RCCrawler Forums

heinie_21 · 10-12-2011, 11:22 PM

This is my 2nd scx-10 rig, and it started as a project to build a very small stock-looking cherokee to tow a trailer for my first crawler.

So i went about buying little things here and there that i would need to make the cherokee a small daily driver type rig. i was planning on using the 1.9 mud thrashers.

When i had the 1.9 mud thrashers on the dingo i took it out to some rocks that i frequent and couldn't climb a dang thing with it haha. i got to thinking that if i had a cherokee that was that small the ONLY time i would ever get to use it was just towing a trailer on modest terrain. (i know i know, that was the original plan, but then i just realized a rock crawler cherokee would be a lot more fun than a small stock cherokee haha)

So i changed my plan! and the large scale awesome rock crawling cherokee project began! (will get some cheap chassis like a ta-02 or cc-01 to tow the trailer later)

i love the 2009 tan color that the FJ cruisers come in so i decided to go tan on the cherokee. i did a thin layer of black tamiya lexan paint on the exterior of the body (helps non lexan paint bond to lexan and not flake off) then a layer or two of metallic silver. then alot of tan (just regular ol tan from home depo.. rustoleum i think)

on the inside i did a rust color so the scratches on the outside of the body would first appear silver like metal, then the deeper scratches would get through to the copper color and look rusty.

got the body trimmed and masks removed. This is kinda what the stocker daily driver would have looked like. has a lot of scale potential, but would be kinda boring on the rocks.

got the decals done and started coloring the window linings black (accidentally did a few windows with dark blue cuz it was kinda dark when i grabbed the sharpie haha!)

this gave me an idea! i decided to try and find a way to use the dingo cage inside the cherokee.

heinie_21 · 10-12-2011, 11:53 PM

got some goodies in the mail from RPP (very satisfied with their service, prices, and shipping time)

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 12:27 AM

decided to use the proline floorpan and interior. here's the interior masked up

here they are painted. again i went with a rusty black color inside the floor pan. which will be covered with black exterior so that undercarriage scratches will "rust" too.

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 12:30 AM

first mock-up of the interior roll cage. what i found is the dingo cage is pretty much perfect for the cherokee. you need to flip it backwards though because the windsheild of the dingo is VERY steep (almost vertical, like the tailgate of the cherokee). the rear of the dingo (with tire carrier) is not steep.. the perfect angle of the cherokee windsheild. the roll cage will not match up perfectly though, however, because the dingo is much wider. you will need to chop off some (about .5" from both sides) of the middle of the roll cage bars that run from one side rail to the other.

edit* the cherokee bodies look so much better with the window liners in black IMO

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 12:35 AM

I mounted the cage here. it lines up well with the back window. not perfect with the front, but pretty good. i just drilled holes in the proline interior and screwed the cage to it! just like the dingo!

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 12:40 AM

got the center bars cut to size. the holes that you screw the center (ceiling) bars into the pillar bars only run about .5" into the ceiling bars. so i drilled the holes again and used some tapping screws to screw through the pillar bars and into the ceiling bars. it's solid as a rock. (well as solid as plastic and lexan can be)

kinda looks like a wraith lol

sometimes i get bored

so now we're sittin on pit bulls (black axial wheels) and have the interior and cage almost squared away

Fletch24 · 10-13-2011, 03:29 AM

Looks sweet nice work. Good idea with the cage came out well.

Rook82 · 10-13-2011, 05:38 AM

Looks good. I like the cage, it fits pretty well, nice idea. The tires are a nice fit for the Cherocar. That is one of my favorite bodys and I would like to do another at some point. I think the rig would look better if you painted the flares black though. Nice work

Big Daddy · 10-13-2011, 06:44 AM

Nice work. The interior came out great with the dingo cage in it.

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 10:59 AM

thanks for the replies guys! the cage was just one of those things where you laugh at how easy and well it works. you know? like "hah! that should NOT have worked!"

and i agree with ya on the flares/bumpers being a different color. but that problem has since been remedied

more pics to come!

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 11:04 AM

fender flares vs. no fender flares:

big difference eh?

oh and you also get a preview of the DH fab bumper

209SCXCRAWLER · 10-13-2011, 01:15 PM

HUGE difference withou the fender flares!
That's exactly what I did to mine as well.
I have been thinkin about doing a cage like what u have here and I just remembered that I have a Dingo cage hangin in the garage. Thanks for the idea!
Here's a pic of what I started with...

