Kyosho Nitro Blizzard

[StevePond]

Thread started at the request of Blaneo

[fastharry]

heres mine..

[blaneo]

Thanks so much for the thread Steve, we all really appreciate it. We won't let you down. Now all I have to do, is get some pictures taken also. Thanks again

[blaneo]

Nice Blizzard, I love all the paint work you did. It really sets it off. Have you made any improvements to it, since purchasing? I have a new body order for mine and want to do something really radical with it. I also want to get some kind of other body style for mine. But finding something that looks nice and fits right is proving to be a challenge.

[RallyRoach]

We have an Electric Blizzard forum too under the Electric Off-road section. Now I just need to get a nitro and I can hang out in both camps...

RallyRoach

[blaneo]

Here's my Blizzard. I hope this works, this is the first time I have tried to post a picture. I took this just before I took it out into Blizzard conditions. I ran four tanks of fuel through yesterday and had a ball. I was having problems with it steering in deep snow. I was right about it being just the deep snow. Yesterday we had about 1-1/2" of new snow and I found that my steering is too tight. Now it turns on a dime, right now. I need to change to one of my other radios, one with proportional steering. That should help.

[CJ-5]

Woo hoo time for Blizzard talk.....lol

Well I don't have a pic as of yet but I really want a couple soon to show the progree on my dozer project. So far mods are still few and far between but i now have a nice Airtronics 6ch radio for the dozer and her controls. I got the engine running and polished the head, and rebuild the tranny and cleaned and lubed all the bearings. When I took the engine apart I reoved the piston and con rod and spun the crankshaft w/flywheel to see how nice it was, it was like an Electric motor, as soon as you stopped forcing it she slowed down. So I sat it in some degreaser and now it spins forever its great.

I am currently trying to fix my suspension settings on those stupid Bogey wheels. it's a pain, the last owner had it setup all wrong. Now im pulling everything apart and resetting it all. It's a real pain but I gotta do it.

[blaneo]

What's the basis for the bulldozer? What are you using for the cab and blade? What engine are you using? Any thought about what fuel you'll use?

I am thinking about moving up to .15 os engine. Currently running the original engine with 15% nitro and 18% oil. I'm not sure what plug I have in it, it's the one the prevous owner had. I am going to have to write him and find out, it is holding up really well. I have ran better then a quart of fuel through already, and I think that is alot for as small a tank as it has. I am going to have to try some fuel with a little less oil in it and see if I can get this baby to go a little faster. I got all my new replacemnet parts yesterday from Tower, except the body. I don't need any of them yet, so they will just collect dust until something breaks.

[skyrydr]

I thought I was the only nut with a Blizzard but I see I'm not alone LOL . We are getting snow as I type this hear in Mass.
I love trying to cllimb the snow banks with mine .

[blaneo]

So that's what happened to my snow! We were suppose to get that storm here in NW Ohio, but it missed us. I was so bummed not being able to run my Blizzard today. But then it was nice not plowing snow also.

[skyrydr]

Hi Blaneo , This is where your snow went LOL , You know what is really neet ? Is when you get to actually run one of these for real! I groom snowmobile trails with one that looks almost exactlly like mine ! I run a Piston Bully (200 HP ) .
http://www.coldbrooksnowmobilers.com/pb1.jpg

[blaneo]

Wow that is so cool! That has to be fun to run around in. I am thinking of doing just about the same exact thing with my Blizzard. I bought a plow for it, but it doesn't llok right with it. And I have a yellow strobe light for it, to add to the driving lights I plan to add. The plow is going to be the tricky thing, but some thinking and time will get it made. Is your Blizzard stock, or have you made some modifications to it?

[skyrydr]

basically stock ,all I did was fill the diff with silcone lube so it worked more smoothly,and bored out the carb so it had a little more power ,but unless you have access to a machine shop I wouldn't try it . Other than that it's box stock .

[CJ-5]

i am running the stock engine as of now, but I have a Traxxas Pro,15 that has been ported and will be dropped into the blizzard. Right now I am painting the engine with some John Deere Yellow engine paint, it won't burn off and the caster oil wont break it down so it comes off. The eshaust is the coolest part, I am re routing the exhaust tube from that stupid canister in the chassis up through the body into a scale exhaust stack, right now I'm currently working out the rain cap for the stack and getting the right weight for the counterweight to bring it down.

The Body is the next part of the project, no one makes one, so here I come with my sheets of tin. I bought a whole bunch of older tin pales from a friend that were in good condition, I cut the tops and bottoms off the other day and right now their sitting between 2 4x8 sheets of plywood with cinder blocks on top so they will straighten out.

Fuel, well I have decided this Kyosho engine of mine is shot, I only paid 15 bucks for my blizzard. What originally happened was I bought 2 Super Blackfoots from a friend for 15 bucks, put em together, and 4 months later I found a kid with this NB and he thought my blackfoots were cool and I wanted some cool winter project so I told him I would trade, the blizzard was RTR, and the blackfoots were ARR. So anyways I decided this engine isnt worth much since I have a few Pro 15's sitting around and some other crappy .15's that I'm gonna run some cheap airplane fuel or whatever cheap fuel i can find. Around here (canada) fuel is 58 bucks per gallon of traxxas fuel, aboutt he cheapest I can get, airplane fuel is 18 bucks a gallon. I run airplane fuel in my NB and good Trinity fuel in my other nitros.

If you figure out what Glowplug your engine has, wanna let me know? I am also running the same glowplug the last owner had on this thing, and I have no idea what it is, The stupid thing is so old its actually gone from aluminum coloured to a nice shade of burnt yellow.

[skyrydr]

My Blizzard has the stock plug it came with ,I would recommend
an OS A3 plug for it . As for fuel ,I run Blue Thunder 20% for all my
small engines and I try when ever possible to run O'Donnell fuel
in all my .21's .
When you make your stack pipe make sure you put a drain in the bottom so all the oil that accumulates will drain out ,If you don't do this you will have all kinds of engine troubles !

[CJ-5]

Yep I already had a friend suggest that a few months ago. I thought about it but I was stumped and he came up with an idea. When I puilled the old one apart before I even had this thing running there was a real mess inside that thing. I think it was about half full of oil. Make no mistake mine was not and still isnt really worth restoring or saving, thats why I went ahead with this project. So far it hasnt cost me anything. I have the Blade, plow frame and the mounts all finished.

The blade is perfectly scale, I have the front roll correct, the widths and mounts are even right. Instead of making it from brass like I wanted to I had a sandcasting project due in Manufacturing class so I sandcasted the blade. We had to make several molds before I was happy. I had to make sides out of wood, then find a large piece of high density building foam then make 2 small side plates to get the general shape. We made a little hot wire cutter, we got a piece of wire 30" long and took some old Hockey sticks cut them up to make a large U shape and string the wire between them. All we needed was a power source so we used a Battery charger set on start to power the wire and heat it up and then just run the wire over the edges so it cut the foam inbetween it to the correct size, then I just sanded it a bit to smooth out some edges.

The blade mounts and frame were also made at school. I also had to do a machining project, I wanted to make the arms out of aluminum. We had a couple old larger wrenches layin around at home they were just the right thickness but way too long and high. So I brought em to school and machined them on the vertical mill. I took them from 1.0325" down to .657thou or 11/16's of an inch. We made all that then welded them together and ground the welds down and drilled the holes for the bushings and the axle to slide in for the Pivot.

For lift I was originally looking at Robart Air Cylinders, but the longest travel cylinder they have is 2 3/8", my blade has more than 5" travel so I am using 2 high torque servo's with 2" aluminum arms connected to a hidden lift bar on the frame. I will have 2 Dummy cylinders on the outside to simulate the lift. All this take up a ton of room on the chassis so, I reversed everything. Instead of trying to make room on the chassis around the engine and fuel tank at the front I simply took the axle that drives the wheels, turned it upside down so the truck will drive reverse in forward and so on. Now I have the whole rear chassis for the servo's and lift frame. That also meand the engine is in the back where the cab is which leaves a lot more overhead room. I will be mounting a 300cc tank on the chassis now.

My main goal for this project isn't really the function. It is probably going to be a little unreliable, and because of the weight I think im lookin at a major regear. But I am big into Heavy Equipment, im building this to be a really cool model. I am going for scale looks above everything else. Also if it is scale I can sell it for a lot more if I so choose. In 1996 a guy in the U.S. made a 1/16th scale John Deere combine, it was just a static model but because of the precision it sold for 8000bucks. I'm not lokin to get that but so far the original price was 15 bucks and I have put about 125 bucks into the project and most of that was on the 6ch radio with servos, packs and so on. Basically im building the ultimate Tonka Toy.

[skyrydr]

C-J are you building a bulldozer or a scaled up groomer????
I never saw 2 lift cylinders on a groomer's blade ? I run a bunch of different groomers and none of them have 2 lift cylinders ?
They all have one for liting,one for tilting the blade ,and 2 for angling it ,all this on a quick detatch style of mounting ??
Earlier I posted a link to one of the groomers that I operate ,take a look at it ok .

[blaneo]

skyrydr:
So I guess I just screwed up my carb, using that drill bit? LOL no I didn't do that.
I took a look at the picture of the groomer, just what I have in mind. When are the new pictures of the groomer going to be posted at the website? Do you know? I would like to see a closer look at the hookup linkage. I racked my brain all day yesterday trying to visualize how I would hook it up with two servos. I want to be able to raise and lower, and swing left and right. The travel will be the tricky part, multiple linkages I expect will have to be used. I really don't want to add a great big arm to the servo, but that may be what I have to do.

CJ-5:
I havn't written the other guy about the glowplug as yet. I have a Nitro Baja Beetle that I am building and he asked me questions about it, so I am waiting to get that finished first. My glowplug has taken a really tarnished look also. I can't figure out why this plug has lasted so long. In my Nitro USA-1, I have went through 3 or 4 plugs in less time and fuel. Go figure. You certainly are taking this bulldozer project seriously. I believe it is going to be a killer model when you get it finished. Can't wait to see the finished model.

I have decided that I am going to scrap the idea of getting a .15 engine for my Blizzard. The engine for the Nitro Beetle is the same, so I am going to use that one and jump up to 20% nitro & 12% oil. That may give the extra speed I want. Plus I don't want to have 1/2 a gallon of fuel lying around all summer. If I switch engines then I don't have to break the new engine in until summer. Hey! There's a question I just thought of. If an engine is only ran during the winter months, should it be broken in during the winter temperatures? What do you guys think?

[skyrydr]

?? Personally ,I wouldn't run a nitro engine that I broke in during cold weather in the warm season as the piston mostlikely is worn in to a looser tolarance due to the cylinder not coming up to temp.
So the engine will run like a dog in the summer ?? Thats just my experience though , This also goes for airplane engines as well ,
as I fly planes too. I have one plane that I only fly when it's cold and the rest of them during the summer .

[CJ-5]

No I'm not building a groomer, I am building a John Deere 850C Series 2 Bulldowzer. It is run by a 240hp 8.1L (496cui) Inline 6 diesel engine.

Here are a couple specs, along with some pics to follow.
The Blade is 16.8" Wide and 4.2" Tall
The Tractor itself is 17.8" Long, with the Blade and frame installed with Extended Drawbar comes to about 22"
I will be weighting the machine to weigh about 20lbs, I wanna be able to push quite a load and the guys at our track are makin a little 5ft plow to pull behind it as a track groomer.
It comes to about 13" tall.

http://www.machinerytrader.com/images/machinery/fullsize/70460257.jpg

That is a 850C Series 1, but same machine.

http://www.machinerytrader.com/images/machinery/fullsize/70466301.jpg

Thats a 750B, But it shows the linkage for the blade and lift cylinders.

http://www.machinerytrader.com/images/machinery/fullsize/70453101.jpg

Theres another one.

http://www.machinerytrader.com/images/machinery/fullsize/00651009.jpg

Here's what im building if I can get my hands on another Nitro Blizzard.

http://www.machinerytrader.com/images/machinery/fullsize/70281087.jpg

There she is again. Diff Model but same sized machine.



I Guess I have shown enough pictures for today. If ya want more I can get many more. And if anyone is interested in other types of Heavy equipment, like excavators, 4wd Loaders, Backhoes, Scrapers, Compactors, Crawler loaders I can get tons of information. Give me a machine, the Manufacturer ie: John Deere, Caterpillar, Case International, and Model if you have one in mind and I can get pics and info.

[skyrydr]

Nope , I see that stuff every day at work ,I am a research and development engineer for a very successful attachment company for heavy equipment. My job is to play with equipment like that all day long and try to break it !! How's that for fun !!!

[CJ-5]

What company do you work for? I work on a farm, I get to play with these kinda toys too. I also work in a Heavy Equipment shop in the winter, and some for school. I have 2 tractors of my own, both older models but still pretty nice. One I have has been Nicknamed Fear The Deere!

I don't usually break much but I have mud bogged a John Deere 4455 4wd tractor pullin a 40 000lb Manure Spreader behind it. Took 2 400+hp tractors to pull me out.

[skyrydr]

I work for a company called Wain-Roy (owned by Woods)
Out here we don't have the need for any tractors with more than 250 hp as there are no fields big enough but we do have some pretty big construction equipment around.
I personally really like JD stuff but my brothers don't . They run
Linkbelts and New Holland stuff .I Like the way deeres' run and their hydraulic systems but as for comfort and visibility I think NewHolland and JCB's have it all over a Deere. (TLB's tractor loader backhoe) Dozers on the other hand ,Nothing runs like a DEERE !!! same with the Forestry stuff Deeres' have the woods wrapped up . Cat doesn't have a clue in the woods ,but they do make a decent excavator and dozers D6 and larger .

[CJ-5]

Uh oh, dont go dissin the Deere. Thats all we run at the farm. My grandfather also has a fair bit of John Deere Industrial Equipment. Comfort and Visibility is nice in the New Holland 675# we had last year but our 1979 310A Backhoe outdug that poor machine into the ground. Those old Cat D6 and larger dozers are nothin to brag about. I know a couple guys with D7R's and they throw the track right off the machine all the time when working on hills. The Elevated Sprocket has some pretty knarly disadvantages. I can Reccomend something better for the D6, D7 and D8's the John Deere 850C 2, 950C and the mighty 1050C.

As for Wain Roy, I have heard of em, we have some Wair Roy stuff around the yard for our skid steer loader. I think our old Backhoe we sold a couple years back had a Wain Roy Quick Coupler on it.We used to have a John Deere 310 Backhoe, we still have a 310A, and about 9 months ago we got a nice new 410G with Mechanical Front Wheel Drive and all the options, its a nice machine. We have rented a 850 sized dozer a couple times and right now have a 450LC and 992D-LC rented for a job. The Hydraulics are the best in the Industry, That new 675E backhoe we had last year was slower and had a less powerful hydraulic system than our 23 year old Deere.

Around my house most guys are runnin 120hp max on their big tractors, but my g/f's dad (the guy I work for), owns a couple thousand acres, he needs the big toys. He had a 8850 Deere with the old V-8 Diesel but it got sold and made way for 2 new 9520 Tractors. One has the big Bias Duals them big ole fat tires and the other has Triples. I take this stuff serious, I'm around it all the time. I think thats why I am so messed up, I have inhaled too much diesel exhaust.

