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Jeep CJ to TJ COnversion (lots of modding!).


Enzoenvy1

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Well, this has been on the back burner for a long time. I have waited and waited for a ###### model of a TJ (97-06) Jeep Wrangler, but no one has come through. All that seems to be out there is a lame @$$ Daisy Duke Jeep, and this:

JeepCJTJ005.jpg

So, I thought, what if I could make this into a TJ?! Any Jeep fans know that the basic body has been the same for many years. So, here is what I am after, and it is my 1:1. But, I have many more ideas in mind.

Here is mine currently:

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She wasn't even close to rolling!!! But still puckers you up!

Now, my ideal Jeep will be mine with an Atlas transfer case, a Hemi, a Rubicon Express 5.5 lift with 4 inch springs, ARB's in both axles, Poison Spyder Rock flares, LoD bumpers, 37's and many more goodies. Since I can't afford that now (models sap all of my money) I will build mine.

So, what to do?

Well, as any Jeeper knows, the suspension is first and foremost, then comes the rest to make it work.

First off, the CJ has flares and sideskirts that look nothing like a TJ, those were hacked off:

JeepCJTJ001.jpg

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Then the sides were filled with putty to fill in the saw cuts:

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Now, the frame has been the same for almost 35 years or so. I put the stock axles on it to see what I had:

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I laughed at the degree of detail as these axles suck bad! I have a Dana 44 up front, and an AMC 20 in the rear. LOL The 44 is great, and will go in the rear. The other one gets the trash pile like a real one:

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Last fall I got careless and decided to build my own lift, and it was a great idea at the time:

JeepCJTJ015.jpg

So, I made some some makeshift arm attachments for the chassis to replace the leaf spring frame connections. I have a coiled suspension, so leafes weer out of the question.

I marked the chassis:

JeepCJTJ017.jpg

Here is what I was thinking:

JeepCJTJ018.jpg

That sucked because it is in no way reasonable. The arms need to connect to the skid plate under the transfer case/transmission. So, I thought more clearly.

This has to go by the way, completely inaccurate for my style Jeep:

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Here are the sides of the tub like I need, then I can add my own version of tube fenders for this beast:

-28.jpg

I want a RE lift, and it comes with a remade skid plate that comes in 5 pieces.

So, I went to the source and found what I needed to create one of the most, if not the most important part on a Jeep's suspension - the transfer case skid.

Rubicon Express makes one of the best lifts for Jeeps period. They are often copied and not easily duplicated. So, I looked at there 5.5 lift kit system:

parts.jpg

Their skid is a 5-piece part:

Crossmember.jpg

I spent hours trying to figure out how to build this in scale and came up with these pieces. The Revell CJ skid plate is the reference:

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After 3 hours of playing with Tenax and styrene, I got this:

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This has all of the correct angles for the arms/heim joints. And, it looks like the original and is great!

Now, all I need to do is scratch build a straight six, make these:

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I also have to convert the kits "d" window rims to Soft 8's like mine. The hardtop is far from modern, and the roll bar has to be scratch. There will be a custom exhaust as well. Wow, hope I covered it all. I probably didn't, but it all will come out sooner or later.

That and about 1000 other things to correct to get a modern Jeep out of this 77. Probably will be slow as the Ferraris are always taking my time. That ###### F430 has drained me and this was a nice change.

Progress should be slow as I have a lot coming up. Hope you all like it.

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Ok, for the first time in a long time I have had 2 nights in a row to work on a model?! So, I really got into the modding of this kit. First off, here are te really crappy axles from the kit. The Dana 44 is on the right side, the Dana 20 is on the left. I think I am going to have to buy another so that I get two Dana 44's on my rig:

-35.jpg

Here is the old CJ gas tank removed. The TJ's have a better fitting one and the exhaust routes to the right of the frame rails:

-36.jpg

I noticed after last night that my skid plate was too week and was warping, so I added reinforcements:

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Here is how it looks on the frame:

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So, I have a real dilemma: Yes I own a TJ, but in a scaled down version I don't have anything for reference. Wait, I do, a Die Cast 1:18 Rubicon I got years ago. So, I was thinking, if I used it for reference I should be ok. So, I took it apart and laid the opened hood on a piece of paper to get a reference for the angles of the 1:24th hood on mine:

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So I traced the outline and sawed the 1:24th down the middle. All I had to do was align the curves for each piece and I was set:

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Here are the two halves:

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Then I measured the total width of the stock hood (before I cut it :wink: ) and sized up the fill strip with Styrene:

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I glued it up and got an idea of what was forming:

-46.jpg

Wow, that is a lot of overhang:

-47.jpg

Without trimming on the backside of the hood:

-48.jpg

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Just to make sure, I checked the angles with the 1:18th drawing, and it fit perfectly!:

-49.jpg

Here it is compared to the Die Cast, and you can tell that the angles worked great!