And here's what she looks like now...

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 01:53 PM

very nice cherokee!! i love those shocks. what are they? did you base yours off a honcho? or dingo? if you did honcho i think you will like how i finished off my fenders. also if you dont have a proline interior you can basically just glue the dingo cage to the inside of the cherokee body. i contemplated doing that but it worked out better screwed to the proline interior.

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 01:55 PM

more pics to come

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 01:58 PM

got the DH rear bumper with carrier mounted. it kinda conflicts with the gas tank on the proline floorpan, but its not too hard to find a way to make it work.

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 01:59 PM

DH fab cherokee sliders. love these!

209SCXCRAWLER · 10-13-2011, 02:31 PM

My shocks are RC4WD 100mm Dual spring scaler shocks.
My rig is based on the Dingo so it's almost exactly the same as yours.
I really like the bumpers and sliders you have. I'm curious to know if they get hung up on the rocks though?

Also, I haven't yet built an interior but I'm planning to eventually.
I've got some delrin rod that I used to make an exo-cage for my XJ but it's not finished yet.

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 02:39 PM

delrin huh? how do you "weld" it together? does it hold up well??

heinie_21 · 10-13-2011, 03:53 PM

random question, but does anybody know if you can save multiple profiles on a futaba t3pm 2.4 mx. i have separate futaba fasst receivers in my rigs but when i turn them both on it wants to drive both at the same time.

209SCXCRAWLER · 10-13-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heinie_21

delrin huh? how do you "weld" it together? does it hold up well??

That's part of the issue I'm having right now is I'm not sure what to use to make sure it holds together during the severe punishment it's bound to be subjected to.

I'm considering a 2-part epoxy that can be sanded and painted once it dries.
The other problem is I ran out of material to finish the EXO-cage so it's on hold for now.

10-12-2011, 11:22 PM	#1
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	heinie_21s : start with a dingo, end with a cherokee This is my 2nd scx-10 rig, and it started as a project to build a very small stock-looking cherokee to tow a trailer for my first crawler. So i went about buying little things here and there that i would need to make the cherokee a small daily driver type rig. i was planning on using the 1.9 mud thrashers. When i had the 1.9 mud thrashers on the dingo i took it out to some rocks that i frequent and couldn't climb a dang thing with it haha. i got to thinking that if i had a cherokee that was that small the ONLY time i would ever get to use it was just towing a trailer on modest terrain. (i know i know, that was the original plan, but then i just realized a rock crawler cherokee would be a lot more fun than a small stock cherokee haha) So i changed my plan! and the large scale awesome rock crawling cherokee project began! (will get some cheap chassis like a ta-02 or cc-01 to tow the trailer later) i love the 2009 tan color that the FJ cruisers come in so i decided to go tan on the cherokee. i did a thin layer of black tamiya lexan paint on the exterior of the body (helps non lexan paint bond to lexan and not flake off) then a layer or two of metallic silver. then alot of tan (just regular ol tan from home depo.. rustoleum i think) on the inside i did a rust color so the scratches on the outside of the body would first appear silver like metal, then the deeper scratches would get through to the copper color and look rusty. got the body trimmed and masks removed. This is kinda what the stocker daily driver would have looked like. has a lot of scale potential, but would be kinda boring on the rocks. got the decals done and started coloring the window linings black (accidentally did a few windows with dark blue cuz it was kinda dark when i grabbed the sharpie haha!) this gave me an idea! i decided to try and find a way to use the dingo cage inside the cherokee. Last edited by heinie_21; 10-23-2012 at 10:26 AM.

10-13-2011, 12:30 AM	#4
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	first mock-up of the interior roll cage. what i found is the dingo cage is pretty much perfect for the cherokee. you need to flip it backwards though because the windsheild of the dingo is VERY steep (almost vertical, like the tailgate of the cherokee). the rear of the dingo (with tire carrier) is not steep.. the perfect angle of the cherokee windsheild. the roll cage will not match up perfectly though, however, because the dingo is much wider. you will need to chop off some (about .5" from both sides) of the middle of the roll cage bars that run from one side rail to the other. edit* the cherokee bodies look so much better with the window liners in black IMO Last edited by heinie_21; 10-13-2011 at 12:32 AM.

