mombobuggy
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Highland
Wow I have always looked up to Cheston and the Scout But the newest version of it truly blows my mind. Nice work Buddy i love it.
ChestonScout installs some Axletechs and reworks the Scout for the umpteenth time
- Thread starter ChestonScout
- Start date
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
it seems like my welds are still cooling any time I have a big deadline for my rigs. Congrats on making it there.
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Thanks for the kind words!
Sorry for the delay with the update. Laptop is on the fritz and it takes me forever to use the phone so Ive been putting it off
The trip to Idaho was uneventful. Just how I like them. Got to the park around noon Friday. I unloaded and drove around the parking lot a couple times. I figured that was a good enough test for the comp so I pretty well hung out and tried to relax a little.
The comp started early Saturday morning. My confidence was low but I was more than happy to just have gotten the rig there.
on the way to the first event. The RTI ramp
I haven't seen any pics of me on the ramp. I knew it wouldn't score to well with the extended wheel base. I think I took 6th in the RTI
Next up was the sled pull. My heavy pig has always done decent on the sled pull so I was looking forward to it. Also the first real test. I upgraded my N2O jets to 150 hp over the 75 and hadn't tested so it was all a crap shoot.
I know I saw video of the run but ill be danged if I can find it. So have to settle for some pics
The old 460 really seemed to like the 150 jets. It hooked good and packed the left front tire a little ways. The whole time I had my finger on the N2O switch waiting to hear something bad. It was good enough to tie Leroy for first place with a 8.25 second run
Needless to say I was pretty stoked. It held together and did well
Next up was the Obstacle Course. This event is mostly on the MX track at the park. I didn't hit it very hard since I had no clue what the suspension was going to do. It was fun and I had a good run going til the end. My lack of seat time caught up with me. You have to spin a circle around a tire in a corner. I hit the wrong rear steer button and had to stop. I thought the rear steer was broken. It wasn't moving. Well it was because I kept hitting the wrong button. As soon as I tried the other one I straightened out and went to finish. I cant remember what place I was in this event. 6th or 7th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2yQvpEspI0
Sorry for the delay with the update. Laptop is on the fritz and it takes me forever to use the phone so Ive been putting it off
The trip to Idaho was uneventful. Just how I like them. Got to the park around noon Friday. I unloaded and drove around the parking lot a couple times. I figured that was a good enough test for the comp so I pretty well hung out and tried to relax a little.
The comp started early Saturday morning. My confidence was low but I was more than happy to just have gotten the rig there.
on the way to the first event. The RTI ramp
I haven't seen any pics of me on the ramp. I knew it wouldn't score to well with the extended wheel base. I think I took 6th in the RTI
Next up was the sled pull. My heavy pig has always done decent on the sled pull so I was looking forward to it. Also the first real test. I upgraded my N2O jets to 150 hp over the 75 and hadn't tested so it was all a crap shoot.
I know I saw video of the run but ill be danged if I can find it. So have to settle for some pics
The old 460 really seemed to like the 150 jets. It hooked good and packed the left front tire a little ways. The whole time I had my finger on the N2O switch waiting to hear something bad. It was good enough to tie Leroy for first place with a 8.25 second run
Needless to say I was pretty stoked. It held together and did well
Next up was the Obstacle Course. This event is mostly on the MX track at the park. I didn't hit it very hard since I had no clue what the suspension was going to do. It was fun and I had a good run going til the end. My lack of seat time caught up with me. You have to spin a circle around a tire in a corner. I hit the wrong rear steer button and had to stop. I thought the rear steer was broken. It wasn't moving. Well it was because I kept hitting the wrong button. As soon as I tried the other one I straightened out and went to finish. I cant remember what place I was in this event. 6th or 7th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2yQvpEspI0
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Mud pit was next. Again the nitrous made all the difference in this event. Ran good for a tired old junkyard 460
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSsm7QiqFkM
That put me 2nd place right behind Leroy. Probably the funnest run of the day for me. I couldn't see anything and just kept it pinned figuring when I got to the end the splash would stop. Good time but we were dirty. Half surprised the wife rode with me. The passenger side is missing floor and firewall still. But I was just as dirty as she was
[/QUOTE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSsm7QiqFkM
That put me 2nd place right behind Leroy. Probably the funnest run of the day for me. I couldn't see anything and just kept it pinned figuring when I got to the end the splash would stop. Good time but we were dirty. Half surprised the wife rode with me. The passenger side is missing floor and firewall still. But I was just as dirty as she was
[/QUOTE]
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
ITTC is cool because minutes after every event they post the scores up from that event and how you are sitting over all.
