Hibbs' Jeep TJ Build

[hibbs]

Hello all,

I have 2 jeep bodies around that I've finally decided to do something with. I have a mint TJ body that I believe was a Nikko. A friend gave it to me since it had been sitting in a garage for ages. I also have a NB JK body that I had mounted up for a while and beat up real good. I'm planning to mount the TJ on an SCX-10 chassis and make the JK into a Jeep FC.

I am far from an expert builder but I want to actually post a build process on the forums for once...

So first I removed the links to get an idea of how the WB would need to be setup:

The wheelbase is very short and the interior tray and the trans/shock hoops are an issue for getting the body down low. To help with this I cut out a slot for the spur to poke through. The console has a bit of a tunnel that helps with the trans clearance. For the shock hoops I did what I've seen many others do, and that is to cut two square holes to allow it to poke through. They need to be opened up more but so far I just have a rough cut.

I'll work on getting it to sit lower but for now this give an idea of how the wheelbase will need to be setup.

Next up is the frame rails being a bit too long. Just as everyone else does, I trimmed them up about 3/4" - 1". I can't remember the exact number I measured.

 

[AJ.]

Looks like you are off to a good start."thumbsup"

 

[hibbs]

The first few posts may seem a bit off because I've already done a few hours of work and snapped pics as I went. I'm sort of catching up on the posting.


The body looks good to me on the claws with 1.9s. They sit a bit outside the fenders but the beauty of doing a jeep is, almost any setup is technically scale.

I went ahead and made up the rear links and used the stock Axial axle truss. It came out just a bit too long, maybe 1/8" or so. I can shorten them up a bit if needed. The MIP shafts I had are definitely not an option unless I cut them down. I'm going to mod a set of WB8 shafts since a new set is only like $7.

 

[hibbs]

Looks like you are off to a good start."thumbsup"

Thanks AJ. I'm hoping that by sharing the build I can get some motivation to keep it going since people are watching the progress...

 

[hibbs]

I cleaned up the shock hoop holes and made them a bit more square. They still aren't perfect but good enough for now. It will let me get the body dropped down all the way.

The steering servo mounted on the axle hits the grill. It will have to be chassis mounted. I can make a bracket to chassis mount it and come up with a panhard bar. I'm sure this is going to be much more difficult than I know.

I could use some help though from more experienced builders. I know you can't have a 4-linked front end if you are using a panhard bar. The problem I have is that the front axle looks better if it's further back.

Here is how it sits now:

Here is where it looks really good:

I'm pretty sure I'll cut flat fenders, so the raked forward front axle look might not be too bad. It also helps out with the approach angle given the frame rails poking out front. I plan to get a mapp torch and braze up a stinger similar to what others do. It might be better to just let it be where it is.

What are your thoughts? I don't know of any way to shorten up the upper front links given the wishbone is not something I can cut all thread and sleeve to get a custom length.

 

[hibbs]

A little more progress to report.

I think I can make the short WB work by keeping the servo axle mounted. Not what I really wanted to do, but I don't know how to shorten up the upper links and still keep it 3 linked. I'm using the axle truss and I'm going to use the stock servo mount with only 2 screws. I hope it holds, time will tell.

So here it is with front links made up. (I'll sleeve all of them once I know it all works well.)

It looks like if I lose the front crossmember everything should clear. I'll have to add a front plate for a stinger and bumper of some sort and that should provide enough support. The axle truss will hit the frame rail but that is at about 95% of the shock travel so no big deal.

The only drawback is the front shocks are leaned forward a good bit. It doesn't look great, but not too bad imo. What do you guys think?

I think the WB looks just right. I've never tried such a short WB before. I'm thinking it may not climb as well as a longer WB, but I guess it will good experience.

I was looking at Jeep pics and saw this truck: http://image.jpmagazine.com/f/9210691/154_0611_01_z+scrappy_the_wonder_jeep_tj+lead.jpg

I really like the burnt orange paint job anyway and was thinking I might try to fab a styrene cab up for my first styrene project. Any thoughts?

 

[brianw]

Too late but if you flip the trans the spur should fit in front of the dash. "thumbsup"

 

[hibbs]

Too late but if you flip the trans the spur should fit in front of the dash. "thumbsup"

Thanks for the idea Brian.

