[sarbjr138]

Andy A.
I had another project before the Dictator. It was a Nikko 1/10 scale 4x4 truck. First off the 4WD had to go (weak design and not very efficeint). I used the rear end out of a Nikko 1/14 scale Silverado. I chose this design because the Silverado has no differential. The rear axle is plastic, however there is a steel rod that runs through it. I modified the rear axle to accept a "sweeper belt", built a custom tensioner, and mounted a 550 fanned motor from a Power Wheels jeep to it. The 550 runs best at 14.4 volts and couldnt benefit much from the 9.6 volt pack that the truck uses. I set it up so that the receiver and steering servo ran off a 9 volt battery, and using a mechanical speed control and servo (powered by the original motors' power wires) I directed two 9.6 volt packs ran in series to power the motor. 19.2 volts makes the 550 scream and oddly enough really didnt heat the motor much. I never really got this truck running as I ran into numerous problems with the receiver/ steering setup. However I did get frustrated with the whole thing and hard-wired the (2) 9.6 volt packs directly to the motor via a switch - threw the switch and watched it take off across a parking lot with no plan how to stop or steer it! Luckily at about 25 mph it threw the rear tires off (which I ended up "gorilla glueing" on) and crashed. This project has been mothballed for the past 8 months - maybe this summer. I will post some pictures once I figure out how to upload them to this site!
sarbjr138