Cherokee XJ Hardbody Class 1 Build

[IVIaarten]

I'm amazed. Bookmarking this for reference for when I finally decide to swap out my lexan shell for a real body

[Dustinf]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I am going to finish this build. I had/have to do some catching up on work orders first. The break is nice though, keeps me interested and wanting to work on this rig.

[Pilot_MM]

Any update Dustin?

-M

[joe122]

Seriously well thought out build thread. Some great fab work been displayed and explained. This is a very cool build to follow!

[sharkattack99]

old thread i know, but any updates to this?

Looks super sweet man.

[Dustinf]

I just started working on this again.. Sorry it took so long.

[Dustinf]

It's really tragic that photobucket decided to change and charge... all this work.. all these photos.. gone. I'm overwhelmed by trying to track down the photos and re-upload them.

I will continue the build.. but I don't know if the old photos will ever come back.. $400 a year for 3rd party hosting is madness.

[Dustinf]

Finished the center console area and the front seat mounts.

This comes off as a separate piece but is sealed from dirt and dust when mounted.





And a couple pictures of it so far with the body on.






I'm not sure if anyone is still watching or interested in this thread
But I'm going to complete it anyway.

I'm almost finished rescuing it from photobucket death... going back and re uploading all the photos.

[Dustinf]

I'm thinking about making a silicone mold of all my 3D printed interior parts...

That way I can cast them in a strong resin and have a copy for a future build.

I'm suprised that more scale rc guys don't use silicone mold and resin casting to duplicate parts.. It's cheaper and nicer than 3d printing and you have the mold forever.

[Dustinf]

I'm making spacers for the door panels. Im using polymer sculpting clay. Once baked it's hard like plastic and glues easily.

They don't need to be pretty, they just need to give me some surface area that allows me to glue these panels to the body.







I'm going to glue these to the panels before I paint them. Then tape them off so I can get surface on surface gluing.

These also allow room behind the panels to run wires for lighting.

[Dustinf]

My pictures are way too big...

I'm going to fix that on future posts.

[Dustinf]

So.. this is probably going to make most of you guys roll your eyes. But I think it will be a fun challenge and a neat feature that I've never done before.

I'm going to install tiny scale speakers into the doors. Just like a full size jeep.

I've ordered these from deep China.



And I'm going to wire them to this blutooth receiver/amp that I've ordered.



This board and speakers are super small and very light weight.

This will allow my phone to connect to the jeep via blutooth and play music, Or whatever sound I want.. even phone calls.. though I'll never do that.

I like the idea of having scale speakers and radio. Weather I can hear it well or not. I have to give credit to my girlfriend as it was kind of her idea minus the blutooth.

I'm also going to do a moving steering wheel. I've wanted to do that in several builds that I've done but never had the space... it should be easy on this rig.

Scale radio
Working exhaust
Moving steering wheel
Working horn
Full light kit with signals, brake and reverse

That's the plan. I have most everything I need already.


I was thinking about working windshield wipers... but decided against it.

[Dustinf]

I've cut out the hood. It was time consuming using this scraper method, bit pretty easy overall.






And success. These pictures are immediately after I finished. No sanding or clean up.










I wish I did this on day one of this build... it would have made everything much easier. Wheel wells.. body mounts..

Having access to the electronics without removing the body is going to be really nice.

[Dustinf]

And I have no successfully saved this thread from photobucket doom. Photos are all re uploaded. It's not perfect, But it's viewable again.

I'll see about fixing my other threads later on.

[Dustinf]

I've ordered there 1:10 bonnet hinges from shapeways... I'm hoping they work.



The measurements make them seem huge.. but I'll have to wait until they come in.

[clm]

Looking good what I can see, too bad about the photobucketing of your older pics.

[Dustinf]

How would you guys attach shapeways "strong and flexible" plastic hinges to the jeep hard body?

I'm thinking of drilling some small holes and using some two part epoxy.

The hood is pretty thick.. I might be able to get away with screws that don't go through

[Dustinf]

I finished setting up the turning steering wheel. It was easier than anticipated.. it's great having so much room in the front.. especially after the JK GCM Skeleton build with China hardbody... everything is cramped in that thing.

I just mounted a mini servo using styrene angles. Drilled a hole through and ran some m3 threaded rod.











I chopped the bottom mounting tab off of the servo. because it wasn't needed and makes it so the servo can't be seen under the dash.

I got thinking... I bet it is possible to take apart a small servo tester and connect the potentiometer to the steering wheel. Then wire it so that physically turning the steering wheel will move the tires.

I don't know if that is cooler than the wheel moving by itself... maybe I could do both.

It would be neat to reach in and have a working steering wheel... even though you couldn't use it while driving.

[Dustinf]

I decided to make my own hinges... Hopefully these will work and look ok. They are pretty precise.





Now onto trying to mount them.

If like to make a servo controlled latch... so I can "pop the hood" from the remote.. kind of ridiculous. But it might be better than a button or switch on the jeep.

[spoo76]

That's awesome. I would have taken the lazy way out and tried the RC4WD hinges, but I'm not sure if they would even work for this. http://store.rc4wd.com/RC4WD-Chevrol...re_p_4844.html

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk