Project 2 speed rustler AKA Jester

[daywalker121800]

So I just got into the nitro seen and I rebuilt a broken rustler I got from a friend. After about a week of having it all together and running I realized that it would be really nice to have a 2nd gear. Now I know they make plenty of trucks with 2 speeds and 3 speeds and I could just go buy one. But where is the fun in that? lol So I got a trashed Jato and plan on using the tranny, cvds, shock tower, shocks, and the entire rear of the truck. I work at a sheet metal fabrication company that is family owned. I have the aluminum already and plan on making a custom frame for it with the front being all rustler and just the tranny back being Jato....so I'm not really sure if it will actually still be a rusty anymore, but thats what I'm gonna call it...lol Any comments or ideas for it please let me know....I'm all ears. And please refrain from comments like, that is a stupid idea, or you are not capeable of doing this...... i read a post on here from a couple years ago where some kid was going to do the same thing and I'm guessing either it didnt work or he got mad enough to leave the site from all the negativity....lol


Ok guys, heres the update. I kinda got off to a slow start because I had to teach myself how to program the NC machine and design the frame itself. Here is a run down of everything that I have already bought to do my project,

Jato rear end and frame

My current rusty in running condition

Now here is the start of my new frame,

I first began it with designing the frame on paper and deciding how long it was going to be and also changing the original design of the 2 trucks to merge as one. I also wanted to leave room for a possible extra battery in the center to power a remote start for it...(still in the design process for that also) Here is the drawing,

I know it doesn't look like much but thats how it began.

The next step was to create it in my program that will eventually be downloaded into the NC punch machine. Without taking pictures of my monitor this is what I ended up with after the design was made.

The next step was to program it in the machine and let it fly, this is the machine

Here is the 5052 aluminum

The finished product

And here it is next to the old Jato frame

It is overal about 2 and a half inches longer then the Stock Jato frame and the stock Rustler Frame. I do plan to use a Rustler Body but I believe as of right now the name I have chosen for it is the JESTER..... some people may think its a joke what I'm doing....lol So its very fitting I think.

You will notice I made 3 of them and did not punch the holes in it.....these are going to be mock up frames so I can mess up on them. I plan on making an updated design when I figure out where everything will be placed and running the punch machine again to make it perfect.

I did run into a problem though, the motor I was going to use for it was a 2.5r and it doesn't seem to have good seal in the block, air is coming out and I can't figure out why, so if anyone has any donations for motors or somthing cheap it would be much appreciated.

Any comments or questions feel free to ask.....the fun has really begun.:yes:

 

[nitrogator]

nice looking job,thats nice to have a machine like that to use.keep updating your progress

 

[daywalker121800]

Oh i definatly will....... there is a lot to go but its on its way.... I'm going to work on it the next few days, I'm leaving for massachusetts tomorrow and wont be back till sunday but I'm bringing all my stuff with me so I can keep going.

 

[Mattyfats420]

i have a 2.5R with about 1/2 a gallon through it. PM me if you want to buy it

 

[Cupooterluvr]

Very cool. Take lots of pics, we want updates! This project is gonna be a killer when it's done

 

[Zachary]

Nice, good luck on it and give us lots of photos!

 

[daywalker121800]

NO prob.....ill get as much done as possible.....but I need a motor for this thing....lol Donations welcome....lol Working on a low budget, stupid me....should have made sure the motor I had worked good first, instead of buying the ez start new, ez start wires, wand, mounting brackets, and various other stuff..... Help me finish this..... maybe ill just put a 3.3 in it....lol

 

[CharliesTheMan]

If it's going to be custom anyway, why not go ahead and fabricate a 4WD system for it. Even if you don't have the tranny and driveshafts right now because of the budget, you could just fab up the front end so that it will accomodate 4WD once you get the other parts. Just a crazy idea though, I know you're on a budget and that's probably more work than you were planning on getting into. Congratulations on custom fab though, IMO, you're way more of a man than someone that went out and spent 1000 on the best pre fab chassis on the market

 

[daywalker121800]

LOL, wow I appreciate the props..... But I'm really going for speed with this one.... well.... I dont really know where I'm going with it to be honest..... Kinda just wanted to do somthing different and this is what I came up with. Realistically I'm not really working with a set budget I just have so many projects going on that I dont want to sink a ton into it and what fun is it if you make something that costs more then buying it. I find more fun in coming across deals and working it out. I do it with everthing though, what better then to be able to say....yea thats mine, no it only cost blah blah blah....thats where you get the oohs and ahhs....lol I could be crazy though.... Either way....still fun

 

[CharliesTheMan]

My grandmother started a flea market in 1987 and brought it from the ground up. I was born in raised in a family of salesman, and antique dealers. My grandmother sold her flea market last year for 2 million (she's still just as tight with it as she's always been, I haven't seen $20 of it, and probably never will). So needless to say, I've always loved to find good deals myself.

