2003.12.08, 08:31 AM
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#1
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MINI-Z MONSTER GARAGE
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Sandy, Oregon
Posts: 1,761
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Easy Body Lift, Run Swampers
I have found a very easy way to lift your stock body, with minimal body carving of the wheel wells, and raising the body enough to run the RCM Swampers......and it doesn't leave your batteries exposed!
How? Add extended rocker panels..heres how
#First carefully cut the existing stock mounts from inside the body.
#Next sand the back of the body mounts flat.
#Trim the inside of the body to accept a piece of styrene plastic (available at most hobby shops) that is exactly twice as tall as the body mount.
#A small strip af styrene must be super glued to the top of one side of the extended panel (this will glue to the inside of the body to provide a straight up and down fit of the new panel)
#With the extended panel now glued inside each side of the body, it is time to glue the body mount to the inside of the extended panel.
#This completes the installation, to make it more appealing, the panel can be painted to match or as I did, decaled it!
Extended panel
__________________
I can't be in trouble again! I'm still in trouble from last time...
MR02RM, MR02MM, MZM,
Pro-Pulse Pro T-100 1/18 4X4,
Associated Team Factory RC18B with MAMBA 56K
DogBreath's Magical Mystery Album
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2003.12.08, 08:33 AM
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#2
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MINI-Z MONSTER GARAGE
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Sandy, Oregon
Posts: 1,761
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This is the finished panel installation, the fenders will still have to carve the fenders, but not much.
__________________
I can't be in trouble again! I'm still in trouble from last time...
MR02RM, MR02MM, MZM,
Pro-Pulse Pro T-100 1/18 4X4,
Associated Team Factory RC18B with MAMBA 56K
DogBreath's Magical Mystery Album
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2003.12.08, 09:26 AM
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#3
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 35,480
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thanks for posting instructions on your body lift idea! this really helps and will be a thread referred to often.
an alternative to body lifting is the suspension lift along the lines of warns system.
previously, i had just left the body above the mounts and inbetween the damper mounts. this gave me enough clearance to use swampers... it did rub at some points of full compression but i didn't want to do any wheel well modifications. i don't think it's really necessary unless you do rock crawling or the like. i believe the optimun setup would include a slight body lift with a slight suspension lift. the end result having enough clearance to run obstacles without modifying the wheel wells. atleast that's my goal.
i like the idea of using the extended rocker panels for custom decal work too
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2003.12.08, 11:23 AM
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#4
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MINI-Z MONSTER GARAGE
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Sandy, Oregon
Posts: 1,761
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I tried to keep the wheel well carving to a minimum, but even with the extended rocker panels, I had to take off the sharp edges that kept snagging the tires.
Also one other note, my truck uses the front suspension in the foremost postion to keep from chassis rubbing, but still maintains an "almost stock" look
__________________
I can't be in trouble again! I'm still in trouble from last time...
MR02RM, MR02MM, MZM,
Pro-Pulse Pro T-100 1/18 4X4,
Associated Team Factory RC18B with MAMBA 56K
DogBreath's Magical Mystery Album
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2003.12.08, 12:01 PM
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#5
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 35,480
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yes, moving the front axel to the farthest point eliminates the chassis rubbing but will cause the front fender rubbing which is why you had to do the shaving. i keep the front where it is, shave some off the side of the chassis and move the body up some. you get minimal rubbing on the chassis, and slight rubbing on the body. using a bit of suspension lift would get rid of the rest of the body rubbing without having to do and body shaving
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2003.12.08, 02:34 PM
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#6
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Rock Crawler
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: CT
Posts: 264
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Nice idea. Exactly how much does it lift it?
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2003.12.12, 02:15 PM
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#7
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MINI-Z MONSTER GARAGE
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Sandy, Oregon
Posts: 1,761
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The body lift raises the body exactly 4/10th of an inch or the height of one stock body mount.
Much more secure than running with the body mounts wedged between the shock mounts and battery trays, and it covers the batteries as the body would in the stock position.
__________________
I can't be in trouble again! I'm still in trouble from last time...
MR02RM, MR02MM, MZM,
Pro-Pulse Pro T-100 1/18 4X4,
Associated Team Factory RC18B with MAMBA 56K
DogBreath's Magical Mystery Album
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2004.01.21, 02:06 AM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NJ
Posts: 51
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I thought I should also show how I lifted up my OL body(It's 3:03 AM here and I can't sleep cause of my darn coughing ). It's still secure, was very easy to do and only required about 5-10 mins and I can easily convert back to the stock mounting. But before you do anything, as always remove your batteries.
First what I did was place the body on the chassis as usual but I stopped once two of the "L" shaped mounts(1 on both sides) stopped on the little metal thing in the battery holder(It's the negative side). I then marked it with a sharpie(front and back, left and right) and started to heat up the soldering iron. In the meantime I removed the shocks so it's easier for what happens in the next step. Once the soldering iron is ready I then quickly poked a small "dent" into the battery holder with the soldering iron. Test fit the body to make sure your dent is just about deep enough. Once you've done this to all sides of your battery pack, you're done! Some pics would probably clear this up if you're still confused...
This is the front dent/hole:
This is the rear dent/hole:
Comparison, and as you can see I can still switch back to the old way.
And a video of it, just for fun: click me
My OL is stock but this might come in handy if I ever add wide wheels/tires as I've heard they rub against the wells. But I may still have to do a slight suspension lift because when fully compressed the wide tires may still rub.
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2004.01.21, 03:01 PM
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 93
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Wow I like that! I might have to try it out if I get some swampers. Does the body still stay on good?
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2004.01.21, 08:05 PM
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NJ
Posts: 51
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Quote:
Originally posted by Over Land Man
Wow I like that! I might have to try it out if I get some swampers. Does the body still stay on good?
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Yes, the body still stays on just like if you were to mount it the regular way. So far it's been great, though because I don't really have much things to "test" it on I can't give you a definite answer. Most likely it will stay secure as long as the new dents are deep enough, not too deep to the point where you poke a hole through the plastic
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