80s inspired JK build needs... inspiration.

[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Years ago I started piecing together a budget D90 build from an eBay $30 Gelande 2 chassis, knowing I’d make mistakes along the way. This was going to be my first non kit build.

I was able to score some actual RC4WD parts dirt cheap, R3 trans, tcase, Yota axles, links/mounts, etc. During this process I discovered JK bodies for $35 shipped and read this was the “perfect” chassis...

I quickly discovered it’s perfect for a monster 4x4 build and not what I had in mind.

I wanted something like this with 1.55 tires:



But this happened:



1.7 tires still no good:



1.9 tires for now. Still not happy:



I started cutting, hacking, cursing, searching, and all together realizing I probably have to spend too much $$$ for a Proper chassis....

HOWEVER some progress:



Chassis aside, I was doing some work on the body every other month or so and occasionally making progress on chassis fitment (more on that later)

Two “must haves” for this build:
1)half doors
2)CJ style roll bar.



Half doors are a nightmare as this is supposed to be a modern jerp acting like an older one...





Fail No. 6? My styrene refused to bond to the panel material.



The styrene kept separating until I loaded the backside w/more reinforcement and all 3 plastic glue types. MEK, e6000, CA.





So finally:



I’m not ENTIRELY happy with them as they’re more like halfass doors with pockets for door handles/levers. putting these aside for now....

Next was the Sawback roll bar which is too wide. I removed a portion from the middle (approx 1 light bucket wide), trying to keep the lights evenly spaced apart. It did not work well as I quickly discovered GMADE’s plastic is stronger than steel and doesn’t take to any adhesives?







My solution was drilling both halves and inserting a “pin” to keep them aligned as well as adding some resistance to shear forces. Followed that by tightly wrapping the bar w/rope (in compression and in tension) and soaking it with epoxy. I have a feeling it won’t last long...

Test piece:



And finally:





The front of the roll bar fit into existing holes used for the factory roof and I had to make 2 more for the rear of the roll bar. The roll bar mounts like body posts w/clips on Lexan bodies, so I just secured it through the body using piano wire and will be hidden completely when “finished”

I’m still working on getting this body to sit low enough on the Gelande chassis by trying out some different suspension & tire setups. More to come if anyone cares!

P.s. if anyone cares to offer criticism/suggestions I’m open to any!


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[clockwork]

Nice work on the doors. Im trying Plastruct tubing for roll bars, they have a bunch of angles and connectors that have pins holding them together like what you did for your roll bar.

[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Originally Posted by clockwork

Nice work on the doors. Im trying Plastruct tubing for roll bars, they have a bunch of angles and connectors that have pins holding them together like what you did for your roll bar.

I used Plastruct in architecture school. I love it, but it’s expensive. I just DL their catalog and may try to build an interior cage for some other projects. :-D


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[scalemadness]

Nice job love to see guys using unconventional budget chassis and running gear looks great.

[clockwork]

JK Bodies website looks like all small scale lexan bodies. Do the not make hard bodies anymore or did I get the wrong site?

[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Originally Posted by scalemadness

Nice job love to see guys using unconventional budget chassis and running gear looks great.

Thanks, it’s partly due to having no real direction lol but all together so far I really didn’t spend much on this build


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Originally Posted by clockwork

JK Bodies website looks like all small scale lexan bodies. Do the not make hard bodies anymore or did I get the wrong site?

Are you looking for a hard body JK? They’re all over eBay, AliExpress, etc... still $35 shipped


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Made some progress, I think...

I was stuck forever trying to figure out how to rebuild the rear floor pan using the stock shock mounts and FINALLY realized I wouldn’t be able to fit the iconic 80s Jeep dead mans bench out back... PERFECT excuse to fab something with my fabulous fabbing skills

So I decided to build shock mounts out of 1/16” scrap aluminum and could finally use those blue eBay 70mm shocks. Now I could build the floor nice and evenly with plenty of room for the bench seat.











Once the bulls**t was over I had a styrene floor wrapped in carpet and attached with magnets.





The shocks/spring setup was too stiff and the only way to get the ride height right is to have almost zero compression. I dunno? Is it bad to have full droop setup on a scale/trail truck?

Front shocks: GMADE RSD 80mm w/RC4WD 100mm Rock Krawler springs.

Rear shocks: Blue eBay 70mm. I just replaced the double spring setup with single RC4WD 100mm Rock Krawler springs (medium?). I removed the outer bump stop o-rings and filled them with BMX chain lube (F & R).





The springs are pretty soft but the chain lube dampens the rebound/decompression fairly well. Still unknown how this will handle though?

Before:



After:



I think the ride height is SPOT on finally, just have no idea if it is completely wrong lolll

1.9 RC4WD Goodyear Wrangler Adventures:
BTW: Why don’t I see more people running these? They work awesome on my BOM!











I’m really digging the way it looks with these so for now will be keeping it a 1.9 rig.

1.55 RC4WD Scramblers:

















I love how fat and “bellied” out they are but I think the tire gap is too much. No?


ALSO got the New Bright TJ rear bench mounted- Donated by an awesome builder on IG. Thanks rlineracing_rc !! (Go check out some of his stuff)

I need to move it back a little...



I’m gonna still plow ahead with body mounting though and then electronics. Can’t believe it’s actually coming together after YEARS.

