The latest body in the garage is the 1/10 scale Suzuki Samurai SJ80. I have had this body for over 12 months now and have finally decided to start working on it.

The body is made from fibre resin and has a wheelbase of 210mm with a 160mm body width at the arches. It has a functioning bonnet, bonnet latches, a full interior, a full set of light holders, wipers and a pair of adjustable side mirrors. The body looks like it will be a classic scale RC when it is done. However, besides looking good, it will also need to perform

Shown below is the SJ80 body on stands with the Hustler M/T Xtreme 1.55 baby rock crawling tyres, measuring 3.74" x 1.3" made from Snail Slime compound and a set of 1.55 Terra Classic 8-Hole aluminium Beadlock wheels     

The plan for this is to be scale but not as a stock vehicle. With a 210mm wheelbase, the performance is somewhat limited so I might also stretch the wheelbase, for little better performance.

With a body width of only 160mm and not wanting to use such a narrow axle, the RC4WD Yota 2 axles were selected this build. The Yota 2 axle and wheels are 215mm wide on the outside of the tyres. The axles are on the wide side so I will be using rubber fenders to cover some of the tyres.

Wheel clearance will definitely be an issue but we shall cross that bridge when we get to it. For starters, I'll start with deciding how much stretch this RC is going to get.

The longer I make it, the more I will need to cut up the body and I do not wish to cut much of it.