EL GUAPO The Handsome FJ Cruiser

[steele42]

Just for kicks I weighed the interior again after I was done cutting and trimming it. Ended up taking off a few oz in the end



I still wanted to have a switch, but with room being so limited now, it really took some thinking. I figured Sam wouldn't mind the switch being under his seat if it meant more convenience.





This way I can still reach it from outside the truck, and it doesn't poke out where you'll be able to see it.

Here's a few shots with the body finally mounted. Wheel wells are in the basement drying, so they are not installed in these shots.







Still a few minor details to work on, but it feels good to finally have a drivable rig again.

Just for fun I weighed it to see what she weighs. Never weighed it before so I can't compare, but it feel a bit heavier than it did before. Added the weight of an interior, driver, T-case, extra driveline, motor/tranny plate, rear wheel wells, and CMS bracket. But I did remove the windows, servo plate, stock motor plate, front frame brace, front body posts, 2 RadioShack electronic boxes, and the plate my switch was mounted to. Although I didn't have the wheel wells on in this pic, but it gives you an idea...



That's 6lbs 3.4oz

[heinie_21]

wow still 6lbs for a hard body and full interior is NOT THAT BAD. thuper duper job my friend

[heinie_21]

i dig the hubs! also have you measured your WB? that would help me in setting up mine. (which i'll probably start tonight with the links n such) weird part though is the PO of the chassis i'll use mounted the tranny skid plate WAY far forward. probably an inch further forward that stock location. that's silly considering the front axle is the one i would personally want to have the longer links. That also helps with the front driveshaft angle the longer the links can be. Theoretically the rear links can be like 1 inch long and it wont matter with driveshaft angle because you can just clock the rear pinion upwards towards the t-case. You can't clock the fronts much without ruining your castor angle. Dont know what the PO was thinkin lol. maybe he had a magical driveshaft up front that never binds?

[steele42]

Wheelbase is 10 15/16" to be exact. These hubs make it easier to measure cause they poke out far enough to touch my ruler to both

[heinie_21]

dude. just gotta say one more time how stoked i am for you on how this turned out. (so far haha). It is a DANG GOOD LOOKING little FJ rig. probably the best looking one i've seen! pardonmynoob's FJ is pretty legit too, but it's just a hair to small scale for me. but still cool

[steele42]

Originally Posted by heinie_21

dude. just gotta say one more time how stoked i am for you on how this turned out. (so far haha). It is a DANG GOOD LOOKING little FJ rig. probably the best looking one i've seen! pardonmynoob's FJ is pretty legit too, but it's just a hair to small scale for me. but still cool

Thanks! Just looked up n00bs FJ Cruiser and that thing IS legit. Hadn't seen that yet. If I had I would have said it was an inspiration for this build. Man Nikko did a good job on these FJ Cruiser bodies.

[steele42]

Wheel wells painted and installed. I'm ready for some good weather so I can get some outside shots of this baby

[heinie_21]

dude you've gotta enter the usca buildoff! even if you have small tires on and completely lose the comp part, i bet you'd win the car-show part!

[steele42]

Originally Posted by heinie_21

dude you've gotta enter the usca buildoff! even if you have small tires on and completely lose the comp part, i bet you'd win the car-show part!

I can't commit to that weekend this far in advance. Gotta see what my work schedule will bring. Also, not sure if I trust myself. My competitive nature may take over and make me do things with my FJ that I normally wouldn't do trying to keep up with Class 2 rigs. But if I can make it I might come run Cliff just to see how he stacks up.

Got a little surprise in the mail today. I bought these from Axialjeepster. They were DH Fab sliders, but he cut off the hoops and welded on some square stock for me. Got to see how I can get them mounted to FJ now. My stock/modified delrin rock sliders are whats holding my body on, so I can't just simply mount these in the stock location. This will take some thinking.....

[Ramination]

Looking great, updates?

