Hey Guys,

So the time has come for a new adventure, and after a long internal debate between the Gen8 and the Ascender, I've decided that I'm going to go with the Gen8... the portal axles, front mount motor, very impressive handling, it was all pointing towards a win. And after spending some time driving the 2, I think it's the better bang for the buck.

Now, here's the question.... has anyone that owns a Gen8 attempted to SHRINK the wheelbase??

It comes 12.8"... so, there's a 4 door Wrangler body for that.
It can go to 12.3"... so, there's lexan AND hardbody 4 door Wranglers for that.

But has anyone tried taking it down to 11.8"/12"..?? The ProLine 2 door Wrangler is 11.8", the cheap hard bodies are all a bit short at 11"...

I'd like to have one of each body, this way I can do one to look like my 2 door, and the other body to look like my wife's 4 door. I would attempt to fit a hard body on the shorter wheelbase, and possibly extend the body a bit, but I think by doing that, it will warp the vehicle's scale perception.

I can't invest in 2 new vehicles at the moment, for those thinking "just get a Gen8 AND an Ascender, then have one body on each"..... it would be nice, but I feel my plan will be sniffed out rather quickly, and I'm trying to encourage my wife to get more into the hobby so she can enjoy it with the kids and I. Since she constantly has the "hmmmm, which Jeep do I want to take today and which one do I leave you with" convo with me, I thought this would be a fun way to play off that concept.

Is this a possible thing? For those of you who have done much more scale fab work, can this work properly? Or should I reconsider the Ascender and then be able to run any body I want.... after throwing some money into a divorced T-case, relocating the motor, cantilever rear shocks, blah blah...

I'm not sure on any of the last 3 paragraphs.

As for shrinking the wheelbase, I have done this. There are 3 positions for each of the top and bottom front and rear links. I've taken it down to the shortest possible. As I have a PACK sitting on the work bench... what are your questions and I can test it?

E: It's out of box at max wheelbase. If you keep the top and bottom links in the same "slot" and move back set in, it's a difference of 6mm each "slot" you move it in ward - there are two more "slots" inward on front and back. 24mm of wheelbase shrinkage in 6mm increments. (note: I have not tried moving only the bottom set in and leaving the top off a position (presumably a 3mm change instead of 6)

My goal would be to get it down to 300mm wheelbase, if possible, without messing with the steering geometry.

Then, I can use the bodies that I would like, without losing their scale look.

Is it possible to take the PACK down that far?