A Wrangler to Scrambler build from Finland

[Kivelaster]

Hello everybody,

Since I just bought a new CC-01 rig I started to think what would I really want to have. I have had a CC-01 Toyota Land Cruiser, but the lexan bodies are not my favorite in case of building scale rigs. My son gave me an old Jeep Wrangler body from Tamiya so now I have something to start with. He doesn't need it anymore since he's a fan of Jeep Cherokee (a lexan body from ProLine). It is assembled to a CC-01 chassis, too. But this is where I have to start.





Since there's no registered Jeep Scrambler ( CJ-8 ) in Finland I thought this might be a pleasant build for me.

Here's two pictures of the real life "target" I found from internet. I'll paint my Scrambler body with pearl white and maintain the roof as it is, light sand. I have no possibility to make chromium parts so I will use matt black, painted silver or body colour parts, instead.

I think these pictures are from a Scrambler which has passed a restoration process.





So, I started to tear down all the attached items of Wrangler (window, mirrors, headlights, tail lights, spare wheel etc. ) and finally washed the body. I cut it to smaller pieces and finally got the first idea of the whole build. After first 3h used:



I used last sunny Sunday by cutting styrene pieces and matching them to existing parts. In Finland it's getting quite cold at the moment and the weather is mostly awfull. I don't have a garage where to build so I had to use a balcony of our house to do this. No better way to use last sun's rays of this late autumn

On my point of view there is three major things to do:
1) Cut away the roof and then shorten it as much as possible.
2) Extend the wheelbase from 1:10 Wrangler's 242mm to 264mm of 1:10 Scrambler.
3) Extend the whole body to about 450mm and then make a cargo area.

Here's what I finally got last Sunday just before the sun went down. Totally 6,5h used:





I had to add two 15mm x 15mm L-profiles to the sides to keep styrene parts and fenders in place. They will also be the basis for the cargo area. It was quite hard to ensure the exact location of the axles. I hope I managed...

This is my first "Scratch build" so I will continue slowly. I hope there will be something more to show for next few days.

Also, if anybody of you is familiar to Jeep Scrambler, I will be happy to receive tips and references. Advices from scratch build experts are welcome, too.

-Mika

[SFC K]

Looks like a great start! Are you planning on mounting this to a CC-01 chassis or something else? I was also wondering if you are going to retain the square headlights or modify those to match the 1:1 round units. I think the proportions of the 1:1 and are spot on to your Wrangler shell.

[Kivelaster]

Originally Posted by SFC K

Looks like a great start! Are you planning on mounting this to a CC-01 chassis or something else? I was also wondering if you are going to retain the square headlights or modify those to match the 1:1 round units. I think the proportions of the 1:1 and are spot on to your Wrangler shell.

Yes, I will mount this to a CC-01 chassis. I try to save the front bumber partially to keep the original body mounting in the front. In the rear I will use neodymium magnets or so. I hate body posts... Also, the headlights are on the list. The Tamiya Wrangler grille differs a bit compared to Scrambler one, but this is something I must not care. I can't modify it too much because it has to carry the body weight.

But, of course, I will modify the lights to round ones. Actually, here's a short list what I shall do:
- modify the front grille and lights
- modify the fenders (and those parts below doors)
- take away the ugly original rear mounts
- make some bars to the cargo area
- narrow the rear window a bit
- make a rear bumber (The front one may be the "carrying handle" which came along with the kit).

Some 10h used by now. The cargo area fitted in. I made the floor of 1,5mm styrene sheet and added some 2,5mm x 0,5mm styrene strips for original looks. Also, some thin styrene sheets added to the inner sides.



Since this will be installed into original CC-01 chassis, I couldn't make the floor as it should appear (including inner fenders and little bit lower floor). Anyway, this is enough for me to keep the work within reasonable limits. My target is to keep it below 40h total. Let's see how can I do to to succeed

-Mika

[redjones]

Looks great, I am thinking about a cc01 jeep....

[SFC K]

Very impressive for your first custom build. The rear bed area is coming along nicely. I would consider looking into options for mounting of the body in the rear. Those magnets are strong but won't hold. Velcro mounts would probably work better for you. Just a thought.

So with the wheel base established now, what does it measure out to(body)?

[Flowmastered87GL]

You could also try extending the stock body mounts back and using the stock rear locations. I see you still have them molded into the back of the body.

[ndi_guy]

Originally Posted by ndi_guy

Impressive. The cj8 is one of my favorite 1:1 vehicles. Getting scarce.

And then I go and see 2 of them on the road today. Go figure.

[HoneySmacks]

Looking great so far There are some good accessories for your Cj;

Dash and grill

Looking forward to see more.

[Kivelaster]

Thank's everybody for the links and comments!!!

The body measures now about 440mm long but as soon as I'll ad the rear bumber it will be some 450mm or so. The real one measures 450cm by the vehicle data I've got. Wheelbase is 264mm, which is just one tenth of the real one. Here's some new photos. Some 15h work done by now.



I took away the original grille and modified it a bit. I filled the openings of the front lights. I also put small styrene pieces to the outer grille bars. I used Dremel to take away the original tray for extra lights and made all the grille bars to equal length. I narrowed the bumber area to (almost) matc the looks of real Scrambler. Openings for round lights will be done. Here's a photo of the original outfit for comparison.



I also added styrene strips to the sides of cargo area for more realistic look...



...and modified the fenders as well as the rear body mountings. I cut the front fenders from back and took small pieces below doors to fit into the ends of both front fenders. This way I got nice roundings to them. I added styrene strips below doors where I cut out the stepbar ? (I don't now the correct word for the piece below door).



Well, next tasks are the openings for the headlights. Also a lot of sanding, putty, primer, sanding, next primer and so on will follow. And of course, making the bars for cargo area as well as rear bumber...

-Mika

[roots]

I'd really like to see how this one turns out. Are there any updates?

Steve