Clod Monster Truck Modifications

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JK building the "Son Of MudCow" for Off Road Productions

All Contents Supplied by James Kennedy

Constantly under Construction and Modified as this project gets built (updated...22 July 2003 )

              This is the Clod Kit, as you buy it in standard form.
Assembled Diff Gears

Front and rear before they are locked. The epoxy resin will be applied to the three spider gears. You don't need too much epoxy, only enough to cover a 50cent piece (50mm dia) is enough for one diff.
Locking The Diff Centre/Gears

A full scale diff center can be permanently locked by welding its cluster gears, For Clods we use epoxy resin. Once this is performed, there is really no going back to an open diff as this is a permanent mod. 
Sealing

We use blutac to seal one side of the diff to prevent the resin from flowing through the diff and out all over the workbench. Blutac is perfect for this application, because it doesn't leave behind any residue on the gears and will not bond with or react to the resin.
Resin

With both diff centres laying on their sides, carefully apply a blob of resin to each spider gear taking great care not to over-spill the resin into the teeth of the spur gear or the hex outdrives. Once the epoxy is placed, fit the top outright gear. Don't be attempted to touch the diff for at least 24hrs until the epoxy has hardened!!!
Break down of Diff Gears

Here is a breakdown of the diff gears. The largest gear is the spur gear, the 2 medium size gears are the out drive gears and the 3 smallest gears are the spider gears. The spider gears have a steel shaft which is held captive in the spur gear.
Gear Box

This is the assembled gearbox, the std gear box runs 13T pinion on the motor and provides a good balance between speed and torque for general back yard bashing. For serious crawling we use the smallest pinion available which has 8 Teeth. This provides a 38% gear reduction over the standard gearing and gives much more precise control at lower speeds. Engine breaking is also improved.
Custom steering servo mount. Partially assembled gearbox mount.
Fully assembled gearboxes / axle with custom steering links. Matching pair of axles
Partially assembled chassis  
Chassis with links and control arms laid out                                     
These photos show the build up of the suspension cantilevers.    
Drilling out holes for the shock mounts etc
Cantilevers mounted to chassis. The cantilevers use 2No 8mm x 4mm flange bearings at the pivots.    
Chassis and gearboxes during assembly.    
This photo shows the potential clearance at full suspension droop.
   
Various flex shots demonstrating suspension movement and cantilever action.
The final product, using a hard plastic body, gives good details and colour. Because we used the hard plastic body the spring rate had to be tuned a bit harder.
Unlike a real Jeep this one doesn't require a winch....he he he
Standard travel on the SOMC, just like MudCow.
DAMAGE TIME - R & D.........If you can break it, you can fix it.......he he....I hope !!!
Extra Modifications to SOMC - Making it a longer wheel base
Just by changing the ball links on both ends of the control arms with longer ones and adding temp spacers, SOMC gain an approx 1" in length. Handles those steeper climbs better, overall handles much better than before.
I changed the mounting position of the cantilever control arms and are now fixed to the upper arm, They don't seem to get in the way and distort as much under articulation.