Hands-on with Pro-Line's 1984 Dodge Ram R/C Short Course Truck Body
The Pro-Line Pro-Fusion SC 4x4 has been an amazing project to work on. With the chassis built and the electronics installed, it’s time to put a lid on this truck and let ‘er rip. My Mopar fandom has been on full display with my recent R/C body selections and I continued the trend with the Pro-Fusion build.
Since this is a Pro-Line build, it only made sense to pick a Pro-Line body and with that, I selected their 1984 Dodge Ram SCT Clear Body. It bears repeating, thank you to Pro-Line for the amazing materials and support throughout this kit build!
What you’ll need to complete the installation:
- 1 Pro-Line 1984 Dodge Ram SCT Body - $43.95
- 1 Polycarbonate Body Scissors (Straight-edge)
- 1 Polycarbonate Body Scissors (Curved)
- 1 Body Reamer
- 1 Exacto/Craft/Hobby Knife
- Multiple cans of polycarbonate spray paint
Heading into the Body Shop - Prepping, painting, and installing Pro-Line’s 1984 Dodge Ram SCT Body
The first thing that struck me about this short course truck body was the flexibility of the Lexan polycarbonate. I’ve been painting a fair amount of trail truck bodies lately and they have a decidedly thicker and more rigid structure. That said, Pro-Line’s 1984 Dodge Ram body has just enough “give” to make it durable without it feeling flimsy or cheap.
Trimming this body was a straightforward affair, with no tricky cuts or trimming to trip me up. Once trimmed and washed, I was off to my outdoor paint booth (a slab of cardboard laid out on the grass) to give this body a blast of color.
Speaking of color, I went outside of my normal black, gray, orange, color palette for this body. Tamiya’s PS-18 Metallic Purple served as the base color, which I backed with Tamiya PS-41 Bright Silver for an extra-deep finish. After the first few coats of paint, I was in love with how this truck was looking, and that was before peeling away the overspray film.
The PS-18 needed quite a few coats before it gave me the finish that I wanted, and I ended up using a can and a half of paint for this body. While photos don’t do this paint color justice, the extra coats of paint were well worth the effort and cost.
Mounting the body was surprisingly simple. With this Pro-Line body to Pro-Line kit install, all of the pre-defined body-mount indents matched up perfectly with the Pro-Fusion SC body posts, so there wasn’t much extra work needed to get the body set up on the truck. Once mounted, I spent some time adjusting the height and ensuring that I had enough clearance for the wheels.
I ended up trimming away some of the inner fender material on the front wheel well due to suspension travel tightness and depending on the model that you’re mounting this body to, you may have to do the same.
What’s the Verdict?
To date, I haven’t met a Pro-Line body that I haven’t enjoyed working with, and this was no exception. With simple prep, a straightforward painting process (which will vary depending on your own design), and one of the easier mounting processes I’ve encountered in a while, this was a fun project to work on and a great way to cap off my Pro-Fusion SC 4x4 build.
Not so spoil my build overview, but this truck has been out for a few test-drives and has seen its share of action. After rollovers, tire-rubs, and other minor incidents, this body still looks as great as it did the moment I peeled off the overspray film. If you’re looking for a durable, well-detailed short course truck body for your R/C truck, this is a great option.
Learn more about Pro-Line’s 1984 Dodge Ram SCT Body at prolineracing.com.