Biggest concern is my suspension setup. Any feedback? Thoughts?



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[JatoTheRipper]

I love the look of the Goodyear Wrangler Adventures. Those tires probably wouldn't work well here. They'd quickly get covered in mud and dirt.

The 1.55 RC4WD Scramblers probably look best on this Jeep though. The gap is perfect IMO.

What are your concerns with the suspension?

[clockwork]

Looks cool with the fatter tires I think. I know the wheel gap is important but I am not qualifed to comment about that ha. It looks good to me. I like your fabrication methods as well...good results with simple tools.

[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I love the look of the Goodyear Wrangler Adventures. Those tires probably wouldn't work well here. They'd quickly get covered in mud and dirt.

The 1.55 RC4WD Scramblers probably look best on this Jeep though. The gap is perfect IMO.

What are your concerns with the suspension?

I haven’t tried mud, but did surprisingly well on wet/green beach rocks.

I don’t think I have a proper “droop” set up. The shocks don’t even retract 50% when I pull the shaft out (w/o springs obviously). The soft springs are being compressed by just by weight and partially “droop” I.e. there’s nothing really decompressing the shocks. Rears are 100% bottomed out and fronts have some compression.

I hope that makes sense lol.


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Originally Posted by clockwork

Looks cool with the fatter tires I think. I know the wheel gap is important but I am not qualifed to comment about that ha. It looks good to me. I like your fabrication methods as well...good results with simple tools.

I don’t think I am either. I’ve only lowered 1:1 vehicles... And thank you, but I have a LONG way to go. Also I’m not sure how it’s all going to hold up!


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Does anyone happen to know if there is a problem using a Yota 1 front axle on a Gelande 2 chassis?

I first install the servo with the servo gear towards the front and the suggested drag link seems way too short.

When the servo is installed with the gear towards the rear of the chassis, my drag link hits the track bar.

It's a shot in the dark, but if someone understands what I am doing wrong please let me know. Thanks

[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Here’s an older photo with a universal servo horn. Note the angle of the drag link because of how short it is.



Does that look like a problem?


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[12MPG]

This is a really cool build!

[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Originally Posted by 12MPG

This is a really cool build!

Thanks man!


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Something I did a while back and wasn’t sure about is my battery mounting solution...

I assume I won’t come up with a clever quick release body mount system, so I’m running a full size LiPo pack. The only spot I thought possible was behind the dash and in the firewall.

Hack, cut, & drill everything behind the dash. Then 2 bolts attach the center console to the dash. Also drilled a hole behind the steering column to bolt dash to remainder of firewall (since I removed all factory stand offs) I can adjust this bolt to loosen or tighten the tolerances b/w the dash, windshield, and door fitment.





Two aluminum angles for the “new” firewall & battery mount. Please note my precision “drillium” work! PM me if you want anything drilled perfectly straight... SMH

Mock-up view from top:









I’m almost out of space now lol. So I think I’m gonna build a gas tank or use the RC4WD fuel cell to mount my esc or receiver. It will go b/w rear frame rails and would be visible from behind. Maybe I can get a cool skid plate or guard for this too?

More hacky-ness and DO’H! moments - Originally I cut the factory standoffs for the grill/headlight bucket (accidentally) to fit the motor and servo. So after this experimental foil job on my headlight buckets I had to figure out how to reattach the grill. I want everything to be removable/replaceable, and so far ONLY the roll cage is permanent...







I think the foil gives more of a classic halogen sealed lamp look to it...



More updates soon-ish...


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

One small update for RCCrawler forums, one giant milestone for VR6 BeelzeDub!

Finally got the body mounted. It’s been perplexing me for years...





^ Just some decent poser shots taken at work to get me driven.

So I had these tabs left over from my Sawback and finally decided I would have to use these to “permanently” mount the body. I just don’t have the skills to make magnet mounts, so the battery will have to “live” inside the car.

I can still take it apart to service, or even change the battery in the field (although not easily) which is my #1 priority for this build. That’s why I left the two tabs with existing holes on front grill/bumper area.

Drilled holes to mount Sawback tabs



Then simply mounted them so that I could insert a M2.5 button head through existing holes on the body and capture on backside of tabs.



Below you could see this left a gap between the tabs and body



So this is where my accidental genius kicks in! I installed the m2.5 bolt through those rubber servo dampers (we all find everywhere in the house) and between the tabs and body. This actually gives some shock resistance as well as adjustability to allow for better tolerances between body pieces (I.e. doors and windshield piece).





I also can adjust the bolt connecting the dashboard to bulkhead to further tighten/loosen the body as required. Will this all work? Probably not... but if it does, pretty cool lol.

IT HOLDS! Finally...



Everything will be hidden with a front bumper and I still need to fix the rear in similar fashion but through the D90 bumper.

More REAL updates soonish I hope...


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[VR6 BeelzeDub]

Completely disregard my previous post lol

Got this pig running and out for a short drive this weekend.

NYC Midnight test run:





Then a few hours later at Orchard Beach:










It was a very short run as the servo mount snapped on me




I noticed the rear mount (behind shock tower) was loose and that may be the reason...

Anyone else have similar issues?

Anyway a few more pics of this pig. She’s fun... I think?








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[Downfall]

Very cool, man space looks tight. Very well planned out and executed.