johnnyluv's Radio Shack 2001 Jeep Model #60-4300

[johnnyluv]

Had a stroke of luck a few days ago, and found this hefty treasure at a thrift store. Some of you may have seen one, or even owned one before, but it was unknown to me. I could barely find anything on it, here on RCCrawler, which makes sense, since it was apparently made way back in 2001. Someone must've been doing some pre-spring cleaning, because it looked like it'd been in a basement/garage/attic for a long while, and probably in protective storage, because it was neither broken, nor overly dirty. The roll cage is lightly scuffed in a few places, and the driver side mirror is missing, but that's about all that's wrong with it.








I removed the body and disassembled the chassis this past weekend, and salvaged any useful pieces, such as solid metal rods, which could make links on a future build, or something. I then weighed the body, because it is heavy, and sure enough, it's over 2 lbs. YIKES!! Measures out at 16.5" L x 8.75" W, with a 10.75" wheelbase, which perfectly matches my recently built STRC/SCX10 short wheelbase chassis.

I'm still messing around with my FJ Cruiser, so this will likely be next in line to get mounted up. I already found a way to replace the plastic spare wheel on the back, and have wheels/tires picked out. It'll be fairly top-heavy, but should be fun to wheel, nonetheless.

[Kylar]

Very cool find! Looks like a crazy concept wrangler. Trim off the bumpers and paint it! It would be a very unique trail jeep

[SuperDrty]

That looks like it's meant to be the Jeep ICON concept from 1997

[Bananaclip]

[johnnyluv]

Originally Posted by Kylar

Very cool find! Looks like a crazy concept wrangler. Trim off the bumpers and paint it! It would be a very unique trail jeep

Thanks! Bumpers will probably go, but I'm cool with the paint job, especially the interior. ;)

Originally Posted by SuperDrty

That looks like it's meant to be the Jeep ICON concept from 1997

Sweeeet! Thanks for pointing that out. This model looks almost identical to the real thing! What's even more remarkable, is that this is the second toy RC Concept model I have found, in the past 8 months. The first one was a 1999 Dodge Power Wagon Concept truck.

The bumpers are obviously accurate scale versions of the real Jeep Icon Concept, but the solid axle SXC10 chassis I plan on using would not be, since the real 1:1 version was independent suspension, front & rear. Therefore, more durable bumpers would make more sense, for serious off-road application.

Found it to be amusing that FourWheeler Network considered this to be among the worst Jeep Concepts ever. hahaha!! It certainly means I'll have a unique trail rig!! If anything, my 1/10 scale will be better looking than the 1:1.

[johnnyluv]

I had no original plans or dates as to when I would employ this body, but I'm seeing it come up on the horizon, I think. The plan, as it stands, is to use my STRC short wheelbase SCX10 chassis, since it already has the perfect wheelbase, and a good wheel/tire match (Pro-Line SX Super Swampers on alum wagon wheel style beadlocks). Plus, the RC4WD Tough Armor steel bumper that I intended to use on my Wrangler actually fits and looks better with this Radio Shack Jeep Icon Concept body.



All that remains, to keep me from mounting the body, is to move the motor & transmission case to the front, due to the deep interior of this body. I've been looking at various front motor/transmission mount options, and think I'll go with the GCM Racing SCX10 Front Motor Mount. The Dinky RC kit looks great, but is costly, whereas the Toyzuki mount, being more affordable, requires a conversion to a 3-link, more fabrication, and sourcing your own CMS kit. Well, on eBay, I found someone selling a full GCM front mount kit, and it's at least $40 cheaper than the Dinky DDK, and probably close to even with the Toyzuki setup, once you go and buy the extra parts you may need. Plus, I think the GCM kit will allow me to get this body closer to the frame, which is pretty important.

I'll be updating my FJ Cruiser thread, here shortly, explaining how I lost interest in trying to get that body to fit, and look the way I wanted it to look. When it comes down to it, that Radio Shack Jeep body seems like it's the best match for my STRC swb chassis, which has largely been neglected the past couple of months. I think, once I get it all together, it's going to be da bomb of my small scale truck collection. We'll see.