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Fun Factor Reborn

Old 04-06-2021, 04:32 AM
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Scouser
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Default Fun Factor Reborn

Thought I would start a new thread rather than post in the .28 thread.

Well after selling off all my other rc’s I had the FF sitting on the work bench in a bit of a sad state. No wheels, no shocks, no electrics, no driveshafts and various plastic parts gone too. I did consider giving it a clean and then just putting it back in storage but in cleaning it, I remembered just how much I love this little truck. So a new project started.
I was amazed and really glad to see CEN still have all the FF parts available on their website. Fantastic to see and of course this means the car can be used without the worry of breaking something irreplaceable.
I had a set of 90cm Old Man Emu shocks from an old crawler that went onto the truck but it was just a start. A quick eBay search turned up a guy selling all his FF chassis for £60. This included a complete Magnum and two near complete Fun Factors. One 2wd and two 4wd. Then, even more remarkably, a JT chassis popped up for sale in Arizona. Obviously I snapped it up and so the project took a new turn.

The plan is now to turn the original FF into an all round runner. It has the New Era roll cage and all the heavy duty running gear like the crown and pinion gears, brake seat and steering links.
The Magnum will be a 2wd beach brasher with mostly stock parts and sand paddle tyres.
The JT chassis is going to be 4wd and fitted with Dr Hondas ARO shock towers and custom carbon fibre top plates. I will put the old nt.16 motor on the JT but all the others will be converted to electric.
So that’s it, the plan as it stands. Pictures will be posted but really this is likely to be just a little diary that may be of some interest to anyone passing by in the future.
To be continued.

Last edited by Scouser; 04-06-2021 at 07:31 AM.
Old 04-11-2021, 06:31 AM
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A bit of progress. All the cars have been stripped to the last nut and given a thorough clean. They were pretty neglected and filthy dirty but they cleaned up great. All the screws were binned as they will be getting replaced by stainless hex heads.
It was interesting to see the differences in wheelbase between the Fun Factor, JT factory team and Magnum chassis. With them all laid out I was surprised to see the Magnum about an inch longer than the JT.
Anyway, with all the bits ready, I will start the re-assembly and then look to getting the electric conversion sorted. For now I am thinking of an aluminum plate that mounts to the stock motor holes in the chassis and bends 90degrees to sit the motor in the right place. We will see how that goes.
Thats it for now. More to follow.


Old 04-16-2021, 06:00 AM
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Quick update, got my original FF back on wheels with driveshafts, shocks and turnbuckles all replaced. I have a Novak esc fitted and have the layout pretty much sorted. Now moving on to the motor mount, which is likely the trickiest bit.
Old 04-16-2021, 11:42 AM
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Some pictures of the CEN so far.

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Old 09-12-2021, 06:35 PM
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Talking

Hello Scouser,

I cannot believe people would still spend time on this piece of junk. Flimsy drive shafts and diff cups made out of paper to name a few. Countless sleepless nights thinking of ways to make it better but yet more things would fail. Only Nutcases would do what you do.......... So I guess I too am "A couple of sandwiches short of a picnic" for sure.

Yes, the old girl had been gathering dust for years, but now she is electric.

Brushless Fun Factor MT2.... Why?

Been trying to keep the budget low on this one. I didn't want to spend too much on the conversion, thinking I probably can no longer find parts for it any more. It is nice to know that Cenracing still offers parts.
Modifications included a MOD1 47 tooth Spur gear and a Budget 3100kv Brushless system with 12T pinion. I was't sure if the motor would draw too much current so to keep the pinion as low as possible. The motor mount was off a WLToys and the mod was painless. I will try to test it out soon and will report any damages (Here we go Again!!)

Hope to see your Resurrection soon.

Regards
Normski

Last edited by normanski; 09-12-2021 at 06:39 PM.
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Old 09-29-2021, 07:23 PM
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As promised, a few photos after the resurrection



Well, the first session did not last long! After the steering rod popped out a few times, the speed-control started to cut-off. First I thought it was the Low-Battery, but then I lost half of the steering and the motor would not spin. At least there was no mechanical breakage.

It turns out to be the Flysky FS-GT3C Transmitter. Since replacing the Flysky with the newly purchased DumboRC, I have run through 4 packs of 2S and happy to report that nothing has failed......yet. I have built a 3S LiFePo4 pack and will try it out with the truck this weekend...Weather permitting.
Old 10-04-2021, 10:04 AM
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Loving the truck Normanski, nice job on the electric conversion.
what motor mount did you use? I was going to go for an ultra low tech bent aluminium sheet approach but if there is a drop in solution I will definitely go for that. I have been luck with the diff cups, never broken one after fitting the brass sleeves. Driveshafts, yeah, they ain’t the best. I can’t help myself though, this was my first real Rc and I could never part with it.

Last edited by Scouser; 10-04-2021 at 10:07 AM.
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Old 10-04-2021, 07:36 PM
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Wow, there is Life, Jim! So good to hear from you Scouser.

