Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Hey y'all, After about a year and a half I got a little bored with my "Boring Toyota". I like it a lot, but Toyotas were already so common and then when RC4WD released the TF2 with an even more detailed Yota body.....well, it really let the wind out of my sails and I lost enthusiasm for that body. Time for something to change... so I decided to retire the body for now. Too much money/labor in it to sell it, really. I'm a bit of a Jeep guy and thought it'd be great to make one for Class 1. But the Jeep JK is too big for the small C1 tires so it's out. The New Bright TJ is great, but has too short of a wheelbase. I could make another YJ, but prefer the open top of the New Bright Jeeps. Eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and build a custom Jeep LJ. For those unfamiliar, the LJ is a longer wheelbase version of the Jeep TJ. It was only made from '04-'06. And it's just what I'm looking for to replace the Toyota! It would require a lot of custom body work with ABS, which will be a new challenge for me. But you only live once, right? :mrgreen: I decided to re-use the chassis from the Toyota since it's well built and a proven performer. Not to mention the rear suspension setup should work well for the dropped bed/interior of the Jeep. The wheelbase should work well for the stretched Jeep, as well. The current transmission location will not work, though. I refuse to cut up the interior and let that spur gear show through. So it'll get a front mounted motor/transmission and a transfer case will go on the skidplate. I have a Felsenfest unit that I'll be using. Eventually, it may all get replaced with a Dinky R/C setup. Here's the chassis as it sits now... http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...IMG2106-XL.jpg But how to convert a TJ into an LJ? I've heard horror stories about the material that New Bright uses and how the typical styrene bonding agents are ineffective with it. Well, I did some research and picked up some chemicals that were recommended to me. Figured I'd give them all a try. But first I would need to do some cutting. I mulled this one over for weeks before I made the first cut. But here it is hacked in half and very roughly mocked up on the chassis....in "monster truck" mode. :lmao: http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...6123713-XL.jpg You'll notice I didn't cut straight across the body. I did this so that when the body is put back together it will not have an easy bending point for the body to flex. With a stepped cut, it should ultimately end up stronger. I'd picked up some styrene and began the task of rejoining the body parts. Once again, I spent a lot of time trying to decide the best method to do this. I wanted it strong and I wanted the body panels to line up properly. Ultimately, I think I settled on an effective plan. But what chemical to use to attach the styrene to the ABS?? I have Bondene, Pro-Weld, Tenax, and even picked up some MEK. I tried them all on some sample parts and the results were mediocre at best. Then last week I was at the hobby store and they had some orange labeled Pastruct Plastic Weld. What the heck, I'll get some. Turns out it's the stuff! It bonded the styrene to the ABS quite well! Now that the bonding agent has been determined, it was time to put things back together last night. Here it is with the new side panels and showing off it's new, longer wheelbase. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...8065506-XL.jpg Obviously, it has a long way to go. The interior needs to be sealed off and I'll add some metal for support so the new plastic weld isn't the only thing holding it together. But so far, I'm digging it! Here it is again mocked up on the chassis. It'll sit a bit higher than this, of course. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...7220925-XL.jpg The body's wheelbase came out to ~11.25". It stretched about 1.5" from stock, if I recall. With the 1/4" stretch that's allowed in Class 1, it'll put me at 11.5" and it should mate up perfectly with the chassis. Since my Class 2 build is on hold for the time being, I hope to pass the time working on this thing. "thumbsup" |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Looking sweet, I like the LJ's. Well, really I love all Jeep's!"thumbsup" |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep ive been waiting for this to be posted! i cant wait for this Tommy. i bought a NB TJ to do the very same thing. definatly gonna be watching you work your magic on this. that 11.5" will be nice! definatly has my clod beat. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Thanks, y'all! Yeah, Cory, I think the wheelbase will work well.....not too long, not too short. And the minimal overhangs inherent in the Jeep bodies will certainly be a welcomed change compared to the Toyota! However, the cg is likely to be quite a bit higher due to the full roll cage it'll be getting... Nonetheless, I hope it performs better than the Yota. Time will tell! :) I've still got a LOT to figure out on this rig, though. Not sure yet how I want to mount the body. Not sure what winch(es) I'm going to use. Will the sliders be body or chassis mounted? How do I want to attach the cage and will it integrate into the chassis? My head hurts just thinking about it!! :ror: |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Oh snap! Ah boot time you did a jeep, shall we see yellow?:mrgreen: http://thatschurch.com/wp-content/up...9SE1qcsp5b.gif |
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No yellow, though. I'm going to stick with black so it won't look so crappy after it gets scratched up. :mrgreen: |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Looking good so far, have you checked out my build? Might help or give you some visuals anyways. http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axial...n-jeep-lj.html |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep yeah the WB, narrower body and lack of overhangs will be tough to beat! updates? :D |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep just zach stretched an LJ but I'm not sure what he bonded the body back together with...unless he just used aluminum or steel panels. hmm...I have 2 TJ bodies sitting here. |
