5th Gen 4Runner Fiberglass- Production/Discussion

[weeeee]

I notice some pits/divots, and the A-pillar not matching up all that well, in addition to the hood line being off. Will they address that in the production versions?

Thanks for taking on this project.

Pits/divots- Normal. No fiberglass is going to end up without imperfections due to popping out of the mold. With that being said, since these are literally the first set out of the mold they'll have more imperfections than the others, plus they literally got the final layer of gel coat the night before I left so there was a time crunch involved. If there's major imperfections/pits in the final production pieces they'll be sanded down, etc.

A-pillar/hood line- The thickness of the fiberglass mat contributed a bit to this. It'll be adjusted on the production run.

One thing to keep in mind- most fiberglass parts will require final fitting and sanding. It's normal for parts to be slightly off since these aren't stamped metal molds like OEM parts and are hand laid fiberglass. Most of the time, your body shop can adjust or shape the edges, but the production pieces shouldn't have the minor fitment issues I'm having.

 

[LawnDart]

If the A-pillar and hood lines can be cleaned up in the production runs I'm in.

I guess the pits can be filled with bondo before final paint as well.

 

[Havik]

Can you post pictures of the inside rear of the fender? I want to see how much more clearance the rear of the fender has with these. Thanks.

 

[weeeee]

If the A-pillar and hood lines can be cleaned up in the production runs I'm in.

I guess the pits can be filled with bondo before final paint as well.

Mine actually had some imperfections near the corner, they have body filler that matches their gel coat colors. Sometimes even with a liberal coat of release material the fiberglass sticks to the mold, which is what causes the pits.

 

[weeeee]

If the A-pillar and hood lines can be cleaned up in the production runs I'm in.

I guess the pits can be filled with bondo before final paint as well.

Can you post pictures of the inside rear of the fender? I want to see how much more clearance the rear of the fender has with these. Thanks.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone photos.

Lots of extra clearance, since the bottom of the fender actually ends up 3" from where the stock one is, there's better re-attachment options for that lower mount that everyone hits. Even though mine's been re-shaped it still hits. I'll be trimming the inner body weld and cutting off that entire lower mount on the body. Also cutting off the lower mount from the fender, and making a new bracket for it.

Pics:

Here's the area of the lower mount. I'll be cutting off the mounting point from the body and the fender (circled in red), making a new bracket to attach to the bottom of the fender shelf (yellow).

I'll know in a couple weeks if there's more material that needs to be taken out from this area, and adjust the final production pieces as necessary.

 

[LawnDart]

Cool. I'm still a bit unsure if they can hit 10 sets of the snorkel version, as that's a niche within a niche. You may want to work with them to post a head count so people know where they're at as far as filling the queue, I know that helped a lot on when we did the fire extinguisher project.

 

[Havik]

I'm in for a snorkel set. Again, let me know if they need my truck to test with.

 

[weeeee]

I'm in for a snorkel set. Again, let me know if they need my truck to test with.

Yep, just go ahead and call today. I think they'll be ok without a truck, I did mention you specifically this weekend since you're near Castaic, so you can be there in case they want to verify fitment.

 

[FinntheT4R]

Have you gone on your trip to CO and give these a proper offroad shakedown?

 

[jimster716]

Hmmm, I'm at the Torrance Toyota HQ, I may drive the three minutes to their office and put down my deposit for the snorkel version. Gawd, spending more money on the 4Runner.

 

[Scharfschütze]

Great work getting this all together. The end results look very nice so far. If I were a bit further along I might consider the snorkel fenders, hopefully they are still around when its time for me.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I am very interested in how they are going to do the ARB snorkel integrated one. Still bummed there is no rise, but I guess I could always trim a little if I rubbed up top.

Going to keep an eye out for the snorkel version.

 

[weeeee]

Currently on my trip now, I'll be reporting back to a mcqueen after to see if any major design tweaks are needed. Running through Wyoming this week, should be putting her through Colorado next week.