A typical modern day rock crawler similar to the one I chose to model.

The first mockup with a few parts from both kits.

Another shot from the side shows off the aggresive look of the machines.

Well, someday came as I stared at an AMT/Ertl Ford Ranger kit on the shelf and realized I could combine it one of those monster truck kits for the basis of a rock crawler. The basic frame was the right shape and the heavy duty axles would be a perfect fit. Off to the workbench!

The upper chassis remains mostly as designed, sans the extra that can be trimmed before assembly. The lower chassis parts however are trimmed drastically and assembled in a different configuration. I constructed a simple jig to hold the parts in place while gluing the sub assembly together.

The moster truck chassis parts to be used.	The basic upper chassis after trimming it doen to size.	The cut-down bottom of the chassis in the "jig" to hold it in place.
This mockup shows the crawler taking shape, height looks better and wheelbase is longer.	A side view shows the "z"notch in the rear allowing for rear axle clearence.	The final ssembled chassis with all of the fit issues corrected.

Upon one of my early mock-ups, I noticed the rear of the chassis was too low and going to interfere with the rear axle. I notched the lower chassis tubes in two places allowing me to “z” the frame to gain clearance. Finally, a few extra lengths of .085 Evergreen rod were used to finish of the chassis/cage.

Moving on to the axles, some modifications were needed there also. The main axle assembly needs the outer axle pins trimmed off as shown. This allows for the wheel adapter to be inserted into the enlarged hole in the outer hub. Then, due to the off-set of the new donor wheels, the hubs need the locator pin for the steering linkage to be moved 1/16” inch. I simply trimmed the original one off and replaced it with more Evergreen rod.

This leads us to the actual steering linkage. First, a relief was filed in each end of the linkage to clear the wheels, Then the lower drag link was cut on one end and 1/8” was removed. To keep the assembly centered on the axle, the upper hydraulic rams were both trimmed in the same manner by 1/16”.

With the frame done and axles sized, I moved to the suspension arms. The stock kit arms needed some drastic shortening to make them fit. The picture shows the differences in length.

Below you can see the completed axle assemblies ready for paint. The nice thing is they still retain mounting pins to locate them on the chassis and to attach wheels to.

This shows the top modified axle comapred to the bottom stock one.

The fourlink arms had to be drastically trimmed down in length.

Here is the mocked up axle assembles ready for paint and weathering.

The stock V6 from the Ranger seemed to a reasonable fit for the heavy duty axles while keeping the over-all size of the buggy to a minimum. To fit it into the confined space, I removed the rear third of the transmission and mounted it directly to the transfer case. The entire assembly sits on the right-hand side of the vehicle so as to allow for better driveshaft clearance and weight balance. Some scrap frame, removed earlier, serves as suitable motor mounts.

I finished the engine in different shades of metalizer and added some wiring, plumbling, serpent belt and some solder headers.

Stock kit V6 show top, then with a transmission section removed bottom.

Scratchbuilt solder headers show the offset the engine will have in the chassis.

Some paint, wiring and a rubber serpent belt bring this little powerplant to life.

Last but not least are the body panels. I want my crawler to have some resemblance to a factory vehicle, so I narrowed the hood and grill from the Ranger kit. The rest is simple sheet aluminum panels cut from cardboard templates.

At left, stock Ranger hood and grill, to the right, the modified hood and narrowed grill.

A breakdown of the scratchbuilt shocks I decided to make.

The radiator and cooler painted with metalizers and black washes. Some wiring adds that little extra.

Last but not least are the body panels. I want my crawler to have some resemblance to a factory vehicle, so I narrowed the hood and grill from the Ranger kit. The rest is simple sheet styrene panels cut from cardboard templates.

At left, stock Ranger hood and grill, to the right, the modified hood and narrowed grill.

Just a teaser shot, as it sits currently.

Last but not least are the body panels. I want my crawler to have some resemblance to a factory vehicle, so I narrowed the hood and grill from the Ranger kit. The rest is simple sheet styrene panels cut from cardboard templates.

At left, stock Ranger hood and grill, to the right, the modified hood and narrowed grill.

Just a teaser shot, as it sits currently.

Last but not least are the body panels. I want my crawler to have some resemblance to a factory vehicle, so I narrowed the hood and grill from the Ranger kit. The rest is simple sheet styrene panels cut from cardboard templates.

At left, stock Ranger hood and grill, to the right, the modified hood and narrowed grill.

Just a teaser shot, as it sits currently.

Last but not least are the body panels. I want my crawler to have some resemblance to a factory vehicle, so I narrowed the hood and grill from the Ranger kit. The rest is simple sheet styrene panels cut from cardboard templates.

At left, stock Ranger hood and grill, to the right, the modified hood and narrowed grill.

Just a teaser shot, as it sits currently.