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Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53674

Of all the 14+ bodies that have been available on the CC-01 chassis since its introduction in 1993, the Jeep Wrangler YJ has always been my favorite. It is such a quintessential off road vehicle design. It was originally released as the 2nd CC-01 kit, 58141 in 1994. It then went dormant until 2009 when it was re-released as a limited edition kit 84071. I'm not sure how many they made, but by the time I was looking for one in 2017 there were none to be found. Not having one in my collection was simply not an option, so I had to find another way to get there. Since the only difference between the various CC-01 kits (for the most part) is the body, I thought maybe I could start with another model and convert it. I decided to start with a rere Pajero (one of which I already had), but then discovered I couldn't find one of those to buy at the time I was looking either. I ended up with a 47375 Pajero Black Metallic Edition as a base starting point. This was not ideal since you pay extra for the metallic body (which I'm not going to use), but c'est la vie. I found that the YJ body itself was readily available separately as 9335171. This version of the body has a couple of extra holes on the bottom which leads me to believe it is not exactly the same as the original but probably comes from the 58429 CR-01 version also released in 2009.

Apart from the chassis and the body shell, I also needed lot of other accoutrements including the fog lights, windows, light buckets, wheels and tires. I found that the H/J parts from the rere were still available, but not much else. I elected to use aftermarket clear windows so I could add an interior. I managed to find a set of real aluminum beadlock wheels at RC4WD that closely match the appearance of the original. While this was good news for the accuracy of my build, it was bad news for my wallet because I also found a dozen other crazy expensive appearance upgrades at the same web site which I was helpless to resist. Mind you, all of this was purchased before I even started building. What resulted is probably one of the most expensive CC-01's ever built, but dang, it sure does look good.

I did build this with a locked rear differential, but even so it is not really a crawler. It is geared too high and does not have enough clearance. It is very capable on trails, grass, or gravel though.

As has been previously conveyed, I couldn't find a CC-01 Wrangler for sale anywhere so instead I started with this Pajero chassis. I intended to get the basic version but I couldn't find that either so I ended up with the black metallic version. I will sell the body to another needy fan.
Since I did not use the body of the Pajero, the only thing differentiating this from any other CC-01 chassis is the metallic gear cover, rear axle housing, and skid plate.
Here is the completed rolling chassis. This will be the baseline upon which I will build the Wrangler. The stock Pajero wheels are shown but these will be replaced.
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Last edit: by blakbird.

Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53682

Here is the pile of upgrade parts that I purchased before even starting the build. I wanted this to be a unique and spectacular Jeep given that I was putting all this effort into creating one from another kit. The bulk of the parts are from an Xtra-Speed aluminum kit, but I've also got some Tamiya shocks and stroke extension kit.
Here is a comparison of the nice aluminum CC-01 shocks with the plastic version contained in the kit. Honestly, the plastic version are fine but I required the aluminum parts in order to make my Jeep "ultimate".
The next thing to install was the aluminum 4-link "upgrade". You can compare before and after above. I was not very happy about these parts. Although they look OK, they have a much smaller range of motion than the plastic parts. This wouldn't matter if the suspension was otherwise stock, but the stroke extension link set requires the links to be able to drop down lower when a wheel drops into a pit. That is not possible with the aluminum links and therefore they effectively prevented the stroke extension link from doing anything. The other thing I didn't like is the bolt head which protrudes down below the lower links. This will hang up on rocks if I try to slide over anything.
Next up is a replacement of the notoriously sloppy steering linkage. Shown is a comparison of the nice looking new aluminum parts next to the original plastic parts. After installing the new parts, I found them to be absolutely terrible. Much worse than the original, actually. At this point I gave up on the Xtra-Speed chassis kit, removing the parts already installed and returning the originals.

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Last edit: by blakbird.

Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53684

The original CC-01 Wrangler came with nice (plastic) wire mesh wheels which are now impossible to find. I was able to get these even nicer aluminum beadlock versions from RC4WD. I also installed a set of real Goodyear Wrangler tires which seemed appropriate. As you can see in the comparison photo, the aftermarket tires are somewhat larger in diameter than the stock Pajero tires.
This upgraded rolling chassis ended up having nothing new except for the new wheels and tires, shocks, and the stroke extension kit. I had to increase the ride height significantly to make room for the new tires so they wouldn't hit the wheel well or body, especially when turning. In the back I actually put shims under the stroke extension kit to lift the neutral position up about 1/8" (3mm).
These accessories from CCHand comprise a skid plate in front and a fuel tank in back. The front skid plate takes a beating since it is just sheet metal.
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Last edit: by blakbird.

Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53685

Awesome rims for the wrangler

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Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53688

As I starting point I painted the ABS hard shell in stock colors. The main section is black and the roof is tan. This model is intended to be a hard top rather than cloth, so this is not supposed to be canvas but just desert tan paint. I painted the inside of the body all in black. I also used this stage to check clearances with the larger tires.
My next step was to add diamond plate covers to the rear corners. These are installed with almost microscopic machine screws and nuts. The photos below compare before and after. These parts became a bit of a problem later when I installed the roof rack because I had to drill through the metal to install the mounting screws.
I used some tail light lenses which were prepainted in transparent red and orange. I thought I ordered the most detailed versions, but I accidentally ordered the second most detailed by mistake. I suspect no one will know the difference. The major difference is that the most complex versions have room for both a stop light and a reverse light (and I'm not doing reverse lights anyway). Wrapped around the lenses are an extremely fragile set of real metal guards. They look great, but you have to be careful not to crush them when grabbing the body to remove it. Luckily they can be easily pushed back into shape after being damaged.
Several things have been added in these images. Most obvious are the rear rack on the left and the roof rack on the right. Both of these are heavy racks made of real metal and screwed in place. You can also see that I've installed the kit spare tire, but over the top of it I've placed a real cloth cover. Finally, I've installed the windows. The stock body comes with darkened windows which are nearly opaque. However, I knew I wanted an interior so I installed clear Lexan windows.
This picture is here to show the crazy number of ridiculously tiny screws that were needed to install all the accessories in the rear. These were all done with a pin vice and needle sized drill bits.
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Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53689

With the back done we can move on to the sides. I installed etched metal door, window, and hood hinges. It is way too dangerous to use CA glue here since you could end up with runs or fingerprints, so I used 3M 77 spray adhesive. After that I installed similar thin sheet metal accents on the grille and front bumper. I particularly like the look of the grille. I was able to acquire factory chrome light buckets and I used the fog lights from the Pajero kit.
Here we can see the body both before and after all the details were installed. It actually looked pretty good with nothing but paint, but it looks substantially better in it's final state and I like that it is differentiated from box art without being unrecognizable.
I have started to believe that all hard bodies must have at least a rudimentary interior for realism. The design of the CC-01 chassis does not allow for a full depth interior, but it is easy enough to attach some seat backs and a sawed off driver to a flat metal plate as I've done below. The right hand image shows the final result with the interior simply taped inside the body shell.
Last but not least, I need some lights. The front buckets are designed for 5mm LEDs as are the fog lights. The aftermarket tail light lenses I bought also accept 5mm LEDs. For the front marker lights, I carved out the solid ABS to install real working amber lights. Finally, I installed the control unit under the hood and routed all the wires as shown.
Here are a couple of shots of the completed body showing the lights, accessories, driver, and also a pair of jerry cans strapped to the rear rack.
The following user(s) Liked this: stingray-63

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Last edit: by blakbird.

Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53690

These final photos were taken on a wet gray day which isn't great for photography but is probably a good climate for a Jeep. It looks particularly good on the rocks. At this stage a set of MCI decals has also been added. I ended up using on the pinstripes and the license plate. I later added some (non-functional) rectangular IPF lights to the front of the roof rack.
The following user(s) Liked this: stingray-63

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Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53693

It is THE ultimate wrangler . I would like to have in 1.1
Perfect

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Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53729

So much detail in this car it gets close to a real one. The rims are just fantastic! Congrats on this build.

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Blakbird's 84071 Jeep Wrangler (CC-01) Build 5 years 2 months ago #53735

... ...


Jurassic Park ! :D

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