As per usual, I was sitting in 2nd place all day....Behind Skipped_Link (Leroy)
No exception after the mud pit. Last event is the Rock Course. Leroy and I both ended up pretty early in the running order but he ran before me. They had a 2 cone and your done penalty in place and the course was pretty good. Leroy was the first competitor to make it to the rock wall. He was doing his best to not plow down the obstacle. He got a little sideways and got into a cone. Well right off the starting line he had a bad bounce and took out the second cone into the course. So he was done. I had a chance to take the win. It was going to be tough. Basically I needed to win the rock course. There were LOTS and LOTS of very capable rigs behind me and I knew the course was gonna get easier. So I lined up and gave it a shot.
And then disaster struck. Broke the rear knuckle
HAHAHA Not really. That's just the insane steer angle of the Axletechs[/QUOTE]
As per usual, I was sitting in 2nd place all day....Behind Skipped_Link (Leroy)
No exception after the mud pit. Last event is the Rock Course. Leroy and I both ended up pretty early in the running order but he ran before me. They had a 2 cone and your done penalty in place and the course was pretty good. Leroy was the first competitor to make it to the rock wall. He was doing his best to not plow down the obstacle. He got a little sideways and got into a cone. Well right off the starting line he had a bad bounce and took out the second cone into the course. So he was done. I had a chance to take the win. It was going to be tough. Basically I needed to win the rock course. There were LOTS and LOTS of very capable rigs behind me and I knew the course was gonna get easier. So I lined up and gave it a shot.
And then disaster struck. Broke the rear knuckle
HAHAHA Not really. That's just the insane steer angle of the Axletechs[/QUOTE]
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
http://youtu.be/erPnc3379UI
So when I got to the rock wall I hit the top left cone barely. Backed down. I knew that cone was now dead so just went for it. I knew I had zero time to waste and I was pissed I didn't one shot the hill.
It was kind of a mess. They wont call the cones if they are hit by flying rocks or if you shake them down.
They called my run CLEAN with a time of 1:20!!! Hell ya.....I did what I had to do. Now just had to see if anyone could beat that time.
The event lasted a long time and I was pretty excited. BUT then it happened. Another competitor told me that I hit a second cone. I told him he was on crack and they called the run clean. I knew the barrel fell off on the side of the run flat obstacle but I didn't hit the concrete it was sitting on.
So I watched that vid that I just posted. On my second try up the rock wall my left rear plows the barrel pretty good and the judge was watching in front of me. He didn't see it. But there it was. So first thing I did was went and told him. He told me right there they cannot judge off instant replay and the ruling on the course stands.
I didn't feel right about it at all. But I wanted the win......BAD. Finally luck fell my way at this event.
So I waited and watched to see if someone could beat my time. If someone did I wouldn't have to worry about anything. Only 4 other guys finished the course. Pretty brutal. The next fastest time was 2:30ish.
So after some discussion with the judges, they told me they weren't going to change the ruling unless I wanted them to basically. I wanted them to make the call but I knew what was right.
So I went to the awards ceremony with my name in FIRST PLACE OVERALL. But when they called my name for the winner of the rock course, I went up, grabbed the award and tried to say what had happened. Im horrible at speaking anyway and add some emotion to that Im sure no one knew what I was talking about. But I finally got out that the winner was Greg Tory and the trophy was his.
The score keeper had the computer there and adjusted the points accordingly.
