TJ Hooker (Wrangler YJ/TJ hybrid pick up)

[JennyMo 3526]

Quick Update:

Honestly, I am getting very close to this being finished now - the front lights are installed, and I just need to get the rear lamps connected and some paint on the engine bay... however, I do keep getting new ideas which is why things are taking so long:

photo. note everything is superglued in, just in case of a tip-over - nothing ought to fall out!

for info. The contents of the load-bay tool chest are a mix of ProLine accessories - the power drill and hammer, and axle half-shafts below; the axe is a cheap accessory part (painted), while the grinding discs are worn Dremel cut-off wheels, plus there is an old shackle and a couple of torches ['flashlights' so as not to confuse the American readership] - plus a mix of M2 and M3 scale hardware... The blue shop rag is squares of real blue shop rag, stained with oil and thinned black paint… I made the toilet roll [as I did for the Baja Blazer] and the bundle of old blue masking tape is a thin strip of 1:1 tape I had stuck to my workbench, and there are a couple of scale soda cans in there too!

More soon, I promise!

Jenny x

[JennyMo 3526]

Just a few more details while I wait for the finishing touches to arrive...

photo. I had a pair of column stalks floating around (left-over from the 4Runner interior I think), so now Sharon can control her lights...

photo. ...and her wipers of course - these are repurposed from a Tamiya Sand Scorcher parts sprue - as few aftermarket wipers fit on the short Tamiya Wrangler screen properly (and even with these I had to bend them to hand them to the righthand side)

And finally, I spent some time making a scale roll of 2" blue masking tape, as there wasn't enough junk in the load bed already (note the Duckhams oil and dirty rags - that is real old engine oil on the small squares of blue shop-towel:

The reason I've held off photographing the complete vehicle so far and adding it to my showroom etc. is that it isn't as 'complete' as I'd like... the gold bead-lock wheels are kewl, but something about those square-edged tyres was bugging me, so I've decided to fit an alternative set of wheels (Method Roost, my favourites) and more rounded profile tyres - and they are still in the post...

I also want to do something with the front end - initially I wasn't going to fit a winch, not least as a number of my other builds already have one (one even has two!) and they never really get used, although they do add some really nice scale detail...

So in this instance I considered just trimming the protruding chassis rails back a bit and fabricating a short boxy bumper to fill the space directly below the grille, and perhaps incorporate a steering gear guard as well? However, I am also temped to simply buy another RC4WD Warn winch (or similar) and sit it low between the existing chassis rails in some sort of custom bracket... we'll see!

Jx

[Carmine A 2046]

REALLY Clever Jenny!! 👏👏👏🍻  Method Wheels are always the way to go!

[JennyMo 3526]

6 hours ago, Carmine A said:

REALLY Clever Jenny!! 👏👏👏🍻  Method Wheels are always the way to go!

They are... I seem to be collecting wheels and tyres at an alarming rate these days (snapped up a set of four RC4WD RaceLine black and silver bead-locks in their sale a few months ago - half price!), and still have a set of rusty white deep-dish 8-spokes with some 120mm diameter BFGoodridge All-Terrains on, still looking for a home - since they are just a bit too big for most of my builds so far (and ironically just a bit too small for the Defender 90, which runs 2.2 size wheels and 130mm tyres).

photo. I've since tyre-painted the lettering in white too - kewl!

But I always come back to the Method Roost wheels in 1.9 size, which I first fitted on the SRB Cage Racer years ago (the pukka Vanquish versions, now discontinued)... and fortunately more recently I found there are a couple of sellers on eBay selling pretty decent replicas at a great price (less than $40 a set of four, complete with SLW pattern hubs) these days - so I bought a set in black for the 4Runner, and a set in silver as spare/fifth wheels for both those builds. Now I've bought another set of four, I'm going to paint five of them in bronze for this TJ build.

Jx

 

 

[Carmine A 2046]

AWESOME Rust Job on those Deep Dish Rims!! I really like the good old Wagon Wheels. Timeless, really. 

