Extreme 3rd Gen Build! Insane!

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

MN4runnerman said:
I didn't word my question right. When I patched an 18" long section of my frame the only feasible way for me to make sure it was safe was to actually build a box that slid over the top of the frame and then I welded the 4th side of the box along the bottom of the frame. I was just wondering if you did that which sounds like you didn't.

No, I didn't. Just plate on the outside is good enough strength-wise for my specs. Now, if you "Patched" your frame, then yeah you need to box it like you did. I would have just cut out the bad section completely and welded in some new rectangle tubing and added fish plates for strength. Done that plenty of times. Its real strong.

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

MN4runnerman said:
Do you have more pics of the boat sides you put in?

Here's the start of the boat sides. I'm not going too deep up into the doors. Just from the bottom of the frame up to the bottom of the body sill.

I started by cutting out the rocker panels. They were rusting from the inside out anyway, so no real loss. Then added 2" structural steel square tubing by rosette welding the tube to the left over 18 gauge steel body.

Then I welded in square out-riggers from the frame to the rock slider (9" each) and gusseted them. Doubling up where the roll cage mounts to the frame. Next, I will add plate from the frame to the 2" tube (after POR15 is sprayed on the inside) to make shallow boat-sides. These will be rock sliders extreme style.

I'll finish up the plate later.

MN4runnerman · Jan 12, 2017

NotKewl said:
Here's the start of the boat sides. I'm not going too deep up into the doors. Just from the bottom of the frame up to the bottom of the body sill.

I started by cutting out the rocker panels. They were rusting from the inside out anyway, so no real loss. Then added 2" structural steel square tubing by rosette welding the tube to the left over 18 gauge steel body.

Then I welded in square out-riggers from the frame to the rock slider (9" each) and gusseted them. Doubling up where the role cage mounts to the frame. Next, I will add plate from the frame to the 2" tube (after POR15 is sprayed on the inside) to make shallow boat-sides. These will be rock sliders extreme style.

I'll finish up the plate later.

View attachment 234074

View attachment 234076

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Thanks for the pics! I had to cut my rockers out since they were so rusty too. I'll probably end up doing what you did. It looks good!

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

MN4runnerman said:
Thanks for the pics! I had to cut my rockers out since they were so rusty too. I'll probably end up doing what you did. It looks good!

Kool! I'll post more pics when I get them finished and show you the rest of the setup. It's not that expensive. 2x2 structural square tubing and some 3/16"plate. I got a bunch of it because I plan on making skid plates too once the drive train goes in, but for boat-sides, you will only need enough to cover both sides. 13"+/- by 6' +/-. I'll give you the exact dimensions once I measure and cut the plate.

Tyler James Inc · Jan 12, 2017

That's one way to build a unibody [emoji12]
Looks like a good time, and that counts for a lot [emoji1360]

kolelt · Jan 12, 2017

Any pics of the rocker panels when you cut them out ? I hate that basically that's how every rocker panel rust. Inside out. And it's such a shitty spot to fix

Unner · Jan 12, 2017

I never clicked on this thread and I don't know why. I guess I just figured it was another "I have a 4Runner and plastidipped something" build thread... Just read through the whole thing and you're a madman.

Good stuff going on in here. I'm just west of you in Huntsville, I pass through/visit Chattanooga fairly often.

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

Unner said:
I never clicked on this thread and I don't know why. I guess I just figured it was another "I have a 4Runner and plastidipped something" build thread... Just read through the whole thing and you're a madman.

Good stuff going on in here. I'm just west of you in Huntsville, I pass through/visit Chattanooga fairly often.

Yeah, I thought about changing the thread title to include (hardcore) to better describe it, but since I can't do that, I just added a WARNING at the beginning that this is no ordinary 3rd gen build, this is HARD Freaking CORE man!

