[MOC] 1995 Geo Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara)

[2GodBDGlory]

Well, I've always thought there should be some unwritten rule among Technic builders that we would always build models of our real-life cars. However, it seems that this laudable piece of mental legislation has never been widely adopted. In an attempt to reverse this trend, I am pleased to present a Technic MOC of my real-life car, a 1995 Geo Tracker!

So, for some context on the real-world car: In Canada, this car was sold under a dizzying number of nameplates, with Geo Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick being the most common, but Chevrolet Tracker, GMC Tracker, Asuna Sunrunner, and Pontiac Sunrunner were also used. Much of the world received it as the Suzuki Vitara, a name that didn't come to North America until the second generation. As a fun fact, the legendary Technic builder @Sheepo mentions on his blog that he does/did own a 1992 Suzuki Vitara, which would be essentially the same as this! Anyways, the real car (in the North American market) came with a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine, 3/4 speed automatic transmissions and 5 speed manuals, body-on-frame design, MacPherson strut front suspension, a coil-sprung 3-link rear axle, a 2H/4H/4L transfer case, and typically a removable canvas roof (on the 2-door models). Mine's a 2-door convertible, 16-valve, 4x4, 5-speed model, which is to me the most desirable configuration--I was very pleased to find it for sale near me at a reasonable price, because these things have almost rusted out of existence here in snowy/road salted Ontario, Canada!

Anyways, on to the Technic model:

The essential idea here was to build the kind of model that I could conceivably leave built indefinitely, which means a priority on appearance, reliability, and driveablity. I'm not planning on keeping it together, but I'm at least considering building it in Stud.io in order to have a record of it, so that should I ever gain enough adult responsibilities that I don't have time for regular building, I could rebuild it to leave it built.

 

Aesthetics were a big focus for me in this model, and I'm very pleased with what I came up with! Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found that I actually enjoyed building bodywork when I took the time to do it well--inferior, rushed, work simply doesn't bring the same satisfaction. Anyways, I'm sure it's not up to the level of what some builders could do, but I'm prepared to say that this is my best-looking model ever! Also, note the 3D-printed wheel covers. I really wanted to use some kind of panel part for this, and the rear ones from the Ford GT fit nicely, but are only available in Dark Blue, so I printed a set in black, which I think really helped the appearance of the model. 

A little side-project that got added to it was the custom license plates. When I'm on the road, I always enjoy looking for license plates from different locations, taking advantage of the way that Canadian and American provinces/territories/states create creative, distinctive plate designs, in a way that I don't think is really replicated anywhere else in the world. As an offshoot of this, I decided to try custom 3D-printing license plates from a few different places in a 2x4 tile format, with the design being offset and printed in a different color. The three plates I chose to make were Ontario, the province I'm from, and the states of Oregon and Colorado, which I think have the most attractive designs out there:

(There's no significance to the numbers and letters--these were simply what was on the cleanest pictures I could find online for converting to SVG for 3D modeling)

Functionality includes:

• 4WD with two PF L-motors
• Steering with a PF Servo motor
• 2-speed transmission with PF M-motor and moving cabin lever
• Front independent double-wishbone suspension
• Rear three-link live axle
• LED headlights/taillights
• Opening doors, hood, and tailgate
• Removable roof

Most of the functionality was relatively standard, though there were a few noteworthy techniques used.

 

4WD:

The drive was pretty normal, with two PF L-motors running the gearbox at a 20:24 ratio (with 12T idlers in between), and then running the two axles at 1:1 without differentials, with 12T bevel gears in the front and knob wheels in the rear. The front gearing was rather weak, as I anticipated, but it was necessary to keep my desired suspension design in the front, and it didn't prove crippling to the model. There were also metal U-joints going to the rear axle, which could maybe have been avoided, but when I found plastic ones breaking and had metal ones on hand, it was a very simple fix to just stick them in.

Steering:

Nothing interesting here, just a Servo, a couple 16T gears, a rack, and some links.

Transmission:

I was quite pleased with how the transmission worked! It was a basic two-speed design with 1:1 and 1:3 ratios, the latter of which was using a cut-down (fake) 24T differential because I haven't been able to get my hands on the official 24T clutch gear from the Yamaha yet. Shifting was done by a PF M-motor which ran a small linear actuator, which rotated a lever with a "toilet-paper" panel on it, which engaged with the driving ring. It was a very robust system, and fit the space well! The linear actuator ensured that I had zero problems with it jumping out of gear.

