Welcome another member to the orange JK club.

[05Fronty4x]

After much debate one what body I was going to get, I finally made a set of longer links, set my Dingo bod aside and did a JK, an orange one!

I'm not sure what it is, but I have the stock bumpstops in PLUS an additional 1/4" or so of fuel tubing stacked and I still get minor rubbing .

Anywho, a couple photos of it's (the body's) first time out.

[monsterbeetleguy]

Looks sweet in orange. I almost did my new body in orange but went with copper as I hadn't seen it done yet. Nice job!!!

[05Fronty4x]

Thanks. I like the copper metallic orange type color too. I did my dingo in Pactras "Fiery Orange".

Now I'm trying to decide which small details to add. The bumper is plain and wide open so I think I'm going to get a winch and try to fit some light pods on it. I also have a scale "Firestik" CB antenna I made that I need to mount. Other things on the to-do list: hi-lift jack, fire extinguisher, and maybe try my luck at sewing a bikini top.

I bought some 4.75" Baja Claws for the width last week, but they are just too dang big. I'm trying to trade them for Pit Bulls which should fit the stance like a glove.

[buddamonk]

Looking good! I painted my irange on the outside for the matte finish...

[05Fronty4x]

So, I kept the Baja Claws. Turns out they fit the stance pretty darn well I might say. I also trimmed up the fender wells I made for the dingo body to fit and put them on, as well as the front bumper light pods painted silver inside and white "PIAA" lettering. I have a feeling these meats are going to warrant a servo upgrade, or maybe atleast buy this poor 5645 a CC BEC, lol.

The first pic isn't it's natural stance because it's flexing on the butt-mold in the office chair. The 2nd and 3rd pics show how it naturally sits.

[01XJ]

Looks great! Where did you get the lights on your bumper

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by 01XJ

Looks great! Where did you get the lights on your bumper

Thanks!

They are the pods that came with the Dingo kit. I just drilled the JK bumper and screwed them in. Maybe someday I'll actually make them functional.

[project_mayhem]

I'm starting to feel like I need to get a sweet paint job that is completely original, or I'm gonna be screwed in the rc parking lot. Sweet jeep man.

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by project_mayhem

I'm starting to feel like I need to get a sweet paint job that is completely original, or I'm gonna be screwed in the rc parking lot. Sweet jeep man.

Your home brew 3-link and chassis servo bracket allow you to be as unoriginal as you want with the body.

[eric113]

Really liking the orange paint and claws. Now I can't decide between trepdors or claws.

[MaxxPain]

Wow, I like the color, what orange is that.

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by eric113

Really liking the orange paint and claws. Now I can't decide between trepdors or claws.

I have nothing bad to say about the Trepadors. They are a great tire and the stock foams were working perfectly on this rig (a little over 5lbs). They just happen to be a bit skinny and didn't fit the look of my rig with the wideners installed. I've given up a lot of travel with bumpstops to fit the claws without any trimming since I want absolutely no rubbing. The front shocks are about 95mm verticle and the rears are 4" Losi shocks angled slightly to match the front. I run the front fully sprung with the rear at a 50/50 droop. I can't say how the claws perform yet, but I've seen many say they are pretty good, especially now that they are made with the x2ss compound. The foams are pretty stiff, so I may need to source some that are a little softer and fit. I don't really want to take a gamble with foams so I'll have to do some research and find out what others are using.

Originally Posted by MaxxPain

Wow, I like the color, what orange is that.

Thanks. It's Pactra's "Competition Orange". To be honest it's hard to say which of these pictures accurately shows what the color looks like since every one looks different depending on the lighting, but if you like orange you'll definitely like it.

[eric113]

Originally Posted by 05Fronty4x

I have nothing bad to say about the Trepadors. They are a great tire and the stock foams were working perfectly on this rig (a little over 5lbs). They just happen to be a bit skinny and didn't fit the look of my rig with the wideners installed. I've given up a lot of travel with bumpstops to fit the claws without any trimming since I want absolutely no rubbing. The front shocks are about 95mm verticle and the rears are 4" Losi shocks angled slightly to match the front. I run the front fully sprung with the rear at a 50/50 droop. I can't say how the claws perform yet, but I've seen many say they are pretty good, especially now that they are made with the x2ss compound. The foams are pretty stiff, so I may need to source some that are a little softer and fit. I don't really want to take a gamble with foams so I'll have to do some research and find out what others are using.


Thanks. It's Pactra's "Competition Orange". To be honest it's hard to say which of these pictures accurately shows what the color looks like since every one looks different depending on the lighting, but if you like orange you'll definitely like it.

