Dirtco's Adventure Thread

I decided to recess the upper tube work down into the main roof structure. I felt it would add more strength as the body and cage are all one piece, and it lowers the roof height to look more "stock". It also added a ton of extra work.

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Windshield / Roof bar

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After all that work it was time to see if a windshield would fit back in the truck. It took a little extra glue but ... :frog:

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And for the fun of it, this is what it looked like before.


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With the windshield in I could really get to work on the cage. I still have a lot to do but I'm making steady progress. I'm probably only half way through the interior cage section, in addition to installing all the tubing that is missing I also need to build the interior A pillar bars, door bars and all the tube work below the harness bar.

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The rear section of cage behind the back seat is coming along pretty good!

I started by building the basic cage...

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Then I added a 2x4 brace that will also housing the Ultra 4 style rear lights. It also creates an area to install a rear window below and keep water from running directly into the seam.

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The red lights will be tail/brake/turn, the amber lights are rear fog, and the middle clear is reverse.

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The 2x4 is notched out around the cage and fully welded, making the rear cage area super strong.

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I still need to trim and cap the corners but I think it looks pretty sweet and should take a serious hit without issue!

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Let me be very clear. I wish the events on November 4th never happened to you.
BUT, what you have done since, in a few short months, this reinvention, is beyond impressive and inspirational, on multiple levels.

Some people fall off the proverbial horse, and never get back on. Others do, and some like yourself do so with a moxie and attitude worthy of admiration.

I never imagined this build thread had any upside from what was already exceptional.
 
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Man.. This build continues to impress me. That cage is looking bad ass and beefy! Do you have plans for a roof, or maybe a soft top?
 
TonyB66 said:
Let me be very clear. I wish the events on November 4th never happened to you.
BUT, what you have done since, in a few short months, this reinvention, is beyond impressive and inspirational, on multiple levels.
Click to expand...
Almost every picture I look at shows something amazing. As I'm saying to my self "wouldn't it be cool if..." I look at the next picture and see an idea much better than what I was thinking.

The attention to detail is amazing... Frenching, gusseting, tie-ins... rough cage work that matches factory body lines perfectly... I have sat many times and wondered if/how it would be possible to fit cage tubes up inside the factory unibody (on my Subaru and Camry, for chassis stiffness) - and there it is, done in front of my eyes.

-Charlie
 
TonyB66 said:
Let me be very clear. I wish the events on November 4th never happened to you.
BUT, what you have done since, in a few short months, this reinvention, is beyond impressive and inspirational, on multiple levels.

Some people fall off the proverbial horse, and never get back on. Others do, and some like yourself do so with a moxie and attitude worthy of admiration.

I never imagined this build thread had any upside from what was already exceptional.
Click to expand...

Thank you Tony!!

I'm not going to lie, it's been an emotional roller coaster since the accident. It's exciting to go crazy and build the 4Runner into whatever I want, but it's also sad because I really loved the 4Runner the way it was right before the accident (besides for upgrading the rear suspension). It's just a lot to take in and adjust to, especially considering that I had the back of the 4Runner configured for all my camping needs.

But, when it's all said and done the 4Runner will be awesome, and I'm adapting to the changes! :thumb3:
 
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Road Bull said:
Man.. This build continues to impress me. That cage is looking bad ass and beefy! Do you have plans for a roof, or maybe a soft top?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm leaning towards skinning it in aluminum, a soft top would be awesome but I don't like the idea of a rock or stump coming through the cage.

phattyduck said:
Almost every picture I look at shows something amazing. As I'm saying to my self "wouldn't it be cool if..." I look at the next picture and see an idea much better than what I was thinking.

The attention to detail is amazing... Frenching, gusseting, tie-ins... rough cage work that matches factory body lines perfectly... I have sat many times and wondered if/how it would be possible to fit cage tubes up inside the factory unibody (on my Subaru and Camry, for chassis stiffness) - and there it is, done in front of my eyes.

-Charlie
Click to expand...

Thank you Charlie! It's honestly been a ton of work to get it to this point, not only the fabrication but also just staring at it and figuring out how to make it all work. I just focus on one section of the vehicle at a time, and when I get burnt out I move to a different area. Eventually all the pieces fall into place!
 
