Build Off Tamiya FJ Cruiser

[eddievedder]

Ten years ago we did a build off in honor of my daughter that passed away and timed it with the release of Tamiya’s new (at the time) CC01 FJ Cruiser. The build off was exclusive to the old site scale4x4. There were several entries and some really awesome and unique builds.
I recently was going through some photos after tinkering with this ten year old truck. The only build thread that was done existed on scale4x4 which is no longer around. Since I still have this truck I figured I’d share something here in the CC01 section. Ten years late but here you go.

I purchased the CC01 FJ Cruiser kit and wanted to try to stick with mostly Tamiya parts since Tamiya was one of the sponsors of the build off and donated some cool prizes.

This is how the truck stands today.


Here it is with my daughter’s CC01 FJC

 

[eddievedder]

Some of the build process pics.

I was able to find these rare and vintage Tamiya aluminum clocked C hubs. Comparison to stock.

I installed some Tamiya CVDs and of course my favorite ever Tamiya aluminum front buggy DF01 shocks.

Prior to getting this sorted I painted the chassis tub white while leaving the frame rails black. I added some GPM aluminum parts since Tamiya doesn’t make all of the upgrades.

GPM rear 4 link and Tamiya stroke extension


I wanted to build this one for fun and speed to rip around with and less of an off road rock crawler type rig. I left the diffs open and went with a Tamiya Sport Tuned 540 motor

 

[eddievedder]

I painted the Tamiya Lexan body white and added some vintage decals for that Ivan Stewart race look.

 

[eddievedder]

It needed a little more desert racer flare so I added some roof lights and front brush guard with lights from a Tamiya LandFreeder kit.



A recessed rear cargo area spare tire with removed rear door completed that look.

 

[eddievedder]

Eventually I swapped the wheels and tires for a more TRD look and added an interior and driver/co-pilot to hide the electronics and bits. Overall this was a fun build and driving it with open diffs and the tuned 540 motor is a blast. With the lexan body it isn’t top heavy so it really rips and stays wheels down.

These are current photos from today.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Damn, sorry for your loss! I can't even imagine. I lost my girlfriend, whom I bought a house with 3-months prior, to COVID and it devasted me for a year and a half and I still think about her all the time. It was tough for me to move forward so I can't even imagine how you did it. You're a strong guy!

That build is awesome. Looks so good!

 

[eddievedder]

Damn, sorry for your loss! I can't even imagine. I lost my girlfriend, whom I bought a house with 3-months prior, to COVID and it devasted me for a year and a half and I still think about her all the time. It was tough for me to move forward so I can't even imagine how you did it. You're a strong guy!

That build is awesome. Looks so good!

I’m sorry for your loss my friend. Thank you for the kind words.