I recently purchased a HPI Wheely King 4x4 with the intentions of making a crawler.

As it is designed to do wheelies, there are a number of things that must be done to tame its wild ways.

First you must take the battery pack carrier and move it from the back to the front to put the weight over the front wheels. As the front and rear axles are identical, its simply a matter of moving the steering linkages from front to back. Most people flip the steering servo over and move the linkages to oppposite side as well. I did mine a little different and instead of moving the servo, simply fabbed a new bellcrank mount and a new bellcrank while I was at it. When reversing the chassis, you must remember to swap the motor connectors too - just to make sure it goes in the right direction!!!I've also replaced the stock plastic steering links with brakelines, threaded rod and traxxas rod ends.

With plastic stock bellcrank (notice the stock mount is on the right hand side of the diff case)



With new aluminum bellcrank



The new bellcrank has a bushing inside as well as a nylon washer - both of which you can't see. There is no binding whatsoever.

I also replaced the plastic links in the rear axles that stop the wheels from moving (remember the axles are identical so its quite easy to make this thing 4WSing.) Again, I used trusty old brakelines and this time to remove any slop found in the rod ends, I soldered electrical connectors onto the ends of the lines.

Rear view.


I've also done some work on the stock tires. While they were already pretty soft, there was not a whole lot of sidewall flex and the tread pattern was not very open.

Here is the stock tire before cutting:


Here is the final product. Much better.


I am waiting for my parts to come in to extend my wheelbase. In its stock form the WB is 9.5 and I will be stretching this to 12.5. This requires new links and driveshafts. I expect my parts any day now.

I have also ordered a set of aluminum diff locks so that I don't have to JB weld them. These should make a vast improvement in crawling ability. I am expecting these any day now as well.

I realize that I've said most of this on my thread in the NB forum but I want to start fresh with this WK-specific thread.

Cheers and I'll keep you all posted as this project progresses,

Sean

WELCOME. MR. SEAND… this new site is perfect to discuss all our models other than the NEWBRIGHT. CHEER for your transfer here. I like your WHEELY-KING… I am jealous. I would like to have more information on this model… is it really a CLIMBING good: -)

PS......................................
Speak about this site to our friends which has crawlers other than NEWBRIGHT., they will be made certainly a pleasure of visiting this site…

This message has been edited. Last edited by: loulou,

Tex:

Right now, with the few simple mods I've made, its crawling over things my NB would not even attempt. Extending the WB and locking the diffs is going to be great improvement. Yesterday I was crawling in a field of boulders - about the size of basketballs - and it was climbing up and over them with no problems. While many say the stock 27t motor is weak, its incredibly strong compared to the stock and Jameco motors used in the NB. My stock articulation is really good too. Actually, in stock form, there is so much flex that the tires are already contacting the body. The dremelled tires are working great - they are really compressing well while climbing. Let's just say I'm having a blast!! I just wish I had a video camera.

Sean

It is true that camera-photo would be largely useful. We will wait… :-(

did you drill anymore holes in the rims?

Nope - just the two stock ones. The air comes out with a good "whoosh" upon compression during driving.

My diff lockers are sitting in an envelope on my kitchen island. Looks like I have a little project for later tonight!!!

Sean

Well I am officially locked. The whole process took less than an hour. Sort of disappointing as I was looking forward to a nice little project for the night. Here are some images:

Here's a WK diff case when cracked open:



Here's the diff locks (two installed in the carrier and two off to the left):



Ring gear installed. Notice the actual bearings!!



Its raining, cold and late now so I did not get a good chance to test them out. The turning radius is still quite good. The only thing you have to watch is that it now rolls over easier when turning at speed.

Cheers and thanks for looking,

Sean

I see that these GEARs do not come from a NEWBRIGHT-RUBICON :-)

You did good work MR. SEAND….

This crawler will be able to climb like a champion…

These axle assemblies are like night and day compared to the NB. First off, they come apart without having to break any tabs. All the gears are metal. There are real bearings. And the plastic housing a real nice solid feel to them. It was a real joy to take them apart, work on the internals and the put back together.