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

kolelt said:
Any pics of the rocker panels when you cut them out ? I hate that basically that's how every rocker panel rust. Inside out. And it's such a shitty spot to fix

Yeah, this vehicle came from up your way. Just next door in PA to be exact. All the salty winters over the years wreak havoc with steel parts. This was the worst of it. That looked normal from the outside, just a slight bubble under the paint. push through it with a screwdriver and it just folded in. I peeled this back with my hands (gloved of course). The rest of the rockers after cutting them off (I'll get a pic of that when I get home) was just coated in rust all the way down on both sides. So, nice new rock rails! :whoo:

kolelt · Jan 12, 2017

NotKewl said:
Yeah, this vehicle came from up your way. Just next door in PA to be exact. All the salty winters over the years wreak havoc with steel parts. This was the worst of it. That looked normal from the outside, just a slight bubble under the paint. push through it with a screwdriver and it just folded in. I peeled this back with my hands (gloved of course). The rest of the rockers after cutting them off (I'll get a pic of that when I get home) was just coated in rust all the way down on both sides. So, nice new rock rails! :whoo:

View attachment 234099

Was there any rust spreading to the floor area from the rocker panels? And what did you do to kill the rust. Obviously remove the rocker panel but what about the area that's attached to the body.

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

kolelt said:
Was there any rust spreading to the floor area from the rocker panels? And what did you do to kill the rust. Obviously remove the rocker panel but what about the area that's attached to the body.

Thankfully the body pans are solid, however, there is some surface rust. I will be prepping and painting the whole underside with POR-15. Any surface remaining really will get the POR-15 treatment even the insides of the cab floor once I'm finished with center console and xfer case install. Then paint perhaps. It's a trail truck mostly, so I'm not concerned with the cosmetic look to the floorboards.

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

Tyler James Inc said:
That's one way to build a unibody [emoji12]
Looks like a good time, and that counts for a lot [emoji1360]

Yep, my Jeep friends like that I'm making it more like an XJ. :cheer2:
I have no plans to take the body off the frame ever. Really shouldn't need to. I'm setting up the cross-members that I'm building and tubing up front to allow full access to all the drive train. An engine swap on this beast will be easy compared to a stock 3rd gen 4Runner.

The skid plates I'm designing out of 3/16" (and 1/4" in some places) plate will meet up with the boat sides to fully enclose the underside where I can and not interfere with the suspension links or drive shafts. I will tap the frame and plate to accept the grade 8 bolts I will use to hold them on. The idea is they will be removable so I don't have to cut them out to service the undersides. Not sure yet how I'm going to counter-sink or cover the bolts to protect them from the rocks.

Here's a quick sketch of the overall design. I want it to still have the iconic 4Runner rear quarter window shape, so everyone knows it's not a Jeep XJ. :biggrin2:.
The dark gray under the rig is the skids / boatsides.

MStudt · Jan 12, 2017

NotKewl said:
Not sure yet how I'm going to counter-sink or cover the bolts to protect them from the rocks.

A lot of Jeep guys will build steel skids, and then cover them with HDPE sheeting. You can countersink in the HDPE very easily, and it'll help from destroying your skids as fast.

Another option is to use bolt protectors. This is basically a cone washer with a bored area to protect the head of the bolt.

NotKewl · Jan 12, 2017

MStudt said:
A lot of Jeep guys will build steel skids, and then cover them with HDPE sheeting. You can countersink in the HDPE very easily, and it'll help from destroying your skids as fast.

That's actually a great idea, thanks! HDPE is slicker than snot too when wet and doesn't really add much weight.

kolelt · Jan 13, 2017

NotKewl said:
Thankfully the body pans are solid, however, there is some surface rust. I will be prepping and painting the whole underside with POR-15. Any surface remaining really will get the POR-15 treatment even the insides of the cab floor once I'm finished with center console and xfer case install. Then paint perhaps. It's a trail truck mostly, so I'm not concerned with the cosmetic look to the floorboards.

Just wondering because if I need to fix it in future.

anymore pics of rocker pannels

NotKewl · Jan 13, 2017

kolelt said:
anymore pics of rocker pannels

Just these. All the rockers looked the same. The left side wasn't as bad as the right side. The left side had rust behind them, but not all the way through yet. This is a view from the inside of the rocker. Flip this over and it's the painted side.