I ended up in second place.....again. 6th time at this event. Leroy took the win for the 7th year in a row. Crazy!!
What it boiled down to was I want to win, but I want it to be legit. Leroy is a damned good friend to. No sense in putting something trivial between us.
And how the hell could I even be even a little disappointed?? The rig was 90% new, I hadn't wheeled in a year, I had zero test time. Looking at it that way made me very satisfied. Always next year right?? Ive been saying that for 5 or 6 years Im pretty sure
Another very cool thing about ITTC is they always make very cool custom trophies. Yes second place is a International valve cover! And every event gets trophies along with the 3 different classes.
Here are the winners.
Leroy Latham 1st
Cheston Beck 2nd
Larry Dowd 3rd
and James Pickard won the Super Hero award.
I look forward to this event more than anything every year. Just a dang good time with dang good people[/QUOTE]
So when I got to the rock wall I hit the top left cone barely. Backed down. I knew that cone was now dead so just went for it. I knew I had zero time to waste and I was pissed I didn't one shot the hill.
It was kind of a mess. They wont call the cones if they are hit by flying rocks or if you shake them down.
They called my run CLEAN with a time of 1:20!!! Hell ya.....I did what I had to do. Now just had to see if anyone could beat that time.
The event lasted a long time and I was pretty excited. BUT then it happened. Another competitor told me that I hit a second cone. I told him he was on crack and they called the run clean. I knew the barrel fell off on the side of the run flat obstacle but I didn't hit the concrete it was sitting on.
So I watched that vid that I just posted. On my second try up the rock wall my left rear plows the barrel pretty good and the judge was watching in front of me. He didn't see it. But there it was. So first thing I did was went and told him. He told me right there they cannot judge off instant replay and the ruling on the course stands.
I didn't feel right about it at all. But I wanted the win......BAD. Finally luck fell my way at this event.
So I waited and watched to see if someone could beat my time. If someone did I wouldn't have to worry about anything. Only 4 other guys finished the course. Pretty brutal. The next fastest time was 2:30ish.
So after some discussion with the judges, they told me they weren't going to change the ruling unless I wanted them to basically. I wanted them to make the call but I knew what was right.
So I went to the awards ceremony with my name in FIRST PLACE OVERALL. But when they called my name for the winner of the rock course, I went up, grabbed the award and tried to say what had happened. Im horrible at speaking anyway and add some emotion to that Im sure no one knew what I was talking about. But I finally got out that the winner was Greg Tory and the trophy was his.
The score keeper had the computer there and adjusted the points accordingly.
I ended up in second place.....again. 6th time at this event. Leroy took the win for the 7th year in a row. Crazy!!
What it boiled down to was I want to win, but I want it to be legit. Leroy is a damned good friend to. No sense in putting something trivial between us.
And how the hell could I even be even a little disappointed?? The rig was 90% new, I hadn't wheeled in a year, I had zero test time. Looking at it that way made me very satisfied. Always next year right?? Ive been saying that for 5 or 6 years Im pretty sure
Another very cool thing about ITTC is they always make very cool custom trophies. Yes second place is a International valve cover! And every event gets trophies along with the 3 different classes.
Here are the winners.
Leroy Latham 1st
Cheston Beck 2nd
Larry Dowd 3rd
and James Pickard won the Super Hero award.
I look forward to this event more than anything every year. Just a dang good time with dang good people[/QUOTE]
Last edited:
TJDukit
I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S.
- Location
- Clearfield
Good on you Cheston. Thats awesome to stand up like that and give up that first place.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
Great writeup, great coverage, and great display of character. To me, that story was even better than if you hadn't hit a second cone and you had won. Great job building your rig right the first time and not having any issues! I can't believe how sharp those axles can steer, that's insane.
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Its been awhile since a update! Ive been working a ton of hours on it but not a lot of real progress to show.