Suspension:

The front suspension uses one of the new CV joint shafts from the Ford GT to create what I believe is the skinniest odd-width, fixed differential, three-pin hub-using, independent suspension possible, and one that is notably skinnier than anything possible before the Ford GT's release:

It's also using disassembled shock absorbers to provide long travel in a small space:

The rear suspension was a three-link design, and also had unusual shock absorbers, in this case made from towball pins, bars, and springs from Lego shocks:

Both suspensions were quite responsive, with less friction than normal shocks create. The rear axle did have some rubbing on the plugs on the battery mounted behind it, which was unfortunate but not too bad.

Opening stuff:

The hood, doors, and tailgate opened. The doors had latches built into their handles, and the tailgate could be latched by rotating the spare tire (which had some friction on the "handle" above the license plate to keep it from moving)

Removable Roof:

The roof could be removed in three pieces: one above the seats, one large piece above the cargo area (or rear seat, but I didn't build one), and one small strip that runs along the top of the tailgate. The aftermarket hardtops for the vehicle typically come in two pieces like this, but with the part I had on the tailgate as part of a hatch coming down from the roof. The factory soft tops, like mine has, come in one main piece, but with a zipper for the rear window, which then stays connected to the tailgate during everyday use, like the beam I have on the tailgate in this model. I wasn't happy with the segmented look of the white roof, because it doesn't match the way my soft top stretches over the structural beam behind the doors, though it is realistic compared to a hard top. For fun, I also built a black roof, which doesn't match my car, but does blend in with that structural beam better.

 

 

Anyways, I was very pleased with this model! I think it looked really good, it had some interesting techniques, and its performance was quite satisfactory, with good speed in high gear and good torque in low gear, and off-road abilities mainly limited by its stock-size tires and lack of lift.

You can see more pictures here: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/1995-geo-tracker

I made a special effort to get pictures in scenic locations this time, which isn't too hard when you're living right on the edge of the wilderness of Northern Ontario!

[Alex Ilea]

Yoo that's nice! I must admit, I have always thought the same, evey builder should build their car, or their family's car, especially if it's not exotic.

[Maaboo the Witch]

Yup, it was the Suzuki Vitara here in the UK as well. One of my teachers at middle school had an aqua Vitara with Right Said Fred lyrics on the spare wheel cover.

Edited November 5 by Maaboo the Witch

[gyenesvi]

Oh man I really like this model! You have built it in a good scale, packed great functions into it, and I have to agree that this is your best looking model I have seen :) And those fender parts work really well here, and if those are an exact copy of the Ford GT ones, I guess sooner or later they will come in black as well.

The front suspension is a really interesting work with that asymmetric drivetrain, I would not have thought that is possible in a fairly clean way actually.. good job!

Truth is I never paid too much attention to Suzuki off-roaders as a child, but lately I really started liking them, they are kind of cute ones and have great potential for turning them into small lego models, I am also planning to build Jimny and Samurai models in this scale!

[Daniel-99]

Well done, my friend! I love the way you implemented new ideas in such a small and "classic" build (I mean than many people attempted to build 1:14 - 1:12 off-roaders for indoor competitions). The rear springs are cleverly designed and they are 100% Lego! Further you were able to fit in a full interior, which is a very hard problem in this scale. Keep up!

[brickless_kiwi]

Alas RM8 has built so many versions of the toyota hilux. It's a little hard or in truth easy for me to build my real life car. 

I might have a go at my current work ute being a mq mitsubishi triton. Being a bit of a angular and boxy shape probably would lend itself to technic rather well.

[piterx]

Awesome model dude! I truly apreciated the rear suspension design! That's really clever!

[Jurss]

Looks recognizable. 

Custom shock absorbers made from official parts are acceptable and welcomed.

[lmdesigner42]

What a great model! Lots of innovative features and functions for the small size. It definitely adds something when you build a model of something you own in real life.

[FriedlS]

Great work! It looks fantastic!! 👍👍😊

[2GodBDGlory]

Thanks!

On 11/5/2023 at 4:11 PM, gyenesvi said:

Oh man I really like this model! You have built it in a good scale, packed great functions into it, and I have to agree that this is your best looking model I have seen :) And those fender parts work really well here, and if those are an exact copy of the Ford GT ones, I guess sooner or later they will come in black as well.

The front suspension is a really interesting work with that asymmetric drivetrain, I would not have thought that is possible in a fairly clean way actually.. good job!