10-12-2011, 11:53 PM	#2
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	got some goodies in the mail from RPP (very satisfied with their service, prices, and shipping time)

10-13-2011, 12:27 AM	#3
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	decided to use the proline floorpan and interior. here's the interior masked up here they are painted. again i went with a rusty black color inside the floor pan. which will be covered with black exterior so that undercarriage scratches will "rust" too.

10-13-2011, 12:35 AM	#5
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	I mounted the cage here. it lines up well with the back window. not perfect with the front, but pretty good. i just drilled holes in the proline interior and screwed the cage to it! just like the dingo!

10-13-2011, 12:40 AM	#6
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	got the center bars cut to size. the holes that you screw the center (ceiling) bars into the pillar bars only run about .5" into the ceiling bars. so i drilled the holes again and used some tapping screws to screw through the pillar bars and into the ceiling bars. it's solid as a rock. (well as solid as plastic and lexan can be) kinda looks like a wraith lol sometimes i get bored so now we're sittin on pit bulls (black axial wheels) and have the interior and cage almost squared away

10-13-2011, 03:29 AM	#7
Fletch24 Rock Stacker Join Date: May 2010 Location: Tacoma Posts: 80	Looks sweet nice work. Good idea with the cage came out well.

10-13-2011, 05:38 AM	#8
Rook82 RCC Addict Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Dover, NH Posts: 1,153	Looks good. I like the cage, it fits pretty well, nice idea. The tires are a nice fit for the Cherocar. That is one of my favorite bodys and I would like to do another at some point. I think the rig would look better if you painted the flares black though. Nice work

10-13-2011, 06:44 AM	#9
Big Daddy RCC Addict Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,634	Nice work. The interior came out great with the dingo cage in it.

10-13-2011, 10:59 AM	#10
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	thanks for the replies guys! the cage was just one of those things where you laugh at how easy and well it works. you know? like "hah! that should NOT have worked!" and i agree with ya on the flares/bumpers being a different color. but that problem has since been remedied more pics to come!

10-13-2011, 11:04 AM	#11
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	fender flares vs. no fender flares: big difference eh? oh and you also get a preview of the DH fab bumper

10-13-2011, 01:15 PM	#12
209SCXCRAWLER Quarry Creeper Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Lodi Posts: 345	HUGE difference withou the fender flares! That's exactly what I did to mine as well. I have been thinkin about doing a cage like what u have here and I just remembered that I have a Dingo cage hangin in the garage. Thanks for the idea! Here's a pic of what I started with... And here's what she looks like now...

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10-13-2011, 01:53 PM	#13
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	very nice cherokee!! i love those shocks. what are they? did you base yours off a honcho? or dingo? if you did honcho i think you will like how i finished off my fenders. also if you dont have a proline interior you can basically just glue the dingo cage to the inside of the cherokee body. i contemplated doing that but it worked out better screwed to the proline interior.

10-13-2011, 01:55 PM	#14
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	more pics to come

10-13-2011, 01:58 PM	#15
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	got the DH rear bumper with carrier mounted. it kinda conflicts with the gas tank on the proline floorpan, but its not too hard to find a way to make it work.

10-13-2011, 01:59 PM	#16
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	DH fab cherokee sliders. love these!

10-13-2011, 02:31 PM	#17
209SCXCRAWLER Quarry Creeper Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Lodi Posts: 345	My shocks are RC4WD 100mm Dual spring scaler shocks. My rig is based on the Dingo so it's almost exactly the same as yours. I really like the bumpers and sliders you have. I'm curious to know if they get hung up on the rocks though? Also, I haven't yet built an interior but I'm planning to eventually. I've got some delrin rod that I used to make an exo-cage for my XJ but it's not finished yet.

10-13-2011, 02:39 PM	#18
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	delrin huh? how do you "weld" it together? does it hold up well??

10-13-2011, 03:53 PM	#19
heinie_21 RCC Addict Join Date: May 2011 Location: Utah County Posts: 1,802	random question, but does anybody know if you can save multiple profiles on a futaba t3pm 2.4 mx. i have separate futaba fasst receivers in my rigs but when i turn them both on it wants to drive both at the same time.

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Thread: start with a dingo, end with a cherokee