The motor mount is from WLToys. You can go to Aliexpress, then just do a search for "wltoys motor mount". They are cheap as dirt but are meant for the 3650 type Brushless motor whatever that means. I only know 540 & 390. Haha. Seriously, I think a 540 motor would go on fine also. The motor/ESC combo I used comes from Surpass Hobby KK series. Again, go to Aliexpress, then search for that if you like. I am not familiar with the Forum's rules any more, so am not going to post any links here. Sorry!

I would not say the motor mount was a "Direct" Drop-In Solution, but those are threaded holes at the bottom of the mount. I kept the original Engine mounting plate, and just drill a few holes. That's it. I will try to post some photos later if it helps.

Here is the video of the truck running my home-made 3S LiFEpo4 pack. I did not get to really push the truck but then she is an old lady and should be respected. Haha.


Last edited by normanski; 10-04-2021 at 07:49 PM. Reason: Add the word "video".
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Old 10-05-2021, 06:07 AM
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Default Photos of Motor Mount

As promised, here are a few photos of the WLToys motor mount on the Fun Factor chassis. I have to say the FF chassis is softer than I expected, so drilling holes to place the motor mount was not hard. Have fun.


WLToys motor mount on top of the original engine mount.

3650 3100kv Brushless motor with MOD1 pinion and spur.

Another view of the motor mount.
Old 10-05-2021, 06:11 PM
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Here are a few things that I would do differently if I get to do this conversion again.... and I just might:
  1. Mount the motor on the other side of the truck, or the receiver box side of the truck. That way, I would not have to bridge the great big hole left by the nitro-engine.
  2. Go for a smaller Spur-Gear. I went with a MOD1 47T spur which has the same diameter as the original. However, a smaller Spur would probably allow me to blank off the cut-off and prevent rocks and such getting to the spur.
  3. It would be good if I can find a way to make a gear-cover. As you can see from the photos, there is already filing around the Spur. An enclosed gear cover would allow me to pack it full of grease. May be someone with a 3D printer can help?
  4. On the Spur-gear again, do I really need MOD1 gears? I needed a 3.5mm to 5mm sleeve on the motor so to fit the MOD1 pinion. May be a MOD 0.8 would work just as well?
Any way, I have to say the truck was close to going into the bin, which makes this conversion even more satisfying. It gives me great joy running the FF again.

Regards
Normanski
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Old 10-07-2021, 12:43 AM
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Correction regarding the sleeve adaptor on the motor, it should have been 3.175mm to 5mm.
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Old 10-15-2021, 08:28 AM
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Thanks for all the info Normanski, it is very much appreciated. I was going to ask about the spur gear as it is a hurdle I am going to come to for sure. I originally thought about getting the CEN single speed spur and then finding a slipper clutch to fit.
Love the motor mount, I really didn’t want to drill the chassis plate so it is nice to see that it is not necessary. For the protection from rocks, I did consider using the chassis protection sheets that you get for 1/10 electric buggies. I had some years ago when I used to race and it was the first thing I thought of for plugging some of the unused holes. I remember it being pretty durable stuff but as with everything, it will be a bit of trial and error for a while.
I will have to stop being so lazy and get this truck running again. It hasn’t seen any progress for a while as work has been getting in the way.
Thanks again for the update, you have given me a ton of info that will definitely help. Speak to you soon, hopefully with some progress to report.
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Old 10-16-2021, 05:35 PM
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It was relatively easy for me regarding the spur gear. I just ordered it from TaoBao(Aliexpress) and it replaced all the mechanical brake & 2 speeds gearing perfectly. I really would not consider the Cen spur as it will probably strip the moment you run the brushless motor. Haha.

As for the motor mount, I did have to turn the original engine plate 90 degrees. So I had to drill a few holes onto the chassis, but was not too concern about that.

Yes, it would be great to see your take of the CEN Fun-factor Resurrected.

Regards
Normski
Old 11-06-2021, 09:58 PM
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one boring weekend in winter several years ago

Last edited by TheQuakeKing; 11-06-2021 at 10:05 PM.
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Old 11-13-2021, 07:25 PM
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Hello The Quake King,

Not a bad job for one boring weekend. Did you fire it up? And does it still run? As for me, I kept having issues with the Radio and even had a "runaway" straight into a pole. Bent the centre drive shaft, the chassis and the rear shock tower. However, I have managed to bend them all back ( Well, to a degree!), and refer back to my FlySky radio. Let's hope I have better luck with the FlySky.

Regards
Normanski
P.S.: The Quake King....I wonder if you had or still has a Mini-Quake?
Old 11-30-2021, 06:58 PM
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Hello People,

Just a quick post to keep you updated. After bending back all the parts and replacing the DumboRC with the FlySky, it ran great with no control issue for like 1.5 pack. Then the truck did a front flip and broke the back body posts after I braked hard. Haha. OK, now I need some new ways to mount the body and a metal steering Servo horn. The Plastic horn was flexing when I steer. Here are a couple of pictures before I flipped the truck.




You guys all have a good day.

Regards
Normanski
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