Slow 1/10th scale aluminum ZJ body build.

[Full Throttle Rob]

First attempt, passenger's front door.
I hit the body lines as perfect as I could've ever hoped for!!!
I fell short on the back half of the B pillar, and I need more all the way around the top of the door, but It's a good start!!

[Kaler]

Looking good rob! After you left the shop I tried making the hood line in a scrap piece of metal, its kinda hard to see in the pics but I think it will work with some fine tuning.

[Full Throttle Rob]

Awesome Brent!!!
I'll take two!!!
Can you bend up two more pieces like you bent for my rockers please?
3/8" x 3/8" x3/8" please, and thank you, my friend!!
These will be unibody rails.

[Kaler]

Will do. They should be ready by 5:00.

[Full Throttle Rob]

So after looking at the pair of u channels Kaler made for me for a day or two, I finally went ahead and jumped both feet first into making it a full uni-body!!

I got so involved that I forgot to stop and take step by step pics like I normally do...
So here's some shots of the amount of progress I made.



















I also made a bent pack out of one of my newer 5000mah packs, and glued it in place.

[Kaler]

Looks good rob!! Hurry up and get it in the paint booth so you can run it at reid sunday!!

[Full Throttle Rob]

Thanks Kaler!
Still got more work ahead of me before I can even think about painting it....
Don't rush the Miracle Man, you'll get shitty miracles.

[Full Throttle Rob]

So I haven't had any time to tinker with the ZJ since I finished the uni-body conversion, but I finally squeezed in some time today to make some progress!!

I made a finish quality driver's door skin with all the right dimensions, although I had to make 3 other door skins before I finally got it right...



Then I started on a hood panel, and got the shape and dimensions right on the first try!!!
I need to make the groove in the center of the hood, as well as the angular raised section.
So far I'm happy with it, but that could change depending on how well the lines come out.



They should look like this:



So, it's finally getting to a point where it actually resembles a ZJ!!

[Jeepfixer1]

Getting there. Looking like I it's coming together.

[Full Throttle Rob]

So, after taking today off from work and waiting ALL DAY for an excavating contractor to come look at my property to determine what he needs for equipment to fix my broken well line(rather than just bringing a backhoe down and actually doing the job...), I took some time to dub around with the ZJ.

I used some of the 0.040" thick lexan to make dividers to simulate the three lenses up front(headlight, turn signal, and corner marker).
I glued them in place with super glue.





Then I gave them a coat of Floquil Brilliant Silver paint(from my model railroad stuff) to simulate the reflectors inside each lens.





Then I mapped out the body lines on the hood panel, for whenever I get around to tackling that project.

[Full Throttle Rob]

Didn't do anything exciting, but I found some black paint that I had kicking around that says it bonds to plastic so I painted the insides of the windows.
Since there won't(shouldn't) be any flexing of the lexan, I hope it will hold up!
I'm hoping to glue the windows in place so I can start gluing the body panels in place soon!

Also hoping to hear back from a friend that I asked if he could 3D print me a grille and body side cladding!

[Full Throttle Rob]

So, I decided that this project needed an official name since it is nearing completion.

I came up with: FTR ZJ-10
(Full Throttle Rob's ZJ 10th scale)

I think it's a pretty clever model designation!

[Full Throttle Rob]

Well, so much for following the instructions on the can of spray paint.....

"Re-coat within 1 hour, or after 48 hours"

So I waited 52 hours and gave the windows another coat.

......aaaaaaaaand the second coat made the first coat crinkle, like they were two types of incompatible paints rather than the same paint from the same spray can...



So, it's looking like I need to make a new set of windows for the ZJ-10.
Along with picking up some polycarbonate paint to paint them with.

It's gonna be a while though, because I had to dump about $800 into fixing my fried well pump and replacing the broken pipe from the well to the house....

I'm going to have a hat made that says "Murphy's Law applies HERE!"

That, and when I get to hell I'm going to kick Mr. Murphy square in the balls.

[cabron]

so I am thinking you plan on mass producing these and selling them for around 50 bucks each.
maybe bit more if special paint schemes are requested.


hopefully you have now stopped laughing and or choking. I just read through the whole thread and
am speechless. amazing effort. making the individual pieces and then adding them to the whole
seems like such a natural process I could believe you had designed car bodies and assembly line procedures
for a long time. too bad you did not make a ford truck instead. but personal preferences do not take away
from what you have accomplished. cannot wait to see what follows.

I was going to suggest using a scale broom handle to hold open the hatch as a joke, the only other way I know
is using vise grips to keep the worn shock from compressing when you want the hatch open.

thanks

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by cabron

so I am thinking you plan on mass producing these and selling them for around 50 bucks each.
maybe bit more if special paint schemes are requested.


hopefully you have now stopped laughing and or choking. I just read through the whole thread and
am speechless. amazing effort. making the individual pieces and then adding them to the whole
seems like such a natural process I could believe you had designed car bodies and assembly line procedures
for a long time. too bad you did not make a ford truck instead. but personal preferences do not take away
from what you have accomplished. cannot wait to see what follows.

I was going to suggest using a scale broom handle to hold open the hatch as a joke, the only other way I know
is using vise grips to keep the worn shock from compressing when you want the hatch open.

thanks

Thanks for the compliments!!!
Some time in the future I may do a Ford truck (huge Ford fan).
If I only charged $1/hr for my time, one would be looking at around a $300 MINIMUM to buy my hand made rigs....
Love the broom idea, btw!

[Full Throttle Rob]

So, Murphy strikes again....
The windshield I made fits the roof line like a glove, and duplicating it to that extent wouldn't be easy so I took some 100 grit sandpaper and sanded off the wrinkled paint.
Then I gave it a super thick coat of paint, which came out great!!!

BUT.......

When I peeled the masking off the outside of the windshield(the side that will show) there is a scratch that goes almost from one side to the other....

And it sticks out like a sore thumb in just about any amount of light....

The camera only picks up the part that is in the brightest light, but you can most definitely see it.



Looks like I'll be making another windshield for sure.

I know, I know, I'm just going to scratch it all to hell when I crawl with it and I really shouldn't care, but for some reason I do care.

[cabron]

what about using clear lexan for the windows, easier to cut
and you could just put window tinting on it

[Full Throttle Rob]

Originally Posted by cabron

what about using clear lexan for the windows, easier to cut
and you could just put window tinting on it

The windows are clear lexan, it just so happens that either I scratched it through the masking, or it was scratched before I even started and I just didn't notice it.

I'll make another set of windows, I just needed something to whine about after the totally screwed up week I've had.

I could use tint film, but since the outer door skins are so much bigger than the inners, I'm afraid it will show through in direct sunlight.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to form the hood lines and also make the hatch skin.
The hatch has the most complex set of bends to duplicate and I will probably have to make it in two pieces and fill the seam with 5 minute epoxy putty.

I hope to have some time to tinker with it soon.
I just have a lot on my plate at the moment.

Stay tuned, I'll get back on it as soon as I can.
Thanks for your interest, and suggestions!!!

[cabron]

they say that if a dog can whine it is not truly hurt.
a truly hurt dog will not make any noise just slink away

so keep on whining so I wont worry

[Full Throttle Rob]

I haven't done a damn thing to the ZJ-10...

Except buying these to complete the miniaturization of Weezy as much as I can:

Gear Head RC 1.9 Champ 190 Beadlock Wheels (4)