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Another Hardbody FJ Cruiser

Its been a while since I've had anything I've felt was worth sharing, I'm proud of how this one turned out. There would've been a true build thread for this rig but we couldn't risk blowing our cover before it was handed over at christmas. Now that its turned over to its new owner I get to share, there were some late nights so not every step got pictured in detail, this should give the general flow though...

With a Nikko FJ body and some scx chassis parts in hand we began

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps5ca12415.jpg

a quick measure found the frame to be about an inch longer then the body, i wasn't content with just chopping the tail as this wouldn't help any when it came time to set the center skid and get my links done. Instead I decided to take the extra length from the center.

I nipped the ears off the skid to make it more compact

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps50a767e9.jpg

then laid it in next to the frame to see how much i could take and still have a flat service to get the skid bolted in

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps81341c17.jpg

and then some cutting

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps090d6a35.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps0236826c.jpg

called in a favor to get it tacked back together

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps3bd5e3b6.jpg

apparently i skipped ahead on the photo taking here but you can see the skit with the trans mouted into the frame in the background of the upcoming body pictures. while waiting to get frame back some of the body work got started, first a sand blast to knock off the yellow

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps668ed3ec.jpg

and the first coat of red

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps054de30d.jpg

second coat of red and a better idea of the true color

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps3dd8cb87.jpg

a quick pose on 1.9 treps and its gonna take some body trimming to get a better fit. the idea here is to try and come up with trim lines that might be realistic to a comp trim. maybe similar to what i've seen on the back of jeeps.

i didnt like how low and far the bumper stuck out plus needed to work the corners to clear the tires so in with the dremel

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps48cae2ce.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psb8ec1bf3.jpg

the squared off look just wasn't working for me so brought some of the trimmed pieces back...

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps71c8b8ba.jpg

and used the rear frame crossmember (flat as opposed to the dual post receiver one pictured before)

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psc0023b2a.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...pse951e31d.jpg

after some thought found a line on the back that i could live with. wanted to leave the tip of the flare to keep its line. followed the outline of the hatch as it seemed "natural". then trimmed off some of the bottom lip across the bottom of the bumper. (finally see the reassembled frame in the back)

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...pse32ad050.jpg

cut the end cap detail out of the hacked pieces and brought them back to try and help dress things up...

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psfccbb08f.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps4d42489a.jpg

Re: Another Hardbody FJ Cruiser

you can see that i started a few links. i wanted a rough idea of the wheelbase work on the body and i need to work on the body to help figure out the wheel base. some of each happened at the same time. in the past i used thread rod and sleeved it with brake line. this time i used solid rod and turned it down with a tap/die set till i could get the rod ends threaded on. definitely more time consuming but i like the finished product

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...pse320257e.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps1c9e1b48.jpg

with the skid trimmed up, skid as far forward in the frame as possible, and the chopped frame.... i end up with links and driveshafts that are very close to the same length in front and back

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps87057fc6.jpg

rolling chassis mocked up the body got a few small trims then masked up for some satin black trim

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psa86d4aa7.jpg

black paint on, some holes drilled for leds, light lenses shoe goo'd in, leds, shoe goo'd into the lenses, plus a couple of buckets/lights in the front bumper, skip the fun of running/mounting all the wiring and control. i was lazy and used a tamiya controller and lights.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psecf900d4.jpg

and here you can see the body mounts i fabbed up. some sheet metal bent up, attached to the frame and some velcro. used some of the orginal plastic mount, glued into the body to create a flat surface for velcro.

used some crawler dad led bars up top, liquid tape the faces, and rounded off the ends for a cleaner look

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psb3a12e58.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ps900b9cf5.jpg

the body is self contained, body lights are on a mini toggle, led bars on a second mini toggle, and the whole setup on a t-plug that plugs in between the battery and esc. pop the t-plug out and the body can be pulled clear off. switches are hidden but can be reached thru the rear wheel well.

posing with my 2.2 blazer before going in the box

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...psa0fa7131.jpg

Re: Another Hardbody FJ Cruiser

Re: Another Hardbody FJ Cruiser

Great Build! I like the chopped frame, I may consider doing something similar in one of my SWB builds. What's the wheelbase on there now?

Re: Another Hardbody FJ Cruiser

Wheelbase ended up at just under 11.25" lower links are 4.25"ish up front and 4.5"ish on the back. There's probably some room to go shorter but we're a little on the long side for stuffing the tires without taking all the fender.