The "Little Green Defender" Story.

[JimK]

The only thing left to do for now is light this thing up. For that I'm using an Injora TRX4M led light kit.

The front lights had a nice snug friction fit when I pushed them into the headlight buckets. The rear lights were not so snug and needed a small drop of glue to keep them in place.

A quick test to ensure they work before organizing the wires.

Got the wires all tidied up and we're ready to go.

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[JimK]

Lights, camera.....action!! Overall I'm pretty happy with Not a Jeep transformation. The kit is well done and assembly was pretty simple for the most part. The whole assembly and swap out only took about an hour and a half. I'm going to get it out for a little test run soon and see how it drives. I think it will be a little less top heavy than the Defender and should perform a bit better out on the rocks. Thanks for lookin' and I'll keep you posted. ;-)

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[JatoTheRipper]

Very cool little rig! Where did you get those aluminum wheels?

 

[JimK]

Very cool little rig! Where did you get those aluminum wheels?

Thank man!

Those are DJ Crawler Classic beadlocks that I ordered from Amazon.

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[JatoTheRipper]

Thank man!

Those ar DJ Crawler Classic beadlocks that I ordered from Amazon.

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You're welcome.

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[JimK]

I was supposed to be building a new gate for the back yard but it was so nice and sunny out that I had to take a little break for some tiny truck fun.

She looks good out on the rocks.

It was able to make this climb even with the snow on the logs. The snow is melting just enough to be a little sticky.

Who doesn't love tiny truck tracks in the fresh snow!?

This was a very short session but the little not a Jeep did pretty good. It needs bigger tires for sure....the diff was bottoming out a bit more than with the bigger tires I had on the Defender. That being said it still got around okay.....still a fun time and these tires will do for now. Going to bring it to work tonight for a little wheeling on the course there to see how it does.

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[Gramps]

The body definitely has a Jeep look but to me the grill and tail lights are calling Bronco to me. I'm with you Jim on the black wheels they look much better. Nice build BTW

 

[JatoTheRipper]

The body definitely has a Jeep look but to me the grill and tail lights are calling Bronco to me. I'm with you Jim on the black wheels they look much better. Nice build BTW

Real Broncos look like Jeeps in some regard in person so that would match up.

 

[JimK]

Re: The "Little Green Defender" Story.

Went to work a few minutes early today so I could try out the not a Jeep there. The guys hadn't been out in a few days so I was layin' down tracks in the fresh snow.

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[JimK]

Re: The "Little Green Defender" Story.

Surprisingly I had relatively good traction in the fresh snow. Most of the track is in the shade so the snow was still light and fluffy.

It wasn't all fun and games though.....winter wheeling can be very hazardous!!

This obstacle was frozen to the ground so it was all teeter and no totter.

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[JimK]

I went to my LHS to see if the scx24 Power Wagon I ordered had come in yet....it hadn't. So, I left with a little something anyway. This sweet little TRX4M Bronco is going to be the doner vehicle to get the Little Green Defender up and running again. I'm going to use the chassis and electronics for the Defender and I can use the Bronco body to swap out on the Little White Bronco. "thumbsup"

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[JimK]

Re: The "Little Green Defender" Story.

So, here's the donor chassis from the TRX4M I bought recently. I'm going to slap the Defender body on top of this chassis and use it strictly as a trail truck

I plan to leave this pretty much stock but I might put in a couple parts that I already have on hand....we'll see. Good chance I'll put a bearing kit in it too?

New Bronco front bumper off and old Defender bumper installed.

Same treatment for the rear bumper.

BOOM....just like that it's a Little Green Defender again....well, almost!

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[JimK]

Next task was to put the classic steelies back on. I had a set off brass wheel hexes on hand that are slightly wider so I decided to go with those.

Steelies back on. I had to use the regular wheel nuts because the axle stubs stuck out a bit too far to use the other style and they bottomed out before tightening on the wheel. I also screwed the battery tray back in place at this point.

Before putting the body on I added some spring clips to the stock shocks to better support the heavy Defender body. I put one spacer on each front shocks and two on each rear shock.

She's all back together now and ready to go.

There's a spot in the rear bumper to mount a trailer hitch that came with the bumper. I'm going to dig it up and install it and maybe order a little trailer to haul "stuff". :ror:

I tossed this thing on the floor when I was done and took it for a quick rip around the kitchen and dining room. It really moves with the stock gear set in there! I think I might leave it like that for a more speedy driving experience.

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[JimK]

The bearing set and trailer hitch that I ordered showed up so I'm going to spend a little time wrenching on the Little Green Defender this morning.

I have an HH 87 turn motor and metal diff gears on hand so I'm gonna toss those in while I have this rig torn apart.

I started with the tranny and motor first. Pretty straight forward here and installation went without any issues.

All back together and the transmission is back in place on the chassis. I'll plug the motor leads in later when I'm all done.

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[JimK]

Next I moved to installing the bearings in the axles. This isn't particularly difficult but it does require a lot of disassembly and reassembling to get the job done.

I tackled the front axle first because it required more wrenching than the rear axle.

Just about ready to go back together and be put back in the truck.

When I got to the rear axle almost finished I realized that I was short one bearing for the rear diff. I assumed I did something wrong on the front axle and took it back out of the the truck and tore it all apart again. Much to my dismay the front axle was good and I tore it all apart for nothing!! It appears that I'm actually short one bearing in the set. A bit of a bummer but I'm not going to lose much sleep over it. I finished it up and slapped it back in the truck.

I put the trailer hitch together and when I went to install it I discovered it would not mount to the aftermarket aluminum bumper.

No worries, I still had the stock bumper on hand so I swapped bumpers and we're good to go. The body never did fit very well after installing the aftermarket bumper anyway. It fits much better again with the original bumper in place.

All back together and ready to do some towing. I want to get a little trailer and use the Defender to tow around my little Turtle comp rig. The boys and their toys!! :lmao:

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[B-MOW71]

Little Green looks good all back to its original self. Great choice on the new Bronco. The Area 51 color has always been my favorite. That color option wasn't available when I first picked up my Bronco. I just may have to get the Area 51 replacement body in the future.

You know if these little rigs keep multiplying, then you may need a bigger stable to keep them in!:ror:

 

[JimK]

Little Green looks good all back to its original self. Great choice on the new Bronco. The Area 51 color has always been my favorite. That color option wasn't available when I first picked up my Bronco. I just may have to get the Area 51 replacement body in the future.

You know if these little rigs keep multiplying, then you may need a bigger stable to keep them in!:ror:

Thanks Brian. The Area 51 is probably my favourite colour too. I would have gone with it if it had been available when I got my Little White Bronco. And yes, they are multiplying more than I had intended. I keep a couple at work all the time so wifey doesn't get to see how many there actually is!! :lmao:

 

[B-MOW71]

I keep a couple at work all the time so wifey doesn't get to see how many there actually is!! :lmao:

Nice move!:ror: I need to find a secret stash place!

 

[JimK]

Nice move!:ror: I need to find a secret stash place!

Ya, sometimes it's just better that way. :ror: