Time for an update!
So the rear taillights have really been bugging me... more specifically the phillips-head screws. I think they're an eye-sore... so much so that I had to take action. After a lot of head-scratching I decided that I either needed to a) not use any hardware at all and just glue the lenses in or b) use more scale/ real looking hardware. Problem with gluing was that I wouldn't be able to remove the lenses and there would be two visible holes in each lens. So I went ahead and used some small wheel zinc screws ( 2x6mm iirc). It's not ideal but imo it's a lot better looking than the silver phillips-head screws. I'm happy with the way it looks for now despite that it's not truly scale.
At the same time I wanted to hide the holes that you can see behind the lenses. These are the holes that would be used if adding full lighting. Since I've already got the red lights in the bottom holes and didn't feel the need to wire in any additional orange or clear lights for the time being, I opted to use some orange and clear faux plastic gemstones from the walmart craft dept. These have a chrome backing so they shimmer really well. Just pressed 'em into place and put the lenses back on with the new hardware. Much better looking now imo.
Before:
After:
This pic ^^^ shows the lens installed with the new "lights" and screws.
The pic below shows the fake lights that cover the holes:
Next up were the badges. Talk about a delicate project! Anyway... pretty self-explanatory. I painted 'em black then sanded 'em with fine grit. On the Toyota logo front grill badge I actually used a razor blade to remove the black paint from the raised lettering. This was much quicker than sanding and produced great results. I used Gorilla Spray glue ( clear) for the backing. It holds very well with no excess around the edges.
I also had an issue with my particular Marlin Crawler with a gap around the side and front windows at the a-pillars as well as a gap between the front windshield and dash. I remedied that by attaching the "glass" to the dash and drilling new mounting holes in both the dash and glass. It's hard to explain so maybe a pic will help. Anyway... now everything fits nice and snug with no more gaps. I think the issue is that the three pieces ( body/ window insert piece/ dashboard) just don't fit together quite perfectly. Maybe I just got unlucky with mine... dunno if they're all "off" like mine was but it's fixed now.
Hey... Why not add a dashboard penguin and license plate while I'm at it!?
Next up were the ball ends on the drag-link ( from servo horn to steering knuckle). I mean... they were REALLY tight! I initially popped out the pillow balls and added some graphite but they were still too tight. Next I used a dry lube spray... better but still too tight. So at that point I felt like the only way to truly remedy the issue was to just replace the ball ends and balls. Bingo! I don't know what brand I used from my parts bin but they are nice and silky smooth now... still with zero play but so much easier to rotate. Also no more squeaking nor hindered movement in the suspension. Anyway... pic of the old and new ball ends...
Finally I went ahead and swapped out the stock axle shafts for some XVD's. Straight fwd install with no hiccups. I cleaned the bearings and surrounding parts at the same time fwiw. Was a quick and easy job.
Next up... hitting the rocks for some fun! Thanks for looking!