I ran claws in the past, but they were way to big for my build. For foam setup..

Lil' Nova 1.9 Dual Stage 4.50T Foam Pair (2)

Most will tell you Eddie is the foam man.

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by eric113

I ran claws in the past, but they were way to big for my build. For foam setup..

Lil' Nova 1.9 Dual Stage 4.50T Foam Pair (2)

Most will tell you Eddie is the foam man.

He sells those foams in a package with Pitbulls so do you think they are tall enough for the claws? Also, it mentions they are for 6-8lbs rigs, but I imagine the firmness selection has something to do with that. That kind of sucks that the ideal weight goes up with foam size, though it makes sense, because this rig is not all the heavy. I haven't weighed it since I made the longer stainless links and put the claws on so it may be pushing 6lbs by now.

Edit: Just weighed it, 95.5oz so it's right at 6lbs. Stock Claw foams don't squish at all and only a very tiny bit on a flexed tire. The stuff reminds me of the foam inside cheap gun cases.

[perseus71]

Cool looking JK The fender wells look much like the ones I did for my JK Rubi_con-Arni, I like them How have you done them? My first version did not hold up the abuse. I had expected that. So I had to reenforce the edges. Made that with glas fiber.

[eric113]

Originally Posted by 05Fronty4x

He sells those foams in a package with Pitbulls so do you think they are tall enough for the claws? Also, it mentions they are for 6-8lbs rigs, but I imagine the firmness selection has something to do with that. That kind of sucks that the ideal weight goes up with foam size, though it makes sense, because this rig is not all the heavy. I haven't weighed it since I made the longer stainless links and put the claws on so it may be pushing 6lbs by now.

Edit: Just weighed it, 95.5oz so it's right at 6lbs. Stock Claw foams don't squish at all and only a very tiny bit on a flexed tire. The stuff reminds me of the foam inside cheap gun cases.

You can always email Eddie. But I think the 4.5'' foams would be perfect with claws. Most go with medium outer. I have in the past and always had good luck with them. This was with the original compound claws.

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by perseus71

Cool looking JK The fender wells look much like the ones I did for my JK Rubi_con-Arni, I like them How have you done them? My first version did not hold up the abuse. I had expected that. So I had to reenforce the edges. Made that with glas fiber.

Thanks. Your JK happens to be one of my favorites.

Since the most likely area to take a hit is the top, I reinforced the 2 top corners of the fender wells with an extra piece of styrene. They seem pretty strong and those 2 reinforcements really stiffened up the entire structure.

Be sure to lay a good bead of glue in all the corners once everything is joined as well. Kind of like welding. I've been using blue label Poly-Zap CA glue which is good for many things including styrene. It will attack paint though, which I like because if a joint cracks I can hit it with more glue then touch up the area with a couple sprays of paint.

[sullivanscx10]

I dint know my JKh ad a bigger brother, LMAO.

[perseus71]

Originally Posted by 05Fronty4x

Thanks. Your JK happens to be one of my favorites.

Since the most likely area to take a hit is the top, I reinforced the 2 top corners of the fender wells with an extra piece of styrene. They seem pretty strong and those 2 reinforcements really stiffened up the entire structure.

Be sure to lay a good bead of glue in all the corners once everything is joined as well. Kind of like welding. I've been using blue label Poly-Zap CA glue which is good for many things including styrene. It will attack paint though, which I like because if a joint cracks I can hit it with more glue then touch up the area with a couple sprays of paint.

Thanks! I'm glad you like my JK

Those are the exact spots where my fender wells broke, as expected. But it was worth a test. After that I decided to go the safe way and cover the wells with a sheet of glas fiber and some epoxy. Now they are bomb proof

Your solution looks strong too!

[05Fronty4x]

Originally Posted by sullivanscx10

I dint know my JKh ad a bigger brother, LMAO.

Mine's a basterd really, started life as a Dingo, then shortened the WB to 11" and then lengthened to 12.5" where it sits now with 12mm wideners. I love the new stance with the big Claws. They don't really look out of place after widening it some. It may be wide but doesn't sit all that much unlike the Project-JK guys that run Pro-Rock 60's on their 1:1's or other wide axles.

One things for sure, mine won't have quite as much $$$ thrown at it as yours.

Originally Posted by perseus71

After that I decided to go the safe way and cover the wells with a sheet of glas fiber and some epoxy. Now they are bomb proof

Your solution looks strong too!

That should do the trick, lol.

Yea, mine are holding up so far, but I just do slow and careful crawling so it only rolls over maybe once every 2 or 3 packs (and even less now that I widened it).


I should have some shots of it crawling this weekend. I can't wait to get these claws dirty.