My first cc01...... FJ Cruiser

[jj650]

First off, how this came about. My daughter got a Tower gift certificate in her door prize at a recent Team KNK Fasteners TTC event. She was bummed out that $25 really couldn't get her anything she wanted. I just happened to received a gift card from my work for perfect attendance. So this kit cost us nothing. Yep, zero! So in sticking with that I'm going to try to keep it a very cheap build. Lol

I've had just about every other Tamiya kit over the years, but this is my first cc01.
Forgot how cool it was to open a Tamiya box and see all those labeled baggies.


Ordered all the goodies to go along during the assembly. FastEddy bearing kit, Hot Racing 4-link kit and GPM steering kit.


I didn't take many assembly pics, everyone knows how these go together. I did put the factory locker in the rear diff and sandwiched a spider gear between the two in the front diff to lock it.

I shaved the suspension stops on the hub carriers and the bump stops for the steering knuckles. Had to trim material off the skid also for ball end clearance.

I'm using a set of rc4wd mud thrashers we had laying around. A little taller and wider but way softer than the stock Tamiya tires.


The rims are 1.9 Duratrax glue on crawler wheels that were in my door prize package. Yep, free again!


I think we'll like the look of 1.5 tires on the 1.9 rims for this FJ body.


I started assembly last evening and didn't stop until I had a rolling chassis.








Tonight my plan is to get electrics installed so it'll run under its own power.
And trim the body and figure out how I'm going to mount it. I don't like body posts sticking out and I plan on putting an interior in it. Stay tuned......

[stonecold]

Looking good so far, really like those wheels.

[stevetate12]

Nice work...this is a great bid for this chassis.....i have the pajero....very underrated....goes anywhere when setup right

[jj650]

We have a runner. Had an old Hitec hs-645mg laying around. Just ran it around inside.


Now my dilemma. I hate body posts. But it's gonna take longer to come up with a better way. Hmmmm.

[stonecold]

Originally Posted by jj650

We have a runner. Had an old Hitec hs-645mg laying around. Just ran it around inside.


Now my dilemma. I hate body posts. But it's gonna take longer to come up with a better way. Hmmmm.

If you're talking about how they stick up through the body, I run the stealth magnet body posts on a few of mine and they work great, magnets stick like glue.

4pcs 1 10 Blue Alloy Magnetic Stealth Invisible Body Post Mount RC Car Crawler | eBay

[jj650]

Originally Posted by stonecold

If you're talking about how they stick up through the body, I run the stealth magnet body posts on a few of mine and they work great, magnets stick like glue.

4pcs 1 10 Blue Alloy Magnetic Stealth Invisible Body Post Mount RC Car Crawler | eBay

Exactly, no posts sticking up through. My Blazer body is magnet mounted and works great. Think I'm going to make styrene plates to go on body posts and held with clips. Then magnets glued to styrene and glued to body. Or cut body posts to length and glue magnets right to end of posts. Magnet to magnet is very strong and self aligning.

[jj650]

Got it figured out. At least for now, might change rear mount once I get an interior drawn up.

Mounted styrene plates to stock body posts. Glued magnets to plates and another set to body.
Don't mind the outside magnets, they are just holding things together while the Goop dries.

[jj650]

A quick little update. As I was trying to be patient painting the FJ, it was decided to go to Team KNK buddy/Father's Day fun run.
Literally the paint was drying on the way down. Lol




I'll update pics later. Do to trading my comp Blazer before registration I ran the cc01 in the comp. It did surprisingly well! The only problem was my body mounting. With only 4 magnets holding it on every time I hit a rock or obstacle the body would pop off. Had I known I was going to be running it on the TTC course I would've just used the body posts and pins.

The rig ran exceptionally well on this very challenging course. I might change motor out to a 80T. The 55T is ok for a trail rig but it could've used a little more low end in spots.
The body got pretty bashed up. And in my haste to get it painted it didn't turn out too good. Not sure what my plan is. Lol

[cnyte]

nice cc01 fj. did you paint the outside of the fj?

[jj650]

Originally Posted by cnyte

nice cc01 fj. did you paint the outside of the fj?

Yes. I put down two light coats of silver paint for Polycarbonate as a base coat. Then sprayed on Rust-Oleum 2X for the green. The same paint in white for the top and then flat black for the fender flares and bumpers.
It would've been ok had I not been in a hurry. I put the paint on too thick and it didn't have time to fully cure before running it. I'm going to try to wet sand it and see how it looks. I haven't put any of the lights or accessories on it yet either.

[jj650]

[HDMM]

Just curious, why did you paint the outside of the body? If it was to get a flat paint job, Tamiya PS-55 (flat clear) is available once again in the states, for whatever reason it hasn't been available for a long time. That stuff works great. If it was because of the color you wanted it, I get it. I've done it myself. Painted the inside of the lexan body with silver, then painted the outside with OD Green. When it did scratch, it looked like a real metal scratch in the paint.

Nice to see another CC01 come to life!