You're inadvertently nudging me towards getting back to my Off Road Rigs, Jenny!!! 😜 I still have them - and use them... I've just been focused on building On-Road Cars lately. 😉

{My latest is my first FF-03!!! 😁😁 my build thread is just under yours in this Section. I'm not nearly as far along as you are, but this one I'm particularly enjoying - because of some unusual modifications I've had to do to it - much like yourself, used and scrap bits!!}

[JennyMo 3526]

Right - stand by for a photo heavy update!

My wheels arrived in good time from China (and were duly painted bronze, because bronze wheels are kewl!), but unfortunately the tyres I ordered from a US seller turned out not to be 'in stock' after all, so I had to scour the internet for another seller when I remembered that the ones I'd bought originally were in fact copies of some Yeah Racing ones, and managed to find a US retailer who had plenty for basically the same price anyway - result!

photo. originally satin silver, I repainted these Method Roost wheels in bronze to replicate the 1:1 versions, and in turn suit the colour scheme of this build...

photo. there was nothing wrong with the previous wheels, other than I felt the square shouldered tyres looked a bit bulky (especially the spare on the rear tailgate) - I'll certainly reuse these on a future build.

photo. new tyres (right) are essentially the same overall diameter (and width if I'm honest) - rather the rounded shoulders make them appear more narrow, while the open side lugs still provide plenty of traction.

photo. Locked-Up RC scale hardware - 3mm in this instance as these wheels use overside bolts to secure the SLW pattern hubs.

photo. first wheel fitted - the more rounded tyre profile, coupled with a revised off-set with the new hubs and hexes means the overall track width has been reduced by around 10mm - tucking the tyres in more closely to the un-fendered body, while the new wheels don't foul the steering gear.

photo. to recap, I elected to use HPI Venture axles on this build - mainly because they were a really good price on eBay! - rather than my typical all-metal preference from RC4WD or similar.

photo. as mentioned above, while the previous wheels required 10mm hexes to be used so the thick inner rims cleared the steering knuckles, using these Method wheels and associated SLW hubs meant I could use more narrow hexes, with plenty of backspace for clearance.

photo. the difference isn't all that marked in the photo (new tyre on the left, original on the right), but the new tyres/wheels tuck in better and improve the overall stance I feel. Note the custom spare wheel carrier - I drilled a tapped a thick washer for the backplate, and use three wheel-bolts to secure as per a 1:1 carrier.

cont.

[JennyMo 3526]

So what does it look like all together you may ask?

This:

cont.

[JennyMo 3526]

cont.

And finally (for now) a few detail shots and recap of the detail spec - I'll aim to put together a full spec/summary of the build together shortly, and update my showroom soon!

photo. this pick-up build was always going to be somewhere to display my ever increasing collection of scale accessories and brick-a-brack, some bought (and customised) others scratch-built. Everything has been super-glued or taped in so that should the vehicle roll, I'm confident nothing will fall out.

photo. full-depth interior includes custom styrene floor, seat-box and footwells, Axial seats, Yeah Racing seat-belts, modified Trailfinder dashboard*, Tamiya decals, Vanquish gear shifter parts, and Sharon Osbourne driving! note.

*note. I was particularly amused to see that RC4WD have seemingly moulded this dash with the second radio preset button missing  as if it had broken off over the years!

photo. Sharon's straight legs were painstakingly modified and sculpted into a seated position, and her left arm positioned perfectly to hold the wheel.

photo. Trailfinder dash modified to fit Wrangler shell, Tamiya [Wild Willy] dial decals, and column stalks from the RC4WD 4Runner interior set).


photo. RC4WD metal badges, and a few choice decals for the front fenders. That is real rust which continues to grow it seems!

photo. Axial light buckets [with lenses painted orange] used as front running light/turn signals, and custom blue (softer) springs on the Gmade RSD shocks. Custom licence plates a twist on the usual Utah: Life Elevated.

