Ronin Marui Samurai runner build

[Dadio]

A few months ago I bagged a Samurai in pretty good nick and did some minor restoration then could not resist driving it , long story short I didn't want to wreck it and came across a parts lot at a reasonable price .

Most of the parts are used and scared by life but serviceable , my guess is that someone made a shelf queen and this was the left overs , perfect for me as I want a runner . I assembled the parts I had and this is what I have .


So at this point I thought I'd draw up the missing cage in CAD and 3d print it , so now I'm here .




I've got a repaired half gearbox case and all the gears I need in new or perfect condition , I've ordered the other gearbox half from Shapeways , that just leaves the motor plate , dog bones and front wheel axles and I'll have a scruffy runner , my Ronin

[coxbros1]

.....actually this is seriously cool! i aint playin

[Dadio]

Spent most of last night trying to CAD model one half of chassis , It's a really complicated shape What looks straight at first actually has 1° angle changes or 3.5° angles changes or starts as a square section the taper's upward I don't think my daughter asking us to try the oversize wine glasses she gave us as a gift helped mutch

[silvertriple]

Hello!
That project kooks cool!
Currently looing at my Marui Hunter, but at some point, I will look to get a Samurai. Among the roll cages buggys of the eighties, it was part of the ones I was dreaming of. It find it even hotter than a Javelin...
Would love to find one to rebuild... In the meantime, i'll be watching this thread with some popcorns
Good luck!
A+
Marc

[Dadio]

Think I'm going boss eyed but its getting close on the geometry .

[Dadio]

Just one part of the chassis has been boggling me noggin all for almost a day , it's the rear roof pillar , just a nightmare but I've finally worked out how to accurately measure it , by putting long M3 screws through numerous screw holes and locking them with nuts then by using more nuts all threaded to the same level I can now triangulate the exact position ! It took me giving up and going for a walk with the dogs to clear the brain cheese enough to think of it

[silvertriple]

Hello,
Lot of the samurai chassis I saw on pictures or to sell for restoration are having the same type of issues the Hunter/Galaxy on the shock tower, even though it's not made the same way: Often, the part of the chassis where the rear shocks are mounted on the sides are broken/repaired with glue: how do you intend to take care of this?

[Dadio]

Hello,
Lot of the samurai chassis I saw on pictures or to sell for restoration are having the same type of issues the Hunter/Galaxy on the shock tower, even though it's not made the same way: Often, the part of the chassis where the rear shocks are mounted on the sides are broken/repaired with glue: how do you intend to take care of this?

The gearbox mounts break off as well , the plan is to model it as it is then do a second version to sort the problems , in all honesty if the chassis was made of nylon instead of ABS then it would probably work fine .

[silvertriple]

The gearbox mounts break off as well , the plan is to model it as it is then do a second version to sort the problems , in all honesty if the chassis was made of nylon instead of ABS then it would probably work fine .

Well, nylon might be too flexible for shock towers... But yes, it doesn't break, it bends and comes back into place (or almost). I never had a Samurai, but I believe the deport from the chassis may be a problem in all the plastics you can think about.

[Dadio]

I think I'm ready for a test print tomorrow

[Dadio]

First draft chassis , very rough and ready , just a few areas to work on .




A left gearbox half arrived from Shapeways , now I already have a Shapeways right side of the gearbox and it fits perfectly but unfortunately the left side does not , it's a minor fault , one hole for the gear axle for the reduction gear is wrong and there's no mesh with the centre diff gear
This is my original gearbox with the slightly yellow greasy gears next to the Shapeways part .

You can clearly see the lack of gear mesh .


The last picture it has the axle fitted in the motor plate and shows exactly how far out it is .

I messaged the designer and he got right back to me , he's evidently sold a few and only had one other person mention this fault , my guess is that most have gone on shelf queens so gear mesh was not too problematic , he asked for pictures so i sent these ones , he seems reasonable but we'll see what happens , I might be able to do something to fix it but its an arse .

[Dadio]

The guy of Shapeways that drew up the gearbox model and confirmed the axle hole was misplaced , he's fixed it and looks like he's a straight up guy about sorting it out

[Dadio]

He's sending a replacement part from Shapeways , was very good about it and he's replacing the model they sell , is so nice when people are decent human beings !

[Dadio]

Drew up the wheels and printed a front and rear , pretty pleased how they came out .




Also made up some 12mm hex adapters , the new car is coming along nicely , the transmission is complete i just need to find a front shock and fit electrics , probably better get a body as well

[Coelacanth]

Cool...it's interesting to see those wheels in white instead of their iconic matte chrome, old-school muscle-car finish.