TJ Buggy for Trent McGee

[lowslowTJ]

So Trent McGee from Daystar suspensions, formerly of Superlift TV, and eventually if you go back far enough, Petersen's 4 Wheel And Off Road fame is a good friend of mine. He is a super cool guy and will drop everything he is doing to help out a friend. Trent and I frequently bash and race some RC Short Course trucks. Also I have tried to get Trent hooked on RC crawling by letting him drive any and all of my scalers, but have not succeeded yet...

He has mentioned owning a scale version of his 1:1 buggy (seen here on 4WOR's Ultimate Adventure (note thats me in the passenger seat)):

....so for good or bad I have volunteered to build him a scale crawler version of his rig..... Wish me luck!

More to come!

 

[lowslowTJ]

Frame prep:
Here is a TJ frame that is set to 18" and some 1/2" tubing getting ready to be bent up for the frame.

Add some MAP gas a vice and some careful heating, bending, quenching, and trimming (on the fender of my sand colored 1949 CJ3A) :

I also cut down an HPI TJ body for mock up:

Trent wants to run some 2.2s that look like BFG muds. Are Flatirons or RC4WD Rock Crushers the only options?

 

[Stallion1967]

Looks like you've got a cool idea here. I'll be watching this:mrgreen:

 

[lowslowTJ]

Looks like you've got a cool idea here. I'll be watching this:mrgreen:

Thanks man!

I guess I am on a Scale 4x4 Fab bender. Tonight I bent up the frame rails, cut them in two bent them again (to have all the right left bends in a TJ frame):

...and welded on a center skid plate:

I am getting pretty good at MIG welding thin steel!:

 

[scale-bronco]

loos like a good start. just one question, why does the 1.1 have a dana 30 front axle but he has a atlas 4-speed t-case.

 

[lowslowTJ]

loos like a good start. just one question, why does the 1.1 have a dana 30 front axle but he has a atlas 4-speed t-case.

Thanks, and thats a good question. I guess he intended the jeep to be a budget build with a Dana 30/Ford 8.8, and then the Atlas II 4-speed came out and they offered him one for the build/TV show? The truth is that Dana 30 has held up admirably with 37s, locked, chromo-shafts, and chromo-U-joints. The buggy is super light weight. We only broke one inner shaft during UA 10' last year (incedentally on the same climb pictured above). That Dana 30 is at its end though the housings bent and Trent has a 96' ford HP 60 to go in its place. Currently the Buggy is getting coilovers installed, but I guess we will be narrowing and hanging the 60 under there before too long.

 

[jamesdicken]

lookin good. hurry up the suspense is killing me.

 

[lowslowTJ]

lookin good. hurry up the suspense is killing me.

Thanks! I am back to working on it. No update yet. To keep you all entertained here is a pic of Trent flogging the 1:1 in Moab:

 

[lowslowTJ]

OK the frame is just about done.

Rear:

and the front:

whole frame:

Next the tube work begins!

 

[70duncan]

Looks like a fun build. It would be cool to be able to make a real copy "thumbsup"

Keep up the good work.

 

[lowslowTJ]

Looks like a fun build. It would be cool to be able to make a real copy "thumbsup"

Keep up the good work.

Thats true!

Thanks!

I started the tube work. I have both sides started:

They go something like this:

 

[scale-bronco]

Thanks, and thats a good question. I guess he intended the jeep to be a budget build with a Dana 30/Ford 8.8, and then the Atlas II 4-speed came out and they offered him one for the build/TV show? The truth is that Dana 30 has held up admirably with 37s, locked, chromo-shafts, and chromo-U-joints. The buggy is super light weight. We only broke one inner shaft during UA 10' last year (incedentally on the same climb pictured above). That Dana 30 is at its end though the housings bent and Trent has a 96' ford HP 60 to go in its place. Currently the Buggy is getting coilovers installed, but I guess we will be narrowing and hanging the 60 under there before too long.

The U.A sound like it's alot of fun. For the last 2 years it's been my dream to be able to go on it. I'm only 16 but I already have had a set of ford dana 60 from a 99 superduty for 2 years. Just waiting for me to build a crawler with them. Any chance I could get some help getting a invite to U.A once I get my truck done?

Build looks great so far. Also look in rc4wd vendor area they are coming out with a 2.2 twoface tire.

 

[lowslowTJ]

The U.A sound like it's alot of fun. For the last 2 years it's been my dream to be able to go on it. I'm only 16 but I already have had a set of ford dana 60 from a 99 superduty for 2 years. Just waiting for me to build a crawler with them. Any chance I could get some help getting a invite to U.A once I get my truck done?

Build looks great so far. Also look in rc4wd vendor area they are coming out with a 2.2 twoface tire.

U.A. is fun! I wish I could hand out invites, but I don't know if I will be invited back or not! I hope so, but who knows!

I'd say apply via the magazine. The reader invites are real, and some of the regulars started that way.

I thought of the RC4WD 2.2 Twofaces. I guess Trent wants some BFG looking tires though, and while 1.9 flatirons are pretty spot on the 2.2s leave something to desire (In my opinion).

 

[lowslowTJ]

I got a lot more done:

What you cant see is an under the hood bar holding the two sides together.

A-pillars and B-pillars added:

closing the rear:

 

[mattzilla]

Look'n good, great work bro...

 

[lowslowTJ]

Look'n good, great work bro...

Thanks, I need to get back to work on it. I got sidetracked by a 1:1 Project over the weekend!

Maybe tonight?

 

[lowslowTJ]

OK a bit more:

 

[justinhinger]

Looks sweet! I'm working on a build with the same body.

I still have some bugs to work out and I need to finish the interior. New wheels and tires are one the way. What size wheels and tires are you planing to use?

 

[tj on 37s]

Any updates?

 

[The Doc]

You tell Trent the DOC said to get off his ass and do some scaling, Trents a great guy we go way back, I've taken him in my rig for some good runs."thumbsup"