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a2hill's JK 'Meep'

a2hill

Pebble Pounder
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
183
Location
sa
a2hill's JK 'MiniMeep'

This build started as a used honcho that i picked up from someone on the forums.
It came with a whole lotta nothing, but was decent for my first rig. It did have alum links and a Tekin 45t motor.. but nothing fancy otherwise.

This is my first real hobby grade build where im having to deal with mounting and fabricating items for a RC Crawler.

I have been into smaller RCs with my son for a while and decided that being able to crawl over nearly anything was more fun.

My first crawler was the MRC Pro, i built that guy up and have had a tonne of fun running him over everthing. But there was still something missing that the MRC couldnt fill. and that was my urge to build and create something that resembled a real vehicle. So, i jumped into the scaling side of things. Also, being close-ish to people that were in to this also helped the transition. I do enjoy healthy, fun competition from time to time.

*disclaimer:: This is my first build and im sure im doing everything wrong. but love it, and would love to hear any and all feedback to help further the development of this rig*




I started out with the Honcho::

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Super fun when i first got it. I picked up a which and a new RX/TX system and began playing. Shes even got a couple comps under her belt :)

I had lots of fun bath time

This was first time sending it in the deep...i got a little excited ;)

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But i wasnt satisfied. I wanted a Jeep, ive always loved Jeeps. Ive owned 3 in my lifetime and have had great experiences with them.

So, my current vehicle is an 08 Wrangler, maroon color i guess. Her name is Meep. :) Kid named her, and it stuck. Currently Shes stock 4wd. but wont be that way forever

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So this build is 'officially' labeled the

"Wish my 1:1 was this cool!" build

Meep will be the inspiration for initial color and occupants. but besides that miniMeep is going to be a much more capable rock cralwer. Potentially causing a reverse scale build. :)

I picked up a NewBright JK off an auction site for 40$ and from what ive seen it was quite a good score.

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Immediately i got paint on it::

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It came out like crap:: So i completely stripped it down to bare plastic and tried again::
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This is what i ended up with:

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I then began ordering parts:

I ended up getting stuff for the XR mod because the highsteer VP knucks did absolutely nothing for my atrocious steering.

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After the front was together including OD gears and tubes the whole 9 i worked on the rear
I cleaned them out and put a 4link truss with down mounts. Someone made this for me because at the time i didnt have material or machine to weld. But the holes for the mount are crooked. At some point im going to remake it.

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So to make up for the lower crookedness the upper mount is off and its driving me crazy.. but it works well. I like the look and functionality even if its not full scale.

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I installed the links and worked on the CMS by HandBros. I got this set up because of the 3-link truss. I wouldnt have been able to make something that nice.

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It didnt work out too well at first because i moved the front axles forward and the mount needs to go in a certain spot. Being there was enough open space on the back end of the mount i drilled a hole using the original as a set screw.

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I cleaned up a few things and installed the rear then begin installing other things.

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Gonna use this bumper because it was there. I will make custom one at some ponit...

I installed sheet metal for battery mounts::

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But the battery i made a couple weeks ago isnt going to work like i thought::

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I have 4 more 1s 2200mah lipos on their way to make a 4s split config to utilize and even weight on both plates.

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I ordered some RC4WD Ultimate Scale shocks. I like them, too soft, but going to make them work...

So as MiniMeep stands at the time of this post::

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I have a lot to do and plenty more updates to come. Let me know what ya think!
 
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Looks good but you will want to limit that articulation if you want good performance. About the height of one tire is a good starting point. And nice score on the body. Lucky man.
 
agreed, im waiting to get the body mounted to get a better idea of how its going to affect it and make adjustments from there. Thanks for the tips!
 
yup, its time to ask what was on the computer screen, my guess is bigfoot footage. neat mg and walking sticks too

oh yea also waitin to see body mounted to chassis and final steering setup :ror:
 
Haha, was hulu show i wasnt really paying attention to. I think they were looking for the jersey devil ;)
Im working on rear mount today hopefully ill have it ready soon
 
Yea ill post up this evening.i should also have mounts done. The difference is huge i can actually make a full turn in my office which is about 10' wide with lots of room to spare where as before iit took three corrections to make the same turn. Ill see if i can find an older pic with full lock and a new one. Matter of fact i have to reduce epa because it turns too much now :)
 
Looks good, care show how much steering you gained with the xr mod?

