Custom FJ40 Body For RS10

[mycroft1855]

So I wanted to to get a new body for my RS10 XT and did a lot of searching, but all the ones I liked were too expensive for me given they are just a cosmetic upgrade. I saw this thread and figured I've give that a try (thanks to jesseRS10comp for putting the idea in my head).

I settled on a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 largely because of the mostly square design and the classic look.


My first plan was to mock it up with poster board and then fab it in some sheet metal I had around. Yes I knew going in it would be heavy, but figured it was worth a shot. Turned out even heavier than what I had initially thought so gave up on that. Here is what I had:


Realizing I needed something lighter I tried foam board. Definitely not as strong as I would like so I planned on including some additional internal supports. I used exacto knives for most of the cutting. For all the angle joints and for making bends I used a 45 degree cutter meant for cutting picture frame matting. I used hot glue to join it all together. To get the bends for the hood I cut triangle grooves on the underside (5 rows per side) at even intervals.

Here is the initial build up. The hood took by far the longest amount of time.












For the additional structure/mounting needed I used parts from an erector set I had sitting around. I also rigged it so I could just loosen 4x screws and take the whole structure/body off in case I wanted to some more risky crawling and could used the stock body.

I've made a few mods since this, but generally how it looks:


For paint I got some foam safe paint from the local craft store. Decided on Olive drab with a clear coat.

Here is the test piece I painted with and without clear coat:


I masked off the front section to keep it white. I also cut out the windows and installed plexi glass. I left off the rear corner windows as I thought they would weaken the body far to much. Also didn't want to bother having to bend the plexi glass. I had hoped the hot glue would have been cleaner around the windows, but overall not that bad. Also bought a $2 plastic sign post from lowes, cut it into small sections, and glued it to the inside for additional support.

Here is the result:












Initially thought I would have to handle it with kid gloves, but so far it has been pretty tough. Took it crawling before I painted it and had it role over a couple of times and fall against some sharp rocks and didn't really show any damage. If I end up making another body I will likely use brown foam board to that when it does get dented/scraped it will show through like rust rather than the white showing through.

Performance wise the body has been light enough to only minimally affect how it crawls.

Future Plans:
-Add headlights/brake lights
-Add metal grill to grill opening
-See if I can add a custom interior
-Add roof rack
-Add front/rear bumpers

I'll try to post some pics after several runs to see how it does.

[redcat1]

nice job dude what do you guys make these bodies out of

[mycroft1855]

I used foam board. Available at any craft store or office supply store. A standard 20"x30" board was about $3. Took 1.5 boards to make.

[Jcplante]

nice job! You should try to make a light wieght roof rack and spare tire too

[mycroft1855]

I put together a basic interior for the body using the same foam board. I had to dramatically redesign the mounting structure to make it work, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Here is the updated mounting structure:


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I kept the interior separate from the outer body so I could mount things inside later. The interior is in 2 pieces to allow for easy install. When the body is installed it all locks together and does not move.






With outer body:




May add a dash and steering wheel, but want to decide on how to color the interior first.