Slow 1/10th scale aluminum ZJ body build.

[Full Throttle Rob]

So, today I made the inner hood panel.
I used the crimpers on the back side of my linesman's pliers to form a rib around the perimeter of the panel to add some rigidity to it.





I cut down a plastic hinge into two smaller hinges and attempted to super glue them on(with no success).





I ended up screwing the hinges on, which I should have done in the first place.
I found a suitable rod to make a hood prop for when I want the hood to stay open and installed it in the vertical part of the cowl.







I need to get some more of the rare-earth magnets I used on the doors for keeping the hood and hatch closed.

Then I'll be moving on to the finish sheet metal.

That could get very interesting....

I see lots of wasted sheet metal in my future.

Stay tuned!!!

[Full Throttle Rob]

Today I tried my hand at making a finish quality fender.
The end result was ok, but definitely not finish quality.

I used my old Clod Buster bed as a forming die along with the screen roller to replicate the body lines.



The upper body line came out better than I had expected!!!





Then I formed the lower body line, and I was impressed with the results!!!



When I folded the top lip over(where the fender meets the side of the hood), I slipped and bent the crap out of my almost complete fender....

After quite a bit of persuasion I finally had it back close to the shape it was in before the slip.

It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn good.
I will end up using this fender as a template for my next attempt.
I did learn that I need to roll the top of the fender before I make the 90* bend at the side of the hood on my next attempt.
Oh yeah, and I need to NOT slip while making said bend.

All in all I'm pretty happy with how it will end up looking once I fine tune my technique, and the order in which I do my bends.

In this first pic you can see where I scratched the hell out of the fender when I slipped during the bending process.

[Metal Masher]

I just saw this and i'm very impressed with the work done so far! Making a whole body without any forms? You sir are very ambitious!

Keep up the good work!

PS. congrats on the new job!

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by Metal Masher

I just saw this and i'm very impressed with the work done so far! Making a whole body without any forms? You sir are very ambitious!

Keep up the good work!

PS. congrats on the new job!

Thanks! Sometimes I feel like I've bit off more than I can chew, but it's definitely a labor of love!
I'm learning every step of the way.

Glad you like it!!!

[Full Throttle Rob]

So I haven't had much time to dub with the ZJ, but I did find a few minutes last night to do a little tinkering.

Yes, I got a little bit ahead of myself...
I stuck my experimental rear quarter and fender on with some tape and figured out just where I need to trim my Dingo flares to replicate Weezy's Bushwacker flares.

They need a little fine-tuning, but you get the idea of how they'll look.



The rears will need to be cut in half because the front half will be attached to the rear doors like the 1:1 scale Bushwackers do.



It's snowing today so I'm hoping to make some time in between shoveling sessions.
Stay tuned!!!

[Full Throttle Rob]

Last night I trimmed the inner hood panel to give some clearance for the "air cleaner" on my V8 radio box for when I get around to going full unibody on the ZJ.
I did so because I'll need to raise the V8 about another 1/4" so the steering servo won't bottom out on it when the suspension is fully compressed.



Then I estimated the depth to fold the tabs over on the inner door skins in preparation for when I get around to making the outer door skins.



I'm hoping to have a little time to tinker more this evening, but there's no guarantees on that....

[Full Throttle Rob]

Needless to say, I didn't get time to tinker the other night.
Though, I did find some time this evening and I made a few alterations to my experimental rear quarter panel, and made two new ones.
A little trimming here and a little extra metal there and I had a pair of panels with a shape I liked.
I spent some time measuring out a perfect pair of fold lines to replicate the line where the rear quarter bends up into the bottom of the window opening.
It's really hard to see, especially in the photo, but there are two 45 degree angles bent into these panels and I feel that it's as scale as it could possibly get, being bent by hand.



You can see in this pic that it is actually two bends rather than a sweeping curve if you look to the left of the "ZJ" sticker.
The hatchback outer skin is going to be a bitch to replicate, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.



So, being happy with the passenger's side rear quarter's fit and finish, I took twice as much time(making sure my measurements and bends were 100% accurate) and bent up a driver's side rear quarter as well.



I desperately need to pick up the 0.040" Lexan so I can make up all of my windows and paint them black.
The windows will be larger than their openings and glued in place on the all of the inner panels(hatch, rear quarters, and doors) and then the outer panels will be glued in place over the top of the windows.

Also, in an effort to be true to scale, I will fill the seam between the top of the rear quarters and the roof with 5 minute epoxy putty so I can sand them smooth to look like it is all one stamping.

When the time comes I will mask the windows off with the liquid masking agent I originally bought for painting my model railroad cars and locomotives, because there will be no way for me to remove the windows for the painting process.
In order to truly match Weezy's color I will be using the actual Mopar Hunter Green metallic touch up paint I would use if I was painting my 1:1 scale ZJ, followed by the clear coat since the Mopar paint is a base coat/clear coat system.

Stay tuned!!!

[JCraven_94]

Wow this is incredible, truly amazing work! The attention to the detail of the chassis is awesome. Love it.

[Kaler]

I'm back from Florida,I'll be at the shop tomorrow if you want to stop in and get the lexan.

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by Kaler

I'm back from Florida,I'll be at the shop tomorrow if you want to stop in and get the lexan.

Cool beans!!!
I also need a couple of pieces bent up on the brake.
Hopefully the boss man won't stick us on a job that runs us really late like he did today.... Hahaha!

[Metal Masher]

I think you got the lines on the rear 1/4's just right. With it on the truck I immediately recognize it as a ZJ.

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by Metal Masher

I think you got the lines on the rear 1/4's just right. With it on the truck I immediately recognize it as a ZJ.

Thanks Metal Masher!
That means a lot coming from the guy that built an amazingly detailed Yota body!!!

[Kaler]

I agree with metal masher, the lines on the 1/4's look perfect rob!

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by Kaler

I agree with metal masher, the lines on the 1/4's look perfect rob!

Thank you as well Brent!
I'm hoping the lines on the doors and especially the hatchback come out that good as well!

[Full Throttle Rob]

This afternoon I made some more progress!

I spent a few hours making a pair of front fenders as well as final trimming and bending a pair of rocker panels that Kaler bent up for me on the brake.



Then after an hour of fine tuning and mapping out where to glue, I went for it!









The fenders, this one in particular, need some sanding and possibly some epoxy putty to make the bends smoother.





I also set up the magnetic hood latch.
Just need the glue to set.....

[BadWagon]

It's really taking shape. I see the ZJ coming out

[W1ck3d0n3]

Damn this rig is lookin awesome. Now think u could do a 1988 gmc sierra short bed?

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by W1ck3d0n3

Damn this rig is lookin awesome. Now think u could do a 1988 gmc sierra short bed?

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the compliment!

Sorry, but I'm not a big GM fan.

[Full Throttle Rob]

I sanded the tops of the fenders a little bit this morning, they might need a little filler but they are shaping up.
Pun intended!





Then I noticed that I had an issue while the hood was open.
the hinges are too far forward to work as intended.



So I just slid the whole hood backward until they would work better and relocated the washer underneath so it was aligned with the magnet again.



Then I cut some rear 1/4 windows out of the lexan.
I taped them in place for a visual.
I desperately need to get to the LHS and get black lexan paint for this, as well as black, grey, silver, and white for the Nukizer lid and inner fenders I got for Xmas.





I quickly got to work on a magnetic latch for the hatchback.
The glue was drying so I peeled the tape off the driver's side rear 1/4 and got a quick shot through the opening.




So, not that I'm A.D.D. or anything, but then I got bored and started dubbing with a leftover scrap of the rocker panel channel.

I started on a test bumper skin.

[Full Throttle Rob]

So... I had to totally re-figure the rear door outer skins compared to my original thoughts.
You know, the "windows were too tall and not high enough on the door to fall in the right place" and the "the inner doors are too short to really do anything very well, you meat head" sort of things one thinks to themselves...

But anyway.... I have a pair of door skins I'm happy with for "rough pattern" duties, but not finish quality IMHO.

The passenger's side is taped to the inner shell exactly how it will be glued in place and actually opens and closes and lands perfectly according to the plan that the "voices" gave to me.... EXCEPT..... for the way that the body line bends came out....
The driver's side is just taped in place.







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