Yeah, I read through another build and saw someone who had done that. I could still do it and patch the hole. The only thing is, it would be too close to the battery plate I have on the front side of the transmission. I like my batteries there, up front and somewhat low. I might try turning it around just to see what it looks like.

 

[sundayface]

Pull the trigger on that cab! I'd like to see what you come up with. I have a similar TJ I just finished and I've been thinking about a cab/bikini top as well.

 

[brianw]

The only thing is, it would be too close to the battery plate I have on the front side of the transmission. I like my batteries there, up front and somewhat low. I might try turning it around just to see what it looks like.

You could move the battery tray vertical against the shock towers.

 

[elsewhere]

tcs crawlers has the MIP male bone from an e-revo which makes the drive shafts work with 4in links.
my wb is at 10 3/8

and if u want to do cms with a panhard and NO upper links just do a radius arm like this:

have fun with the SWB, its a completely different driving style than the longer rigs out there.
still capable but the challenge is a great time!

 

[hibbs]

@ Sunday, I did! I'll post up real soon.

@ Brian, I'll probably try something like that. I'm going to look at turning the trans around soon. I went ahead and started building the cab with styrene. I'm going to get back to the chassis when that's done.

@ Elsewhere, I didn't even know that was an option. When I get setup with brazing I'm going to try that out. The CMS is much cleaner looking. Your Jeep looks nice, I can't wait to try and build cage work.

 

[hibbs]

So I went ahead and tried my hand at styrene for the first time. Like most people say, it is very easy to work with. For starters, here is a TJ I liked and wanted to try and build a similar cab.

I'm going to show the details of what I did. It will probably be boring for most, but I figure it might help newbies like myself.

The main things you need are a straight-edge, razor knife and plastic weld (I used plastruct bondene)

I started by cutting two pieces the same size for the roof to double up on the thickness.

Next I cut lots of strips to use as a block to glue the sides and rear of the cab too. This also serves the purpose of providing extra material to allow you to sand a nice curved edge.

Here they are glued on.

Here it is mocked up on the roof.

You can see how the extra material will allow me to sand a radius on the edge of the roof and match up with what is already there on the windshield.

Next I worked on the cab back and tried to trim it to fit the fenders. One side turned out well. The other side turned out lousy. I will have to figure out a way to either hide the mess or use bondo to smooth things out.

Using the same methods as above I glued stacks of styrene strips to add strength and give material for finishing. I also cut out a window for the rear before gluing but didn't snap a pic until this step.

Here it is glued up and sanded.

So lastly, I added two pieces to the sides with a small radius to taper it into the roofline. I added bracing to the rear of this piece and it kind of tied all the three pieces together. It really added a ton of strength after doing this.

Here it is as it sits now. I won't have time to work on it for at least a week. I'll post again when I can sand on it some more and finish the edges. It is mostly done now except for tying it into the windshield and truck. Also I wiil do some work on the inside of the cab to make it look nice when you peep inside, and not like a pile of glued scraps.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[hibbs]

It's been a while. Time for an update. I got an oxy-map torch and some brake line and have been learning to braze a bit. I made up a front and rear bumper and scrapped the cab for a full cage. It still needs B pillars and bracing to make it look nice.

Let me know what you think of my joints. I feel like they are somewhat ugly, but they are getting better. I found it tough to bend tubing and get it perfectly even.

I used jthellfire's WB8 driveshaft mod. I did it a bit different. I didn't glue the shaft into either female end, rather, I cut it to length and let it free-float inside. Time will tell how it works out.

First you need to measure your overall driveshaft length at its shortest. This is probably when the suspension is fully collapsed. Make sure to measure from the plastic end of the shaft not the metal yoke. Cut your female shafts this length, leaving just a little

next measure inside both female shaft ends. you can stick something small inside and mark it, then measure the depth. Add the two depths together to get the overall length of male shaft you need. Cut the male shaft. Next, you need to find something to fill the male shaft to make it solid. It works out that the stock Axial links are perfect size.

I cut it to length and used a small vice to press it in.

I really don't know what to do about the sides. I will make some sliders but not sure how to tie them in. I may do like many do and add a piece of sheet metal to replace that awful looking lower panel below the door. Maybe boat sides... Any ideas?

I will also add lights at some point and most likely try to paint it up, I like the silver fairly well. I want to paint it black though.

 

[elsewhere]

looks good so far hibbs!
how did u mount your cage, to the body or to the chassis?
what happened to your brute cab?
are u gonna make some central vertical supports for the cage?