Truth is I never paid too much attention to Suzuki off-roaders as a child, but lately I really started liking them, they are kind of cute ones and have great potential for turning them into small lego models, I am also planning to build Jimny and Samurai models in this scale!

Yeah, those wheel covers are exact copies of the Ford GT ones (Just exported directly from Stud.io Part Designer). I do like those little Suzuki off-roaders a lot, so it'll be nice to see your Jimny!

On 11/6/2023 at 1:44 AM, Daniel-99 said:

Well done, my friend! I love the way you implemented new ideas in such a small and "classic" build (I mean than many people attempted to build 1:14 - 1:12 off-roaders for indoor competitions). The rear springs are cleverly designed and they are 100% Lego! Further you were able to fit in a full interior, which is a very hard problem in this scale. Keep up!

Yeah, I was pretty pleased with the rear springs! I actually did a much more minimal interior than I typically do, after noticing that the main models I was inspired by (stuff by RM8 and Madoca) kept it a lot simpler, and I think it was the right call.

[2GodBDGlory]

Well, after an impulsive afternoon Studio session and a skipped supper, I now have a Studio file for this model.

It's almost 100% made for my own reference, and as such I ignored all the good advice people gave me about my mini Arocs file and the importance of making steps in the file, so everything is in one enormous step of 1201 pieces. If you'd like to protest Lego instructions with only one piece per step, this would be a good way of doing that!

I didn't think putting in the time to make steps would pay off for my personally rebuilding it someday, since I don't mind digging through a full model and rebuilding without steps, and I really don't expect any significant number of other people wanting to build it. After all, it requires uncommon things like a MouldKing 6.0 battery, metal universal joints, and Ford GT wheel covers in custom 3D-printed black, and cable management would be nasty! Anyways, that's why I didn't think it was worth making steps for the benefit of that tiny/nonexistent group that might want to build it.

Nonetheless, because I have the file, I might as well share it, but it's very much NOT instructions, and dedication would be needed to rebuild it!

The file can be found in this folder: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/1995-geo-tracker

Edited November 20 by 2GodBDGlory

[gyenesvi]

6 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Well, after an impulsive afternoon Studio session and a skipped supper, I now have a Studio file for this model.

Thanks a lot for sharing, you already have one download :) It's enough for digging into some details. One thing you could get used to doing in Studio though is grouping stuff into submodels. Things like the entire roof, or a hood section, or doors. It's easier to work with them as you can hide entire sections, or hinge/rotate them as one unit. BTW, why is there an extra wheel inside the engine bay? Got there accidentally?

Anyways, besides the front suspension, I like the chassis structure and the layout of the motors, it's quite realistic and it leaves a lot of space for the gearbox in the right position. Also, nice mechanism for activating that, though a bit complex; I wonder if it could be made simpler with the wave selector..

And nice simple shaping of the hood / dashboard inside. BTW, I just ordered some more of those fenders in dark blue, so that I can build models like this in that color :)

[Bluehose]

Genius ! I like a lot your front driveline and both suspensions.

[2GodBDGlory]

2 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

Thanks a lot for sharing, you already have one download :) It's enough for digging into some details. One thing you could get used to doing in Studio though is grouping stuff into submodels. Things like the entire roof, or a hood section, or doors. It's easier to work with them as you can hide entire sections, or hinge/rotate them as one unit. BTW, why is there an extra wheel inside the engine bay? Got there accidentally?

Anyways, besides the front suspension, I like the chassis structure and the layout of the motors, it's quite realistic and it leaves a lot of space for the gearbox in the right position. Also, nice mechanism for activating that, though a bit complex; I wonder if it could be made simpler with the wave selector..

And nice simple shaping of the hood / dashboard inside. BTW, I just ordered some more of those fenders in dark blue, so that I can build models like this in that color :)

That's a good point that submodels at least would make the building process easier--I'll have to try that!

A wave selector would have been ideal for the transmission, but I had already pretty much committed to having a 7x11 frame there, and so couldn't really fit one anywhere. Although my solution was bulky, it was very strong, and I never had issues with it skipping out of gear.

And yeah, that extra wheel must be an accident!

1 hour ago, Bluehose said:

Genius ! I like a lot your front driveline and both suspensions.

Thanks!

[2GodBDGlory]

If you check the file again, I've now added submodels, which allows me to easily share a couple screenshots of the bare chassis!