I did the XR-10 steering to my new bright JK with 13" wb

W/o XR10 steering turning was a 8-9 foot circle

With XR10 steering turning nearly halved at 4.5-5 foot circle and thats not full lock since I had to turn EPA's down a little to prevent tires from rubbing the lower links/shocks.

Great looking JK you surely got a great deal for that body if it was complete for $40 =)
 
I

Great looking JK you surely got a great deal for that body if it was complete for $40 =)

Yes was complete ;) Thank you!

I dont have the best of pics but heres older at full lock
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and from today(body not mounted yet, not sure if you get a good comparison or not..

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But on my trucks behalf * the 10' is also occupied by 3' of ferret cage and other crap....

Well worth the time/money for the upgrade, im using plastic at the moment. if all goes well and i do keep it this way for a while ill get VP knucks and chubs just because. :)
 
Yes was complete ;) Thank you!

I dont have the best of pics but heres older at full lock

and from today(body not mounted yet, not sure if you get a good comparison or not..


But on my trucks behalf * the 10' is also occupied by 3' of ferret cage and other crap....

Well worth the time/money for the upgrade, im using plastic at the moment. if all goes well and i do keep it this way for a while ill get VP knucks and chubs just because. :)

What I've read and looked at, you should buy the ax-10 universal driveshafts to help with that extra little bit of radius. vs the stock. Definitally did the trick for me, and i'm even using baja claws on 1.9s

looks good!
 
Thanks! Im running the xr-10 universals at the moment, if i turn anymore im going to burn plastic or break something :D

I went this way because the buddies i run with have it on a few of their builds and it does wonders dancing us off the comp floor... i felt the beckon :D
 
UPDATE:

Ive managed to get the body mounts set up, I've built a rear bumper with sq tubing which is part of the rear mount. The front is using the stinger bumper with velcro.

Love the forums! So many good ideas, thanks every one!

I also installed rear shocks in stock location along with the rear mounted rc4wd ones. Looks slick and performs better then before, and no torque twist.
Also put a 7955TG servo

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very interesting, may i see another picture or 3 of the spur gear and the clearance? i like the mounting of the body, very different!
 
i cut a bit more then i wanted to, but the interior needs some loving before its ready. once all is said and done youll only see black from the front so the cuts will be almost un-noticeable.

Ill have to get ya some pics tomorrow, im calling it a night and the body is off the rig at the moment.
 
Small update for now::

My wheels and tires came in! cant wait to get these installed :)

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MiniMeep has hit the rocks today!

-Ive got the interior painted and body mounting adjusted
-winch installed
-lights installed
-electronics mounted
-front has custom shock mounts, also added styrene to the 'floor' of the chassis for elecs mounting
-accessories added
-have a 4 cell split config made
-added cc bec to electronics set up

-other things tweaked i cant quite remember at the moment >.<

I still have things i want to do, but as time/money permit this is how she sits.

I plan on redoing the bumpers(front/rear), tire carrier and sliders as soon as i get my torch. Also would like to get some wider tires, while i like these, i need something wider for this build.

Other things i plan on at some point is cleaning up the front linkage, triming flares, possibly adding some plexi glass to the windows. more accessories and other fun stuff.

BUT for the time being, its time to have FUN!!!

So i couldnt wait for the weekend and i took the family out for MiniMeeps maiden voyage. My son and i had a blast!

I was impressed with the handling and capability of the rig. Also i figured id be tipping over on simple inclines sideways, and totally blew me away on some of the tests i did, the suspension seems to work well from what i can tell.

And for you guys, words are boring and thankfully wife snapped quite a few shots. So on to the fun!!










Some of the mounting and elecs/batt config::
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Random::
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The fun stuff!::
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AND the night crawl!

'Mini Meep' Maiden voyage - YouTube
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