Old tired wrecker

[Panther F]

Fantastic Dennis.

[skeeter]

I loved this build the moment I seen the thread for it. Looks good sir. If/when you're ready to sell it, may I have first dibs on it?

[Mustang46555]

Thanks guys!

You have dibs skeeter, but don't expect a pm any time soon.
Somebody has to tow Frizzen around. LOL!!!

[skeeter]

Originally Posted by Mustang46555

Thanks guys!

You have dibs skeeter, but don't expect a pm any time soon.
Somebody has to tow Frizzen around. LOL!!!

LOL!
I figured it's along shot that it would be parted with, but it never hurts to inquire

[frizzen]

Thats looking amazing already! Can't wait to see all the rigging.

Hahaha, yeah i shouldn't have gotten such an old cop car for the department. I just wasn't sure a crown vic or a caprice would be weird enough for my town.

[Mustang46555]

I think a Matador was the perfect choice! AMC's, VW's and a Fiero, how could you explain something as tame as a Ford or a Chevy?

[Mustang46555]

Frizzen,
I'm thinking about something different for the left side winch that will raise and lower the sling. Most all of the crawler winches are just too big to fit in the available space and look somewhat correct. I'm going to experiment with a micro 360 deg servo with a custom machined drum similar to what I made for the manual boom winches. It will be interesting to see how well it will lift.

[Panther F]

Originally Posted by skeeter

If/when you're ready to sell it, may I have first dibs on it?

LOL... first dibs?!!! Only us Hoosiers and those that have actually met the man get that honor.

Seriously, I just can't wait to see it up close this January (if Dennis is still going) after just now running across the thread full of pics from the September meet. http://rctruckandconstruction.com/sh...ad.php?t=12536 Amazing trucks to drool over... plus, COE's have always caught my attention first.

And also that is if I have something to bring too.

[Mustang46555]

Thanks Jeff.
Unless Mother Nature really plays a trick on us, I'll be there in January as a newly retired "official old fart." I'm looking forward to seeing you, been quite a while!
Don't worry about having something to bring with you, I've got plenty of things you can drive around.

[skeeter]

Yes, it certainly is a work to drool over

[frizzen]

I figured some 360 servo winches tucked under the bed would probably be the way to go. I've seen some with the bolt-on drum like my dragline, or some that have the drum inside the windowed servo case to save space.

Panther, come to the meet even if you don't have a vehicle yet. If you ask i'm sure a lot of us will let you drive some stuff around. It might just be rusty junk though...

[bigford]

The old rc4wd winch has 11 pounds of pull but no brake
And will spool out on you

[Panther F]

Originally Posted by frizzen

Panther, come to the meet even if you don't have a vehicle yet. If you ask i'm sure a lot of us will let you drive some stuff around. It might just be rusty junk though...

Oh, I know that and even Lynn has made that clear but trust me... you don't want me driving any of your stuff around. Even if it is rusty junk.

I thought it would be easy to replace a gear on this truck in time and have an instant RC available but I am soon discovering that we all know it doesn't work that way. Too much time has gone by, you start seeing too many things to change or modify.

I should have just bought a Semi kit (which I will) afterall.


Dennis: Will there be any additional color or commercial advertising on the side? Is this following a theme of one you've seen?

[Mustang46555]

Jeff,
It's roughly following the prototype photos at the beginning of the thread, but any signs on the doors will be for my fictional towing company. I'm working on those now but still haven't come up with one I like. Once I get those done I can start the weathering process.

The material for the sling arrived today so I hope to get the new sling done and mounted over the 4 day weekend.

If anybody has a large black trailer mud flap they don't know what to do with please pm me. I'm looking for some material for the sling straps. I've got a pair cut, but I'm thinking they may be a bit short. I'm looking for something about 50mm long.

[skeeter]

Originally Posted by Mustang46555

Jeff,
It's roughly following the prototype photos at the beginning of the thread, but any signs on the doors will be for my fictional towing company. I'm working on those now but still haven't come up with one I like. Once I get those done I can start the weathering process.

The material for the sling arrived today so I hope to get the new sling done and mounted over the 4 day weekend.

If anybody has a large black trailer mud flap they don't know what to do with please pm me. I'm looking for some material for the sling straps. I've got a pair cut, but I'm thinking they may be a bit short. I'm looking for something about 50mm long.

You might try your local tire shop. The one near me, they'll let you take home an entire semi truck tire tube, it it's deemed repairable by them. I get the old ones to use for cutting patch material. Works well for fixing the wheelbarrow inner tube as well as the niece & nephews bike tubes. I should swing by there tomorrow, & see if I can acquire more of it.

[Mustang46555]

[Mustang46555]

Thanks to Frizzen, here's the latest progress shot on the rear of the wrecker. Hooks added, backup lights added and the sling 85% done. I have to get some inner tube material to make the straps longer and need to add two hooks to the ends of the draw bar. I also got the mirrors added and swapped out the straight stack top for a turn out. I picked up a rotary beacon but am not going to use it. The China made ones I've found are just not a large enough diameter to look "right" on an old wrecker.

[frizzen]

That looks so cool with the bed details!

Is there anything special you think it will need to hook something beyond 'a bumper that hangs down below the chassis'

[Mustang46555]

Thanks! She is starting to look like a wrecker, just a really clean one still! LOL!!!

Excellent question! Two "J" hooks are required to connect the dead vehicle to the tow bar. Those are steel hooks shaped like a J with chains attached. The hooks loop around the axle, hole in the frame rails, suspension arms or whatever can be gotten to. The chains then hook into the grab hooks that I need to put on the ends of the tow bar. Once tightened up the tow bar actually is under the bumper and the vehicle is supported on the rubber straps so the bumper isn't damaged. This is why as cars became more plastic on the front or rear sling wreckers went away and the wheel lift started to appear then followed by roll backs.
Making the J hooks won't be hard, I just need to find the right size (or close enough) chain and grab hooks and she'll be ready to tow a VW bus! Hopefully the model ship building guys will have something that will work. Going to start looking this weekend.

[skeeter]

Rick of PMD had chains, AND hooks available. You can get them as a package, or separately. I ordered the chain with hooks. I WASN'T happy with how the hook grabbed the chain. I ordered the separate hooks by themselves & they seem to work pretty good to grab hold of the chain. The scale binders are pretty cool too. I've ordered & received EVERYTHING I mentioned, to use with the logging truck build I will eventually be doing.