First matter of business after ITTC was to get some shifters built for the T cases. I bought the triple stick cable shifters from NWF when I bought the BlackBox but Ive never been real happy with them. They worked fine, and I even bought the Ford brackets for it when I swapped from Chev to Ford 205. But after looking at the setup I now had and some wise words from a friend, it was dumb not to try to build mechanical. Ive never built shifters before so this was a new one for me.
Since all my drivetrain is Ford now I was able to utilize the stock pivot point on the C6. If your using the stock point, may as well use the stock shifter parts to right? Only problem is needing them twin sticked. So I got 2 of the stock levers and just stacked them. This brought a problem. The stock uses a shouldered bolt with a bushing to ride on. I searched McMaster Carr for days trying to find a bronze bushing that would work for me with no luck. I didn't want to pay so have one machined so had to get creative. The hole is about 1" diameter but uses a .5" bolt. So I cut some circles out with a hole saw to weld into the shifter
made 4 of them and I was able to drill the hole out to .5". I thought about drilling a grease zerk in but there really isn't anywhere for grease to go. I can just deal with the metal on metal
next was handles. I decided to just use some wrenches. Cheap, strong, and I think they fit the rig. I even had a 10 dollar off coupon at Orielly.
all tacked in
For linkage I ordered up some .5" tube and drilled and tapped it for 5/16" rod ends. I even used left hand threads on one side to make them easily adjustable.
look like suspension links for a U4 :flipoff2:
Then just bolt them in place
There isn't anything fancy about them, and I haven't used them much yet, but so far I'm extremely happy with how they work
First matter of business after ITTC was to get some shifters built for the T cases. I bought the triple stick cable shifters from NWF when I bought the BlackBox but Ive never been real happy with them. They worked fine, and I even bought the Ford brackets for it when I swapped from Chev to Ford 205. But after looking at the setup I now had and some wise words from a friend, it was dumb not to try to build mechanical. Ive never built shifters before so this was a new one for me.
Since all my drivetrain is Ford now I was able to utilize the stock pivot point on the C6. If your using the stock point, may as well use the stock shifter parts to right? Only problem is needing them twin sticked. So I got 2 of the stock levers and just stacked them. This brought a problem. The stock uses a shouldered bolt with a bushing to ride on. I searched McMaster Carr for days trying to find a bronze bushing that would work for me with no luck. I didn't want to pay so have one machined so had to get creative. The hole is about 1" diameter but uses a .5" bolt. So I cut some circles out with a hole saw to weld into the shifter
made 4 of them and I was able to drill the hole out to .5". I thought about drilling a grease zerk in but there really isn't anywhere for grease to go. I can just deal with the metal on metal
next was handles. I decided to just use some wrenches. Cheap, strong, and I think they fit the rig. I even had a 10 dollar off coupon at Orielly.
all tacked in
For linkage I ordered up some .5" tube and drilled and tapped it for 5/16" rod ends. I even used left hand threads on one side to make them easily adjustable.
look like suspension links for a U4 :flipoff2:
Then just bolt them in place
There isn't anything fancy about them, and I haven't used them much yet, but so far I'm extremely happy with how they work
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
next was the shifter for the Black Box. I kind of ghetto fabbed this one together quick. I may redo it someday.....maybe not. Its working
I made a bracket to bolt onto the trans adapter and welded a coupler on it to use as the pivot point. I used a nylock nut to cinch up to the coupler so the handle can still move and the bolt wont come loose
For a handle I used one of my old cable shifter handles and welded a tab to it. Then just the same tube and heims that were used for the 205 shifter
got the slots cut out in the top piece, and called it a day
I made a bracket to bolt onto the trans adapter and welded a coupler on it to use as the pivot point. I used a nylock nut to cinch up to the coupler so the handle can still move and the bolt wont come loose
For a handle I used one of my old cable shifter handles and welded a tab to it. Then just the same tube and heims that were used for the 205 shifter
got the slots cut out in the top piece, and called it a day
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Some of the competitions I've been going to are now requiring a metal roof. When I rebuilt the cage I tried to keep this in mind to make my life a little easier.
