GI Joe Jeep RC Conversion
#26
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Thanks for getting back to me Crius. I appreciate that. I figured from rzingsheim's "hint" that it would be in that range. Just finished paying off all the expenses for my P-38. So, based on your recommendation, how do I get ahold of Rex Ross? You can message me if you want.
#29
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Hey Crius, it's been about a week since I sent a message to Rex but no response. If I don't hear from him soon I'm thinking you and I should talk about this project. I have one G.I.Joe jeep that I just got off ebay which is missing the windshield and has a damaged steering wheel but I inadvertantly won the bid on a second one which might be in better shape with some extra parts and figures. Let me know what you think.
#30
I have a partner on another Forum, in the UK, who just happens to be doing a dragon Jeep right this minute. He found some good axles for it and I think he's printing his own tires so I'll get with him and see where he's at and maybe we can just copy his work to get a Jeep for you.
#31
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So is that a better direction to go than using rzingsheim's example? Just wondering. BTW I appreciate your getting back to me on this and just to be clear, I want it to look like a bone stock military Willys jeep. Is your partner doing a build thread? It would be fun to see it going together.
#33
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I haven't been looking for one. I already have one G.I.Joe Jeep and another on the way. Is there some reason the dragon would be better? I figured the G.I. Joe jeep was pretty durable looking and already built vs. the dragon which is a kit and maybe not as durable?
#34
I prefer the kits because I think they give you more options. If I want to rebuild just one part of the vehicle, like building a steel frame, it's easier to do if everything is already in pieces and not molded together. Of course, if you have just the right donor truck that fits underneath the GI Joe Jeep just perfect then you're all set but that rarely happens. Got any photos of the one you have? Especially close-ups of the underside.
#35
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Hey Crius, I don't have any picks but I can take some tonight and get them to you.
In the meantime, rzingsheim has a couple pretty good shots of the underside and engine compartment at the beginning of the thread. If using the G.I.Joe jeep isn't going to work, let me know. Otherwise, I can just ship the best of the two(one here-one coming) to you to look at and work on. Let me know what you want to do. Thanks'
Brad
In the meantime, rzingsheim has a couple pretty good shots of the underside and engine compartment at the beginning of the thread. If using the G.I.Joe jeep isn't going to work, let me know. Otherwise, I can just ship the best of the two(one here-one coming) to you to look at and work on. Let me know what you want to do. Thanks'
Brad
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#40
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Hey Crius, just got my second G.I. Joe Willys Jeep. I took a few measurements if that will help. The centerline measurement from the front axel to the back axle is 12 1/4". The inside/inside dimension between the tires is 6 3/8". Let me know if you need anything else to figure out what running gear the jeep would need. rzingsheim referred to a king crawler that he used but didn't specify the model. I can send pictures too if that helps. Also, I would like to see how your friend is doing with his Dragon build and which forum that is.
Last edited by downwind leg; 07-02-2019 at 07:49 AM.
#41
HPI King Crawler, a 1/10 scale rock crawler is what I believe he is referring to. I have the axles/differentials and motor/gearbox from one I plan on using on a 1/6 scale jeep. If I live long enough to get to that project. LOL
You will probably need to get leaf spring suspensions and maybe different shocks...
You will probably need to get leaf spring suspensions and maybe different shocks...
#42
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Thanks for that Nick. Did you order those parts separately or the whole thing like rzingsheim? I'm hoping Crius will put this together for me as I have zero experience with RC cars and even less time. I appreciate your input.
#43
I bought the crawler when it first came out. One day I decided to convert a jeep to RC and looking at the crawler I noticed it was a good fit. I don't know if you can buy it but there should be some on ebay.
This is the one I bought, they may have parts for it available:
#102115 RTR CRAWLER KING WITH JEEP WRANGLER RUBICON BODY
This is the one I bought, they may have parts for it available:
#102115 RTR CRAWLER KING WITH JEEP WRANGLER RUBICON BODY
#44
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Thanks so much for that Nick. Was it the G.I.Joe Jeep you were going to convert? Also, did the front to rear axel measurements and axel length as I mentioned earlier work out right? They have been discontinued but I think they can be had. Just want to make sure it's a good fit like what rzingsheim had done. Also wondering about those leaf springs and where to get them if Crius isn't already on top of that.
#45
OK, so the ends of the nuts on the axles exceed the body width by about 2mm. This is hard to tell from the pictures. That may be an issue (not for me) as the wheels may not sit inside the fenders, I believe the wheels do not stick out past the fenders on the real jeep. There may be a way to modify the axle assemblies if this is an issue or try to find a slightly smaller axle assemblies. Check banggood.com for rc parts, they have a ton of stuff but it takes a while to get it (from China). As I worked on this I realized I needed to make a chassis, that's where I stopped, also I got a 3D printer so I moved onto playing with that and put this aside. I was off yesterday so I was able to pull this out for the pictures, will probably take it up again in winter and hopefully finish it off.
The leaf springs were from Amazon as are the shocks (why did I buy red ones?). The tires are from the original host jeep and the wheels will need to be modified. I bought shaft assemblies as they need to be extended, the motor mounting needed modifying the jeep a bit, not sure where my head was and why I didn't mount it under the hood? There is still a lot like steering servo, receiver and battery mount to be worked out. I did purchase the Dragon kit as an alternative in case I abandon this or as an alternative project. I hope this helps.
#46
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Wow Nick, thanks so much for that. I am unable to open the pictures on my old computer at work but maybe on the newer home computer. Do you have the part numbers for the leaf springs and shocks? As to the chassis, it didn't look like it was replaced, as far as I can tell from the pictures, on rzingsheim's jeep but not sure. Still waiting to hear back from Crius and what he's been able to find out about converting this Jeep. Thanks again Nick! BTW the time of this posting is 8:20 a.m. here but shows 3:20 p.m. on the post...weird. Is that GMT?
Last edited by downwind leg; 07-04-2019 at 07:24 AM.
#47
I haven't forgotten you, but I still haven't found a decent solution. To be honest, I really don't want to take this on so I've been emailing my buddies to try and find you a builder. Perhaps Nick would be willing to build a second jeep along side the one he's doing now? That would be a good solution, I think. I'll send a PM with another idea.
#49
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Hey all, I've been too busy to pursue the conversion of my G.I. Joe jeep to rc. Had some medical issues to deal with too plus the holidays. I still have two jeeps sitting on my bench waiting to be converted. As said before, whoever would be willing to convert my jeep would get the other one and,of course, I would supply everything for mine. So, Crius, Tankhobby,rziingsheim, and Pah co chu puc just a shout out. HELP!!
#50
Let me finish this trailer project and I might take it on for you. It won't be cheap, though. I have two of the Dragon Jeep kits here right now that I plan to RC for myself. A friend of mine at rctw has already broke Trail for us and found the right axles, Springs, and drive shafts. When I get home from work tonight I'll post a link to his thread and you can check it out and see if that's what you're looking for.