Tamiya Blackfoot / ORV 1.55" Wheels + Lower Body Mounts | Stock Style Look Without Any Suspension Modifications!

thingiverse

BACKGROUNDThis was something I actually designed almost half a year ago now, but never put up until today. I just finally sold my Blackfoot after not working on it for a while, so I thought I'd put this up before I inevitably forget to. As much fun as the monster truck design is, I wanted to try and make the Blackfoot more like a Brat, with a more standard ride height and smaller wheels. The end result wasn't perfect, but considering the fact that this mod requires nothing but 1.55" tires and some m3x8 screws, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Should work on any Tamiya Blackfoot, Monster Beetle, or Mud Blaster as long as the suspension is the same.CREDITSWheel Design - Toka100 (Can't find his design on his page anymore, must've removed it.)Front and Rear Body Mounts (Shortend them for my design) - domi1974 | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3271715you can use the original rear body mount brace, but if yours broke like mine use this design by ForageandForge: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4969476PRINTINGPrint everything in PETG, it'll hold up to the stresses required better than PLA ever will. Front and rear wheel hubs should print without any support, along with the locking parts, and the rear body mounts. You will however need supports for the front mount. For rear body mounts, duplicate and mirror the design so you have a left and right model. Wheels themselves will also need supports underneath. These are the amount of parts you'll need to print:Wheels - x4Wheel Lock Barrel - x4Wheel Lock Ring - x4Front Bearing Hubs - x2Rear Bearing Hubs - x2Shortend Front Mount - x1Shortend Rear Mount - x2 Mirror, don't just duplicate!ASSEMBLYShould be pretty self explanatory, but basically the hubs go on exactly like the Blackfoot's standard wheels, including the slots for bearings. To assemble each wheel, Slide a 1.55" tire on from the side facing in along with the locking barrel, followed by the locking ring, which is secured in with m3 screws. Design for this part uses countersunk screws, but I got by with regular ones. After the tire's attached, screw them to the hub itself with more m3 screws. Repeat 3 more times, and lastly add the shortened body mounts so the body sits lower to the wheels. The front wheels will have a slightly wider wheelbase than the rear, but from most angles it isn't noticable. It's definitely not as clean as the Tamiya Brat's design, but this allows you to use all the original suspension parts without modifying anything. Thanks for looking, and happy printing! EDIT 2/15/24: Though I originally thought this would be my last ORV design, a few weeks after selling this truck I just got a hold of a Frog for only $20! Got some cool things in mind as I start to restore it, so stay tuned!