[Canada]

where do you guys get these awsome things are they expensive, hard to find :eek:

[skyrydr]

Not dissin Deere ,they are awsome and there customer support is second to none! But they cost WAY to Much !! out here and
as for that NH you had it must have been sick because they have one of the fastest hoes in the industry -not the strongest but definately one of the fastest ,as for the loader ? well thats slow as dirt on the NH but stability and visability is great .so I guess you have to take the good with the bad LOL .As for the new deeres the 410g has great hydraulics because it has load sensing closed center hydraulics all the new smaller ones don't .
So they are on the same par as NH and JCB only Cat and Komatsu
have the closed center stuff.
But anyhow keep up the good work on the scaled version of your JD dozer ,are you going to use inboard or out board pushers for the blade ?

[CJ-5]

The pushers for the blade are inside the tracks. It was easier to rig up the lofting system so I chose to go with a WXLT configuration.

As for that new Deere's hydraulic system, yeah its incredible, compared to the old one WOW, but I like the old one. I'm used to it and it feels more like a backhoe. Im one of the only people who uses it.

My grandfather isnt a great fan of the Caterpillar backhoes, they were first with the excavator style boom for the backhoe itself, but he had one, I think it was the size of a deere 310D, but he cracked the boom and went through hydraulic cylinders like crazy. Another reason we didn't like their hoe's, it was a 4 stick, we all have 2 stick excavator style on our machines. I think that NH was 85 000 to buy, the 410G was 168 000. Yeah Deere has a much higher price on anything, but you get what you pay for. We get a monthly magazine that I'm sure you guys get if your doin a lot of attachments for deere equipment, and every month there is always something about someone who has a 25yr old deere doin the main work with their business. I have to admit I am closed minded, I am deere and deere only. I wont look at anything else. I suppose its one of my really bad faults, but they are known for quality. In my area all the construction companies are runnin an assortment, our main competition a couple years ago had 15 Cat hoes, 5 years ago they switched over to pure Case, now they have 21 Deere 310G's, 410G's and they were one of the only companies in Canada to get one of the new 710G's to test out. I got to sit in it, and looked at it, man was it nice. It's a big machine though, expensive too.

[skyrydr]

I'll let you know how that 710 g is as I am recieving one next week to install a auxillary hydraulic kit on it so they can run one our swingers on it . Deere sends them directly from the factory in Debuque, Iowa to me before they go to the dealer ,Pretty nice , They love the work I do on them and so do the dealers all over the US .
I like Deere as well but in my field I can't be close minded .

[CJ-5]

No you defintately can't. I can because I'm only exposed to small amounts of equipment, and my opinion doesnt count for much since I'm the low man on the ladder :D You guys get a different view on equipment, you never have it for super long periods of time. Our 310A has over 10 000 hours on it. My boss at the farm figures 2000 hours on a tractor would be about as bad as a million miles on a regular vehicle. Our 310A bit the dust years ago but my grandfather decided to repower it instead of buyin 2 new hoes. We got a nice 4.5L Powertech engine for it and its unbelieveble. I'm sure you have had some good experience with these, we have the same engine that was in the 410 series. We got a little more power under the hood. I am exposed to a lot more Farm Equipment than I am construction, I see Combines, Tractors, Tracked Tractors and all types of cool stuff. The one tractor I always liked was the John Deere 8850 4wd, it had a 855cui V-8 Diesel, but it got bad to keep running, not the best for efficiency, I heard last year the guy that bought it sent it out to Alberta to be repowered with a Cummins N-14C.

I thought Deere made a Wet Hydraulic kit for the hoe? Or is it a diff type than would be used with the swinger? I know in the dealserhip book I got yesterday they show a swinger on it and mention a Wet Hydraulic system and another for operating smaller hand hydraulic devices such as Jack Hammers.

I am going through college next year as a Hevy Equipment Operator, then I am going through as a HE Technician and then hopefully to get my Crane Operators Certificate. What are some of the Jobs over there at Wain Roy? I think it sounds pretty cool what you would be doin over there.


Now onto some R/C talk, I have been working on the NB tonight and made some developments. My next big part of this project is the body. It's gonna be a pain. I am cutting up old boxes and making a cardboard body for it. I just made a Hood, and crappy makeshift cab because I wanted to see what this beast will look like in the end. I am playing around cutting and adding pieces so it looks right. I have a couple models of the 850C that I am working off of and a couple old sales mauals and about 10 pages of measurement. Me and my girlfriend spent about 3 hours out in the cold one day at te dealership taking measurements and pictures and writing stuff down. I got it together now and it doesnt look too awful bad. I definately need to make some major inprovements but one of my worst fears is gone. I thought the engine was going to be pretty closed in, but with it sitting in the back now it has tons of room for a huge tank and a bigger cooling fan. I have also decided to make the Cab modular like on the real dozer. I don't want body clips running out everywhere so the hood and lower section of the cab will be attached to the chassis with screws around the bottom. But the top of the cab (everything above the fuel tank) will be removeable. I was thinking how can I attach it withot having a body clip of some sort, but I can have 3 alignment pegs inside the cab 2 on the side and 1 in the rear. So I would just slide the pegs on the cab into the holes in the chassis and the body would sit there. But This is bound to provide a gap between the cab and hood so I will make the pegs adjustable.

I also got a little excited and attached the stack and rigged up the exhaust system and started the engine for a second. It looked very nice to see the smoke coming from the stack. I was also messing around with some other ideas, since the guys at the track are building a pull behind groomer why not have a lift for it? I could rig up a couple HD servo's as a pick up like a real cultivator would have. I have a 6ch radio 3ch are used for driving and 1 for lift, that leaves 2 extra, I thought that I could have something like a fake Hydraulic line port on the back, it would just be a servo plug but take the servo wires and slide some black large gauge wire over it and double the lines up to look like a hydraulic hose.

I still have 1ch left over and I'm tryin to decide what to do with it. I am not planning on lights at the momtent and I have all the basic functions covered.
Any Ideas oh great one? You seem to be pretyt knowledgeable, but then again I guess you would have to.

[skyrydr]

Did you power tilt your blade ? I think that is as important as lifting it on a dozer ? I have a question ? what are you doing for suspension and the drive sprockets ?? I think it would look kind of funny with that little drive sprocket and angle at the rear of your dozer ??:D

[CJ-5]

Yeah I'm workin on the power angle. I will be installing it at a later date though. Since I'm goin for scale I wanna use a small pneumatic cylinder or hydraulic cylinder so it will come in a revision probably next winter. I am going for the PAT (Power Angle Tilt) blade. 6 way adjustable. I have thought of everything (everything obvious). I am even thinking about adding a forestry package to it, Limb Risers, Gaurding, Undercarriage Guards, light covers and guards, cylinder and line guards.

A Paralellogram ripper has also come into consideration.

Sprockets, yeah their naggin me too. I have taken care of the tensioner, it took some playin but I finally got that wheel ti sit level with the ground instead of flyin up all the time. The Suspension is being eliminated slowly, I am setting it up so that the wheels either sit already moved so they dont move any further or I'm locking it out completely. The little drivewheel is my problem. Naturally you think slap a big ole wheel on there, but I don't see too many dozers doin 20mph like that, because thats what'll happen. I have been thinkin about it and the only 2 ideas that come to mind right now are to leave it, and not worry about one imperfection, or install that big wheel and make a planetary, just move the sprocket down then install a planetary around it, and possibly take the gearing down even lower. Right now the NB tops out around 5mph, but I wouldn't be too awful bad off if I could get it around 3mph.

You have any suggestions? This is your life thinkin up things like this, and I'm sure you understand this a lot more than I do. I am just a kid and this is my hobby. i would like to know more and maybe sometimes pretend I do, but frankly sometimes I'm clueless.....lol

[Canada]

Originally posted by Canada
where do you guys get these awsome things are they expensive, hard to find :eek:
any awnsers

[CJ-5]

Ha ha I totally forgot about your question. Well Mine was bought 3 years ago by a guy I now race with. He got tired of the slow speeds so he put it on consignment at a hobby shop about an hour from my house. It was 475 bucks canadian and came rtr, a kid i know bought it, had it for 2 weeks hated it because when he could get the engine started he heard a awful noise inside the tranny. So he traded me 2 Tamiya Super Blackfoots for it, he is happy as a pig in poop with the SBF's. I got the NB home, put a couple shims on the head of the engine and cleaned it out, and I pulled the little cover of the tranny at the bottom, a screw came out, and when I got it started it never made a sound.

It's like some of these guys with Bruisers and Mountaineers, just the right place at the right time I guess. Hey Canada, where in Canada are you?

[skyrydr]

Hi Canada , these things you call them are very difficult to purchase, as kyosho stopped making them about a year and a half ago. So if you can find one most likely it will be used and abused . good luck.


CJ5 ,I have a great suggestion for you ,go down to the local 5&dime store and see if you can find a couple of power screw drivers or some really cheap cordless drills and Waa-laa a really nice set of planetaries . And they even have really neet mounting
on the inside so you should be able to make them work , with that sort of assembly you can get rid of the crappy chain drive and make it direct. Even more ideas , go to some of the battle bot web sights as they use that stuff for their robot drives . Good Luck

[blaneo]

Canada:
Skyrydr and CJ-5 went way off in left field talking about heavy equipment for a few days. CJ-5 is converting a Nitro Blizzard into a bulldozer. You came in, right in the middle of their discussion.

The Nitro Blizzard has been discontinued, but you can still find them. Tower Hobbies still has a bunch of replacemnet parts left to purchase. About the only thing they don't have is the body set and the drive wheels. Both of these are on order and are expected this mouth Ebay had a bunch of them going up for auction over Christmas. most were in really decent shape. The prices were not that bad, usually between 250-400 dollars. Higher end pricing being with radio and shipping. Also you can check the classifieds here. You could also check Hobby Shops, as someone may have one hiding on a shelf somewhere. You could also see if they have a bulletin board for customers. These vehicles are still out and people have lost interest, so you may have to ask about them. They won't jump out at you.

[blaneo]

There are two electric versions of the Blizzard on the auction block at eBay.

[skyrydr]

Your right Blaneo, we did get a little out of hand didn't we ?? LOL
I 'm not sure but I think the hobby store I frequent often might have one of these units still on the shelf I tried to call my freind that runs the shop and ask him but I could'nt reach him, I'll try later on and let you guys know if it's still there ok .
As for mine , my buddy at the store gave it to me because they were having problems with them and he wanted to know if I had the same trouble , (motor and steering ) And yes I had the same trouble every one else was having at the time but soon remedied
the troubles , the steering issue was easy ,I just went through the differential and filled it with shock oil to keep it smooth and cool and as for the engine I bored out the carb barrel a tiny bit larger and this improved it's drivability dramatically .Now it runs
from tank to tank perfectly and doesn't run hot either.

One of these days I am going to build a scale groomer for it with
working tounge and wheels .

[blaneo]

Skyrdyr:
I have been havinng problems with my steering for the past few weeks. I thought it was becuse I was running in deep snow, but it happened again today running in only an inch of snow. First it started on one side, then the other. Then I started getting a little bit back on the one side and I kept turning that way. I think the discs are getting wet, and the pads are not grabbing the way they should. I have another set of discs and pads that are made of either fibreglass or of carbon fibre, I can't really tell. But I am thinking that a simple little cover over the brake discs would do the job to keep the moisture out. It can't get in from the bottom, so it can only be coming from the top. I asked a friend with a electric version, and he said he never expierenced that problem. But then they don't have the cab cut open for the airflow over the engine. I am going to try the cover first. If that doesn't work, I may change the brake setup, or maybe try to setup some type of a wiper. What problems were they having with the engines?

[CJ-5]

Left field yep we were there...lol But thats what ya get, the NB discussion is kinda slow and this was just as much related as some of the other discussions on other vehicles.....lol

I never thought of those screwdrivers. I know a dollr store in michigan that has 3.6V ones for like 7 bucks with battery and charger.

Blaneo- I have had this problem, My discs look polished they are so used up. When I got this NB the nice part was I got tons of spare parts. I have 4 sets of discs, I also modified my pads a bit on mine to get way more bite. I took some 400grit sand paper and glued it to the calipers. It works great now, at first the steering it a little graspy where it will only turn full lock as soon as you steer, but after a few minutes it wears down a bit and works fine.

I was thinking about a system to enclose the brakes a little more. I plan on doin some pretty knarly stuff with my dozer and I thought maybe making some small rotor covers would help tremendously. Another thought that occured to me was those dudes gotta get pretty hot after extended use. What about a primitive type of Wet Disc Oil Cooled brakes? In the future parts are gonna be hard to find, so im plannin on makin parts everntually. I got a bag of stainless steel washers from school a couple weeks ago that are the perfect size for rotors. I was planning on making some to see to people who may need new ones.

I might also be willing to part with some extra parts I will not be using, I have a body thats in decent condition, 2 sets of guide wheels and sprockets, 3 packages of chains, enough extra links to build another set of tracks, the brake rotors, linkage, throttle cam, carb, cooling head, pullstart, and a gear set for the diff and tranny.

[skyrydr]

They would run really hot and then stall .... Typical of an inexspensive engine ,also they didn't have any power ,as for your steering problem that is typical ,that is what mine was doing as well so I serviced the diff and it works perfect now ,they will allways drift to one side or the other but that is normal even the real ones do the same thing .

[skyrydr]

Blaneo, and CJ-5 , If you guys try 30 wt. shock oil in the diff it should work super smooth , and if you noticed the tow hitch on the back of the rig is off-center and that is because it naturally pulls to the left so if it is towing something it will go straight ,
I run mine in the snow all the time and never had trouble with the steering brakes after I gooped the diff.
Make sure you clean out all the grease first ,if it steers to easily after you do this change the shock oil you used to -say 45 - 50 wt.
this is an old 1/8th scale buggy trick ,only they use WAY thicker oils 10,000 ,7000 and 5000 wt . just to give you an idea ?
Give it a try ok .

[blaneo]

Hey guys, I didn't mean anything by what I wrote. I was reading everything as you wrote it, I deal with implement equipment everyday. I used to work for Mack International years ago. The only reason I didn't jump in, was because I deal with it all day at work, and I don't get into that stuff after work. And most of the discussion was directed to CJ's project. So, no biggie.

Skyrdyr:
I'm not expierencing any drift in my vehicle, just that the discs get wet. The only problem I have with the engine is wen I first start up. I have to leave the glowplug attached for a minute or so, and rev the engine a bit until it warms up. If I don't, it will stall out as soon as I hit the throttle and put a load on the drivetrain. What exactually did you do to the carb? And was there a big jump in performance? I am still a bit aprehensive about packing the diffs and trannys of vehicles. I feel it does nothing but add more load to the drivetrain. But I have with my Nitro Beetle. I will see what happens, and make my own decision. I use synthetic grease with PTFE. This sems to stay where you put it and not sling off, leaving just a thin film for lubricating.

CJ-5:
You sound as bad as me when it comes to parts. I have everything to build another BLizzard except for the side panels and the decks. I am already working on making these out of aluminum. I'm not quite sure about adding a wet brake systems to these vehicles. I think it would be more bother then it would be worth. But I think it would fit right in on your bulldozer. You have been keeping pretty true to it, so why not. I was just looking at mine. Those original pads look like they are nothing but hi-temp gasket material. I think regular gasket material would be better, as it is a coarser grade. I am heading more to a simple cover. Gotta remember the simplier something is, the easy it is to work on.