-50.jpg

But here lies a huge challenge, the CJ grill is a lot smaller width wise and you can tell after I made a TJ hood for it:

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Look again at the comparison though, here is the modded hood on the 1:18th:

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Now, side by side:

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Then I noticed that the cowl on the CJ is longer than it's distant brother's. So I removed about an 1/8th of an inch off:

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Now, since the Cj's hood has a different raised area, I would need to remove it to make the TJ's design. But before I did this, I needed to reinforce the underside:

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Now you can see the thickness is there, and I can remove the top portion of the hood to make it new:

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While I was at it, I removed the fender extensions so that I can move them outward for the TJ:

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After removing the strip off of the cowl, I then added it back to the hood with more Styrene:

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Then, I sanded down the CJ's hood bump and found that I was getting really close to what I want! Here is what the hood looks like with the surface sanded smooth, and the layout of the TJ's hood bump:

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For fun, I put the transfer case skid on the frame and the body, Guess what, it is the exact height of a real TJ with the RE skid added to it!:

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This is going great for me! I cannot believe how much I accomplished in one night?! But, it is fun as hell, and I hope to do more asap. This thing is going to look bad-@$$ when finished!!!

What do you all think so far?

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That is some awesome scratchbuilding and conversion work you have going on there!

Not to burst your bubble, but Revell did make a die cast 1:25 scale TJ kit based on the Rubicon Jeep used in the Tomb Raider movie. It might be worth it to pick a copy up to see if you could build that into your replica instead of converting a 30 year old kit.

Either way, I am sure you will have a nice model when you are done.

Mike Scheve

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Ah, the results are in. I know of Tamiya's YJ, and the Die Cast rubicon. This is more of a let me see if I can do it type build. I have never tried anything like this and I liked the idea. Since Jeep never changed their body tub (too much) over the years, the basic shape is there. I am challenging my own skills to see if I can do this. That is why I am using what I have. To use a Die Cast or YJ is about the same. I am just trying it with a 30 year old mold!

Hope you all like it?!

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Here's my Tomb Raider Rubicon by Revell. Yeah, the body's a diecast but that didn't really matter to me.

eed4196c.jpg

eed4196a.jpg

I love Wranglers although I don't normally build off-road vehicles. This was my first attempt at any serious weathering on a model.

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WOW! Thank you all for your kind words an support! I will admit, this is going to be a handful, but what a handful it will turnout to be too (does that make sense?)!

I am completely content with what I am going to do, just not with tire choice. I looked at aHilux the other day and the tires are great, just not big enough. I have asked on AF if any knows of scale tires out there and not much has come up.

Any one here know of any aftermarket scale tires for wheeling?

Thanks again all, update soon I hope.

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Well, I have had some luck in the model world lately, and that is time to work on a model. Finals are upon me, and I should be studying, but ######, this thing is fun!!!! Gotta love some quiet time with Floyd playing in the background.

So, tonight I made some more advances. When I left off I had acquired another kit as a donor kit. All I needed was the Dana axle, so I go that. Next, I removed all of the stock axle tube/###### on the axles. So, I had both housings, but the backs of them were not filled in. So, I made a template out of Styrene and filled them in:

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Now I was confused how to accurately add new axle tubes. I thought about a jig to make them perfectly symmetrical, but then I realized an easier way: I would drill out the housings and run a piece of Styrene through the housing. Then I could run the axle tubes over this and have a very secure axle when completed:

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And here is what I achieved. I have a secure mounting for both sides, and the inner axle tube will help make it stronger. Now that I think about it, it as is if there are real axle shafts in there now!!!!!:

-67.jpg

But, before I can seal them up, I needed to add some putty to the housings. I want this to look real, so I will sand these up after they dry:

