs and the beatings they can take. thanks for the background info also, Steve as i have heard of class 8 for years but wasnt sure of what that entailed. i will be following this for sure.

[SteveK2003]

Thanks for the feedback. I gave details on the Class 8 rules because I figured there are lots of non-Americans on the board, and even Americans from outside the Southwest might not know much about desert racing.

[blubaja]

Awsome idea Steve!!! I hope you actually go thru and build this. Keep up the cool progress!

[SteveK2003]

OK, well that didn't work as planned (Stuff came up, I have ADD and am a perfectionist, etc) but I will try and finish it THIS year I have until November 1st because that is the deadline for the next Desert Racing Modelers contest ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Desert_Racing_Modelers ).

My buddy Jake did a tour in Iraq late last year (His SECOND go 'round, after less than a year home: WTF Dubya?) and to pass the time he had his wife send him some casting supplies and some parts, and he made copies for a bunch of guys in our Yahoo group and a couple of the parts were some 4WD Ford Twin I-Beam parts from an old MPC Bronco kit. They almost perfectly fit the AMT chassis, but the pivot point needs to be dropped a few scale inches to allow for full bump-travel without having to grind the chassis. I like the look so much that I am going to change the truck from a Class 8 (Full-size 2WD) to a Class 4 (Full-size 4WD, but it might qualify for Class 3 if the wheelbase is too short for Class 4).

I might even make the front suspension work, since the Twin I-Beam setup is fairly simple with each arm and radius rod (Not shown) attaching to the chassis at two pivot points.

[blubaja]

Are there any drive axles coming form that pumpkin, or is it just suposed to look like it?

[SteveK2003]

It is my understanding that there is only one halfshaft, going from the pumpkin across the chassis to the other wheel, but I don't think you can see if it from most angles. There was no halfshaft in the model that I know of: Too hard to see and too complicated to make I guess, but I could grind them out and add it myself, but a skidplate would hide most of it.

The halfshaft to the left wheel goes through the I-Beam and you can't see that one.

[toyota00]

That truck looks awsome. I am currently working on a F-350 dually, but I converted it a "Baja" truck. I just need to paint the body, but I am still waiting on my order.... Mine sits about 1/3 of an inch higher then its stock suspension. Goodluck with the contest....