Im a stickler for strength so i went right to the chassis though the body..

i used 1/4' brake line for the main cage and brazed little pieces of 3/16" inside it to peg it together.
i drilled a small hole though both and use 2 body pins to hold it all together..

this way the body is fully protected by metal and cant really get smashed up..
scratched yes but cracked and broken would be tough though the whole cage...

 

[hibbs]

looks good so far hibbs!
how did u mount your cage, to the body or to the chassis?
what happened to your brute cab?
are u gonna make some central vertical supports for the cage?

Im a stickler for strength so i went right to the chassis though the body..

i used 1/4' brake line for the main cage and brazed little pieces of 3/16" inside it to peg it together.

I just cut the heads off a few screws and brazed them into the open end of the tubing. It fits through the existing holes in the body.

I was into the brute cab and I still have it, but I look at all the different TJ/LJs on here and almost everyone does a cage and they just look so nice. That and I just got a torch and was having fun brazing up parts. So... the cab is around, but I probably wont use it.

I might braze up supports from the bottom. Your idea is really brilliant with the interlocking tube. You are really creative with your tube work. It's tough to get the tubing even on both sides, I've found, and you were even able to incorporate a method of connecting the top and bottom. I admire your work Else, that bare tube chassis looks damn nice. Thanks for posting up pics to help me out.

I've since put some B-pillars and a bit of bracing across the top of the cage. I'll post that up soon. My next task is to make some sliders so maybe I can tie in support to the cage from there. I'd probably just have open end tubes line up under the screws coming through the body from the top. That would line up the tubes. It wouldn't be locked in like you've done, but it should give some support. I agree that it is nice to protect the body.

I want to do a rectangular shaped tube box and braze a matching piece of sheet metal to it to give a nice slick slider, mounted at 45 degrees to the body. Then maybe do a step bar up at the side of the body. I hate the side sill area below the doors. It's chunky and ugly. I haven't got up the courage to hack it off yet. It'll be a huge gap between the bottom of the body and the frame rails that I"ll have to fill in.

 

[hibbs]

I have finished up the metal work for now. Good chance I'll redo the cage, because I've gotten a lot better at bending and brazing since doing it.

Here are my boat side sliders:

I want to add a small tube further out from the body off the upper part of the slider to protect the fenders where they poke out.

Here is the rear bumper again, primered up:

I've since turned my attention to the body. I want to light up all the lenses on the truck to make it look nice. By some great luck, the Tamiya light buckets from the roll bar on the Hilux body fit the grill of the Jeep perfectly. You can see the stock ugly dull lenses that they replaced, a huge improvement plus I have chromed buckets ready for 5mm LEDs. Next I coated the lenses with Tamiya clear lens paints (also leftover from Hilux body). I didn't do before and after, but it really made the color much richer. Next I fabbed up some styrene light buckets for the lenses. I'm currently working on the rear lights.

That's all for now. Please feel free to give me advice. I appreciate any help.

I've been drawn away from this project and it will probably be slow going for a while. I am doing a 2.2 tuber with my New Bright JK body (Also I'm pretty sure the wife got me a Wraith kit for Christmas ). Trying for a full tube chassis with shock hoops and to somehow mount a stock skid plate to the whole deal. It's to make an old AX-10 a much nicer and more modern truck, that is legal at our scale club comps. I might make a build thread for it, I'll have to see how it goes...

Thanks for looking!

 

[jeeper03]

Looks good! I would recommend comp cutting it or making a LJ for a little more wheelbase. It looks like it will probably handle like a stock TJ on 40s. I comp cut mine and ran TSLs and was very happy with the performance of it.

 

[hibbs]

Looks good! I would recommend comp cutting it or making a LJ for a little more wheelbase. It looks like it will probably handle like a stock TJ on 40s. I comp cut mine and ran TSLs and was very happy with the performance of it.

Yeah I'm going to try it out but I can definitely see wanting to stretch it out a bit. I think the wheelbase is going to effect performance for sure. It's at 10" right now. I want to try it out and see how it goes. I may put smaller tires on it too. Probably pitbulls. If I'm really unhappy with the performance it'll be easier to hack up the body more. Especially since I like to comp.

 

[jeeper03]

I was running a 11.5" WB. I was running TSLs and flat irons so I was smaller.
Not to hijack your thread but here's a pic of mine for reference.