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Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep I love LJ's!!!! :twisted: This build will not be boring. "thumbsup" |
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Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Don't hate!! :flipoff: |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep nothin but love brother!"thumbsup" cant wait to see more!!!! |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Slow progress is still progress, right? :mrgreen: Rather than just relying on some steel or aluminum to secure the body, I'm trying to reconstruct it with styrene. The angle aluminum that is shown will remain (with different hardware) and I may add some steel above the fenderwells. But it's amazingly stout and rigid right now as it sits. BTW, all metal will be painted black to match the rest of the body. The conversion isn't yet complete. I'm really hoping to finish it off cleanly before I call it done so I've still got quite a ways to go. But it's getting close... 8) http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...23224645-L.jpg http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...23224712-L.jpg http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...23224733-L.jpg |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Very nice. What length did you cut that angled aluminum?"thumbsup" |
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Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Tommy look up my Phoenix build for some motor tranny ideas. I used a GCM tcase and was able to drop the floor! It located the spur right behind the dash bulkhead when I was done. The servo winch was down on the sliders with a feed tube to help keep the CG low. The battery was the only part of that build I was not happy with and I never fixed before I sold it. Great start can't wait to see this progress. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Tommy I think I deleted the picture that I had but on a previous build (that I never finished) I slid the axial skid forward to the next set of holes and that put the spur right behind the dash. I still was going to have to do some trimming to the floor to clear the trans but it would've been minimal. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Seeing this build makes me miss my LJ Mutt. I never finished it, and sold it off in a swap meet we had locally. Now that I have a little better fabrication skills, I'd love to do it again, but better. I ended up using flat ABS plastic to extend the sides, with ABS Cement (MEK and ABS resin mixed together, can be found at lowes/home depot). I took the bed from a Radio Shack Dodge Raminator, dropped the interior, and stole the hood vents and inner door panels from a Mercedes SLR. The ABS allowed all the different pieces (hence the mutt name) to attach properly. I'd love to see how your attempt at polishing comes out. My guess is that the ABS and the Styrene are going to come out with slightly different tones of black, and you'll probably end up painting it, but I hope it turns out the way you envision. I will be watching this build! |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep I used some 1/4 inch tubing with 3/16 brazed into the cage as slugs for the joints http://emob1178.photobucket.com/albu...g?t=1346036885 http://emob1178.photobucket.com/albu...g?t=1346037009 |
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Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep I fully understand that, but Styrene and ABS are different plastics. Styrene sheets are actually Polystyrene, since monostyrene by itself is just a liquid. ABS has only 40-60% Styrene in the mixture, so the extra stuff (acrylonitrile and butadien) that make it ABS change the way the plastic works. I was saying the materials are just different enough that the color might not come out the same, but that could even be true even if Tommy used ABS sheets. The dye in the filler sheet is very likely different (if only a little) from the injection molded ABS that New Bright used. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Well, I can tell y'all this... In "as received" form, the sheets of styrene are clearly much more dull than the ABS (as you'd expect). But if I brush some Plastruct over the styrene, it takes on a much smoother, glossier sheen and is very close to the ABS. It would need to be polished smoother, of course, but the overall finish is surprisingly similar. Ultimately, I'm hoping I can do "bodywork" that will be good enough that I won't have to 1) paint it or 2) cover it with body armor. It doesn't need to be perfect, but time will tell. So far, I'm encouraged by what I've seen. Pictures don't seem to capture it too well, but I'll see what I can do. I plan to pick up some polish this week to try out. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep I've been busy lately with non-RC crawler type stuff, but I found some time to continue the bodywork on the LJ. The good news is that the transitions on either end of the extension are very smooth and barely perceptible by feel. However, I'm not yet convinced I'll be able to polish the styrene glossy enough to match the ABS. Here's some pics. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...6070752-XL.jpg http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...6070824-XL.jpg http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...6070841-XL.jpg Right now what you see is the styrene bonded into the ABS body panels. It's been sanded down and then I applied some Mother's mag wheel polish to see what it would do. It definitely helps, but I'm not sure it's enough. However, I plan to do some wet sanding and maybe after that, the polish will help it shine. As you can see, I've also got some polishing to do on some parts of the ABS to get them to shine after the bodywork. Hoepfully, I can polish it up nicely. If not I'll either pain the truck black or make some metal corner panels to cover the extension. Should know more by the end of the week... |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep have you tried baking soda tooth paste? Or even better yet, get some of the Headlight restoration kits from Walmart and give it a shot. I use it on headlights on oour lot and it works like a charm. Just a thought. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep No, I haven't, but that's a good idea! |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Looks good Tommy! "thumbsup" You gotta love the LJ's, mine is by far my favorite rig. http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/1-9-s...lackwidow.html |
