From the cobwebs - Hirobo Alien Mid 4

I ran across several people who showed interest in the old Hirobo Alien Mid 4 from the mid eighties, so I decided to throw some pics of mine up to see what other's think about it. Most of the mod's to it I did back in early high school...some good, and of course some stupid ones as well.

Here's a list of some of the custom upgrades (not counting simple stuff like motor, ESC, etc.)....

Fiberglass upper deck (7 cloth layers thick)....I used half the catalyst required so I'd have more work time. This allowed me to rough cut it with tin snips as the resin gelled, as well as bend up the front tip to match the rake angle of the front bulkheads. Wax paper (on plywood) gave it the nice smooth face with a satin finish, which was peeled off when fully cured. The chassis became REALLY rigid. The green wire is the antenna, but I forgot to put the antenna mast back on for the photos.

Dirt deflectors (above) for protection from front wheel debris are made from a milk carton, duct taped on the bottom, and zip-tied on top to the new body posts. It sounds stupid, but they work great, they're light weight, and are necessary with the openness of the truck body to reduce dirt entry.

Trimmed chassis and saddle-pack style battery mount....trimming reduced the weight, and getting rid of the original battery mount reduced some it some more. Repositioning the batteries also lowered the center of gravity.

Taller aluminum rear shock tower made from bent aluminum plate scrap found at a local surplus metals warehouse. This allowed me to mount longer aftermarket universal shocks (Duratrax)...ones that actually work like they're supposed to! The front shocks were replaced as well, but those are the standard length already. All the other holes in the lower arms are from back when I tried to relocate the stock shocks, and from when I made and mounted anti-roll bars. I used to have an anti-roll bar in the front, too, and both actually worked alright.

Removed nut on rear inner upper links (look closely at the photo).....this improves camber angle in turns, and helps reduce the "inner yoke to outer yoke distance" change during rear suspension movement by changing the angle of the upper link relative to the axle and lower arm.

Surf wax in the rear differential.....ehh?! Forget grit sensitive ball diff's...since the Alien diff's are completely enclosed, you can put whatever you want in them. I used surf wax for colder waters (softer at room temperature than warm water wax) and packed it around the rear diff. gears, and closed it up. It felt REALLY stiff at first, but after a few runs it softened up just enough, and resistance has been the same ever since.....behaves just like an LSD! The car does tend to push if I turn with the throttle on full (it did before, too), but if I ease up just a little it still makes quick, sharp turns. I used grease in the front one, although now I'm considering using wax up front with grease in the rear, or wax for both to see the affect on cornering. Don't ever use oil as it will leak out of the diff., and then eventually make a mess on the belt and chassis.

Bridged 1/8" front A-arm inner pivots.....after breaking the pivot bosses off the front bulkheads more than once and watching the pins get bent over and over again, I decided to seriously beef this up. I replaced the pins with a single 1/8" spring steel rod bent so it bridges across from one side to the other using a propane torch/vice/pliers, and then I tweaked it by hand until I could get an exact fit. The A-arms and bulkheads had to be drilled for the larger size, of course. No E-clips (or retention pins) are needed because the placement of the bumper prevents it from coming out.

Bumper bumpers...little rectangles of rubber pinched between the bumper and the tips of the front bulkheads (very small in the photo above) help distribute the load so the bumper won't bend at the bulkhead tips. They're about 7mm X 5mm X 1.5mm thick. I think that since they're rubber they help absorb a small portion of the crash force as well. My old bumper got crease marks after a crash, but after I got the new bumper and put the rubber pieces there, I've never seen creases.

Aluminum front A-arms designed to be easily machined from bar stock and a 1/2" diameter bit on a mill (plus holes for the shocks and pivot pins). These came later...I had my own drill press, and knew someone with a mill. You might also notice the front shock tower is now bolted down with six screws not four (photo below) carefully placed so there's no conflict with the bearings.The car has crashed a few times since, and all of this combined (especially with the beefy steel bridged pivot) makes it hold up well!

Titanium turnbuckles are from an RC10 aftermarket kit...cut to fit for the front and rear upper links, although I couldn't find a pair short enough for the steering links.
==============================================
I couldn't find a buggy body that I liked AND fit well, so I went with the truck body, by Protoform. I bought it years ago after the original body took a few beatings and started showing cracks. The body width is just barely more than the chassis plate width, and the wheelbase matched perfectly. I think the Alien's track width and the stock wheels are a good match, too. I prefer the stadium truck look, not the balloon tire monster truck style.

Wha

da

ya

think?

backlinks for sale

Search Engine Optimization and SEO Tools