Frankenstein's Madcap

[bigalbi]

I can't afford a complete Astute or even less a Super Astute or DynaStorm and if I owned one of them I don't think I would let it leave the shelf.

So I am going for a sort of hybrid Madcap/Astute/Super Astute that I can run.

The chassis, towers and brace are courtesy of Fibre-Lyte. Most of the other parts are from Fleabay Sourced Madcap bits.

So it begins: -

The start off bits.

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For some reason the fibre-lyte chassis's back three holes were not countersunk so these were rectified. I also drilled and countersunk 2 new holes for the uprights to support the madcap front top brace.

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Then I could mount the front bulkhead and the rear suspension hangers and support posts.

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I had to drill and tap 2 new holes in the underside of the Madcap rear top bulkhead to maintain strength and reduce flex.

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The front Shock mount was setup for a super astute so I had to remove some material from the top lip and drill 2 holes for the Madcap body post.

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Gearbox and rear brace assembly was then completed.

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The front shock mount and bracing installed.

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Then corners were hung.

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That's where I'm at so far more updates to follow.

[Dom9]

Love it! Looking forward to updates!

[Topcat Ron]

Also love it dude....addresses many of the known weak points

[cjm_2008]

That front kickup / bulkhead will snap at the first opportunity.

You'd be better off replacing it with an ORB racing 3d printed part.

Same for the rear inner hingepin hangers (the small blocks that sit either side of the gearbox)

Otherwise, NICE!

[LeonT]

This looks amazing! I have a Madcap and a Super Astute.
If I break the Madcap chassis, I'll go down this route and build an Astute/Madcap hybrid.

[bigalbi]

Originally Posted by cjm_2008

That front kickup / bulkhead will snap at the first opportunity.

You'd be better off replacing it with an ORB racing 3d printed part.

Same for the rear inner hingepin hangers (the small blocks that sit either side of the gearbox)

Otherwise, NICE!

Hi, Thanks for the feedback. Have you had direct experience of these failures. Is the Orb part head and shoulders stronger? I was hoping the bracing top and bottom against a carbon chassis would make this less prone to break.

[bigalbi]

Thanks all for the kind comments.

Waiting for bits now. Have ordered a DT02 turnbuckle set as these appear to be compatible on length for the top links. Think the ball cups are probably better then the older ones too.. Need to sort the steering, have some top force stuff that might work. Need to check geometry and height. Thinking I need to make some risers if it works out.

[NOFX]

i think the madcap front bulkhead with the top brace will be ok, unless you're planning on putting huge power in the car.

The top force steering parts work, yeah you'll just need to muck around with the spacing so you dont end up with huge bump steer

This build looks great!, i built a similar Astute a few years ago

[bigalbi]

Originally Posted by NOFX

i think the madcap front bulkhead with the top brace will be ok, unless you're planning on putting huge power in the car.

The top force steering parts work, yeah you'll just need to muck around with the spacing so you dont end up with huge bump steer

This build looks great!, i built a similar Astute a few years ago

Thanks NOFX, I was thinking 13.5T, maybe 10.5T with zero boost. The diff probably wouldn't take any more than that without eating itself! They hadn't thought about the torque from brushless power when they designed it

[bigalbi]

Couple of updates.

Have sorted some steering using bits off of a Top Force Parts tree I had in a box in the garage. Had to faff about with getting the height right. Have also drilled and tapped 2 new ball connectors for the steering cross link for which I have made an adjustable link using M3 stainless threaded bar cut to length. Made track rods the same way. No bump steer is the result so all good.

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Also fitted DT02 Turnbuckles for the suspension top links which have worked out great for length.

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Next up I want to create a Carbon Fibre Shorty holder that can be moved backwards and forwards using the existing battery holder holes.