 

[daywalker121800]

haha..that is great

 

[Mattyfats420]

its funny cuz i asked day walker about buying my 2.5R engine, and that turned into him telling me how his didnt work. than realizing he didnt have a head shim in his 2.5R. funny how thing work that way.

BTW did that head shim fix your engine problem?

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I've learned a couple of things working on hot rods that I always apply to my RC's. Mattyfats420 knows exactly what I'm talking about, and that is that you always need to plan on something not working in the plan. No matter what it is, when you work on something, you will find something unexpected and you need to have a backup plan.

2nd, There will always be a $2 part that will completely hold up or take the project off track. The $300 parts are always there, and you will have plenty of extra parts for 3 months. You finally clean up and give those parts to someone else, and a week later it's that very part that is holding up your build, it's been discontinued, and you have to wait a month to get one from China lol

 

[daywalker121800]

I'm actually on a ferry right now on my way to connecticut and then continuing on to mass.....I brought all of my stuff though and plan on working on the project over the next few days...I won't be able to post pics cuz my phone isn't that advanced...lol but ill still be able to post progress if anything comes about...I didn't try to get it running because the ez start is on the tmaxx right now...there is one coming in the mail though. ill try taking the ezstart off and try to get it started. I'm really into real cars too but for some reason I listened to a friend who told me there was no gasket....I had made one out of cardboard anyway about a week ago and did get it to start...I just assumed the block was warped and pushed on. since the frame is no where done I didn't really worry about and the motor was basically free. also, how do u know if its a 2.5r? does it say it on there or does it just say 2.5?

 

[Mattyfats420]

I'm pretty sure the "visual" difference between the 2.5 and 2.5R is the 2.5R has the blue anodized cooling head

so I'm pretty sure you have a 2.5 not a 2.5R

 

[daywalker121800]

actually....now I'm really excited....the 2.5 in the pictures is the one from my rusty...that motor is now on my tmaxx...the motor I'm going to use is from the jato....that does have the blue cooling head.....u just made my day...lol so hopefully that will give me a lil added punch to this project....yayyyhhhhh

 

[daywalker121800]

K guys, a quick update..... i went to mass for the weekend and also up to maine.... i did get to drive my tmaxx on my uncles 7 acre property and didnt find the time to keep messing with the truck. After some careful drilling and figureing out the basic placement for the parts, I redrew my plan and starting inputting it in the comp..... by tomorrow I'm hoping to have the program finished and can punch out the finished frame. All that will be left after that will be countersinking the holes, deburring them all, sanding it down and then clear coating it. I am working on the upper chassis using pictures of a jato upper chassis for servo placement and the rustler upper chassis. The only problem with using it as is was that the servo is about an inch to the right of the transmission and wont line up accuratly enough for me to connect the brakes and throttle. So that is the next part to figure out exactly....what sucks is that I have a carbon fiber upper chassis for the rustler and dont want to cut it up. I really need a jato upper chassis even if broken to figure out exactly where everything sat on the original and I dont know anyone that has one. Any Ideas or pictures of a Jato up close from top and bottom would be helpful. Thanks

 

[daywalker121800]

Alright guys, I'm finally finished.

Everything went well and I repunched the frame including all the holes. Then I used one of the frames as a rough model to make sure everything fit correctly. I then took the other frame and countersunk the holes and grinded and sanded it until it was nice. Here are all the pictures.

I tried it on cardboard first to make sure all the tools were in correctly and so I didnt waste the aluminum if I made a mistake.

This picture is blurry but shows how far the screws stuck out before I countersunk them. The next picture is the finished frame countersunk, sanded and grinded.

There you have it. All finished and ready to roll. I still have some other stuff that has to be done, like mounting the exhaust so it doesn't pop off at all. fixing the rear wheels....as you can see by the pictures they are tilted toward the frame and I'm not quite sure why. Still working on that one. I added the battery box and changed the steering pieces to bearings and it turns much much smoother now. Besides that I will probably take the other frame and sand it down nice and clear coat it and then switch it out. Any questions feel free.

By the way, its fast as hell. lol

P.S- Sorry that the pictures are sideways. I took them on my phone and my computer got a virus recently so it runs really slow. So to resize them and rotate them would have taken hours.

 

[itsalifeworthliving]

wow. glad to see some REAL PROGRESS!!. it came together pretty damn good. nice work on the chassis. i think what your looking at with the rear tires is the rear toe-in. it helps to keep the rear end "tracking" straight at speeds and out of the hole. zreo degree's of rear toe in can be a little hairy. what are you going to do with the body? can't wait to see it all painted up. send some larger detailed pics to my pm.. thanx.

 

[daywalker121800]

the body fits very good.....i m going to get a new one because I'm using a vxl body right now. I'm going to paint it blue and silver I think though. Ill send more pics as soon as I get that part going..... I'm in florida right now packing up my stuff to move officially to ny so I wont be back up till next tuesday. Ill keep updating as much as I can after that. Thanks for the props though, i really appreciate it. Glad to know people care about others that put real thought and work into projects.