As you may guess, its quite a difference with the two axles now locked. Unlocked diffs. are OK in some cases (like bashing around the parking lot or backyard) but in most they're a pain in the rump!!

MY LHS tells me that I parts for my WB extension should be in today. If so, I will have a much bigger project tonight. My fingers are crossed.

By the way, thanks for dropping by - it lonely down here in the board's basement!!1

Sean

Tex:

What is the meaning of the two pictures in your last post? - the old bulding and the lump of rock?

For some reason the rock looks familiar!

Sean

I wanted quite simply to say that your WHEELY KING could climb these rocks… they are rocks of (( Newfoundland ))

This message has been edited. Last edited by: loulou,

glad to hear more about your wheely king. man i still haven't made up my mind on my "big" purchase i am planning to do. i have three things in mind but one jerks me one way and then another the other way. will be glad to see this thing on the rocks.

Well, I have half of the WK extended. I did the back half tonight. Left the front for tomorrow as this will involve moving the steering servo to the front axle and redoing the current linkages.

It went quite well and I am pleased so far. I need to find some #4 black bolts with plastic lock nuts to do the final job. The job tonight added about 1.5 inches to the stock WB so I should get to just over 12" by the time I'm finished. That's close to 3" additional WB.

Here is a shot of the first mock up:


These are the new driveshafts - half Traxxas, half HPI. I managed to used the diff yokes from the WK which worked out great because they were on backorder from the LHS and it save me a few dollars.



The current setup is quite smooth in the flex with no binding that I can find yet. I will take a good look at it tomorrow when I go to replace the present nuts/bolts with more suitable ones, i.e. black with lock nuts. Here is stock flex with no work whatsoever. The can is 7.5" tall. I will definitely need to trim the body after this job:



Here is shot with the body - notice how the rear wheels are almost off the back of the body? The perspective of this image does not do the real truck justice - it is actually longer than it looks in this picture




Well, that's enough for me. Its 1:00 AM and I tired!!

Sean

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SeanD,

looks great. i think you should test it with just the rear extended and see how that goes. maybe you could hit some kind of sweet spot by doing that. but i don't know cause i don't have one.

MR. SEAND, you included/understood my small history when I said that your WHEELY-KING would be ready to conquer these rocks of your country.

(( The rock does not miss in your country ))

This message has been edited. Last edited by: loulou,

I'm gonna be right behind you - my parts come in tomorrow ( hope I didn't forget anything )

Thinking hard on those diff lockers you picked up...

and thanks for those pics - pics are always GOOD !

ps: where did you find the axle stays that I can see on the bench ( everyone claims to be out )

Papa has a brand new stance... all 12.5 inches

Well I just completed the first iteration of my WB extension. I don't know how the shock placement will work out but it sure looks good to me. I also managed to move my steering servo to the front axle using the mount I fabbed out of 1/8 aluminum plate. Not hooked up yet buts it 1:00 and I'm dogged tired. Going to have a nice beer and sit back and admire my night's work,

Here are few snaps. Please pass along any comments/suggestion as this is my first time doing extensive suspension work.

Tex: I can't wait to hit those rocks - lots of them around here. Its amazing that this hobby isn't very popular here - maybe I can change that.

phatchantz: the extension was not that hard and there is room for creativity. Yep, those are real Tamiya stays. I can see future uses for them already.

The New Stance at 12.5"




Servo mount for front axle. Cut with hacksaw and dremel. I am very pleased with this one:


Another one showing mount:





One more for good measure:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SeanD,

Well, it appears that Wheely King is no longer an appropriate title for my new crawler - so in honour of both John Lee Hooker and Jim Morrison, I will now refer to my new rig as

Crawlin' Kingsnake


Cheers,

Sean

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SeanD,

looking good!

But does it crawl good - that remains yet to be seen. I will be reworking the steering links this evening and hooking up the servo for a test run. Hopefully, all will work fine!!

Sean