Atomic6's build, history, maintenance, whatever-you-want-to-call-it thread

[Atomic6]

August 6th, 2017
This past Sunday, Laura and I ran Kingston Peak with Venture Overland. This was the largest outing for VO with 29 rigs! I believe we picked up two more stragglers on the trail too. Because of the turnout, we split into two separate groups and staggered the start.

Again, it was an awesome outing with only one (potentially two) casualties to my 4Runner. I followed RSG's T40R on a "difficult" section which wasn't the best idea. I snapped a rear end link (no biggie), but I might have ruined a brand new SPC ball joint too. I drive way too fast on terrain like this, so I might need some limit straps to keep everything kosher. I'm tearing my front end down soon to check the bj damage.















<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/229013587" width="640" height="1152" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> by Jacob Rippey





I decided to just remove the sway bar at the end of the trail while everyone was airing up so it wouldn't give me troubles on the way home.

 

[Atomic6]

On the Kingston Peak run, we had a family in a stock RAV4 with us. They weren't sure if they should come with, but since it's a pretty easy trail (until you get to a few sections near the top) the organizers told them they were more than welcome to join. As a safety net, they put the RAV4 between two rigs with winches... one of which was RSG's T40R. Talk about a dichotomy of trail rigs!

by Jacob Rippey

Anyway, the RAV4 did awesome and everyone was so impressed with it. He did over 90% of the trail unassisted. Once close to the top at ~11,500 ft, he ran out of power and ground clearance. He got hung out on a few rocks and we tried to get him going, but we were unsuccessful. RSG's T40R came to the rescue with an easy tug over the obstacle.

Don't mind the wind noise :crybaby:
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/229003295" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Atomic6]

August 14th-September 19th, 2017: 248,248 miles

Before installing sliders, I wanted to take care of more rust on Tess. This time on the rockers:



<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/235238341" width="640" height="1138" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/235238341">Rusty rockers</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/timwietlispach">Tim Wietlispach</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

If you didn’t know, the cowl (and sunroof?) drains directly into the rockers because the drain tube is ~2” too short... so this happens: :tape:



Out came the cutoff wheel!


Here’s the drain tube I was talking about. It’s on both sides. :ybrick:


Instead of getting replacement rocker panels, I decided to get some rectangular steel tubing from a local metal supply shop and cut out the entire rocker panel. The steel I used was 1.5” x 3”. If I were to do it again I’d go with 2” x 3” because it was pretty difficult to weld the tubing to the pinch weld. If they were 1/2” taller, it would have been much easier.

Checking fitment…


Before welding in the tubing, I used the same products I used on the flooring to remove and treat any remaining rust. Rust converter, rust encapsulator, and a black top coat. Then I capped the tubing and started to weld it in!





You can see in the photo below how I patched the front corner and kept the drain tube OUT of the new rocker. I still need to figure out a better solution so dirt and debris doesn’t clog it.



After welding the tubing onto the remaining upper area of the rockers and pinch welds, I cleaned them up, added a tiny bit of body filler to fill in any imperfections, sanded, primed, and painted them black.



Paint still drying, but you get the idea. I used a rubberized coating made for truck beds.


Overall I’m really happy with how this turned out. It took a lot longer than I hoped because it was still my daily driver. Thankfully, the cops couldn’t care less about driving around without fenders!

Better pictures to come, but this is all I have for now.


Now onto the next area of rust... the rear quarter panels/wheel wells. out:

 

[trailbikerider]

Yay midwestern vehicles! I'm parking mine in the garage for the winter when I move back to Michigan.

 

[Atomic6]

September 20, 2017

When I heard Baker of Bourn Adventure (a.k.a. BakesFJ) was going to be in the Boulder/Denver area, I knew that would be a perfect deadline for the rocker repair. With a deadline quickly approaching, I barely finished the night before and headed to Nederland, CO on Sept 20th to meet with him and a few Venture Overland people.

If you don’t know, Baker rolled his FJ roughly a year ago. Metal-tech 4x4 was kind enough to gave him the keys to their GX to drive from Oregon to North Carolina for the Overland Expo East. Not a bad marketing campaign to say the least! Along the way, he’s stopping in a few location for “Meet and Greets”, show off the GX, and wheel with a bunch of groups. VO planned to run a really easy trail, Switzerland trail, with Baker because the day before he had a rough day wheeling Top of The World and Imogene Pass and driving all the way to Boulder.













by Shawn Miller

by Shawn Miller

 

[Atomic6]

Yay midwestern vehicles! I'm parking mine in the garage for the winter when I move back to Michigan.

Extend your drain tubes!

 

[Atomic6]

September 27th, 2017: 249,000 miles

I was called off work on Wednesday, so instead of reducing the honey-do list, I made a trip up to Georgetown to find some Aspens changing colors. I headed up Argentine Pass, but didn't make it to the summit because of the snow. I was alone and didn't want to air down past 20psi so when I started spinning, I decided to turn around and explore some of the other forest service roads in the area.

















<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/236021437" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/236021181" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[geocook717]

CO Scenery

I haven't been to CO, other than through Denver airport. There is some truly captivating scenery out there man! You are lucky to call that place Home.

Not to mention certain laws expressing leniency with regards to a certain green plant.

