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Tim's Toy by Twisted Customs

122K views 315 replies 98 participants last post by  ethann 
#1 · (Edited)


This build is the culmination of a lifelong dream! As a kid, I dreamed about racing a Class 1 buggy. Then I got bitten by the rock crawling bug in the 80's when my dad bought a Toyota 4x4 pickup. When the first rock crawling competitions started in the 90's, I knew that was the direction I wanted to go. Unfortunately, I am not wealthy, so all I could do was dream, work hard, and make plans for the future. When BF Goodrich built the Karnivore to showcase their new Krawlers, I fell in love, and had to have it. After it was raffled off, I immediately contacted the winner, put a second mortgage on my house, and purchased it. Wow, what a cool rig, but unfortunately, it's hard to fully enjoy a toy like that when you're making payments. So, I turned around and sold it before I ever put a scratch on it. Then I put my plans into high gear, got my house paid off in five short years, and started putting large monthly deposits into my "buggy fund" until I was finally ready to contact Twisted Customs. Their buggies have claimed more podium finishes than any other chassis manufacturer by a wide margin, so that made them the clear choice for me. I need all the help I can get! Honestly, though, their attention to detail is second to none. So, if you're looking for a little piece of perfection in an imperfect world, then Twisted Customs is the only answer.

I know you're tired of hearing my life story, so let the build thread begin. Just to clarify, I contacted Twisted Customs many months ago. They were very up front in letting me know that they were restructuring the company and would be building and moving into a new shop in the near future. This gave us plenty of time to acquire most of the major parts needed, and it also gave me time to save for a new enclosed trailer to haul my new toy.
 
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#285 · (Edited)
I'm pretty sure my Atlas is mounted the same as every other Twisted car. The intermediary front shaft between the atlas and carrier bearing does have a slip joint so I don't see that being the problem. My case may have been defective, hard to say.

As Weasel said, I did begin applying throttle just before I landed. Seemed like I was in the air forever and I got impatient. The ORI's soaked up the landing great. The suspension never bottomed out.

Advanced Adapters said it should cost around $1,000 to fix. Guess it's all part of racing. The most important part is that we had a blast. Can't wait till next year! :smokin:
 
#290 ·
Trust me kids, I was in the passenger seat. That track had unbelievable traction that day. We were in second gear pinned when we hit. I was certain a drive line had blown until i saw the gear lube. There is no binding of anything in this car. There is no bottoming out of drivelines. It is quite simply 500 hp moving sticky tires spinning at 50+ mph when they hit the ground.

Tim I think you need to pull the thirds out as well. I have rebuilt more than a few mega high 9's that blow the third bearing on the pinion out after a shock like that.

BTW, I'm working on a remote control throttle cut off for the next race :beer:
 
#291 · (Edited)
You guys obviously don't ride around the south much. If that was enough to break a perfectly good Atlas with no flaws, we would be breaking cases every single ride. Period.

edit: And most of us are running bigger tires and more power so your argument doesn't make sense. Has anyone actually inspected the car to try and get some real info or is this all still just speculation. I know if it was mine it would be sitting on bumpstops right now.
 
#299 ·
it just so happens in this exact instance with this mix of parts the case was the part that popped.

For example, if we had landed on just the frt tires or just the rear tires it probably would have been a driveline.

the car is so well balanced it landed perfectly on all 4 tires at once splitting all the energy through both diffs, then both shafts, then both inputs which resulted in the case breaking.

I watched a guy a couple of years ago do the same thing on the waterfall on hal johns. Hit the gas, took a couple of bad hop's, and when the rear tires were spinning forward the truck landed going backwards and bang.

Moab's dump bump is famous for this kind of damage.
 
#301 · (Edited)
Won my first race! Wow, these "Twisted" cars are awesome! :smokin:

Can't thank the guys at Twisted Customs enough for all the help before and during the race. Jason & Nate made sure my car was in perfect condition and ready to go. My co-dog, Tyler did his best to keep me in-line. Apparently, I have tendency to bend throttle pedals. :emb4:

 
#304 ·
Yeah i think it's a chain of sorts.

Congrat's Tim!!! Hope to see that thing at the Challenge making everything look easy again. That thing is flippin set up.

Did yo happen to air it out like you did last race? :D
T-case is still intact so I'm guessing no. :D

Good job Tim. I have some brief video of you on the starting lap, should get it up soon.
 
#305 ·
Not sure if I can get the time off for Challenge this year. UPS isn't real keen on me taking holiday weekends.

I tried to keep it on the ground as much as possible this time around. That way I don't have to worry about letting off the throttle. Hee Hee


Good job Tim. I have some brief video of you on the starting lap, should get it up soon.
Can't wait to see the video Craig! I really need to invest in a GoPro at some point.
 
#312 ·
How do you lock the rear and has it worked good for you? My current buggy has rear steering with no lockout. Building or waiting to build a new one with rear steer again but this time want to add a lockout for speed.
 
#313 ·
thought Tim might chime in but it's a piece of ~2" strap that's bolted to the bottom portion of the rear knuckle (bottom of the steering arm using the same bolt) and the other end bolts into a tab on the axle skid plate, or that's the general idea. I can't remember if Tim's is exactly that style but the one on Jason's buggy is. Works well.
 
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