photo. RC4WD sliders for their Marlin Crawler Trailfinder, shortened slightly at the rear and mounted upside down as steps, with custom checker-plate treads.

photo. more Axial light buckets used as flush rear lamp lenses.

photo. simple lighting loom in this one - just a pair of head, tail and front running/indicator lights.

photo. full-size spare is pretty hoooge, but I like it!

photo. Headlight buckets are again from the Axial Racing universal kit, mounted in custom styrene recesses in the TJ style modified YJ grille.

photo. another view of all Sharon's junk! - note handmade toilet roll, masking tape and even a tiny roll of electrical insulation tape (next to the power drill handle) - there ain't nothin' she can't fix on the trail!

And finally, the obligatory flex shots:

photo. axle articulation isn't hugely impressive with this build (using an RC4WD R3 gearbox, Hammer transfer case in the SWB Trailfinder mounting bracket*, and 4-link/3-link + panhard suspension set up with 80mm shocks), but feel it's realistic overall.

*note. Although I always intended to use as many of the RC4WD transmission parts as I could with this build, I'm not sure I like how far down that 4-link transfer case bracket hangs - that might need modifying/replacing with a different transfer case set-up once I've run this over the rocks a few times.

Right, now I've photographed and catalogued it here for posterity, I'm not going to be so precious about getting it dirty now!

Hope you like it!

Jenny x

[Badcrumble 4201]

Looking fantastic on the new rims! And Sharon has just about anything she needs to get Ozzy out of trouble...except maybe a winch?! 

Actually, I think I prefer it without.

[JennyMo 3526]

49 minutes ago, Badcrumble said:

Looking fantastic on the new rims! And Sharon has just about anything she needs to get Ozzy out of trouble...except maybe a winch?! 

Actually, I think I prefer it without.

Yes, I'm still debating what to do at the front end... a winch is the most obvious of course, but I might experiment with some cardboard templates and see if I can't create a simple snub-nose bumper and steering guard just to mix things up from the usual ;o)

Jx

[Carmine A 2046]

Really looks the business Jenny!!!! x 

You're right though, Bronze Wheels do make a difference. Sharon should be happy, she's got everything all hooked up now!! 👍👍👏👏👏😎

[Aerobert 2136]

Absolutely great. Your modelling skills are absolutely awesome. When I read that you've paint the wheels I thought "Oh no!", because I like the satin silver on them, but bronze turned out pretty cool. 

[JennyMo 3526]

19 hours ago, Aerobert said:

Absolutely great. Your modelling skills are absolutely awesome. When I read that you've paint the wheels I thought "Oh no!", because I like the satin silver on them, but bronze turned out pretty cool. 

Thank you!

Yes, the silver does look good - but I already have those on the SRB Cage Racer (note they are the original licensed Vanquish versions), plus I have a set of the eBay copies in matt black on the Ghetto Vanquish 4Runner - so I thought this colour option would complete the trio!

I have to say, I think I might paint all my future wheels this bronze colour now - I love it!

Jx

[JennyMo 3526]

A quick update - I managed to take the TJ for a short run yesterday to shake everything down, and was pleased with how it performed - even after some quite rough trail running (not really crawling) that low-slung centre skid didn't appear to have ground out anywhere... 

However, about an hour or so in, all drive seemed to be lost... the short shaft between the R3 gearbox and transfer case was spinning, but the output shafts from the Hammer case were not - could I really have stripped those internal transfer gears? - I hope not, as I recall they are pretty beefy...

Once I got it back on the bench the reason was obvious and far less terminal - turns out the two grub screws which secured the shorty prop shaft to the transfer case input has backed out just enough for it to spin on the shaft - my fault for not thread-locking those originally during the initial assembly!

Since I wanted to modify the transfer-case mount anyway in an effort to improve the ground clearance, I took this opportunity to buzz a 3mm hole all the way through the transfer case input shaft and used a single M3 set-screw all the way though to provide a stronger connection*, plus thread lock of course.