[CJ-5]

No I wasn't meaning anything by my comment. So it looks like the 3 main guys in here are all into heavy equipment? I can understand why ya didn't wanna get into this here too....lol I have been there, but I am a total weirdo when it comes to this stuff so I will discuss it anywhere.

Skyryder: I am also not getting much drift. I was wondering why they would put that tow hook offset, well ya learn something new every day. The Wet Disk system is more of a "cool" idea than a "performance" idea. I'm staying true to it because I went to a dealership near me and the guys there are really interested and they wanna see it when she's done. I know they will go over every aspect of the machine. That and I plan on tellin people its a real John Deere instead of a Kyosho :D

I even painted the engine block Deere yellow and im lookin for some yellow fuel line and stuff like that. I also bought a little PowerTech stocker to put on the side of the engine compartment. Now if I could only find a way to get black smoke from it instead of blue, without adding an airplane smoke system anyways. I am starting to run short of room. I gotta stuff a lot of servos and later on a airtank inside.

[Canada]

Thanks for the awnsers. I live in northern ontario and the nitro blizzard is kind of appealing to me because I could make a groomer which would be awsome.:D

[skyrydr]

Hi folks ,just got back from grooming tonight ,was grooming with the Tucker Sno-Cat ,has a 8'x18' Mogul Master behind it and man are those trails BEAUTIFUL ! This has been one of the best years ever for snow here in Mass.

[blaneo]

Canada:
Glad to see you back. I will keep my eyes and ears open for a Nitro for you. I will let you know if I find one.

Skyrdyr:
It has been a good year for snow indeed!!!
You should hear all the whine babies around here complaining. I just smile and think "I can't wait to get home."

Hey I checked out the website for the snowmobile trails. I see where you cut down the tracks to fit the trails. My question is, what is the width of the blade? On the groomers, is the blade normally narrower then the tracks?

[skyrydr]

All the ones that I have seen for grooming trails are ,they only need them for minor plowing (snowbanks mostly) where a mountain grooming machine has the blade as wid as the tracks, the piston bully did have a really wide blade but we took off the wings that where on it 14' was just a bit to wide for us (10'max)
Where is home ??

[blaneo]

I live in NW Ohio. I was just curious about the width, as I wanted a full width blade on mine. So I guess I can do that and still be close to authentic.

[Canada]

blaneo that would be awsome if you see one. Could you guys post some action pics. How do they go in the deep powder, can you run them in the summer time, what kind of engine comes with it usually. One last question that I dread hearing myself ......
How fast does it go ? :rolleyes:

[blaneo]

Canada:
Just like a kid in a candy store. LOL
I am planng on taking some action pictures. That is if it every snows on my day off. Usually I run later in the day, when the lighting isn't so good. I had mine in about 6" of snow awhile back. It was so cool ripping across the yard throwing up a 2-3' roostertail of snow. They just run right across the top of it unless they hit a soft spot, or take a nose dive. Then they just plow their way through it. I have yet to get mine stuck. They can be ran year round. I am planning to run mine only in the winter though. This is my snow toy. The great thing is that they clean up really quick and easy. Somebody, I think it was the fella that had the electric verson, was planning on racing his against clods and tmaxxs this summer. They come stock with a .10 engine. I don't know how fast mine goes, I have too much fun driving it to really worry. I am kicking around the idea of getting a .15 engine for mine though. You have to remember that speed isn't always a good thing on snow and ice. I have read that one guy said it went 5 mph, another guy said his went 12 mph. These babys will turn on a dime when they lock up. And I do mean "on a dime". Keep asking, and we'll keep answering.

[Canada]

Keep asking, and we'll keep answering. [/B][/QUOTE]
That I will do :D
These sound like alot of fun. Are they durable, they don't look like they would take jumps very well (kind of a stupid question:rolleyes: but I thought I'd ask). How does the suspension work. What kind of drive train does it have, is it belts driving those wheels at the front and back. What kind of radio system do you need and finally is it incredibly hard to find parts as it is discontinued. Thanx

[skyrydr]

CJ-5 take a look at this sight they have hydraulic systems you might be able to use for your dozer .www.gardentrucking.com
They have a number to call so you can ask questions about the units and cylinders avalible. Good luck

[blaneo]

Canada:
I just had to say "ask more questions". When will I keep my mouth shut? LOL

Yes, they are very durable. But then, I don't really get abusive with my stuff either. I have ran into things at a pretty hard clip, and I have hit some jumps pretty hard. But as yet, I have not broken anything. About the only real major problem I have noticed with this vehicle is the plastic side plates. I am seeing bending of the plastic where the front drive wheels attach. I am going to remedy this problem by making them out of aluminum. The other problem I have is with the front drive wheels coming loose or loosing tension in the sideplates. Same fix for both, the aluminum sideplates. The only other thing, is the usual cracking off the body that most of us observe with all of our vehicles.
They do jump, but not much. These vehicles are pretty heavy and sit very low to the ground. I have an area that has about a 12" rise abruptly. I hit this at full speed and the Blizzard jumps about 10-12" off the ground, lands flat ad takes off not missing a beat.
Suspension? I'm gonna pee my pants laughing about that. There really isn't any. There are five wheels on each side. The front one is a sprocket wheel, it does the actual driving. The next three are basically spring loaded dummies, they help keep the tracks aligned and help keep tension on the tracks.I suppose they do help a bit with suspension, by keeping the track supported against the ground. The last one has an adjustable tensioner on it to keep the track tight on the front drive wheel.
Driveline: First you have the engine, then it goes into the transmission (2 speed w/reverse), then it goes into the differential. The differential connects to a shaft for each side. On these shafts are brake discs and pads for steering. These shafts have a plastic sprocket attached to the end. The drive wheels also have a sprocket. And a chain connects the two of them. So far I have not seen ant signs off wear and tear on my sprockets and chains. It looks like a cheap way of doing it, but it works and seems to hold up.
Radio system for this is a simple 2 channel radio. I would suggest a radio with proportional steering. So that you could adjust the steering to be tight or loose on the radio, to suit that days driving.
If you look back in the earlier post you will find where I wrote you about availible parts.
Tommorow I am off in the afternoon and I have some work to do on my Blizzard. (The front drive wheel that hass been plaguing me.) I will take some pictures of the working insides of it and post them.

[CJ-5]

Whoa, that snuck up on me. I am usually on the PMD site every couple weeks but man I guess it doesn't pay to skip a session....lol I like that loader, looks good, but what I don't like is the price tag, 2300 bucks for a static model? Ouch, it also looks like it's 1/16th scale,I'm workin with 1/10th. I like the idea and I'm shooting them an e-mail tonight but I don't think they will have the travel or diameter I am looking for. I'm tryin to remember what the size of a 986 is, I think its about the same size as a Deere 744 but I'm not sure, I am a little foggy on the Caterpillar numbering system.

I know that's a prototype, but what's with the paint? I would like to know one other thing, why don't they ever cater to us Deere men, everything is always Caterpillar or Liebherr. Maybe it's just me but I always thought deere was one of the Big Guns, I know they are in Farming but Caterpillar doesnt have the monopoly on Hydraulic excavators under 80 Metric ton anymore. Never the less I must know more about this machine. What I would like to see more of is that guy in rcca last year who built a completely Hydrraulic Cat. 325 Excavator in 1/12th scale. That would be nice to have, If I could get one of those, My dozer and a Articulated Dump Truck I could have a nice little track making team....lol

I think i've gone off the deep end.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Nah, you ain't drowning yet. We'll throw you an oxygen tank when you get too deep. LOL Besides you have some very good ideas kicking around. I think that stuff would be pretty cool to have. Just don't forget the pictures. We can't take all this teasing.

[Canada]

Thanks alot blaneo, I am a curious george and I have one more question what is proportional steering is that the opposite of it being on off kinda sterring like one or the other or is it in increments by how far you turn the wheel on the radio. Thanks alot for anwsering. :D

[blaneo]

Canada:
I'm sorry. I should have stated it as dual rate steering. Basically, it is an adjustment wheel on the radio, that you adjust, to set the amont of travel, that the servo will make. It basically means that you can set your vehicle up to make sharp turns or wide turns.

The steering on this vehicle is different then on every other vehicle I have seen. I havn't seen any tanks, so I can't attest to how they work. Maybe the same way. There is one servo that controls both sides of the vehicle. When the servo moves to one side it activates the brake on one side and slows that drive wheel, so the other side pushes it through the turn. When the servo turns the other way, it activates the other brake, turning it the oposite direction.

The pictures I take tommorow will explain it. Also the info for the availible parts is on page one of this discussion.

[skyrydr]

CJ your dozer project should be about the same scale as that loader ,remember the blizzard ,if it were real would only weigh about 10k ,the deere your working on weighs 30-40 k ? if you scale it properly there is no way the tracks would be long enough .? Just a little reallity check ,Like I once heard from a wise old man ," If your going to do something be sure to do it right the first time ". Have you ever under gone a scale project before ?
I have built scale planes and man what a pain to get things proportioned correctly ,but they do have formulas for this .
Even if you decide not to make "true scale" thats fine too .
I guess I'm just an old duffer that likes things complicated LOL .
Take care and keep us posted ,

[CJ-5]

Oh yeah I am doin this to scale. I have every measurement I can think of, I even have the stack the correct width and length. True the weight will never be correct but thats goin a little overboard to make a r/c that weighs 4400lbs. The tracks are the right length actually they are about 1/16th of an inch long right now, I added a really short section to lengthen it about 1/2" I know what it's like, If I were building something else I might be as crazy about it but I want this beast to be as close to 100% as I can. Yep I have also done scale projects before. I have a 1/16 scale john deere 310a backhoe, it was originally a ERTL 310 Backhoe, but I wanted it to look like ours so I took apart the whole rear hoe assembly and added a 4ft extenda-hoe, quick coupler and a 3ft ditching bucket. I also added the aux. Hydraulic lines, I also made some better looking Hydraulic cylinders out of brass tubing. I then made a cab for it, put some diff cylinders on the front loader, changed the bucket a bit and added some different front tires that were closer to mine. I also have about 350 1/64th scale deere tractors and other farm equipment with a fair sized industrial collection, a lot of it is custom. I don't mind spending forever on projects like this. Something like this can keep my interest and I have got to the point in this hobby where I like to work on my vehicles more than driving them. As for pics I definately want pics too, I'm waiting for my friend to get his digicam back.

I haven't gone off the deep end eh? EVer driven a Traxxas Nitro Stampede with a good .15 engine?, Well I own the worlds only Nitro pede with a OFNA 8 Port .21 Hyper engine under the hood. It went from 18/22 gearing to 26/52 gearing when I dropped in the big block. I looked at the 966G 2 Series machine, it is the same size as the Deere 744J.

And for your information its not a 40K dozer, its 46K....:D

I'm one of those people who should never be given a Machine Shop, or a Dremel for that matter.

[skyrydr]

Thats the spirit ! The closer you get your project to scale the better it will look and operate. Did you already fab new track frames ? for the longer tracks ?

[CJ-5]

All I had to do was make a longer tie rod for the rear bogey wheel. It just sits 1/2 further out and has a new arm that it is connected to. I am leaving all the wheels in on each side for now. When the body is done and everything works then I'm going back to take care of business. I already have some of the work done to make the undercarriage look super scale but I want to get this beast 75% done before spring so when I start racing off road I wont just leave it until next winter. It has to be scale though, like I said earlier, I am making this more for the looks than I am running it. Chances are I'll run it this summer and then pull the running gear out and let it play self queen.

I did think of one thing I gotta do, I wanna weather it. Having a brand new clean bulldozer wears of real quickly, I wanna have my unpainted tracks, scratched blade, scratched undercarriage, and I have made a vow to myself, I will not be cleaning it every run, I will be leaving dirt and mud on there so it. Every little thing helps.

I'm so into this right now, I had another thought last night. I was in the bathroom (the thinking room), and I thought about something. I finished my "thinking" and started some measuring and looking through some Deere books and was looking at their ADT's (Articulated Dump Truck). Tamiya has their Mammoth truck, I got to looking at how wide the axles are for it, and the tires. 3 Clodbuster axles would be the perfect size for something like this. Then I got to more thinking, so are Juggernaut axles, only they would be a little more scale. A set of Imex J-Hawg Tires for the T-Maxx would be nearly the perfect size and a incredible match to the tread pattern. I thought and made some quick drawings and the frame would be quite simple. I am just playin around with this idea, but I have 5 old clod axles sitting around here not doin nothin. Do I smell next years project? By the time I get out of college I could end up with a little fleet on my hand.

[blaneo]

Okay here are the pictures. I hope this works the way I think it should.

1st. The engine

[blaneo]

a

[blaneo]

3rd. the radio system

[blaneo]

This ain't working. I will just build a webpage for it and send you the address. sorry.

[Canada]

Those look good to me, thanx for posting the pics, so it has a two speed. If you are not too busy :D do you think you could post some pics the sow the hole thing without the body and then the bogey wheels and tracks. Only if you can though no worries. :p

[Canada]

What is that circle thing that the throttle servro is connected to and is the track rubber?

[blaneo]

Canada:
as i write this i am working on a webpage for you. i want to answer all your questions. i am a bit bothered right now, as i have a close friend that is in serious health. my concerns are directed towards him. i am at the same time working on your answers. i need all of you guys to get on your knees and start praying for Dave. GOD knows who is. all you gotta do is pray. thanks

[CJ-5]

Ok I guess I could get my head out of the sand when it comes to other people's questions....:D

Canada: Yes the tracks are Rubber. They come in link sets about 5 or 6 treads per link and they are held together with screws. They are very durable and as far as I'm concerned give great traction and floatation.

That weird thing the throttle servo is connected to is the throttle cam. It allows the tranny to be switched from reverse to forward while still controlling the engine. Basically when the servo pushes forward the truck goes forward, it pushed the one end of the cam and moves the linkage. When the servo pulls back it moves the other side of the cam and it still pushes the throttle linkage forward to open the carb. I don't explain it very well, I have never been great at that without bein able to do hand movements to show ya....lol Maybe Skyrydr or Blaneo could help ya out a bit more. I am a little off tonight, I'm finally able to see my g/f for the first time in 6 weeks.


I am curious to one thing, how did you guys get your nicknames? I tihnk I can figure out Canada but I'm Curios to blaneo and Skyrydr.

[blaneo]

mine is not a nickname. it is my name. i have been totally honest here, and have nothing to hide. my name is Blane Olinghouse, hence "blaneo". GOD it is so great to be free.

[CJ-5]

First off, I hope things go well for your friend. As for your name, It's good to know that kinda stuff about people....lol

My name is a lot less creative, I signed up and used this name because I wanted to sell a truck of mine and figured that's all I would ever post on here since I'm a member at so many other forums. But now we have the only real Nitro Blizzard forum on the net so I am here a lot more. Cj-5 is just a Jeep name, I wanted Jeepinator but it was taken, so CJ-5 was the next thing I could think of. Whew, I am also so glad to be free now. I think I'll go run through a nice spring meadow with long grass and celebrate why I'm proud to be a woman....oooops wait thats a tampax commercial, sorry brain fart.

[skyrydr]

Mine is the name of the first scatch built plane I ever did , and it flew so well I built 2 of them .
Say Blaneo I saw your rig and couldn't help but notice the fan was missing ? Mine is 4 years old and still has the original fan belt on it . Sorry to hear about your friend ,I'm wishing him the best.