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Whoa. I'm not sure how I missed that, but that's a truly incredible build, man! It's so close to being the C2 version of what I'm envisioning. And I really dig the sliders you built and how they house the electronics. Super clean!! "thumbsup" |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Sweet build. I have a body just like yours I want to do the same thing with. Figured I'd wait to see how yours turns out before I cut it :) Yours is looking great though! |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Thanks!! "thumbsup" Well, I'm getting tired of bodywork so I decided to tear down the chassis to begin the official transformation from Toyota to Jeep. Wow, it all looks so sad, doesn't it? ;-) That big battery is just temporarily propping up the frame rails. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...16212701-L.jpg So I removed everything so I could set the Jeep body down onto the frame to see how things would fit. I have the rear of the body sitting flush to the frame in the pics. Looks like it'll leave just enough frame rail hanging below to look like a real Jeep. Sorry for the glare! http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...16212733-L.jpg A clearer pic from a bit higher. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...16212809-L.jpg So here's my biggest concern....at the moment. :ror: In the pics above, the suspension is basically topped out (max height) as I was running it in the Yota. It won't take much compression of the suspension before tire/fender clearance really gets to be a concern. I am hoping to run these fenders intact because they provide just enough tire coverage for C1. If they need to be cut it'll mean I'll need to build all new metal fender flares.....which will mean more body armor. That's not the end of the world, but it's not really the look I was after. Another option would be to run a taller ride height, but I won't do that for the same reason. Hopefully I'll get some work done over the next few weeks and really begin to make some progress. Fingers crossed! :mrgreen: |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep I like the second pic with the body height a little higher. Looks good so far Tommy! |
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Projects Tommy R Attempts to Build a Hot Rod Model A - THE H.A.M.B. |
Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep Okay, I think I've gotten a little burned out on racing (been racing a LOT lately) so I'm looking to tone that down a bit. What better way than getting back onto the LJ project, right? :mrgreen: First thing's first, I got a blemished Dinky Split Skid while we wait for the final production parts. It allowed me to do some mock up of the drivetrain. Here the skid is located in the stock location. The Gr7 unit up front had to be moved about a 1/2" rearward or the motor would've been poking out of the front grill. :ror: I had a shortened MIP shaft that looks perfect for the intermediate shaft. To keep weight down, however, I may try using a plastic shaft in that location since it's pretty high up and I'll need to lower the cg any way I can. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...0_221637-L.jpg Today I made a very basic CMS using some 1/8" aluminum. It should be plenty sufficient to hold the Hitec 7950. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...0_221626-L.jpg Looking at it from the top, spacing between the motor and servo is extremely tight. Suprisingly, they're not actually touching! But it's literally like the thickness of a sheet of paper between them. Hoping that doesn't cause any glitching issues, but I think it'll be fine. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...0_221613-L.jpg Front suspension mocked up and the wheelbase should end up about like this. Still well below the allowed 1/2" of wheelbase stretch allowed in C1. In this case, all the stretch will be toward the front. I'll make sure the bumper sticks out far enough to maintain legality, of course. It's probably fine already, though. http://tommyr.smugmug.com/Hobby-Stuf...0_221721-L.jpg Next up on the list is to build the track bar. It's going to be a tight fit! The rear suspension will likely be the re-used touring car shock setup I used on the Toyota....unless I cut holes in the bed for shock towers and SCX shocks. I'm now looking for a CLAW winch for the front. I'm going to try to fit a servo winch for the rear. I think I can fit all of the electronics under the body, but the battery may need to go into a "tool box" or something on top. I just don't know if I'll have enough room for it underneath the body. But all in all, I'm pretty excited to be working on this rig again... 8) |
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im just glad you always come back to crawlin"thumbsup" as far as the rear shocks, on my 1/6th TJ i was able to poke the shocks threw the floor a hair and hide them with the rear bench seat. ie shock tops poked threw the floor but not the rear bench. a styrene tool box or something could work for this too. |
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Re: Tommy's Class 1 Jeep What trans is that up there by the motor? link? |
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