*It's worth noting that I typically do this to all my transmissions anyway (and had done already on the two output shafts) it's just I appear to have forgotten to do it with the input shaft this time round!

I then completed my transfer modifications by drilling and re-tapped a new set of mounting holes in the aluminium transfer case skid-plate, effectively raising the whole centre transmission 6mm higher than before.

Right, time to hit the trails again!

Jenny x

[Badcrumble 4201]

It looks superb out in the open and the wheel colour really works.

Time for a 'family outing'? Would be cool to see them all together. An Osbourne crawling competition! Who has the best rig?! Any bets?

[JennyMo 3526]

8 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

It looks superb out in the open and the wheel colour really works.

Time for a 'family outing'? Would be cool to see them all together. An Osbourne crawling competition! Who has the best rig?! Any bets?

Hee hee - that's a good idea!

I'm pretty confident Jack would have the most capable rig - the 130mm diameter 2.2 tyres climb over pretty much anything, plus I've fitted portal axles to the Defender 90 recently so it has huge ground clearance coupled with a short (275mm) wheelbase - it's beast!

That said, Ozzy's YJ Jeep is amazingly agile for something on leaf-springs, and an I love the way it walks over stuff in a realistic way... Similarly Sharon's TJ on these soft coils is also very realistic the way it articulates, although I may have to increase the damping in the Gmade shocks a little more - either by using the 2 hole pistons (currently using the 3 hole version after I realised the 4 hole ones really were too fast/bouncy in some of my other builds), or slightly thicker oil.

So yes, I think a crawl-off could be just the ticket - although Kelly will have to be content to do donuts in the SRB Cage Racer as other than in an outright drag race, I doubt she'd be victorious! Hopefully I can also convince @Pintopower to bring out his GoPro and record the shenanigans!

Jx

[Badcrumble 4201]

Some video would be great - would love to see them out in the wild!

[Carmine A 2046]

I would love to see that myself! 😊 An Osbourne outing would be indeed exciting and fun!

I had no idea that you lived near Alberto!! 😲  I've really got to pick his brain for a few On-Road 3D Printed Parts...

[JennyMo 3526]

A quick update to this thread: as you may recall, we left off a while ago with a slightly unfinished front end - just bare chassis rails while I debated fitting some kind of bumper at least... 

I also wanted to experiment with further improving the belly clearance, and having purchased a 'low profile' Boom Racing centre transfer-case and link mount recently for another project I'm about to start, was sufficiently impressed with the extra clearance and additional triangulation of the lower links to purchase another to swap out my modified original on this build too:

photo. note. because the mounting location of the lower links is closer together, coupled with the whole skid being a few mm higher, I needed to adjust the length of the lower links slightly - and ended up using a mix of new 73mm rods front and rear, and different length rod-ends to retain the original 280mm wheelbase.

Nose Job

Having bought a Warn 9.5cti winch recently for another project, and subsequently found the slot in my chosen winch bumper was a touch too narrow to mount it successfully - since I had no other suitable vehicle that was in desperate need of a now redundant winch, felt this would finally dictate the front end treatment for Sharon's TJ after all... I guess it was inevitable really!

I also realised that the old Gmade bumper I'd tried (and failed) to fit to any number of other projects over the years, would also fit perfectly on the TJ, once I'd modified the front of the chassis:

photo. chassis rails cut back 5mm, and the CMS crossmember plate reshaped to fit inside the recesses of the Gmade shorty bumper.

photo. Originally this bumper had a nerf bar, and also a pair of shackle hitches, but over the years parts have been robbed and/or cut up, and various holes drilled - in an effort to make it work on a number of other projects... it's only now it has finally found a home, along with a a lot of Quick-Steel to fill in all the holes!

photo. Warn winch and mounting plate a perfect fit!

photo. licence plate relocated to the front bumper, and the grille trimmed (and repainted) behind the winch.

photo. The result is a neat installation with minimal overhang, while the 115mm tyres still clear the ends of the bumper on full lock and suspension compression - note. I'm waiting on a fairlead to replace the roller one I've utilised on the JK. I'll also replace this temporary hook with one slightly less cartoon looking!