[CJ-5]

Yeah I thought about the fan belt, I still have the original one too. But I did get some elastics at school that are the perfect size.

[blaneo]

As far as I know, the fan was never on it to begin with. I have it, but I don't plan to use it either. I don't feel I need it running in the winter. And it would be one more thing to rob the engine of it's availible power.

[Canada]

I am really sorry to here about your friend and I hope he gets well. Don't worry about awnsering my questions if you are busy really it is just a hobby. Thanx for awnsering my previous questions though:)

[blaneo]

I am working on the webpage and should have it done this evening. I will post the address here later. I can't do anything but sit around anyway.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
So did you have a good time with your girlfriend? I hope so, that is a long time to be apart. And with it being Valentines Day, I hope it was special.



Here's the address to the webpage. I hope this works. I have been having trouble accessing it after I type it in. If you have trouble let me know. I can send it to you in an email.

http://community.webtv.net/monsters4ever/BlanesTrucksandStuff/

[CJ-5]

Oh it was great. There is a kicker its not just Valentines day, tis also her B-Day, she turns 18 today. Im still only 17....lol Being around her is always great, and not in the way everything thinks either. I met her yesterday morning at 6am when her flight came in with a dozen roses, she thought she was taking the train all the way home, and boy was that a long kiss. Anyhoo I gotta get back to her, duty calls gentlemen. Im helping her move some of the stuff around in her room. She has a nice tv in her room so when she's gone me and her dad go play ps2 in there.

[blaneo]

LOL Sounds like you had a great time. And it sounds as though the two of you have a great relationship. Congrats to you both.

I forgot: Happy Birthday to your girlfriend.:)

[CJ-5]

In her usual way she says "spank you". I am still 17, but we have been dating seriously for 4 years but 5 years ago tonight i made my move on her, a cocky little 12 year old hitting on his best friend who already had a boyfriend. For a long time we just kinda got together every once in awhile, but neither of us saw anyone else. One of them kid things. She is the best thing that could have happened to me, it's been a long time and I love itm and her. She loves this hobby. She reads the posts on here when she's away, she thinks we should change this to the 4 guys that still think nitro bliizzards are cool chat room.

Thanks for the optimism on the relationship, truth is, im nott he greatest lookin guy but my god is she hot, almost makes me wonder why she dates me....lol If your wondering what all this has to do with Nitro Blizzards, she was the one who showed me the track test in rcca of the nitro blizzard.

[blaneo]

LOL Typical woman. My wife is a bit the same way. Then tonight she sees me working on my webpage and says "Hey think I could drive that the next time it snows?". Maybe we should call it "The four guys that still think Nitro Blizzards are cool, and the one girl who just reads the posts and never says anything chat room." :p :p Chat with all later.

[Canada]

Hey blaneo nice site I think I know understand the nitro blizzard alot more. I wish I could get one but I don't have the money right now. I am still looking though.

[blaneo]

Canada:
Glad you liked it. I take for granted that it loaded all right for you? I wasn't sure if the html codes were set right or not. I hope the pictures were clear enough for you. I will continue to look for a Nitro for you.

[Canada]

yep everything worked fine, pictures looked great. Thanx :)

[CJ-5]

She doesn't say much, because if she likes to make a statement she gets me to do it...lol

I like the site blaneo, I think I need a digicam. I have the money to buy a cheap one, but it's a toss up, either digicam or rest of the parts to finish the Blizzard. I know it has to be done soon because off road racing starts April 12th here and goes every week until October, If I dont get it done before then It will be moving at a snails pace.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
You are whipped man! She has got you wrapped right around her finger.:o :o And you two ain't even married yet! It took my wife about ten years before she got me to do her talking. LOL

I used a video camera for mine. I was surprised at how well the pictures turned out. It belongs to my daughter, I don't know what I will do when she leaves for college next fall. The camera might have to come up missing suddenly.

[CJ-5]

Yep I'm whipped, I lasted longer than 10 years. So haha I beat you. I'm only 17 but I have known her since I was 2, I lasted till I was 16 so I got 4 more years of freedom than you. She goes to school 1600 miles away to a special performing arts school so I get lots of time to myself. And I gotta be her little slave, lets face facts, she could do a lot better than me. My friends all say that's the kinda woman that turns a *** man straight.

[blaneo]

who got snow? we missed out the weekend storm. Didn't get any at all. Today we got about 4". Stupid me, I worked on my Blizzard at work all afternoon. Then at the last minute decided to plow snow before heading home. What a waste, the forklift did nothing but screw up on me, and wasted the whole hour. I could have playin', now it's too dark.

[CJ-5]

Yeah snow storm missed us too, It SUCKED! I didn't get any work done on my NB today, but I did get to operate the real dozer. My grandpa rented one for a couple weeks and it was delivered to his house this morning so I got to load it up on our trailer and took it to the jobsite. Then I unloaded it and played around for a little while. Well it was actually work, but to me it was play. I love it, you have a 44000lb dozer under your command and to drive it, theres a little 5" joystick.

[skyrydr]

Who got snow you ask ???? :D MAN I HAVE SNOW :D :D :D
HOLY SMOKES IS IT SNOWING HERE!!!!!! We must have almost 2 feet right now WOO BABY!! It's not vertical it's horizontal !!
Awsome I tell ya !!!! I'll take some pics tomorrow with my Blizzard
out in the snow for you fellas ok :D

[skyrydr]

Hey fellas what do you guys race in the spring and summer ?
I race 1/8th scale and once in a while 10th nitro . Electric trucks if it rains 'cause we race 'um in doors.
I tried a Losi Drake edition but didn't care for it ,I like my old GT better ,Losi 's are to fragile , I was lapping the field and one of the lapped vehicles tagged my rear end and broke the hinge plate and I was Done!

[CJ-5]

Yep I race. All summer long. We have 3 big tracks near me, all of them have an off road nitro, Maxx Class, 1/8 Buggy, 1/10 Scale Nitro Stadium & Electric Stadium.

Last year I raced my little pro.15 pede in the maxx class and came in 2nd in the points series for the year. I won the trophy race at the end of the year, But I crossed the finish line with a whole suspension arm missing, I had 3 tires when I crossed so I did a wheelie across the line so I could keep er in control. but about 10ft after the line I lost control slammed into the drivers stand, went over the berm at the end into the pits and busted just about every part on the truck. It was quite the memorable race. Now I'm in the Big Block Maxx class with my pede, it just got a donor 8 Port Hyper .21 shoved in muhaha.

My girlfriend races the Maxx class with my M-16 Maxx. She drives balls to the walls all the time. My friend had an Adam Drake edition until he cursed it out. One day during practice he was rather mad that his brand new losi with a fantom engine was being lapped after 5 minutes by a almost stock nitro stampede. A Week later it was gone. I may not be a big fan of ST's but there is a friend of mine at the track with one of the old original GT's, still has the white suspension and an old .12 engine, he still kicks ass every year. It's all in the driving as far as im concerned. I do so well on the track because I don't slow down for nothin. But on the more technical tracks I suck the big one. I gave indoor on road a try and I suck. I bought 2 micros and their for sale now.

I want more snow, My jeep wont forgive me if we dont have some.

[blaneo]

We ended up with about 6" the past two days. It is suppose to start warming up tommorow and into the high 40's Thursday. So we can kiss this snow goodbye.
I had my Blizzard out today, but no one around to take pictures. I was on my 7th tank when she made a "ping" noise, then she slowed down a bit, and then locked up. I think I seized the one way bearing. I am waiting for it to thaw out so that I can check it out. Man I hate :mad: those things. This is the second one in about two months. I just anhilated the one in my USA-1.
I don't race, I like watching, but I don't race. I would rather just run around the yard or fields nearby. I am more into seeing what vehicles can do as far as climbing and just rooting around.

[CJ-5]

I must admit, I go to the track mostly for the conversation all day long. Racing is nice, but man spendin the day with other people that like this stuff and seein what everyone will do, just makes the hobby more fun.

[blaneo]

Yea I agree about that. I just don't get into all the competition hype. I would rather dropa bunch of money in another vehicle, then to keep replacing things to go faster.
I broke the connecting rod on my engine:mad: . The piston,sleeve, and crank look okay, but I will have to look closer at them. Now, I am wondering if I should just start tearing it down and making all the changes I want to do to it. If I do, it won't run again until next winter, other then breaking in a new engine.

[skyrydr]

I also enjoy the comradery at the track ,but I enjoy the competition more , I love to race the thrill I get is way better than going to the local Gin Mill and get all liquered up ,or something even more retarded like drugs or something? I just love the adrennalin rush you get when you just pulled off a pass the puts you in the lead .
I also love mechanical things ,the smaller and more complicated the better.

[skyrydr]

Sorry fellas , my dang computer doesn't want to comunicate with the digital camera ,so I can't seem to get the pics of the snow and my NB off of it ?? *%$#@ thing!!!!

[blaneo]

Does that mean you don't consider your computer as something mechanical? LMBO

My webpage has been updated. If you all wanna see your rides there, I will be happy to post them.

[Canada]

Hey guys havent been here for awhile or at least it seems that way (a couple of days without the forum and I am lost). I just got back from a car show and boy was it an awsome experience. I got to see the ferrari enzo and lambourgini mucheanglo (can't spell):p . those are sweet cars. But anyways you guys didn't get hit from that storm to bad eh. americans 2 cm of snow and you call an emergency (just joking that strom was pretty bad). break out the blizzards. :D

[blaneo]

Hey Canada:
Glad to see you back, thought maybe you got lost or something.
Hey have you got any R/C vehicles? I don't remember you saying so.

[CJ-5]

I try not to get too competitive at the track. There are some guys who take it to seriously. The guys that do one less lap then they should or get really mad if one little thing goes wrong. I hang out with a group of guys there, We made our own little pit area, one of us brings a big table, the other a tent, one a cooler that we fill with pop, and I bring the trophy girl and stereo. We have a good ole time, there were days some of dont even race but we have tons of fun. We all try to bring a fun truck with us, then find a channel no one uses and between races when we dont have to marshall we pull out our toys and just play around. It makes for a great day at the track. There is one guy at our track that gets right into it, he has everything, has a computer to test his motors and all that stuff, my friend races int he same class with an electric rustler and a 15T motor, he gets schooled every time he's out there but he loves it and he's always getting better.

Most of the guys accuse myr ace vehicles looking crappier than my toy ones. My race trucks look like junk, My wild willy gets cleaned and painted all the time so it looks cool. i got nothin against gettin into the whole racing theme, its great to watch a close race, but I mean everyone comes to watch when me and the maxxes go out, there were days when 10 trucks started the heat and 1 crossed the line. It makes for great action. You will actually be able to see some of our antics in XXX Main 3.

[Canada]

Blanoe I have one and one only a NTC3 and that alone takes all of my money the girlfriend takes the rest;) it all good though.:)

[Canada]

101 posts already, wow it has only been a couple of weeks :eek:

[blaneo]

After a closer inspection of my engine, I found that the piston and sleeve are also scored. Luckily, I ordered those also. They should be here tommorow. Hopefully, all will go well after I get it back together.

[RallyRoach]

Wow, good to see there's been some good response to the Blizzard forum :)

Anyway, on to the question, what do you all run for track tension on your blizzards? I finally got around to rebuilding the front end on my Heavy Metal, and now have the ability to tighten or loosen as I see fit. Just some rough estimates, like distance from bottom of bogey wheels to track if you pull on it gently would be great.

Keep on flinging snow all!!

RallyRoach

[blaneo]

Rally Roach:
Good to see you back. I don't really get your question:confused: But I will try to answer anyway. I basically just try to make sure both of the front drive wheels are set the same distance from the front. Then I pull the rear tension wheel tight so that the belt is flat and taught along the top. The bottom of the spring loaded wheels, ride on the bottom part of the track all the time. As for the rear tension wheel, I just lock that down tight. I only run in the snow, so it may be different for running in the grass or on dirt. I know the instructions show that there should be some give (or play) to it. But I found that in the snow, my tracks kept comming off, so I opted to tighten it down. Do you have a set of instructions for yours? I have enclosed a picture of how the manual shows it should be. I don't know how clear this will be, so if you can't read it, say so, and I will try again. Where are the pictures of your Heavy Metal?

I got my engine parts and the engine is back together, but now it needs broken in again. We are getting snow, alot of it. We have gotten about 6" in the last three hours and they are forcasting more. Life is unfair, biggest snow of the year and my Blizzard is down. What does everyone think about mounting a .21 engine in one of these? It's the only engine I have that is able to run right now. Either that, or I put the newly rebuilt original back in it and see what happens to it. I don't really care about this engine anyway. I just purchased two new engines for this vehicle. An OS .12CVR and an OS .15CVR but they will not be broken in until spring or summer, after I rebuild the whole vehicle. Should I go for guys?

[RallyRoach]

Thanks Blaneo, that's just the info i was looking for. One of the problems with restoring this is a serious lack of refernce material. I did post some pix on the Electric Blizzard topic, but for the benefit of all you oil-burners, here they are:

http://maritime.dsm.org/mburke/images/000014.jpg

That's a full on shot, I really like the look of this thing :)


http://maritime.dsm.org/mburke/images/000010.jpg

And that's the guts, in case anyone with a new-age Blizzard is wondering what us classic fanatics have to deal with.

Anyway, the next thing to do is swap in an esc instead of the throtle resistor. Then, I'm swaping in a pair of high-torque 480s :D

As for snow, we gots lots of it here in Nova Scotia. I'm going to borrow my bro's digital camera and get some movies of the HM hitting the "slopes" soon. Gotta love those rooster tails.

Later all!

RallyRoach

[CJ-5]

Hey Blaneo would you be able to do me a huge favour? I have the brakes apart on my NB and I am havin difficulty gettin em back together. OWuld you be able to scan or snap a pic of the section that tells me how to set my brakes back up? I may have a million extra parts but I don't have a owners manual for the stupid thing....lol

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
I would if I could. My daughter just left to go sledding (at 10:00pm) and took the camera with her. Sorry bud, but I will as soon as she gets back. I don't know if they will help or not, but there are a couple of pics on my webpage of the brakes.
http://community.webtv.net/monsters4ever/BlanesTrucksandStuff/

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
She just got home. Here you go. I hope it's big enough to see. If not, I can try splitting it.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Here's a close up of the disc and pad spacing.

[blaneo]

Rally Roach:
Here is two more that may help you with that rear tension wheel.

[blaneo]

Rally Roach:
Here's a close up of the rod itself showing the dimensions. I don't know if the Electric is setup the same way or not. I have never seen one.

[CJ-5]

Thanks man, I wasn't ina real hurry. We just got a ton of snow dumped on us last night and I've been out since 3am. It's crazy what some people will do. Me and 3 other guys with tractors had to pull one of the county's road graders out of the ditch. And some guy with a Ford Probe decided that 14" of snow wasnt too much to drive though. So he parked it on the side of the street, then when I plowed that street I ended up leavin a 5ft wall of snow around the car....lol

[RallyRoach]

Originally posted by blaneo
Rally Roach:
Here is two more that may help you with that rear tension wheel.

Wow, that is way more complicated than mine. All I have is two of the trailing arms with a stiffer spring, mounted on an aluminum bar. The bar slots into the chassis tub and is held in place with 2 screws. If I tighten the screws, it tightens the tracks, loosen them slackens the track. Very simple and robust, but the stock piece had all the screw holes stripped out and was moving all over.

