Some owners drive their truck. Some owners rebuild it.
If you're the second kind — the type who takes a new vehicle apart to see how it works, then puts it back together differently — the FCX18 II F-100 was designed with you in mind. Here's what the platform makes possible, and footage of players who are already doing it.
The Short Answer
The FCX18 II F-100 is built to be modified: a magnetic quick-swap body that comes off in seconds without tools, bodies interchangeable across matching wheelbases, two chassis sizes on one platform, and a parts ecosystem that spans FMS official upgrades and Batrazzi's partner-developed components. Add installation video tutorials for the upgrade parts, and the barrier to a first build is lower than most platforms manage.
What Custom Building Asks of a Platform
Three things decide whether a truck is worth modifying:
- Access — how easily you can get inside it
- Compatibility — how many parts are designed to work together
- Growth — whether the ecosystem keeps expanding
How the FCX18 II F-100 Answers It
Access: The Magnetic Quick-Swap Body
Everything starts here. The FCX18 II body mounts magnetically, so it lifts off in seconds with no tools and goes back on just as quickly. Compare that with screw-mounted bodies, where every inspection is a small project — and you can see why this changes how often owners actually open the truck up.
For a builder, tool-free access is what turns "I'll look at it this weekend" into "let me check something" mid-session.
Compatibility: One Chassis, Many Bodies
Bodies that share a wheelbase are interchangeable across the platform through the same magnetic mount. That makes body swaps a legitimate build strategy rather than a replacement purchase — you're not buying a second truck, you're changing the one you have.
And the platform ships in two wheelbases — 199mm for pickups, 160mm for SUVs — which means two chassis cover both body families. With FMS's upcoming body plans for this platform, a pair of chassis becomes the foundation of a rotating collection. Change the body, and the truck becomes a different vehicle.
Growth: Official Parts Plus Batrazzi
The parts list is already substantial, and it spans both performance and appearance:
- Clearance — 1.2" Rogue wheels and tires (31mm → 38mm), FMS official portal axle (31mm → 36mm), or both combined
- Traction — manual differential lock
- Suspension — multi-hole shock adjusters, plus Batrazzi metal shocks in different colors and spring rates
- Wheels and tires — Revolver and D-Hole in 1.0" stock size, Rogue in 1.2", all in multiple colors; the 1.2" Rogue carries built-in weights that lower the effective center of gravity at the corners
- Body and styling — Batrazzi metal front and rear bumpers, with more appearance parts in development
- Bodies — multiple liveries, and other vehicles' bodies on the same wheelbase
Because the truck is also available in kit-like flexibility — parts, upgrades, and documentation — a build can start with something as small as a wheel and tire swap and grow from there.
Support: Installation Tutorials
FMS publishes installation video tutorials for the truck's upgrade parts, which is the practical difference between a build that happens and a stack of parts that sits in a drawer. You're not reverse-engineering every fitment on your own.
Watch It in Action
Real builds from FCX18 II F-100 owners — a good starting point if you're planning your own:
A First Build Plan
If you're starting from stock, a sequence that works:
1.Body off — get comfortable with the magnetic mount and see the layout
2.Wheels and tires — the easiest visible change, and it improves crawling if you go 1.2"
3.Suspension tuning — multi-hole shock adjusters to set ride height and preload
4.Clearance — portal axle when your terrain demands it
5.Character — metal bumpers, and the next body when the lineup grows
Choose the Custom Builder Setup If
- You enjoy the disassembly as much as the driving
- You want a truck that changes over months rather than arriving finished
- You like the idea of one chassis running multiple bodies
- You'd rather follow a tutorial and modify than buy a different model
Not Your Style?
If driving matters more than building, the trail side of the hobby is a natural fit. If you're chasing outright capability rather than character, the performance route is the third direction.
The Verdict
The FCX18 II F-100 is a truck that assumes you'll open it. Magnetic access, cross-wheelbase body compatibility, a two-wheelbase platform, and an expanding parts list make it less a finished product than a starting point.
