Been lurking, finally introducing "Riley"

[Doc2012]

Hey all. Been lurking on here for a while. Got a '99 Limited when I got back from Afghan in August, and have been slowly building her up ever since. She started out as a 2WD, found a complete donor minus the rear axle, from a local junk yard, and began the conversion. Slow process, but coming along. She is my DD, and between driving 600 miles a week to go home and spend time with my son, and being stationed with the Marines, time is something that I seem to never have enough of.

Things I have done to her:
4WD conversion
3" DR coil overs
4.88 with ARB air locker front diff
Front diff Mod to use manual hubs
Manual Hub Conversion
BudBuilt Skid Plate
Custom transmission crossmember to make her a flat belly, lifting transmission 1.5"
1.5" body lift
1.5" engine lift
Falken Rocky Mountain 265/75/16(AWESOME TIRE!!!!)
All 4 Half doors from donor vehicle
JVC Arsenal HU, with BlueTooth, iPod/Phone connectivity, microphone
Rockford Fosgate Prime 6.5" front door speakers
Clarion 5.25" rear door speakers


Things to do/finish:
Remove plastic panels, fill holes, line using Raptor Liner or Herculiner
"8.4" swap into the rear using Chevy 63" springs for the 4.88 with ARB locker 3rd I have
Front bumper with winch and recovery points
Rear bumper with swing-out tire carrier with 2 NATO fuel can mounts
93-97 F-250 spare gas tank in stock spare tire location to add clearance
Custom .25" "2nd" crossmember for BudBuilt belly pan
Budbuilt clocking ring
Convert from ADD to Manual t-case(when I get the clocking ring)
Roof Rack with light mounting front and rear
Bigger tires, either 33 or 35

Before(first thing I did was paint the rims....):

By doc11 at 2012-03-04

As she sits now(Ignore the tape, wanted to get an idea for when I line it):

By doc11 at 2012-05-02

Half doors(couple weeks old, will update this weekend):

By doc11 at 2012-05-02

By doc11 at 2012-05-02

 

[combatmedic]

Looks like TREX got ahold of your doors. =P.... Joking aside, keep posting pics as you build her up.

 

[codyjh]

Your build looks good. I'm from Lenoir and graduated from App St - next time you see Bud tell him "Hi" for me!

 

[cj80cruiser]

I've got an extra set of doors....think you just gave me a great future project!!!

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

thats a lot of work done to your rig, keep it up!

 

[PitbullRescuer]

That's pretty awesome. I'm sure your kid loves it too.

 

[Hepar]

Great build. Super functional mods. Especially the 4wd!

 

[Doc2012]

Thanks guys! This has definately been a great project. Even though she's 2WD right now(need the clocking ring to get the 4WD back), I've taken her through and over alot of stuff that anything else would get stuck on. Plus, she's torquey.

I've got an extra set of doors....think you just gave me a great future project!!!

The doors are fun to figure out. Luckly, my brother had some for his Taco, so I just took the measurements, applied them to the front doors, and used two measurements for the back and they turned out all right. The one thing that SUCKS is that I cut the speaker mounts in half... Oh well, just some 18ga with a 6.5" hole cut into it for the speaker. The hardest part is getting the cuts inside and out to be right. A SawsAll doesn't work to well, because the metal is so thin it just bounces all over the place. I used a 4.5" grinder with a cutoff wheel, taped the area I wanted to cut, then did the outside first, and tried to get the inside to match. Like I said, I'll try to get more pics of the process up. The doors still open, modified the door brackets so all I have to do is just pick them up to put them on and take them off.

That's pretty awesome. I'm sure your kid loves it too.

He loves the doors off! Especially since everywhere we go it's "Windows down Daddy!" then, he fist pumps to "Polly Pocket is in the house." (The Party Rock Anthem. Yes. He. Fist. Pumps. I think I tought him well.....)

Great build. Super functional mods. Especially the 4wd!

The 4WD wasnt even that bad. The worst part was the fact that the wiring harness was chopped all to ****, so I had to solder the wires back together to get it to work right.... Had everything swapped from one into the other in about two days in the middle of janurary, by myself. The harness, took about another two days, but I had to go back to LeJeune, so I just rented a car and did the harness here. Damn people wanting 300+ for one.....

 

[Doc2012]

Said I'd get more pics of the Half Doors up when I got the internet, so here they are. These are the inital cuts. I've been slacking on taking pictures as I work on them. I should be able to get some pic if I go home this weekend, and will be able to take more pics as I continue to work on them.

First things first, I had to find somewhere to start. My brother has a '99 Taco, standard cab, and he happened to buy a set of half doors for his. So, I just took the measurements off his doors.

By doc11 at 2012-06-11

By doc11 at 2012-06-11

The next step was to bring them to LeJeune. Riley has space, But damn it was a tight squeeze with all 4 doors... Then, the stripping of the doors was completed in the parking lot of the barracks. I applied the measurements from my brothers doors to mine, and taped the area off.

By doc11 at 2012-06-11

Since I didnt have anything to go off with the back door, I just used the measurement from the bottom of the door, the top of the handle, and from the back of the door to infront of the handle. Ended up with this:

By doc11 at 2012-06-11

Then the cutting began. Again, used a 4.5" grinder with a cutoff wheel instead of a SawsAll. Came out with these:

By doc11 at 2012-06-11

Welded some 18 ga to the door, and got the ones in the above pictures.

One good thing about doing these, is even though you can jump in, if you pop the hood, or open the doors, the alarm still goes off. Plus, if I really wanted to, I can add the stock harness back in there and have the doors lock...

I still have alot of work to do to them. I need to finish grinding down the welds, and apply body filler to it to make them smooth. Yeah, I know that they'll probably get beat all to ****, but I still want them to look somewhat decent. Also need to get some more 18 ga so I can put the speakers back in the doors. After that, it's a coat of herculiner or RaptorLiner, and a coat of paint to match the rims. I'll put more pics up as I go along.

 

[t4r4life]

one of the more interesting builds, subbed.