[heinie_21]

Originally Posted by Ramination

Looking great, updates?

heinie_21 is finally building a SAS'd FJ-Cruiser



Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[steele42]

Originally Posted by heinie_21

heinie_21 is finally building a SAS'd FJ-Cruiser - RCCrawler.com Bulletin Board



Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Stoked about this

Originally Posted by Ramination

Looking great, updates?

Actually yes! My wife is kicking me out of my hobby room for Christmas. The in-laws are coming so I have to turn it into a bedroom. I suggested that I can drill and grind in there and the in-laws wouldn't mind, but wife didn't like that idea. So she wins. Happy wife, happy life
I figured I better get the rock rails done before I break down shop, so thats what I worked on tonight. Again, my delema was that I'm using my stock rock sliders for mounting on the body, so they have to stay. The good thing is the stock rock sliders were relocated to line up better with the yota body, sooooooo....



I'm probably the first person to have 2 sets of rock sliders on one rig

Trimmed the plastic sliders off the body. I think it turned out pretty good!





Also I decided to do another weigh in now with the wheel wells and metal sliders installed. Sitting at 6lbs 7.4oz



Now that the sun has decided to come out for a couple of days maybe I can get some good outside shots.

[heinie_21]

wow double the sliders, double the fun! those metal ones look SOO good tho. so much better than the molded sliders in the body! yay!

[AxialJeepster]

wow nice.. VERY nice work on the slider installation. they look perfect, fit and finished look for sure!! I like the way you have this thing setup. some clever ideas

I need to build one of these for my father in law as he bought a brand new FJC not long ago and he LOVES it. so do I

[Locked Up]

Love it!

[heinie_21]

hey did you ever figure out where to mount your battery?

[steele42]

Originally Posted by AxialJeepster

wow nice.. VERY nice work on the slider installation. they look perfect, fit and finished look for sure!! I like the way you have this thing setup. some clever ideas

I need to build one of these for my father in law as he bought a brand new FJC not long ago and he LOVES it. so do I

Originally Posted by Locked Up

Love it!

Thanks guys! The rig is turning out how it is thanks to great vendors like you.

Originally Posted by heinie_21

hey did you ever figure out where to mount your battery?

Its just on the floor in the back seat. With the tinted windows it doesn't really stand out. Best I could come up with so far. May end up hiding it in some cargo on the back.

This hobby is like a bad disease. My wife kicked me out of my hobby room, and I figured I'd just take a break for a few days, but I couldn't even take it for 24 hours. Now I'm spread out all over the basement.

I decided the hubs stood out to much, so I threw a little paint on them

[heinie_21]

Originally Posted by steele42

what's the windshield sticker say?

[canadianbacon]

Originally Posted by steele42

Thanks guys! The rig is turning out how it is thanks to great vendors like you.



Its just on the floor in the back seat. With the tinted windows it doesn't really stand out. Best I could come up with so far. May end up hiding it in some cargo on the back.

This hobby is like a bad disease. My wife kicked me out of my hobby room, and I figured I'd just take a break for a few days, but I couldn't even take it for 24 hours. Now I'm spread out all over the basement.

I decided the hubs stood out to much, so I threw a little paint on them

Damn, this truck is coming together nicely. Looks like I'm going to have to do that to my hubs as well, what paint did you use on them, just regular model car paint?

[steele42]

Originally Posted by heinie_21

what's the windshield sticker say?

LockedUpRC.com. But it went on crooked, and was the only white one I had. That picture makes it look WAY crooked. It'll come off and I'll dig around for something else, or try one of the other colors they gave me.

Originally Posted by canadianbacon

Damn, this truck is coming together nicely. Looks like I'm going to have to do that to my hubs as well, what paint did you use on them, just regular model car paint?

Thanks for the compliment It's just regular rattle can Krylon Fusion from Wal-Mart . If it doesn't hold up they are pretty easy to clean off with the dremel. I actually did the fronts one time and didn't like it so dremeled them clean and did them again. Thats also how I got the black in the hub switch and little bolt holes on the part that stayed shiny