Dropzone said:
I am sure you seat belts figured but seeing your harness bar reminded me of the retractable MRAP harnesses I had in my 81 Trekker. I have regretted selling them when I decided to pull the truck apart

Here is a similar set on ebay. Way pricier than what I paid but sure made driving nice because you could lean forward and check stuff out without being tied to the seat
MILITARY RG-33 CAT MRAP 5POINT TWIST-RELEASE SEAT BELT HARNESS RETRACTORS SL16.3 | eBay
Click to expand...

As much as I hate dealing with a full 5 point harness I still bought the PRP harnesses, these things are awesome in person!

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I hadn't checked in here in awhile, so I just read through the events of the last 4 months. That sucks it happened, but amazing you made it out unscathed. Glad you are OK!

You're also the only person on the earth who could take a beautiful 3rd gen, roll it halfway down a mountain, and then build it into something just as cool as it was before. I'll be following along as you turn this thing into a different kind of beast.

My vote is also for a panorama sunroof!
 
Dirtco said:
The rear section of cage behind the back seat is coming along pretty good!

I started by building the basic cage...

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Click to expand...

with the rear of the body solid mounted to the frame are you going to hard mount the rest of the body or leave them with the rubber mounts?
If you leave the rubber mounts could there be any potential stress issues with the hard mounts?
But thinking a little more, I am guessing that it is a non issue since your cage will be hard mounted through the rest of the truck
 
Dropzone said:
with the rear of the body solid mounted to the frame are you going to hard mount the rest of the body or leave them with the rubber mounts?
If you leave the rubber mounts could there be any potential stress issues with the hard mounts?
But thinking a little more, I am guessing that it is a non issue since your cage will be hard mounted through the rest of the truck
Click to expand...

The cage goes through the body in several locations, and the whole front is welded directly to the body along with the entire roof . I left the factory body mounts in place but they are honestly doing nothing at this point. You will understand when you see the completed product!

I'll have more updates soon! ...
 
I’ve been working on the 4Runner whenever I get a chance. Instead of posting a bunch of small updates I decided to use that time on the 4Runner and post a larger update with some real progress. I’ll try to get everyone caught up as time allows.

The main cage structure is coming along pretty good, I still have a couple pieces of tube and some gussets to install. The driver side door bar is in and tied into the rock slider legs.

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After a lot of thinking and debating I decided to go with the Trail-Gear 4 Link kit for the rear of the truck. Originally I wanted the 4Wheel Underground kit but I ran into some issues. The first problem was they only offer the kit around a Diamond axle housing (along with stock and one ton options). This meant I was going to have to get a custom Diamond made, and of course I would want it with the larger 9.5” Toyota differential! And just like that the budget was blown! The other issue is both 4Wheel Underground and Diamond axle have significant wait times.

The Trail-Gear kit was in stock (along with the housing) and the joints are the same as what’s in the front of the truck, this means less spare parts and a more uniform process when it comes time to rebuild joints. To save time I bought a fresh Rock Assault axle housing with the kit, that way I don’t have to cut and grind all the brackets off the housing that’s currently in the truck and all that hard work will still live on! A certain member here on the board (cough [MENTION=94888]EatonKyleH[/MENTION] cough) will be buying the old housing for his sweet 4Runner!!

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Dirtco said:
After a lot of thinking and debating I decided to go with the Trail-Gear 4 Link kit for the rear of the truck. Originally I wanted the 4Wheel Underground kit but I ran into some issues. The first problem was they only offer the kit around a Diamond axle housing (along with stock and one ton options). This meant I was going to have to get a custom Diamond made, and of course I would want it with the larger 9.5” Toyota differential! And just like that the budget was blown! The other issue is both 4Wheel Underground and Diamond axle have significant wait times.

The Trail-Gear kit was in stock (along with the housing) and the joints are the same as what’s in the front of the truck, this means less spare parts and a more uniform process when it comes time to rebuild joints. To save time I bought a fresh Rock Assault axle housing with the kit, that way I don’t have to cut and grind all the brackets off the housing that’s currently in the truck and all that hard work will still live on! A certain member here on the board (cough [MENTION=94888]EatonKyleH[/MENTION] cough) will be buying the old housing for his sweet 4Runner!!
Click to expand...

Dude, you are out of this world. Really looking forward to this.
I've been considering putting a wider axle from an 80-series under mine with a 4-link. It comes out to about 5-6 inches wider and is almost like a 1-ton. But, that's far in the future when I get out of school and have a real job.

If I'm ever in CO, I might have to bribe you with some beer to check this out.
 
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