On a topic-related note, I'm in the process of looking for a nitro Blizzard of my own now. I figure if I can cut my teeth on gas with these things and make it reliable, then I can handle any nitro vehicle out there :)

RallyRoach

[Canada]

hey blanoe put a 21 in it man, more power to you:D

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Don't tell me about dumb people. We have a whole town of me here. We ended up with about 12" all together. It was a pain in the butt to keep up with, but now that the work is done, it's time to play. I spent about 5 hrs. trying to keep the sidewalks clean around the neighborhood. I have alot of older folks living around me, so I always try to keep access open for them in case of emergencies. Out of the 11 houses I do, only one ever pays me anything. I don't really expect it, but the old guy always comes out and slips me like 2 or 3 bucks. I keep going with the blower, thinking "what a cheap ***,only two bucks", then I remember that he is the only one that pays, and I just kinda smile to myself.

Rally Roach:
Wow that is simple and easy. I wish the nitro was that way. Funny you mention wanting a Nitro Blizzard, I was just thinking that an Electric would be great for plowing. I think it would do better then the NItro for plowing, more steering control, and more speed control. What do the rest of you think?

Canada:
I was really close to dropping the .21 into the Blizzard, but I chickened out. I got the newly rebuilt .10 back into the chassis today. Then I took it outside and started breaking it in. I think the engine was on it's last leg when I got it, as that thing screams now, and has so much more compression. I ran 5 or 6 tanks through it and slowly leaned the throttle out. It got up to 230 degrees a couple of times and then I would richen it back up, and let it mellow out for a bit. All in all, I think the break in went well. I am letting it cool down completely now. I am going to get it all setup and together and run it around the yard in a little bit. If I blow it up, then I blow it up. But there is only one way to find out.
Well gotta go for now, have to take the wife to work. See ya all later;)

[CJ-5]

Lol, yeah some people are kinda cheap. I take my grandfathers backhoe into town all the time and clear peoples driveways for like 5 or 10 bucks. My friends all think its dumb because I gotta pay for the fuel myself and when I get it in the winter it's my responsibility so if I start blowin hydraulic hoses I have to replace them. Well It evens out when I can do 40-60 driveways a day in town. most of the houses have short driveways all I gotta do it go up there, put my bucket down and back out, then push the snow to the side and I'm off. I drilled a whole bunch of holes in out bucket and now I have a big rubber guard on the edge so I don't damage the concrete. Best part is my grandfather is probably the most repsected contractor around here so when they hear we do snow removal all the old people jump on board. I love living outside a small town...lol Today I actually got to use our new backhoe for more than a few minutes and I can't believe it, the hydraulics are much faster and powerful than our old 25 year old hoe. Another nice thing when it's slippery, the new one has 4wd, my old one doesnt. I went to my girlfriends house to see what my boss was doing, he got a tractor stuck goin down the driveway this morning, and they blade wasnt even down. The snow drifts in so he couldnt get er out. I had to go warm up the tractor on tracks and pull the big one out. I wanted to take the one with tracks out, its got so much more grip, the only problem is the engine is 8.1L and she chugs way more fuel then the smaller ones we normally use.

This morning I was havin fun, this one lady asked me if I could do her sidewalk goin from the house to the driveway, I was feelin kinda lazy so I used the backhoe part, I had the 3ft ditching bucket anyway, it doesnt have any teeth so I kinda feathered it and cleaned it quite well. I gotta add that to my list of services.

[blaneo]

Well I had my Blizzard out yesterday, and ran it around the yard. Well, I tried to run it around the yard. 12" of snow is too much for the Blizzard. I would start ripping across the yard and hit a little drift and she would bounce up and then nose dive into the soft snow and get herself buried. She did alot better running in reverse then forward. Seemed like the rear lifted and just went right over everything. I imagine that was because of the engine being in the front. I was having all kinds of problems with the steering yesterday.
First it was way to tight, then it wasn't there at all. I can't figure out what is wrong! :confused: I think I am going to try and add a locknut on the inside of the front screw. The one opposite from the brake actuator. In theory, this should cause a pivot at the front part of the brake pad. I am wondering if that part of the pad isn't shifting away from the disc, when the actuator pushes against the rear of the brake pad. I can't believe the problem I am having is from moisture on the disc. The rotor should clean itself off as you apply the brake, and start giving you stronger braking. I will have to try it and see. I will let you all know.

The motor seems to be okay. It ran great all day. So I am feeling more confident about my breaking in of the piston and sleeve, during the cold weather. But time will only tell. I wasn't able to get it out tonight, as a cold artic blast came in this afternoon, and it started snowing again. I decided that I have had enough snow and cold for one day.

[CJ-5]

I was thinkin and lookin through an old issue of rcca. I thought of the one thing that would make my Dozer be the king of scale R/C. A Diesel conversion for the engine. Think of the torque she would have.......:D

[RallyRoach]

Blaneo: In mine, the drivetrain is "backwards" to how the new-gen Blizzards are (motors and batt in back, radio stuff in front). Mine kind of has a nose-high attitude once it gets going, works really well in powder. Course, it is lighter too :)

On a topical note, I started building a radio box tonite. I want to have all sensitive parts out of the moisture (Receiver pack and reciever). Then, I have to grease up the servos real good, and I'll be ready for my next stage... I won't say anything more than it will become truly unstoppable ;)

[insert evil laughter here] :D

RallyRoach

[Naossoan]

those things look so sweet. Too bad it never snows here :p

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Yea, you can pull tree stumps with it. :p

Rally Roach:
I havn't had any problem with my radio gear as yet, but I do get an ocassional glitch out of the throttle servo. I don't know why, but I have never greased the servo. Perhaps I should, that would probably take care of it. Did you get the new motors for yours yet?

Naossoan:
Where are you from?



I tore my Blizzard apart last night and played around with steering. I think I have it now, but I want know until I get to run it. Maybe tonight after work I will get a chance. Tommorow I am off work, and I am hoping to get some action shots taken. If it works the way I hope it does, I will share the info later. If it doesn't, I won't share anything. LOL

[Canada]

I wish I had a blizzard to talk about:(

[blaneo]

I wish you had one too! There is one on eBAy. They got a starting bid of $495 on it. Too much if you ask me. They are alot of fun, but I don't know if they are that much fun. I have more then that in mine now, but that includes all the spare parts I should ever need. The only other thing I want to get for it is a new radio, and stronger servos. I am still looking.

[blaneo]

oops, it's gone already. Somebody bought it outright.

Okay I need some feedback here people. I just got my new Blizzard body. I need some ideas on the paint job. Anybody got any? It has t be on the radical side, but still has to fit into the "Blizzard" scheme of things.

[CJ-5]

I was at the track tonight talkin with my on road buddies and we were lookin at my NB. I was talkin to a guy who remembers the diesel conversion kits and told me what year to look for it in rcca. I bought all his old rcca's last year, it's official I have every issue of rc car action. Plus doubles and triples of most. Anyways, we also got talking about a 4stroke conversion later on if I don't go diesel. I might also be buying a Kyosho Dodge ram, since it shares the QRC tranny and one of the guys is sellin one for 25 bucks.

[Naossoan]

I'm from Canada. No snow where I live though, kinda hard to believe since Canada is "way up there" when really most of the states on the US/Canada border get more snow than we do!! But yea i live in B.C. in a city (small, barely a city) right next to the oceean, so the ocean kinda prevents us from getting any snow.

[Canada]

I would like to ahve one but it won't happen i am saving for a real car :) I can't wait no more school bus :p . Blaneo the only thing i can think of is a brighter color. what do you have now. Are you using can or airbrush if the airbrush you could go a little more crazy as I'm sure you know but I will think of something crazy for ya :cool:

[blaneo]

Okay here is an action shot. I got to run about ten seconds before I knocked the drive chain off. My daughter was filming up until then, she just laughed on her way back into the house. If you wanna see the rest of the action pictures, check out my webpage.

http://community.webtv.net/monsters4ever/BlanesTrucksandStuff/

[blaneo]

Well my adventures in the snow today went pretty well. I dropped the drive chain, but fixed it with no hassles. Then I threw the track on the right side, so I quit for the day and went to work and plowed snow. The new setup for the steering brakes seems to be working. I will have to make a copy of the instuctions and pencil in the changes that I did, then I will post it here for the rest of you. I got my OS 12CVR today. I wanna fire that baby up so bad, but it will have to sit until warmer weather. I am going to break it in, and the engine for my Nitro Beetle at the same time. Then I should be able to see what kind of difference there really will be in the Blizzard.

CJ-5:
I was thinking about a four stroke also. Just thinking though. For $25 that would be a good deal just for the tranny, and the engine.

Naossoan:
You don't need snow to run one of these. Grass and dirt work just as well. Ask RallyRoach, he's planning on racing his this summer.

[CJ-5]

Looks great, man I wanna get my dozer goin. Too bad were gettin into a lot of work at the farm, I'm gettin bogged down. I got the Ram today, I told my mother and trisha I wouldn't buy any more vehicles so I let him keep the body and I brought it home and took it all apart. I left the big parts together and just hung em up on the peg board. You'd never know the difference with all the maxx, pede, and wild willy parts already up there. I'm tryin to get my friend to come over tommorrow and snap some pics of the dozer so far. I am working on the lifting mechanism right now and as soon as it's done I can get on the body. I figure out of the whole body the Cab is the only section that's gonna give me troubles.

Im also lookin into that diesel conversion, I got some pics on how to do it and what needs to be done and it isnt actually all that bad. I think I could probably make the new head at school on lunches with the little hobby lathe.

[Canada]

nice picture:D

[blaneo]

I'm offline for two days, and this thread falls apart. What have you all been up to?

CJ-5: Did you get any pictures taken? I would really like to see the progress you have made so far.

I am still playin around with the steering on my Blizzard. I have it responding more strongly, but I am still getting into trouble with moisture. That is at the top of the list for summer renovation work. Last Thursday I melted the exhaust line of the muffler, and it spewed fuel all over the plate and steering brakes. I replaced the line yesterday and cleaned everything. Today I ran it through a small water puddle and instantly had problems with the steering. I have a set of discs from another model, that are made of some type of nylon or plastic. But I think they will have the same problem. I really want to ty something in a fibre material. I don't think that the moisture would bother them as much, as it does the smooth steel. I was also thinking of making the discs bigger and having larger shoes also.

Hey! I was thinking of installing a three or four shoe clutch to my new engine this summer. Anybody got any thoughts on this? And what about a larger tooth clutch bell? How about jumping up a 2 or 3 teeth?

[CJ-5]

Well I have been busy the last couple days anyhoo. I haven't been playin with the steering much so I haven't got it back together, but I did fiz those freakin bogey wheels. The last owner had them off and when I got it they were all going different directions, it has been mildly annoying and tonight I finally fixed it and it too me a long time and many cuts to get those little springs on the adjusters nice and wound up so the suspension is really really stiff. I also went ahead and started painting the blade frame and arms. I got the mounting holes drilled and tapped so I went ahead and painted them and Home Hardware finally got my heavy Duty 8-32 threaded countersunk screws in for me. I also painted my makeshift cardboard body.

My friend went into the ditch today with his Grand Am and I had to go pull him out so he owes me, I'm gonna try and use that to get his lazy rear over here and take some pics of my NB. I also made some money pullin other people out of the snow today so I have funds for the Blizzard, imagine the irony, a blizzard gives me funds for a blizzard....lol

I am havin a prob though, i have been up for about 20 hours now so don't laugh at me, I was putting the track on and 1 side is a lot looser than the other. I have both rear adjusters set equally, the front drive sprocket is equal to the other, all the bogey wheels are the same height and distance from eachother. Is there a short link in the track? Like one that is maybe 1/2" long?

[RallyRoach]

Well, I had an interesting weekend. Had the Heavy Metal out in the woods with me. I was tearing around, and then something must have slipped, and the thing just took off! :eek: Anyway, testament to the terrain handling ability of this thing, but it was like 5 minutes before I could catch up to it, through woods, trees, long grass, over a brush pile, all of it coverd in snow. It just kept going! LOL!

On the up side, when I did catch up to it and reinstall the reciever pack, I had a blast getting it back home again. It took on a 45 degree icy slope and never even blinked :D

Anyway, long story short, test those receiver packs and make sure they're secure!

RallyRoach

[blaneo]

RallyRoach:
HA HA Glad someone else has expierenced that too. I almost wasted my brand new USA-1 Nitro because of the receiver pack. I now tape that thing so tight, a mouse's fart couldn't get in there, or out of there. I guess your expierence does go to prve just how tough these vehicles are.

CJ-5:
I just went through the bogies on mine yesterday also. I was having problems with the springs not staying in. The original set screws were stripping out and not holding the springs tight. I found that a 6-40 set screw (I think they were about 3/16" long), threaded right into the original hole, with a little effort. They are now really snug and hold the spring nice and tight. I have one of the old ones still in there, as it bottomed out and stripped inside. It is holding the spring real good, so I will just leave it alone until I rebuild the whole vehicle. I like the fact about the blizzard making money for the Blizzard. Everytime I look out the window and see it snowing, I think "It's Blizzard time".

[CJ-5]

I think those stripped set screws are on everyones blizzard, I'm using screws in mine, out of all the bogeys I have 1 original set screw left and with that one I'm ridin a dead horse and comin in for the funeral. Another problem I was having with my springs is that they have deformed a bit so they skip out of the notches and over to reset the tension a lot looser, so I pulled em all out, bend them little suckers down so they have constant pressure then re-installed them for maximum tension. And the suspension can only do anything in reverse, so it won't be as noticeable if I don't get around to makin the new undercarriage until next winter. My cardboard body is on there now, I will tell you just incase I do post pics with this body on, I made it in 5 minutes when I cut up an old computer box and the one I made looks like crap. I think a 5yr old could have done a better job. The Hood looks ok but I didn't do a great job on the cab. I'm sitting here typing this getting ready to go to school, my boss borrowed my Jeep for the day and the trucks in for service and I didn't think it would be a good idea to take a tractor to school again so, I'm waitin for the battery to charge in my other Jeep. Starting a diesel when its 5 degrees farenheit outside is not a fun task.

[Canada]

[i]
Hey! I was thinking of installing a three or four shoe clutch to my new engine this summer. Anybody got any thoughts on this? And what about a larger tooth clutch bell? How about jumping up a 2 or 3 teeth? [/B]

Might just give you more grab and less slippage. Larger tooth will make that blizzard scream with that new engine of yours. Go for it :D

[CJ-5]

I was just on the Wedico site. I was lookin at that Cat 966G 2 Loader, price?????? 2100 eu.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
That loader price is in euro dollars. You'll have to do the math on that one, yourself. We use American dollars here.:p :p

I was going to use Hex cap screws, but didn't have them on hand. I wanted to be able to adjust them without tearing everything apart if I needed to. I had phillips head screws, but that seemed like a real pain to mess with, when tightening them. I havn't had any real trouble with the springs as yet. I did have one that popped over the little prongs and then went on to tear off all the other prongs. Luckily, I had a new set on hand. I was thinking of drilling holes into the plastic and then bending the ends of the springs into them. There should be a better way of setting up these bogies, maybe someday I'll figure it out.