I bought a sheet of .125 aluminum and cut it down to size. I wish I would have got more pics of messing with the plate but I didn't. As you can see I wanted the front to bend down to the brow bar. I of course do not have a sheet metal brake so again....creativity came out. I built a big 4' wide pry handle and with every clamp I own tried to get it to bend. HA Shit is strong!! I ended up scoring the back side with the skill saw. Then set it back up in my clamped mess. That did the job
The back I just tried beating down with a rubber mallet. Figured if it didn't work I could just cut it off. But it did the job
Just used a bunch of mounting tabs and drilled and tapped a couple holes to keep it in place. Should pass tech
I bought a sheet of .125 aluminum and cut it down to size. I wish I would have got more pics of messing with the plate but I didn't. As you can see I wanted the front to bend down to the brow bar. I of course do not have a sheet metal brake so again....creativity came out. I built a big 4' wide pry handle and with every clamp I own tried to get it to bend. HA Shit is strong!! I ended up scoring the back side with the skill saw. Then set it back up in my clamped mess. That did the job
The back I just tried beating down with a rubber mallet. Figured if it didn't work I could just cut it off. But it did the job
Just used a bunch of mounting tabs and drilled and tapped a couple holes to keep it in place. Should pass tech
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Nice work on the shifters, some meticulous work for sure but taking your time paid off. I love use of the wrenches! The roof looks great, too.
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Remember months ago when I broke my thumb? Ya....it never healed so lucky me I got to have surgery
This slowed down production pretty bad. But I'm glad I did it. Feeling pretty good now. It took a couple months tho. I did lose some mobility but so far I haven't noticed it causing any problems. Should get better with some more time to
This slowed down production pretty bad. But I'm glad I did it. Feeling pretty good now. It took a couple months tho. I did lose some mobility but so far I haven't noticed it causing any problems. Should get better with some more time to
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Since ITTC I have taken the rig out 3 times. And had failures each time.
First trip the Alternator pooped the bed just unloading off the truck. Bearing seized. This is pretty typical after the mud pit at ITTC. I'm pretty sure I replace an alternator every year after that.
Next trip I got a couple miles up the trail and the shaft broke off in the front power steering pump. I drove out backwards with the rear steer.
3rd trip I hauled it to NV for the annual New Years Day run. Blew the new power steering pump up pretty early in the day. I had pulled the shim on the pressure relief valve as normal but this one needed it. It was coil bound inside so it couldn't do its job and BOOM. But at least this trip was in snow so even with my hand in a cast I could sort of drive. It was to cold to get many pics
guess this is what you do with no front steering...Click the pic for the video
Still had a blast. I'm pretty excited to get the rig dialed in. I think its going to work well
First trip the Alternator pooped the bed just unloading off the truck. Bearing seized. This is pretty typical after the mud pit at ITTC. I'm pretty sure I replace an alternator every year after that.
Next trip I got a couple miles up the trail and the shaft broke off in the front power steering pump. I drove out backwards with the rear steer.
3rd trip I hauled it to NV for the annual New Years Day run. Blew the new power steering pump up pretty early in the day. I had pulled the shim on the pressure relief valve as normal but this one needed it. It was coil bound inside so it couldn't do its job and BOOM. But at least this trip was in snow so even with my hand in a cast I could sort of drive. It was to cold to get many pics
guess this is what you do with no front steering...Click the pic for the video
Still had a blast. I'm pretty excited to get the rig dialed in. I think its going to work well
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
Since then I have just been doing tin work. I'm horrible at it so ill just post the pics
Still a long ways to go
Still a long ways to go
ChestonScout
opinions are like Jeeps..
- Location
- Clinton, Ut
As you can see in that last pic, I have added a double A pillar. There has been some pretty good debate about what is needed and what isn't as far as tube size, wall thickness, double pillars, etc... for heavy rigs. Although I feel this tube wasn't NEEDED, its not gonna hurt anything. And if it makes passing tech easier than its worth it.
Plus it gives the wife a better handle to grab on while getting in the rig
Plus it gives the wife a better handle to grab on while getting in the rig
