FJ Cruiser is GO!!!

[OGmicromonster]

This build is going to be pretty straight forward. I'm going to be using a New Bright FJ Cruiser body on an RC4WD Gelande chassis. When browsing the internet for ideas I came across the Revtek FJ Cruiser and decided to loosely base my build on that rig. The reason i decided to do the FJ Cruiser was because I had the body already that I had planned on using in a past build. But that build got put on hold, then the chassis was sold. So I decided to finally complete a scale build around the FJ Cruiser body. THis build has a purpose as you'll see at the end. Gotta keep some suspense right? Of course scale builds are almost always never complete so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this as I do have additional plans that will carry over for a previous build I had started.

Here are a couple of reference photos and the specs.

Chassis: RC4WD Gelande (shortened and modified)
Axles: RC4WD TREX 60's (plastic version)
Body: New Bright FJ Cruiser
Wheels: RC4WD 1.55 Void Bead locks
Tires: RC4WD 1.55 Rock Crushers
ESC/Motor: Novak Goat 3s with 13.5T Crawler





P.S. I'll add some photos of the first stages of the build in a few hours or so.

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: Cutting and bending the pieces for the bumpers.


So I started working on cutting and bending the parts for the bumpers. As you can see in the photos I first designed and drew the flat parts on the computer. The front bumper has dotted lines to indicate where the bends are. Everything is being made from brass and will be silver soldered together for a strong joint. I didn't want to braze them because I wasn't sure some of the smaller items could be done easily and cleanly. We'll see how strong they are once done.


First thing to do was drill the pilot holes for all the holes in the front bumper. Since it's thin material I didn't want to bend the metal by trying to drill the holes the full size right off the bat. So I started off small and worked my way up to the correct sizes for the holes.



Here is a shot of the piece cut out and all the holes drilled. As you can see I was going to have two larger holes in the center part, but decided to make room for the fairlead for the winch.



And now the bumper all bent in the correct spots and ready for silver soldering the joints where the meet up.



Then on to cutting and bending the parts for the rear bumper.










The next step is to cut some tubing for the front bumper and then start assembling the pieces.

STAY TUNED!

[BGGruff]

Very nice so far! That front bumper is killer, is it custom or made by Revtek?
Keep it up!

[OGmicromonster]

Originally Posted by BGGruff

Very nice so far! That front bumper is killer, is it custom or made by Revtek?
Keep it up!

THANKS!

I think it might be custom. That's the only FJ Cruiser I've seen with it and while doing my research, I didn't see it anywhere for sale like I did other bumpers.

[sheedy126]

i have a feeling this truck will look Sweet!

great job on the bumpers too

[ChevyLuv]

looks good man, im goign to have to try workign with some brass

[OGmicromonster]

Originally Posted by ChevyLuv

looks good man, im goign to have to try workign with some brass

It's pretty easy. Easier than brazing steel brake line for sure, but just not as strong. All you need to make a strong joint with brass is to clean the brass really well at the joint with a stainless steel brush, flux, high quality silver solder and a soldering iron that can get up to about 850-degrees. Or you can use a small hand-held torch.

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: Rear bumper assembly.

I had a little time last night to make a little bit of progress. So I decided to put the pieces together for the rear bumper and started bending the tubing for the front bumper.

Here is the rear bumper all soldered up with high-temp silver solder. This stuff is strong. I did a test joint with some scrap and I couldn't bend the parts at the joint or break them apart. These bumpers will hold up just fine. Most of the solder is on the back side for strength with some on the front to fill the joints. (Note: You can see the front tubing bent in the background.)



Then I used a file to clean up the joints and make everything smooth.



The next step is to make the mounting brackets, but first I need to modify the rear part of the chassis rails to fit within the body. This chassis is a tad bit long so I'll be cutting about 3/8-inch of the back section. More on that later.

By the way, here was the inspiration for the rear bumper.



Until next time...

[Hyperlite33]

Man I wish I had that much patience to go into that detail...awesome so far!!!!

What axles are you planning to use?

[OGmicromonster]

Originally Posted by Hyperlite33

Man I wish I had that much patience to go into that detail...awesome so far!!!!

What axles are you planning to use?

Thanks!

I'm using the axles that come with the Gelande chassis, the RC4WD TRex 60's (plastic).

[constantmotion]

I have always like that bumper for the FJ. Here is a pic of the one had on mine.

[OGmicromonster]

Very cool. I didn't see that when I did a search for FJ Cruiser builds. I wanted to see what other had done. Nice work.

[LR3]

This looks like a promising build. Good metal working skills and very nice insperation. This should be nice

[big bronco]

looks pretty kool! sick fj!

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: Chassis Mod, and rear bumper mounted

So I had a chance to work on the FJ this weekend and barely got to updating this build thread.

First thing I did was modify the rear part of the chassis rails. I needed to remove about 3/8-inch off the back. In the first photo you can see the tape marking my cut. Then the second showing the other side had been cut.





Then I got making the mounting brackets for the rear bumper. These were also made from brass and is surprisingly strong.





I've worked on the front bumper, but will wait until it's completed to post photos of that. There's still quite a bit to do, like finish the front bumper, build a rear tire rack with gas can mount, rock sliders, install some lights for night trail driving, modify the stock roof rack, paint the body and so on. Until next time.

[OGmicromonster]

UPDATE: Front bumper done and mounted.

Well I completed the front bumper, minus the paint, and mounted it to the chassis. I've also attached the RC4WD fairlead for the winch once I get a working one. For now I think I'm going to use a Proline static winch. Here are the photos. It still needs a little cleaning up on the joints, but I'll do all the pieces before painting once they are complete.










Next up are the rock sliders. So far I'm happy with the way the metal work is turning out. Not bad for my first time working with this stuff.

OH and as you can see I decided on painting the body Olive Drab 2 (Tamiya TS-28 ). I've also made the modifications for the LED's on the body, but still need to do it on the light buckets.

[XSRCdesign]

I think you are doing a bang up job

I like where this is going

[Cycleeric]

Looks great so far.
Here's my FJ


The bumpers front and rear are milled from Delrin

[pardonmyn00b]

Totally awesome front bumper!

[OGmicromonster]

Originally Posted by Cycleeric

Looks great so far.
Here's my FJ


The bumpers front and rear are milled from Delrin

That's a nice FJ, I like the all white you got going there.