I got another new (used) engine. An OS .15 CVR, Looks pretty good, but I have to tear it down yet. I don't know why I bought it, I guess in case the .12 CVR isn't as muchas I want. I do want to go to a shoe type clutch, I think they would grab better. I am not all that familar with them though. I take a four shoe would bite more then a three shoe? Would I be pushing things by adding the .15 CVR and a 19 tooth clutch bell?

We got some snow today, not much though. They had us forcasted for 4"-8", but we got an inch of wet, sloppy, heavy snow. My back hurts from shoveling. Well gotta go, talk with ya all later.

[CJ-5]

Yeah we got the same storm probably, only ours had some rain with it. I drove my jeep to my grandparents to get the tractor before it got too bad, the road all had some drifts about 1ft high, then I got to my grandparents. Last time I plowed their driveway I left those 2 walls on each side about 5ft high, the driveway just drifted in that deep so I had to leave the Jeep parked at the road then walk 300ft in the snow to the barn, get the tractor which was supposed to be plugged in, but if the yard light isn't on the back section of the barn get's no hydro so she wasn't heated up. I finally got it started with a can of ether and nearly killed the batteries, filled the barn with white smoke, and then got the tractor stuck on my way out because i had to drive over it before i could use the blade. So I had to go start the backhoe and dig myself out.

I would tell the rest of the story but I'm sure no one here cares....lol

I haven't worked much on the NB but I do finally have digital pictures, only 2 and neither is great but enough to show the thing off.

And my hand hurts from doin all that this morning, on my way to close the big door on the barn, I slipped on the ice and cut my hand open. Not even a big cut but man did it hurt. My friend Meredith called me a baby because this one little cut hurts so much.:mad:

[skyrydr]

Hi folks, sorry I've been away for a while , been really busy with the winter racing sceen ,I finally got the pictures from the camera.
This is a picture of my Blizzard tryiing to climb the mound in front of it ,if you look closly you can see my previuos atempt LOL . The snow was just a little to fluffy .

[skyrydr]

here are some close-ups of my Blizzard

[CJ-5]

Can someone host my pics for me? My server is the cheapo free one, mostly because I don't post pics as much as I used to.

[RallyRoach]

CJ-5:

How many and how big? I've got some room to play with....

RallyRoach

[CJ-5]

It's 2 pics and 120kb each.

[RallyRoach]

CJ-5:

email them to me at:
plymouthDSM@yahoo.co.uk

I'll put them up and post them for ya :D

[blaneo]

Skyrydr:
Great pics man. Glad to finnally see it. And glad to see you back.

CJ-5:
I think I can also help you out.

RallyRoach:
I thought you were gonna send me some stuff to post to me webpage?


Hasn't been much happening around my place the past few days. The temp started rising and the snow is melting.:mad:
:mad: I have been busy, as I have been evicted by my daughters. Seems after 11 years they are tired of sharing a room. So I have to move everything out of my "fish room". And there is alot of stuff in here. Plans are underway for springtime fun though. The trucks and cars are on the todo list. And the Blizzard has a list of options a mile long. I have decided that I will run the Blizzard this spring and summer, but only a little, and just enough to break in the engine and keep it tuned up. I figure I shouldn't tear the tracks up to much if a stay in the softer grass. Next winter will be the unvailing of my new and improved Blizzard. I have a new Nitro Beetle, an Electric Beetle, and a Hyperfly to test drive this year. Plus, plans are in the works on a new monster truck. I hope everyone sticks around during the hot, muggy, humid off season.

[Canada]

awesome pictures i can't wait for the summer to come even though the winter is fun. I just want to race :D

[skyrydr]

I'm glad you folks liked them , I think it came out nice ,It definatlly runs AWSOME ! I am just starting to put together a new
!/8 th scale buggy Inferno K2 . I sure hope this is a good year for racing ,If you guys go to www.glowplug.com you can see the track I own .Here is another pic of my Blizzard.

[CJ-5]

oK I shall send you the pics. I'll definately be here in the summer, thats when I plan to run my NB.

Skyryder: Looks great, my NB is nowhere near that clean and it hasn't moved anywhere. I am working right now on getting my Nitro Stampede done, I race in the big block maxx class, only instead of putting an * Port Hyper .21 ofna engine in my maxx, I decided a .21 nitro pede would be more fun.

[RallyRoach]

As promised :
http://maritime.dsm.org/mburke/images/850%20c2.jpg

http://maritime.dsm.org/mburke/images/850c.jpg

[RallyRoach]

CJ-5:

I don't think the second pic you sent me works. Could you resend it and I'll get it up ASAP :) Sweet NB though...

blaneo:
I'm still going to get you a good write up, just no time lately, work has been nuts.

RallyRoach

[CJ-5]

Well there she is, I'll re send that second pic to ya sometime tommorrow. Thanks for posting it.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
I like it man!:p
Looks like it really is turning out just as you described. Keep up the good work. I would really like to post this to my webpage with the other Blizzards that will be there someday. Hope you will allow me to do that.

Skyrydr:
I love that pic of your Blizzard tackling that hill. I have one similar at work and it is a chore to climb it. But I always seem to get to the top also. I think that's one thing that is great about these machines. A four wheel vehicle would just spin and slide it's way up there, or get itself buried in the snow.

Keep up the great work people.

[CJ-5]

Yeah go ahead and put it there.

I'm workin on the body today since I have the whole week off. But my friend is also pulling the engine in her camaro so I'm helping and thats gonna use a lot of time.

[skyrydr]

I'm glad you guys like the pics .
CJ5 sounds like you are going to have your hands full with a camaro engine job . unless its an old one, those aren't much fun to pull . Exaust is a pisser ...and so are the bellhousing bolts LOL .

[CJ-5]

Lol it's an 86', we have everything ready to go, I got my one armed bandit ready to lift, all I have to do is support the tranny, pull the bellhousing bolts and slide the TC off and pull her out. I spent a few hours today workin on the camaro, not only do I have it, but my mother's car is leaking anti freeze, and my boss wants the front end in his truck fixed. It just so happens the week I have off everyone has crap for me to do. And I still gotta put a new aluminum valve cover on my cherokee.

[skyrydr]

LOL ,Isn't that always the way it goes.:p We just got anther 3 inches of snow today :( I want get racing in the dirt ! Dang it !
Can't even groom the trails because the snow is like marbles .
Oh well ?? Keep up the great work folks . TTYL

[CJ-5]

Yeah we got some snow too. I went and did the arena and church parking lot, did some donuts with the tractor and went home and played. I got another toy to play with yesterday morning, my boss brought in a tractor thats smokin and makin funny noises. So now I gotta find out whats wrong with a 14L I-6 Diesel. What fun. I think im gonna pawn it off on someone else though.

[blaneo]

We had rain early on Weds., and then it turned to freezing rain. The vehicles were covered with about 1/8" of ice Thursday morning, the roads were clear though. Most of the snow we had gotten a week or so ago started to melt and then it turned cold. Everyhing turn to hard packed snow with ice on top. Then the rain we got just added to the mess. I had my Blizzard out in it yesterday. Has anyone else tried to drive one of these on a sheet of ice. It was a ball at first, :p then it got really frustrating:rolleyes: . I only ran a single tank of fuel through it. I was getting cold and it was getting late, so I quit. Getting ready to start on my Nitro Baja Beetle. Can't wait. I wanna get those new engines broke in and see what they will do. No progress on the paint job for the new Blizzard body, just havn't had the time.

[skyrydr]

Man , I am so dang busy I can't even find time to put together my new K2 :mad:
About the only good thing about it is the money :D It will definately help support my Nitro habit LOL :D .It is starting to warm up here in Mass. It's about dang time !!!!!! I have had enough of winter .
Well gotta go ,this is about the only time I have to wrench on the new buggy . TTYL

[RallyRoach]

Well, had the Blizz' out for some bashing today. I decided to show up early for my club's carpet races so I could bash in the parking lot. It was awesome! Nice mix of icy snowbanks, fresh powder from last night, lots of mud and a stream in the middle of it all! Sweeeeeet....

Anyway, went thru 4 1500 packs in the mess, best thing was, one of the club memebers showed up, saw me bashing, went home, and brought back his E-'pede. As other people showed up they all took a break to watch the ice/dirt/snow fly. Lots of questions about the Blizzard too, too bad these aren't being sold anymore, I think I had about 2 sold. Real racing started a little late, but I don't think anyone really minded, and a couple people said they were going to bring their bashers next race. I think I may have started a trend :D

But I digress, and now back to your regularly scheduled nitro burning :)

RallyRoach

[blaneo]

RallyRoach:
Sounds like you had a ball playin' around. I took my Nitro Baja Beetle to work Saturday and almost got it completed. Just have to install the radio gear and get the body painted. Saturday after work, I got my USA-1 Nitro out and fired it up. I only had a little bit of snow and half melted ice in the yard yet, but had a ball tearing that up. I did end up going down the street to the park. I go there to open the truck up. It is a huge complex, probably about a mile square. I love to open it up and let her scream. Then my heart got broken as I went over the crest of small knoll and seen a huge area of untouched snow. "NO" I yelled, "I don't have my Blizzard". But it was still a blast tearing through it with the truck. It was good snow too, it would have been great for roostertails. Oh well, I still had fun, and that's what counted.:p

[CJ-5]

Sounds like your havin the same weather we are. It was warm today, I took out my nitro stampede and tore up my own track with it. Now it's all covered in mud. Looks good though. I can't wait to run the Blizzard with the blade and fix the track the easy way,

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Yea, we have been having fog in the mornings and then it clears and is sunny in the afternoon. Storms are suppose to start rolling in on Weds.

I had my Blizzard out last evening along with my Nitro USA-1. Man are these ever slow when you get them off the snow. I couldn't believe it. The steering was drastically improved though. Now I really want to drop a bigger engine into it!!!:D :D :D I think I probably need to retune the engine also because of the temperature rise.

[CJ-5]

Yeah they are slow, but that just means you need to be more creative with the spots you find to drive in. I say you put some weights in her and go challenge some T-Maxx to a tug-0-war.

[blaneo]

:( :( Nobody wants to play Tug of War!:( :(

[skyrydr]

WOW ! I just ran half a tank of fuel through the brand new O.S. rzvo1 in the new K2 and it ran stone cold the whole time .This looks promising -especially for an O.S. as they like to run hot ?
Most of the O.S.'s I've run in the past ran extremly hot the first few tanks of " Break In". ? I think this one is going to be a "runna"
I have run many many different brands and sizes of nitro engines
and this one has all the characteristics of a screamer! :D
Blaneo , I tried to pull some different things with my Blizzard and found that if you can keep it in low range it pulls ok , on the other hand my T-Maxx pulls like an ox. I can drag my butt around with it sitting in side a "radio flyer" wagon with the Maxx tied to the handle . Not only that but the Maxx weighs a ton compaired to the Blizzard.:p

[CJ-5]

I have pulled my riding mower with the NB. But then again I weighted down the blizzard and my rider only weighs 300lbs and rolls quite easy. Maybe I'll sit my big fanny on it next time.

[blaneo]

Yea, just what I wanna do. Drag my Butt around in a wagon:o ! I was thinking about running two vehicles by myself, and having my own Tug A War. But the new radio systems for the Blizzard, and the Nitro Baja Beetle came in today. The owner left work early, so I am going to take the Beetle back with me and finish it, so that I can break in the engine tommorow when I am off work. The only problem is that I screwed up the carb on the Blizzard, and borrowed the one off the Beetle. So now I have to borrow it back for the Beetle. A new carb is ordered but won't be here for some time. I wanna get this going, as I am hoping to have a couple of guys over at the end of the month to do some bashing. One of them doesn't have a vehicle, and I don't want him running one of my electrics while we are running our .21 monsters. I think he would get a little upset. Plans are to break in the original engine with 20% nitro,and then get the .12CVR, and the .15CVR broke in on 20% nitro buy the end of the month. I figure the lighter Beetle ought to be able to keep up with the heavier monsters if it the .15CVR in it. Then I will have the engines broke in for the Blizzard and see what happens with different engines. Well gotta get things rounded up and head back to work. Have fun!

[skyrydr]

When you have one knee that thinks it a hiem joint and moves around like a universal joint then you might want to pull your but around with your T- Maxx........

[blaneo]

skyrydr: LOL:o Maybe I should put wheels on my recliner. I am over forty now, and my daughters having been giving me gray hairs for over two years. Might be something to think about for retirement.

CJ-5: Have you decided on what kind of engine you are going to run for your Dozer yet? I only ask as I have a friend that is looking to get rid of an OS FS40cx with a pullstart. He set it up for a monster or something, but now is in need of cash, and has abandoned those ideas.

I got the Beetle finished today (except for the body), hoping that I can break the engine in tommorow. They are forecasting rain for Thursday and Friday. Figures as I have Thursday off. Oh well, if nothing else, maybe I can start getting my workshop arranged again.

[CJ-5]

How much is he lookin to get for the 40? I like the idea.

[blaneo]

I forgot to mention that it is a four stroke. But maybe you knew that. I didn't ask about the price, and he didn't mention the price. I will ask him and let you know tommorow. Comes down to it, I will just let you two hash out the details.

[CJ-5]

Yeah I knew it was a 4 stroke. I am looking for more low end power and thats what a 4 stroke will give me.

[Canada]

heys guys a have been pretty busy lately.
blaneo sounds like you are a pretty busy guy with those engines need any help :D
Cj5 put in the 4 stroke that would be awsome. I wouldn't mind getting one of those eventually and put it in my touring car. ;)

[blaneo]

CJ-5: Havn't heard back about the price for the engine yet. Most times he emails me at night. When he does, I will get in touch with you.

Canada: Now, you offer help? Should have been here this morning.


What a nightmare! I got my work done early as it was really nice outside this morning. I get everything around and head outside and find a comfy place to sit down and start the GS11R that came with the Nitro Beetle. Two hours later, I am still sitting there trying to get it started. It kept acting like it wanted to fire, but wouldn't. Then it would act like it was flooded and locked up. Finally I took it apart and checked it out, everything seemed fine. I cleaned it up and lube everything, and put it back in. Tried to fire it up again, and it took off for a spit second. Never even burped again. I gave up and put it away. 6:00 pm I go back out to the shop, hook up the glow charger and pull the recoil, and it takes off running. I grab it to take it outside, and it dies before I get to the door. I finally get it going again, and get a tank and a half ran through it. Then I look down at it, and there is fuel lying on the tray, right underneath the front end of the engine where the flywheel is. So, the fornt seal is toast, I can live with that, so I keep running it. I get through a third tank, and decide to see if it will stay running under load. Hit the throttle and it dies after trying to move forward, I believe the diffs are to tight. By now I am very upset, and frustrated. All in all it was a good learning expierence, but that's about it. The engine is, I feel not worth messing with, but I probably will do something with it anyway. Hopefully the front seal can be replaced, I hate messy engines. The differentials that I packed with grease (against my better judgement), will have to be taken apart and cleaned out. The clutch shoes were also sticking, so the clutch will have to be checked out or replaced. Next step, head to the hobby shop and see if they have a set of engine risers for the OS engines, then I can mount them and get them broke in and checked out.

[blaneo]

A moment to reflect:

How many of us have family or friends in Kuwait or Iraq? If you do, you know how I feel right now. There have been many things said about this war. Alot of it has been negative. Alot of it has been directed towards the President Gerorge Bush, and Prime Minster Tony Blair. I thank my LORD and SAVIOR every day for these men. There has been so much B.S. about this war. It has nothing at all to do with oil. It has to do with some murdering S.O.B., that has no regard for human life. This isn't some guy that wants to abort fetuses (which is wrong), he ain't trying to clone (which is wrong). This guy is chopping peoples heads off, he has people killed just because they have a difference of opinon. The guy murders people just because. Could you kill your own son in law just cause he thought different from you? He cuts peoples tongues out because they say things that he does't like. I have a very hard time believing that any one person can be like this. Where is the reality in a mind like this? I don't care who his god is. What kind of god would tell you to do this kind of thing? My GOD never has. Should we be there? You bet your freedom fought lazy ass! This whole thing is about HUMAN RIGHTS! Would you want someone to come and fight for your rights if they were being taken advantage of? Somebody already did. Don't forget about the hometown folks that are over there, protecting our rights, and fighting for rights of people that don't even know what rights are. Thank you Larry, Thank you Steve, Thank you Jenny. May GOD Bless you and bring you home safely. My prayers are with all of you involved. Just my two cents worth. Blane

[hellbent]

does anyone have or know a lhs that actually has a blizzard for sale nitro or electric at a decent price? if you do then email me
my email is on my profile

[Canada]

this thread sure died:(

[RallyRoach]

Snow's all gone, guess everyone has other priorities :) Oh well, we always get at least one more big snow storm before Spring kicks in for good in Nova Scotia, I'll get to bash in the powder yet :) If not, its time for mud :D

RallyRoach

[blaneo]

Hey everyone.
I havn't been able to get into the site for days. every time I tried it was shutdown. I don't even remember what I was gonna say!:o

Well the engine saga is continuing. The Kyosho GS11 on 20% nitro isn't much faster then on 15% nitro. Now we are going to move onto the OS 12 CVR. I just got the mounting blocks for the OS engines the other day and have to modify the pan to fit the new motor. If you ever want a beginner level nitro for someone, look for a Nitro Baja Beetle. Cool little car, not to fast, but alot of fun right out of the box.

Oh yea, I have recent added an electric version of the Blizzard to the Monsters Den. Havn't gotten the time to play with it yet, but looks to be as much fun as the nitro. Should become a good plower next winter.

[CJ-5]

I haven't got much work done on my Blizzard. I have been lookin at it lots, but the r/c thing hasn't been hittin me. My friend that has the camaro we pulled the engine out of doesnt wanna rebuild the 305 that was in her car so she went out and bought a truck with a 383 stroker motor the guy couldnt get to run right. He knows how to build an engine, but dont know nothin about vacuum lines...lol

I hooked the vacuum lines up in the right places and now the engine runs fine so were throwin it in the camaro. I have been kinda busy with that, since she is breathing down my neck.

[blaneo]

I tore my NB down last week in preparation for the new side plates. A friend had given me a nice big sheet of 1/8" stainless steel. Thought I died and went to Heaven. But i think it is too thick. I think it will affect the length of the wheel shafts too much. So I am going to have to try to find something more along the lines 3/32" in thickness. What is everyones take on this?

[CJ-5]

Ohhh sounds cool, I would get some stuff like that for mine, except I need that darned scale look. I haven't touched my blizzard, I just bought some stuff for my Cherokee, and I have been working on my Nitro Stampede. I do plan to finish this beast up very soon though, I am starting to work on my track and getting bored of having to push dirt around with a shovel and wheel barrow.

[blaneo]

Well, I screwed up and figured wrong. Turns out the Stainless Steel I have won't cause problems for the drive axles. But I think it will throw the other bogies and wheels further to the outside by 1/32".I don't think it will be a problem though, as there is room between the centering tangs on the tracks. And the fact that those bogies don't do much other then support the vehicle a bit. I ran into a snag on testing the new engines. Turns out the flywheel I was going to use is to small on the inner diameter for the engine shaft. I havn't tried to ream it out yet, I put it back in my Nitro Beetle and ran it instead. I had my EP Stampede out Sunday. I forgot how much fun that little truck is. I have a carbon fibre chassis for it and I am thinking about converting it to 4WD. But then I bought the chassis to lighten things up a bit for more speed. So I don't know which direction I will take when I get around to the new chassis. Now I am sitting here tearing my USA-1 nitro apart for a good cleaning in prep of some spring pictures. I have way to many oars in the water.

[CJ-5]

Woo hoo E-Pede's RULE! I used to have one, in fact I was the first person to ever use Monster Pirate tires on a 4x4 Pede. It's definately worth it, but you need clod tires to make it look right because the tranny will stick out in the front and the wheelbase will look excessively long. I need to take my Nitro Stampede apart it needs to be cleaned and it needs a new tranny, I tell ya them trucks dont like goin from a .12 to a .21.

[blaneo]

PMPF I am finding out what it is like to make something, do something, it wasn't designed for. I am destined to drop at the very least, a .15cvr into a Nitro Blizzard. I must be of a very sick mind, because I have been thinking of dropping a .21 into it. My USA-1 Nitro's engine has been giving me fits, and I have wanted to drop an OS .21RZ into it ever since I bought it. Somebody slap the s**t out of me, before I get carried away.

[CJ-5]

I thought about dropping my .70TTR into it, but my g/f threatened to kick me in the stones if I did that, she wants it to go in her maxx.

[blaneo]

LOL yea that would change my mind too!

[CJ-5]

Well I finally started on te body for the NB. I am reworking my track here at home and frankly I want something to do some of the grading for me. I finished up the blade frame last night and I am going to get the metal for the body today. I have a friend at TSC who gets me a discount so I am going to see if she can get me some light gauge welding rods and if not, a buttload of cold weld.

[CJ-5]

Wow got dead in here. Did Kyosho really DQ the NB? I know it says so on their site and Tower says the same thing, but I was leafing though the may 03 rcca, and what do I see in the Kyosho ad? a Nitro Blizzard.

[blaneo]

Never really thought about it from that angle. Maybe they are trying to revive it, by laying claim to discntinuing it. I have had Tower tell me that something is out of stock and has been discntinued, and two weeks later they have a hundred of them. Everything I have seen is pointing towards "No Longer Availible". Hey!!! Maybe they are going to come out with a new one! Don't hold your breath. I have been busy lately, havn't done much in the way of R/C. My oldest daughter is graduating in two weeks, and I have been busy working on getting things ready around here for the party in three weeks. Time goes by nd I don't sem to be getting enough done. Oh well, I will press on, what gets done, gets done. Talk with ya later.

[BiZzAr0]

I live in the U.S. and i REALY want one of these but there not sold here anymore!!!!

how can i get one!!

[BiZzAr0]

I JUSTGOT A CRAZY IDEA!!!

if i get all the spare parts from kyosho and get a manuel I CAN BUILD MY OWN BLIZZARD!!!!!

[blaneo]

LOL, maybe you could. Have you checked on eBay? I havn't seen one on there for a week or so, but they have been popping up pretty steady. If you decide to opt for the other option, be sure and let us know, we will all help you. Best of luck in your adventure.

[egdinger]

I think kyosho is still making them. Great Planes just isn't importing them anymore, so you could try to import one from japan, or maybe europe.

[BiZzAr0]

i saw oneon ebay, its an electric, but i just got a nitro buggy so iam not gona get it, theres gona be alot of em poping up on e-bay

i tyed importing it, its hard to do that.

[blaneo]

Is everyone still alive???

I just finished with my daughter's high school graduation! :) :) Now it is time to get back to the toys. Lots of things waiting for me out there in the shop, including the Blizzards. I have to get them finished before the snow flies! LOL What has everyone else been up to?

[RallyRoach]

I finally got mine running again yesterday. I had to take the radio out to put in my Touring Car. No snow and no mud didn't give me any reason to keep the Heavy Metal going, but we're rebuilding the local off-road track this weekend, so I need a toy to play with :)

I had to rebuild an old 4 ch airplane radio, but it works. I'm still thinking of putting in some bigger motors. If I can find 1 more of the Kyosho Black Can (20 turn Mabuchi I think) motors, then I'll have a matched set to run. Anyone have a spare one out of a Kyosho RC Surfer or similar? Maybe a pair of the Traxxas 20 turns that come in the RTR Rusty/'Pede kits?

Anyway, I'm rambling again, time to go work on my dump body and tow-rack trailer...

RallyRoach

[jbg]

The Nitro Bllizzard looks like a really neat vehicle, a good crawler. I was disappointed to see it's only of 1/12th scale. I'm used to my 1/8th scale 4wd cars and trucks, what are the measurements of this Blizzard?

Are we talking 1/12 scale (model size), or 1/12 the scale of an actual snowcat type vehicle? Any measurements would help me out, thanks!

[blaneo]

jbg:
Hi. Here is a picture of my DX model (elec.) along side of my Stampede (elec.) and my USA-1 (elec.). My Nitro is out in the garage and it's raining here and I ain't goin' after it, but they are the same in size. 14-1/2" in length, 12" in width, 9" to the top of the cab. The Nitros come with a GS11 engine, which sounds small, but it really makes the model get up and move across the top of the snow. On dry ground it is a bit slow and boring. I prefer snow and ice myself, that's why I purchased mine. After running a tank of fuel, a quick blowing off of snow and it can be put away. Hope this helped, ask more if you want. It's time to wake everyone up from their summer hibernation.

[jbg]

Ok, that pictures helps alot, thanks! Well, I think I can officially say that I'm hooked. I really want a Nitro Blizzard ... I've set my sights on eBay. I'd like to get one before Thanksgiving, as my family and I goto a home in the woods to have dinner (tradition) and that's some prime tracked vehicle territory.

And of course, snow is coming! I'm in MD, and last year we got 30", good lord.

Are there any other bodies available for it?

[blaneo]

jbg:
Glad the picture helped. As far as bodies go, it is really limited. You need something with a front cab or high front end to clear the engine. There was a body called the Lil' Wagon. I believe Parma made it, a van body may work also. Good luck with getting one, they have just started coming back out on eBay. It was kinda sparce through the spring and summer, but now that it is getting later in the year, they are showing up again.

[blackgtx]

I just wanted to say I picked one of the nitro blizzards up off e-bay this last week. I should see it later this week. I hope it was a good buy I spent more than I should of but it is a complete runner all I need is gas. At least you can still buy parts for them at tower.

[blaneo]

blackgtx:
I believe you'll be pleased. I felt the same way when I bought mine. I dropped almost 300 for it, but I havn't regretted it yet. If you got the one I think you got, I think you did alright. Let us know when you get it.

[blackgtx]

Well I got it today and I got everything but gas an a battery for the glow plug startrer. Everything looks good but I have not had time to run it yet. The body is unpainted so that was a bonus. Now the fun comes with detailing it out and driving it.

[blackgtx]

what kind of gas is good to use with the nitro blizzard and do any parts wear out all the time

[blaneo]

blackgtx:
Sorry for not answering earlier, somehow I missed your question. I started at first with 10% nitro, that is what the previous owner had used. This summer I broke the engine in on 20% nitro, that's what I use in my other nitro vehicles. I havn't notice any difference as far engine temp goes, it is a bit higher, but nothing to be concerned with. As far as power goes, I can't tell as I usually only run mine during the winter, and these vehicles run alot different on the snow and ice then they do on the grass or dirt. Just be sure to break it in correctly and take your time, if you need help send me your email address, and I will send you my detailed steps for breaking in an engine.
monsters4ever@webtv.net

As far as parts breaking, I havn't really had any problems. The brake rotors get wet and don't grab so well after running for a bit, but not much can be done about that. I am trying to solve the problem by adding shields around the area, but I won't know until winter. The other problem I have is with the front drive sprocket, it needs to be adjusted often to make sure it is under proper tension. Not really a big deal though. The only other thing I changed was at the rear, where the rear bogies are adjusted for the drive track tension. Once I got the tension figured out,I made it so that the bogies couldn't move. I found that it often slip up and then the track would come off. I hated that, it always happened right when I would start having fun.
Gotta go now, write if you need answers to any other questions. Seez ya.

[blackgtx]

I had picked up some 20% and have been taking it easy mostly letting it idle and tuning the carb. I have adjusted the drive chane on one side due to it being ready to slip off. I fiped it almost all the way down and cleaned it and bent the center plate back down it was lifted up a little under the motor. I am also in the process of making a metal skid plate. I was thinking of tring to find a qrc with the break because the one I have just don't seem to sit in nutrual right and can't really get it to go into second gear or maybe I am just expecting it to go faster than it does. Is their any other motors that would bolt right in that get it to go faster?

[blackgtx]

well I just ordered a new qrc with ball bearings and the brake set and shaft and also a new canter plate to maybe play with putting a new bigger motor on it.

[blaneo]

The QRC tranny is funny that way. I have a Nitro Baja Beetle that has the same tranny. It seems to be just fine, but the Blizzard has been giving me fits. Last year I had done something to it that made it lock into gear tighter, but I don't remember what it was. Mine has me thinking that the shifter arm is too weak and is moving from vibrations. I was thinking about trying to fabricate one out of aluminum. The guy that had mine before simply locked the arm into the forward position and didn't use reverse. I like having the reverse option though. The tranny on mine shifts into second rather quickly, it is difficul to tell this running on the dirt or grass. It is much more obivious on snow, as it really gets up and goes when it shifts. I don't know what the brake will do for you. On snow the Blizzard will pretty much stop when you let off the throttle. On dirt or grass it may be different, it will be interesting to see what it does for you.
I have an OS 12 and an OS 15 that I wanted to get setup in mine, but I didn't get around to it. I don't know if I will get to it this year or not, I am in the middle of building a 1/6 monster truck. There is a conversion block set available through Tower that allows an OS engine to be mounted directly in place of the RS11 engine, without any modifactions to the deck plate. I will have to look the number up if you are interested. I think you will be surprised at how fast it really gets going in the snow. That is what it was really designed for, that's what I love about it. Just about the time it is running out of fuel, I am ready to head inside and get warmed up, LOL.
Sounds like you are taking the correct approach to getting the engine going, just remember that come winter time, you will probably have to retune again.
One other tidbit that was past along to me is to keep some windshield deicer handy. Sometimes the drive chains will get slushy or iced up, a quick shot of deicer will fix it and get you going again.
The side plates do get bent where the front sprockets mount. I usually just keep tightening them until I finally have to swap them left for right, then they just bend themselves back again. I did make a set of sideplates out of 1/8" stainless steel, but I still have some machining to do on them. That will end that problem once and for all.
Well gotta go, bed time. Talk with ya later.

[blackgtx]

the conversion block thing would be nice to have. I was thinking like you about the stainless thing but I was thinking of maybe burning the side plates and center plate out of stainless also. The only draw back is the front and back covers that have the screw taped into them.

I was thinking of adjusting that alum. pc with the set screw in the 2-speed to really loose so it just shifts up right away. I did get a new 37T spur gear with it off e-bay but that little alum. piece seams to have alot of tension on it. Where can you get the bigger spur gear and I thought there was suppose to be a washer or some thing between them that I am missing.

[blaneo]

blackgtx:
I take it that you don't have a manual. Here's a picture of the expolded tranny. I haven't ever had any problem cutting threads into stainless. I screw up a tap now and then, but I don't consider that as a big deal. Most of it is just have patience and cut only a 1/4 turn at a time, at least that has worked for me. You have to adjust that set screw a little at a time until you get it where you want it. It's kinda like setting up up a car for different track conditions, you will probably find that you will want it different later when you start running in snow. Tower Hobbies has most of the parts you have asked about. Just put "nitro blizzard" in their search box and the list should come up. I will go and get into my files and find the number for that engine adapter block and be back here in a little bit.