-68.jpg

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Now, I have been thinking about how to convert the grille for quite sometime. Should I remake the CJ one, or cut it out and start fresh? Well, after a longtime thinking, I cut it out:

-69.jpg

Then I marked the fenders to see where the hood ended like a real TJ. The points of the hood are where the bends in the fenders meet. So, I cut back about a 1/4 inch and removed the material:

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After about an hour of thinning the parts and straightening them, I added them back to the fenders in their new place. They are straight and look every bit like what the TJ has:

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I then noticed that my hood still had a curve to it and that cannot be. The TJ has no curve except on the sides. So I added more Styrene under the top of the hood and sanded away the excess (again):

-72.jpg

I then added a support member that would structurally help out and also provide a flush mounting place for the new grille:

-73.jpg

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Now, from the top, the hood and fenders are flush. I designed enough room to get a grille in there flush with the hood and fenders. Here is where it is at:

-74.jpg

Wow, it looks like it should!!!!!:

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It is 2:30 AM here and I am about to pass out. But, before I do I wanted to try and make a simple grille and see how it fit. Good ol 40mm Tamiya tape did the job. i placed it on the front and then traced the outline:

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i then placed it on yet another piece of Styrene and then carefully cut it out. When all was said and done, I have a new grille sans headlights and slats:

-77.jpg

This thing is definitely coming along nicely. I hope to continue more in the next few days. Funny thing is I keep hearing a noise under my desk, kind of like a Ferrari F430 Challenge needing to be completed. I ignore it as this is more fun, lol.

Hope you all like it!!!!

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I am/was indeed. I joined there a while back and was not welcomed with great thoughts about the site. A lot of people seemed to fight on there. Did you see me out with a Blazer that was broken down up Old Stage last fall? Wow te world is actually smaller than I thought.

On the other hand, I would like to be more into that site as I really want to wheel with groups. Wheeling alone does not bode well as did the day my friends Blazer crapped out. Seems that a lot of forums are picky to users though, I am learning that.

Thanks for the compliments.

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Yea there are a lot of "web wheelers" on there that have to nit pick everything and everyone. I try to ignore them and just have fun. Keep an eye on the staging area for group runs, generally the members that actually participate in the runs are great people. I have made several friends over here on the Western Slope by tagging along on some of the group runs.

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  • 5 months later...

Well, as there are actually some 4-Wheeler builds this is great timing as I have been working like crazy on this Jeep. I took time off from the body and decided that I needed to tackle the suspension finally. So, I did, and it looks awesome!

Since I created my own axle tubes I also needed my own hangers for the suspension points. Lots of small pieces and lots of super glue take some time, but it worked out.

I added the rear points and then made a simple jig of where I wanted the final ride height to be. This will articulate so ride height is not really an issue. This is almost accurate though, I had to set the pinion angle and make sure that it will track through the suspension traveling.

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Here is what the rear axle looked like completed,.........until I remembered that I needed a track bar to center the axle. But, it was almost completed.

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Edited by Enzoenvy1
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The track bar is the vertical piece from the axle to the chassis. It is not straight and you can see what I mean.

Build2019.jpg

Build2020.jpg

Look at how straight the final product is. The track bar tucks up just like a real setup. I am so happy how this all came out.

Build2023.jpg

And, it will indeed flex. These pictures show very little flex, but I got both axles to flex at about 35 degrees opposite of eachothers axis. For a clearer understanding, from behind the front and rear axles look like a big X from behind when flexed out.

Build2022.jpg

Build2021.jpg

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Here is basically what made up the rear axle. This is the front before 6 hours of work, lol. The tabs explain themselves.

Build2017.jpg

This should give an idea of what is to come. Obviously the stock tires are really small. Actually they are about 28" tires I think. So, I broke down and bought a Blue Fin Toyota with the TSL Swampers. In real life I would never choose these tires as they are not the best. But then again, they would be better than what is on my Jeep now. Anyhow, they seem to measure out to about 35" (I am guessing here).

Build2008-1.jpg

Here is the front axle attached to the chassis. This one was much more tough as there are not 4 links rising to the frame. Rubicon Express uses smaller links that tie into the main arms up front. In real life they have Heim Joints that flex. I cannot make those, but the slack I engineered into the joints allows movement.

Build2002-2.jpg

Here she is!!!!

Build2001-2.jpg

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