My little TJ project

[mjc597]

I picked up this chassis and body from bmuzz1 not long ago..


I checked out all kinds of builds using these bodies for ideas and ways to make my build look how i wanted..not how it needed to look (my last nb jeep body build didn't turn out how i wanted). so i got an idea in my head, and i just happened to have a spare nb tj body..
Tonights goal was to find a way to get the body as low on the chassis as possible while having the tranny in the stock location..so i got the body, and my dremel..the plan was to trim the interior around the tranny/motor...
but i got carried away..



here's why i cut the entire interior out..i has an idea

i cut and trimmed it to fit into the tj body..


here's some clearance shots..it sits a little lower than what's in the pics, i modded it slightly after taking them..


the body itself rests on the chassis rails up front and is almost sitting on the rear chassis rails..
i made some brackets out of cut parts of the body to help support the wraith interior..



and here is the finished mockup..cage still has to be attached and i need to make some more support brackets for the interior near the front/firewall....


i actually like the way it turned out, and i think i'll get another wraith interior when i put the "keeper" body on it...i also have some 1.55 rc4wd steelies and mud slingers on the way for it.. i'll keep updating as i do more..but this is all for tonight.. thanks for looking..comments and suggestions welcomed..

[z71baja]

Are you going to center the body on the chassis and cut off the excess chassis rails on both ends? Or are you going to line up the wheel wells to the front shock hoops and cut only the rear excess chassis?

[mjc597]

Originally Posted by z71baja

Are you going to center the body on the chassis and cut off the excess chassis rails on both ends? Or are you going to line up the wheel wells to the front shock hoops and cut only the rear excess chassis?

well fortunately for me, the chassis has already been cut to fit the body.. the front wasn't cut at all..the custom bumper bolts to the front of the chassis. the rear was cut off right behind the furthest shock hoop mounts towards the back..and the rear bumper bolts to those holes.. i'll post a pic showing the chassis.. so the body sits right behind the front bumper rails..

[mjc597]

alright, so i got my front links made up, i'm putting brakeline over them, just didn't have it on for the mockup..


then i threw some tires on to get an idea of what it would look like..
1st some 1.9 swampers (smaller size)



then some 1.9 mud thrashers



i have a set of 1.55 mud slingers coming for it on rc4wd black steel wheels, they should tuck right under the flares nicely.. my axles have wider traxxas hexes on them, putting these 1.9's outside the flare about 1/8" or so.. i figure the 1.55's using the pin mounts will be about right under there.. i think i want to keep the flares instead of cutting them off.. but that may change..

[mjc597]

and here's a couple shots to show the bumpers mounted to the frame..

front (uncut chassis)


back (cut right behind shock mount holes)

[mjc597]

so my son has been after me to get this done..last night i got quite a bit accomplished.. i had some links that fit the wheelbase perfect, i don't like the green but for now they work..


and i didn't want to mount the shocks through the rear of the body...but when it came down to it, that's what worked the best so that's what i did,,



the seat just so happened to fit over them..


and with a spacer and longer screw..it mounted up..




and the little man wanted a pic taken of him holding his truck..


that's it for now, next up is more bracing for the back seat, body mounts, and driveshafts...then to figure out electronics placement...anybody know what would take the stickers off the body without leaving crappy residue?

[mjc597]

today i got the rx box mounted, nice and low and out of the way..





i may put 2 smaller ties on it, and paint them silver to look like fuel tank straps..

[bmuzz1]

Looking pretty good so far, glad you and your boy are enjoying it!

[mjc597]

body isn't mounted permanently yet, but i took a short video and got some pics from it..





the pics were screenshots...but a thread is worthless without them right?

[AxialJeepster]

awesome build! cool thing about building a NB TJ is you can always better them, theres always something to make better or add on or change up.

looks bad ttb with the 1.55 slingers. i would cut the flares so they are flat, but thats just me. looks like a good c1 rig!!

and yes I can build those bumpers. to answer your question.

[mjc597]

thanks ! i was debating on cutting the flare or not, and my son likes them so they are staying at the moment..but the other body in the first pic is the one i plan on building for myself.. i have a chassis coming and plan on cutting the rear off just like this chassis..and would really like to have the same type/style of front/rear bumpers setup on it.. like i had mentioned i'm planningon adding little details to this body here and there, and maybe he'll want the flares trimmed eventually.. but who knows..lol... i would like to keep my tj build in the class 1 range..

[AxialJeepster]

yeah its your rig!! if these are c1 jeeps then no need to cut anything. I always liked the way they look in that form but i never end up keeping them that way. they always end up bordering c2 or c3 status. well there are alot of good vendors on here as well as myself who can make bumpers. if you decide you want something let one of us know

keep up the good work!! looks great!

[mjc597]

so my son and i have been driving this thing around the trail at our house for a while. i still need to make mounts for the body, but it stays in place well without any at the moment. anyways, my son wanted to cut the tires because they work "ok" but not as good as he would like them to.. so he started cutting them himself... and upon showing me, i realized he was cutting the larger lugs off them.. so we looked at them and decided it would be better to take out some of the smaller lugs.. he finished cutting the lugs out and today i siped them some with my dremel.. here's what we came up with..

[Szczerba]

Looks good. Gotta love a kid with some initiative! I see why you posted up in Q&A Recon G6 thread!

Thos 1.9's or 1.55's wheels and tires? Edit. I re-read through your thread. 1.55's.

You have a side profile picture of the whole rig?

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

Goof off works for removing sticky residue.

Looking good mike.

[mjc597]

thanks for the compliments guys. i'll get a profile pic of it.. i can't wait to get mine started.. once i get the chassis in i'll try to start it.. i'm planning on using mine for a class 1 comp rig... Ian is quite the little modifier and helper.. he put alot of the components on his wraith, and even this truck he was pushing me to get finished so he would always start working on it and then ask me to help finish.. i love watching him try to figure things out so i usually sit back and watch him...i still need to get the body attached, i'll probably start on that a little later..

[mjc597]