[blaneo]

blackgtx:
Okay here you go, the numbers are as follows and you should be able to put these into the search box at Tower Hobbies and get more info.

Kyosho Engine Mount RSZRRMORTH
manufacturer # FD020
Tower # LXU174


QRC Two Speed Tranny
manufacturer # 39721
Tower # LXV546


39 T Two Speed Gear
manufacturer # 39305-10
Tower # LXV374


It lists the 39t gear for 4wd on road cars only. Apparently jumping could screw it up or something. But I don't think that would be a problem with the Blizzard, as they don't jump too well, LOL.

[blackgtx]

Thanks of the part numbers. I put the mount in my cart a tower. I do have a full manual and extra blow up and a seperate engine packet with exploded views and part numbers. I was kind of thinking that I could really put whatever size engine I want on the thing I would just have to cut and tap new mounts with the mill.

The new qrc with ball bearings, break stuff, and center chassie sould be here in a couple of days.

Tower also has OS .15 engine's for around $70-up one of those 1.5hp would be fun I will have to think about getting one. It also looks like their is only one gear with the qrc I got so maybe I will just use that instead of the two speed if I can get it to line up.

[blaneo]

Roll Call:
Who's left on here?
Have you had your Blizzard out yet?


I have a Nitro Blizzard, and a DX Blizzard in running order, but we didn't get any of the snow that hit last week. So I have not been out playing much.

[blackgtx]

I had mine out a couple of weeks ago for the first time. It was fun!! I had the cover off it so the breaks got wet after a while but after dring them off it was ok again. I have been thinking of sealing the chassie up or tring to make the breaks more water proof. The holday has really taken my time away from doing anything to it. Also mine seams to go faster in reverse than forward and will pill wheelies in reverse also. I think now that all the shopping is done with I will buy a bigger motor finish the metal bottom and sylicone up the bottom and sides leaving the drain hole around the diff. and paint and install the body so snow will stay out. I also have to install the new tranny but I can't find any views on how that break is supposed to work on the new tranny.

[CJ-5]

I'm Alive, I'm Alive, anyone remember me? The guy turnin his ancient Blizz into a dozer?.......lol Well I just finished college so I haven't been around much, but the blizzard will be getting some attention soon. At our college we had one of the dizers I am building and I finally got some intimate exposure with the Deere 850C.

So Blaneo how goes your blizzard? I thought there was someone else here with a blizz other that the gents who have been posting...hmmm maybe not, maybe its all that diesel exhaust I inhaled while I was away in school...lmao

Anyone got a owners manual diagram on the brakes for the blizzard? Mine are royally messed up and I was wondering if anyone had a scan of the brakes page.:p

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
How you doing? Great to hear from you again. I don't what happened to the others, I sent the roll call out as I hadn't heard anything from anyone for quite a while. My Blizzards are ready to go, if we ever get any snow here. We had a good snowfall last Friday, it looked real promising and then it warmed up and it al melted by the time I got off work. They say we might get some tonight and tommorow. I hope so, I have a new DX Blizzard that I am just aching to get out and plow some snow with. Anyway, here are some pics of the brake assembly for ya. Let me know ifyou need something else. Seez ya.

Oh yeah,
Merry Christmas to all.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
How you doing? Great to hear from you again. I don't what happened to the others, I sent the roll call out as I hadn't heard anything from anyone for quite a while. My Blizzards are ready to go, if we ever get any snow here. We had a good snowfall last Friday, it looked real promising and then it warmed up and it al melted by the time I got off work. They say we might get some tonight and tommorow. I hope so, I have a new DX Blizzard that I am just aching to get out and plow some snow with. Anyway, here are some pics of the brake assembly for ya. Let me know ifyou need something else. Seez ya.

Oh yeah,
Merry Christmas to all.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Hey Man, great to hear from you again. I don't know about the others that used to be here, that's why I sent out the roll call. I got my Blizzards ready to go, but the snowman has not been very kind to me this year. Once again they say we may get some tonight and tommorow, I ain't gettin my gloves out just yet. I got a new DX Blizzard with the plow that is just sitting here aching to go out and do some plowin'. I am posting some pics for you on the brake assembly, but be patient, sometimes it takes me awhile to get it done.

Merry Christmas to all.

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Hey Man, great to hear from you again. I don't know about the others that used to be here, that's why I sent out the roll call. I got my Blizzards ready to go, but the snowman has not been very kind to me this year. Once again they say we may get some tonight and tommorow, I ain't gettin my gloves out just yet. I got a new DX Blizzard with the plow that is just sitting here aching to go out and do some plowin'. I am posting some pics for you on the brake assembly, but be patient, sometimes it takes me awhile to get it done.

Merry Christmas to all.

[blaneo]

first it tells me it didn't post, then it gets posted twice. I would scream right now, but it would wake everybody up. here's another.

[blaneo]

another

[blaneo]

another

[blaneo]

last one

[CJ-5]

Woo hoo thanks for the pics, After xmas im getting a digicam, and when I do one of the first pics im taking is of the progressing tractor, I have taken the blade back off and nothing has been done in a long time, I have been workin my belts off at school.

Merry Christmas to all!

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
I would love to have some of those pics for my webpage. If your interested, let me know once you get your camera. I just decided tonight that I am going to add the complete manual to the new page I am building for the Blizzards. Talk with ya later, it's bedtime for me.

[CJ-5]

If you added it to your page, I would have to well..... I would say kiss you but im sure neither of us swings that way, so if you do it, I will kiss my new g/f, hows that?...lol The christmas season has me in a weird mood.

When I get the cam I'm sure there will be a Flurry of Nitro Blizzard pics (Pun intended).

[CJ-5]

Ok blaneo, I got the digicam and im takin pics tonight, whats your email address?

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
I just sent you my address via email. If you don't get it, let me know. Too tired tonight to write anything else, See Ya.

[CJ-5]

He he, maybe I should update my profile, thats the account I had before. I don't think i have used that one in over a year. Sorry Blaneo. My email account is alexios85@hotmail.com

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Okay, I finnally got back on. Sorry it took so long. Here's my address:
monsters4ever@webtv.net

[CJ-5]

Ok Blaneo, I am gonna take some pics tommorrow, I might even go take er out in the snow, even though she doesnt run...lol

I made 100 bucks today when I sold my big shop heater so I might invest some of it in a high quality instruction manual of my very own....lol

[blaneo]

CJ-5:
Sounds good to me. Pics in the snow would be better, but either way is fine. I am hoping to get out today and get some taken also, of course I will have to drive it around some to get a few nice pics. LOL

[CJ-5]

It must be nice to drive a Blizzard, I haven't run mine in so long. I think last time I ran it was September 2002. Sad eh? AllI'm waiting on now to finish the project is a sheetmetal bender and to get a small shear and I could be hummin right through this thing.

[blaneo]

I haven't had my Nitro running since August. I was going to get it out yesterday and fire it up, but I knocked the gear assembly loose on my DX model while running it, that kinda put a damper on the whole afternoon for me. It warmed up a bit here yesterday and I thought that the snow might have softened up enough to have some real fun, but it didn't, all I did was slide and spin around.

I know the feeling of having something sitting on the bench waiting for something, it really stinks. I started building a Macho Monster Truck back in September. I am and have been stuck on the chassis. I have it all laid out and cut, except for six cuts that I need to make for the battery holders, then I can get it bent. My friends vert. mill is broken, with repairs not coming for a while, I am in a pickle. I am going to try using my dremel tool mounted in it's router base, and build a jig to give it something to follow, hopefully it work. Other then that I just need to make some custom wheel shafts to mount the wheels. This was suppose to be one of those quick one month projects. LOL

I got your pictures. They came out really clear and crisp. They really gave me a feel for what you are doing. And some new ideas on how to do some other things. I can't really see it clearly, did you mount the linkage rod from the servo to one of the lift arms for the blade?

Well I gotta get going to work, so I am going to end this. When you get more pics feel free to send them.

[CJ-5]

The servo's aren't mounted to the lift arms yet. What I havent done yet is drill a hole in each lift arm that will allow a small rod to go between them and I will have 2 servo's inside the body connected to that rod to lift the blade,. I have some 250 oz servos and I thinkt hat should do it, the blade is cast aluminum so its not oo heavy yet.

I can't afford real hydrulic cylinders yet so I will have to wait for awhile. For now the cylinders will just be dummy cylinders, I will change em after I build the 6 Way blade.

[blaneo]

Whoa! 250 oz servos. Are you planning on there being alot of weight there when get it done? My DX has a single S3003 servo (57oz) controlling the lift of it's blade. It has plenty of power, it will even lift the model up when it gets hung up in the snow. It even holds it's position while plowing, which amazed me. I have pushed a bit of frozen snow and quite a bit of dirt with it. I really didn't expect it to do as well as it has. The biggest thing I don't like about it is the amount of travel that the servo has. At times I wish it would go lower and/or higher. I am not sure if there are servos available with extra long throw, Space is kinda limited as to the size of the servo horn used. I also have been thinking about a new blade, as the original isn't as wide as the tracks. I don't beleive it is suppose to be though, I think the real trail grommers have a narrower blade on them also. I want to make a blade that will tilt and angle, I think that would be so much more versatle. But I think it will take alot of refabricating to get it done in a DX. The Nitro and the EV versions have alot more spare room in them, and I think they would be easier to do. I have a spare DX chassis that I could use. That and the fact that I really don't want to start hacking up my NItro may be the deciding factor.

I tore into my DX tonight to get the gear assembly straightened out. What a bummer! I found out that the gear shaft was turning it's mounting screws back out and then jumping around on top of the other gear. I couldn't find my threadlocker, so I improvised with my daughter's fingernail polish. ( What color do you want Dad? Oh, something that will go with my jeans. ) Anyway I slapped it all back together and then hit the throttle and it spun the screws right out. So now I get to tear it all apart again tommorow after I get some more threadlocker. It's a bummer as they are forecasting snow for us. Hopefully it will be back together in time to get some pictures taken of it plowing some fresh powder. The Nitro is just sitting there begging to get out and play. A few minor adjustments and it should be ready to spray some roostertails.

[CJ-5]

The servo's are some cheap clear pot lickers I get from my fav. hobby shop in Michigan. Well I have also been running into the travel problem with mine, I am waiting to do all the lift linkage for the servo's until after the running gear is all back in and the body is on. I have been debating it and will probably have to use a bellcrank type system to extend the throw, I need the blade to lift 4.7" in the air and drop 2.3" below the tracks on the tractor. I have to make a lot of travel out of these little servo's. The servo's themselves are only about 30 bucks each, their cheap dudes, but their as loud as a nitro engine and in servo terms their slow, so what more fitting put slow loud servo's on the slow loud r/c..lol

If you need a new blade I may be able to get one cast like mine, I did mine at the High School when I had manufacturing class but I kinda mentioned to my teacher I may need another. I doubt it could cost much and we can make it really any seize you want, as long as it isn't wide than 17.5" like mine is, I had to cram mine into the flask.

Ahh the old nail polish threadlocker trick, I dont think I have used that one yet, Although I did once use the wire from my g/f's bra to hold a suspension arm together for the Maxx 1/2 hour main in 2002 for our trophy race. After that I became known as the La Senza racing team at the track:D

[blaneo]

LOL, thats really funny. I can almost see that happening. My wife bets that your girlfriend offered it without you asking.

Thanks for the offer for the blade, but my friend and I are currently putting together a furnace of our own. A new wider blade will probably be one of the first things that get poured once we get the bugs worked out of it.
I found out today that I bent one of the shafts in my tranny. I swapped it out with the good one from my parts blizzard.

Have you ever seen how the DX model mounts the blade? I could send you some pictures if you think it would be of any help. It uses a bellcrank type linkage, and it sounds like the same type of mounting that you have described using. I was looking at it trying to figure how I could modify it to get more throw, but I just can't see how it can be done. Maybe I am just missing it.

As to the noise, shouldn't it be a bit noisy? I mean really, it's not like it's a model of a lincoln town car. I mean it shouldn't sound like gears stripping but it should have some sort of heavy metal sound to it. Don't ya think?

[CJ-5]

LOL yes she did offer it without asking, but she did insist she got to take it out, instead of me, I might have gotten distracted. And there was youngins at the track....lol

Yeah send some pics of it, I love to see r/c pics of almost anything, I think I have over 5000 pics of r/c trucks and stuff like that, I save it for ideas. I think I shall have to post a pic of my Mad worksop, once you see it you will see my motivation for this project.

Well I want it noisy, the exhaust instead of the weiner stock exhaust will be going from the airplane muffler to a straight 3/8" mini chrome stack with a tiny rain cap on top. My ex g/f says I have a fetish for raincaps on heavy equipment, both my tractors have em and I insist on anything I run have one, shoot I even have one on my 12.5hp Deere rider...lol

[CJ-5]

Hey Blain, I got your e-mail, I love those pics. I see how they do it on your machine, it looks kinda like the same lift mechanism you would see on a Fisher snowplow for a small truck.

I got to thinking about the plow today because we just got hit with a foot of snow today. I made 485 bucks plowing driveways and parking lots today but burned up almost 250 in fuel. I got to play with my ex boss's 4455 John Deere though.

[blaneo]

It's Blane, not Blain.

Well I' glad somebody is getting snow, cause we ain't. We got some overnight, I could have sneezed more then that:mad: . They say we should get some tonight and tommorow, but we should also expect some freezing rain with it. Bummer! That's what I've been dealing with for the past two weeks. I need snow.:)

[CJ-5]

Oh sorry BLANE...there made sure to get it right.

Snow isnt all it's cracked up to be, now I got my mother and new g/f givin me the cold shoulder because I haven't been home much in the last coupel days. When I plowed out our own driveway I scraped up some grass which isnt that uncommon. So my mother is quite mad, that and I didnt let her take my Jeep today so she could go shopping because it is in dire need of a thermostat and wont go more than 5 minutes without overheating and she doesnt seem to grasp that concept. And the g/f is mad at me because some chick in the Jeep section at the auto show gave me her number yesterday. So its a cold night for me either way.

I have the blizzard all apart putting the brakes back together and trying to make everything work, I wanna drive this thing again.

[blaneo]

I was plaagued with vehicle problems for four months, so you have my sympathy and prayers. I also live with four women, and if that ain't bad enough, they decided that they needed to have a sleep over last night, add three more of them. It took me more then forty years, but I had a house full of hot women. LOL

Still no snow, it snowed off and on all day Sat. and into Sunday, but between the two days, I only had enough to sweep the sidewalks. The Nitro Blizzard is all tuned up and checked out, but all I am able to do is slide across the yard. The sun has been out for a few hours now, so I might go out and try it and see if it has softened any. Other then not much is happening.

[CJ-5]

My house used to have one hot women, ahh the days. Well the NB is gonna have to wait, the thermostat in my cherokee failed and its provin to be quite the bugger to get fixed, there are like 5 different t-stats for a 1995 Jeep Cherokee. We decided to just pull it out and run without it tull I get the new one, but now the housing leaks like a (edit) so I have to get the RTV out and finish this bugger off. I am not havin a great week. But hey could I come live in the house full of women? I promise to treat them with the utmost respect and be an outstanding gentleman.