Along with fitting the bumper and winch, I've also incorporated a steering guard - further toughening up the front end:

photo. everything is better with winches!

I'm really pleased how this particular front end has tied the whole build together - as a working trail/recovery truck. I've also used these chassis mods for the Gmade front bumper as a test run for a new project I'm about to start work on - more details on that soon... if you liked this build, then I think you're gonna love it!

Toot toot for now!

Jenny x

ps. yes, the bumper will be painted eventually... although I kind of like this rough and ready repaired look too? - it's as if Sharon has been using it to push stuff out of the way over the years... she don't care!

[Re-Bugged 10124]

It’s a yes from me 👍🏻 Nice.

The bumper looks as though it grew there, I think I’d be inclined to leave it as is.

All the Wild Willy’s in the world will be looking at Shazza’s Jeep with envy 😉

[yogi-bear 2321]

That is looking ready good!

"rough and ready" suits the bumper quite well. The only addition I'd suggest is a little rust down the sides if its meant to be a little old and abused.

[JennyMo 3526]

22 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

It’s a yes from me 👍🏻 Nice.

The bumper looks as though it grew there, I think I’d be inclined to leave it as is.

All the Wild Willy’s in the world will be looking at Shazza’s Jeep with envy 😉

Hee hee - you know I've been working on another Jeep project recently which is even more Wild Willy (or at least was in the mock up stage - photo below) - I'll aim to summarise the build on here too for posterity, even though it's my first project which has not one* Tamiya part at all...

*Oh hang about, I used some Tamiya body pins to secure the tail-gate bar - legit!

EDIT. and here is the link to the build thread of the JK Jeep above: Am I a JoKe to You?

 

20 hours ago, yogi-bear said:

That is looking ready good!

"rough and ready" suits the bumper quite well. The only addition I'd suggest is a little rust down the sides if its meant to be a little old and abused.

 

Glad you like it! Yes, I'll certainly add a little rust to the edges, and perhaps brush-paint some flat black all over as if it's had a token repair over the years...

Jx

 

[Carmine A 2046]

Yes and YES!! Top Job Jenny x!!! 

Perfect reasoning for not throwing old stuff in the Bin. The Bumper looks right!!  And the Willys inspired Project, I'm definitely taking a good look at. 😉  More clever Jenny stuff!!! 💯👍👍 

I've got a BIG, expensive distraction for the next few Months.... Big like Grand Hauler Semi!!!! 😁💕  I'd love it if you could have a look. It's just getting started, but I've got a LOT planned.

[JennyMo 3526]

On 4/21/2021 at 11:03 PM, Carmine A said:

Yes and YES!! Top Job Jenny x!!! 

Perfect reasoning for not throwing old stuff in the Bin. The Bumper looks right!!  And the Willys inspired Project, I'm definitely taking a good look at. 😉  More clever Jenny stuff!!! 💯👍👍 

I've got a BIG, expensive distraction for the next few Months.... Big like Grand Hauler Semi!!!! 😁💕  I'd love it if you could have a look. It's just getting started, but I've got a LOT planned.

Thank you for you kind words and enthusiasm Carmine! - and I'll certainly check out your new semi-hauler build, I've always been tempted to build a multi-axle rig myself - although knowing me, it's likely to end up a mash-up of all sorts of things!

Jenny x

[Carmine A 2046]

1 hour ago, JennyMo said:

Thank you for you kind words and enthusiasm Carmine! - and I'll certainly check out your new semi-hauler build, I've always been tempted to build a multi-axle rig myself - although knowing me, it's likely to end up a mash-up of all sorts of things!

Jenny x

My Dear... You go right ahead! I couldn't be the only one interested in seeing just what you could do with one of THOSE!!