 

[Atomic6]

October 21, 2017: 249,550 miles

I took a break from rust repair to work on a few small projects. I repainted my Satoshi grill since the mesh was looking really worn. I decided to go with a gunmetal color that will match some future mods... :eyebrows:


(don't mind the fluid leak. I forgot to tighten the trans coolant line that I rerouted. :doh


I also started a cosmetic project I've been slowly gathering parts for. I've never been a huge fan of my ARB, but over the years it's slowly grown on me. Now, I really like the nostalgic look of it. One thing I wanted to add was fog lights though. I love the look of the ARB Deluxe bullbar fog/turn signal inserts and I’ve been looking for them for years. They’re about $125/ea new, for just the plastic inserts, so that’s been out of the question. Thankfully, [MENTION=68380]AZrunner11[/MENTION] was giving his away so I quickly picked them up for the cost of shipping. I love this forum!




I picked up some new LED parking/turn signal lights and amber fog lights.




Out came the cutoff wheel again…




Even though I added load resistors when I added the LEDs to the filler panels, I picked up hyper-flashing when I hooked up the new turn signals. So I picked up a new flasher relay that’s compatible with LEDs.


<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/239561255" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

The fog lights are actually for a Jeep Wrangler (puts on flame suit eep: ), so I had to make some mounts and weld them directly to the ARB. While I don't like the look of them yet, they perform well. Plus, they're easy to replace if I grow tired of them since they're for a highly customized application.

:dancin:







Now I need to find a 99+ turn signal stalk with the integrated fog light switch. If anyone has one let me know!

I have a few more things I need to do to the ARB, but this rekindled my excitement. I need to make better frame mounts before I add a winch. Plus, it looks like crap with all the rust on it, so I need to blast and repaint it (I hinted at the new color earlier ).

 

[octanejunkie]

Great score on those light pods for sure. Looks great! A 99 stalk would be the hot ticket. Luckily I have a 99 so, yeah :sorry:

My satoshi bezel is gun metal too, as are all the details on my truck: hood scoop, rear license plate bezel, 5-start factory rims.

I'm down to 3 colors on my truck not counting the chrome grille badge and lug nuts; for now.

 

[Atomic6]

October 26, 2017

Installed Tundra brakes today with braided stainless steel lines. Pretty straight forward install with no issues. I used Bosch QuietCast rotors (50011223) and pads (BC976) with Power Stop calipers (S2712). The braided lines are StopTech/Centric (95044007)

I still have a soft pedal, which I had before the install, so I think I might need to look into replacing the master cylinder.

 

[theesotericone]

October 26, 2017

Installed Tundra brakes today with Power Stop calipers (S2712). The braided lines are StopTech/Centric (95044007)

Nice. How much extra horsepower did you get out of those TRD Powerstops?:behindsofa:

Have you made sure the rears are adjusted properly? Sometimes the soft pedal feel can come from them. I didn't believe it till it happened to me. lol

 

[Atomic6]

Nice. How much extra horsepower did you get out of those TRD Powerstops?:behindsofa:

Have you made sure the rears are adjusted properly? Sometimes the soft pedal feel can come from them. I didn't believe it till it happened to me. lol

Haters gonna hate! :lalala: Haha, red (with decals) isn't for everyone, but I wanted to add something clean. With the stock tri-spokes, you can't even see them.

I did the rears about 1.5 years ago, but I'll double check them, thanks!

 

[theesotericone]

Haters gonna hate! :lalala: Haha, !

Just pulling your chain and getting a joke that never gets old in at the same time. They actually look really good.eace:

 

[Atomic6]

Just pulling your chain and getting a joke that never gets old in at the same time. They actually look really good.eace:

I knew it was a joke, sorry if it didn't come off that way in my response.

I actually have a lot of horsepower adders... in my door frames . I usually hate showing off stickers/companies on the exterior so this was my solution:

 

[jmferg]

Is the cowl drain easily accessible? I want to extend mine before any issues


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Atomic6]

Is the cowl drain easily accessible? I want to extend mine before any issues

I believe there's a body plug under (or near) the drain on the rocker panel. I'm not 100% sure since my rockers were see-through...

 

[Atomic6]

October 4-13, 2017

More rusty work… this time on the right rear wheel well. I’ve had some rust hiding under the black SR5 flares for some time, but I had no idea it had gotten so bad! The mounts for the front of the flare had finally fallen apart and the flare was hanging on with just two bolts, so it was time to do something about it.







More cutoff wheel action:


Then I carefully bent some thin-walled tubing with a conduit bender and glued it in:


A little bit grinding, body filler, and sanding:


I used seam sealer in the wheel well and in the interior cargo panel to be on the safe side. Then I finished with paint (spray-on bed liner):


I've been dragging my feet on doing the left side since it isn't in too bad of shape, but I need to do it sooner than later so I can move on to the next project.

 

[Atomic6]

October 29, 2017

Headed up Argentine Pass again. Some friends wanted to scout the location for a future photoshoot and practice flying a drone. I was hoping to reach the summit this time, but unfortunately, the snow/ice was too much. I think it’s impassable until the spring now. Instead, we just hung out around the old mine and explored a few of the other trails around the area.












The Nautical Blue 5th gen is owned by Ashton. He’s a professional photographer and took some awesome photos that he let me share below:


by Ashton Ray Hansen


by Ashton Ray Hansen


by Ashton Ray Hansen

and here's the quick edit Stephan put together:
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/240445207" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/240445207">Toyota 4Runner Promo- Argentine Pass, Colorado</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/stephanwerkmedia">Stephan Werk Media</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 

[jbrentd]

Awesome thread man! Looks like you’re really taking advantage of the move to Colorado. Keep up the good work!