Phase II

Custom Servo Mounts
I built my own custom servo mount based on Matt Verrochi’s design. This design places the servo in front of the gearbox but still allows me to run the bumper for some protection.

Pics of the front servo mount. This mount is really easy to make and uses the stock bumper mounts. I think the pics should give a pretty good idea of how everything goes together. I designed the mount with a small skid plate to protect the steering rods/assembly.

Here’s a pic of the rear servo mount. Essentially the same design except that I left out the skid plate since I didn’t want it scraping up dirt on hard landings.

Servo Mount Performance
When I got my ESP Zilla IV, I was reluctant to try mounting my servos in front of the gearbox because they would be in the way of climbing. But since I’ve tried this setup, I would definitely recommend it to anyone for the following reasons:

1) You get tonnes more articulation. I had to limit my shocks with the ESP style servo mounts (above gearbox) because the servo would hit the chassis. This limited the chassis from performing at it’s full potential. Check out the pictures below… from 8 inches, I’m now getting up to 11 inches of travel.

2) Easier to tweak - I’ve found this setup a lot easier to tweak. Less links!

3) Less slop - again, less links means less slop! Less slop means better steering.

4) More steering power. Nuff said.

5) Better jumping - with more articulation, the shocks have more travel with which to take jumps!

6) Lower CG - the servos are mounted lower.

Trust me, the performance benefits far outweight any disadvantages. It not only looks great but works good too. The only little complain I have is that the plastic bumper mounts have a little flex so it isn’t the most precise steering system in the world.

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Custom Cantilevers and Chassis Pics

The left pic shows the custom cantilevers I made that run on dual ball bearings. The ESP ones ran on single bearings and after some running they developed slop and even got busted when I did some hard jumps. Using 2 bearings transfers the load over 2 bearings so it's a lot more durable. I haven't had any problems with blowing out bearings since.

The other 2 pics show the clod at the end of Phase II. Not a huge update but the performance has improved significantly. The last pic also shows the truck sporting a Chevy Silverado body painted red - the colour of blood.

So what lies ahead for my clod?

30 December 2001, the answer to the above question is finally available! Click here to see the next Phase of my clod's evolution! It's a total overhaul!

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