Lego Technic 9397 Logging Truck RC Mod with Sbrick

[TmoneyTechnic]

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I've had the clips to make this video for 2 months now, but not enough time to edit.  Anyhow, with that said, here's what I have done.  I have rebuilt both of the rear axles so they can be driven by 2 L-Motors, and rebuilt the front axle so that it can be steered by a servo, and still be able to fit an engine and have room in the cab for other motors.  I also rebuilt the front of the truck since it seemed too sparse to me, but I've left the rest of the truck (besides some of the internals) original.  I decided I only wanted to use a single Sbrick, and I had only one port left, since there was already an M-Motor in the model to drive the functions connected to the distribution gearbox, so I built a custom sequential shifter that I could fit in the cab, and access the axles of the changeover catches in the gearbox, and thus shift through the functions sequentially.  This is done with one M-Motor.  All of the internal mechanics of the gearbox were left stock, besides the elimination of any white 24 tooth clutch gears.  I did not change the rest of the model that much, though I did think having an inline-4 seemed kind of lame, so I put in a V8 instead.  i will not release any instructions due to the extense of the modifications.  Please enjoy the video and photos below, and feel free to leave a reply!

 

                                                                   

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2018 by TmoneyTechnic

[Aventador2004]

Interesting mod. A great base to build with this set is.

[agrof]

Very cool motorization, I love the gearbox sequencer! 

Still one of my favorite sets. Despite it's age, it is definitely advanced for it's size, with this MOD you definitely raised it's value.

[TmoneyTechnic]

17 minutes ago, Aventador2004 said:

Interesting mod. A great base to build with this set is.

Thank you and it is a great base to build with.  It's also quite fun to play with, even without the RC.

7 minutes ago, agrof said:

Very cool motorization, I love the gearbox sequencer! 

Still one of my favorite sets. Despite it's age, it is definitely advanced for it's size, with this MOD you definitely raised it's value.

Thank you, building the gearbox sequencer was the most challenging, but also the most fun part of the build.  It is a great set, everything works well, and it is very advanced for its size.  I'm really dreading returning it to original condition though, since I'll end up having to disassemble the chassis to rebuild the axles to their stock form  :(  I need the motors I added for something big.......

[1gor]

Interesting modification, my only complain goes actually to original set; IMHO it is to narrow for 62,4 tires at least 3 studs

[TmoneyTechnic]

19 minutes ago, I_Igor said:

Interesting modification, my only complain goes actually to original set; IMHO it is to narrow for 62,4 tires at least 3 studs

Thank you, and I agree that the wheels are too thin, now that I think about it.  It would have wreaked havoc on my drivetrain to have wider tires though.  (It is hard to get this thing to turn)

[1gor]

Actually I was refering to chassis width, it could be 18-19 studs wide

You can keep those tires as they are; there is so called super single tire option on trucks...

Edited May 30, 2018 by I_Igor

[TmoneyTechnic]

Oh I see what you mean, I would still change the tire width because I think it would look better, but I cannot for the reasons stated above.