85 4runner "the slayer II" build

[helipilot77]

for cutting the glass in your top, buy a diamond blade ($30 @ home depot) for cutting glass tile that fits on a 4-1/2" angle grinder. run a hose over the glass while working and slowly cut through along your line.

[theslayer85]

I will have to try that.  I have just heard the safety glass is very hard to cut and will explode if not done right.  I will have to give it a try.  Thanks

[12Bravo]

Maybe you could cover the entire piece of glass with tape, then mark your layout line on the tape. If your grinder bounces or chatters, the glass will not pop out all over, just crackle under the tape.

[theslayer85]

Finally back in town and able to do some more work on my rig.  I have some tube benders being made, a Jd2 style radius bender and a roll bender.  I am going to make a roll cage for my 4runner and a few other cars so I can justify the benders and dies.  First things first is getting this thing buttoned up and running.  I have been working on an 87 4runner, put a new motor in it and it will not run no matter what I have tried so that has taken up my time.  I am off work tomorrow so it is play on trucks day, well for part of the day at least. 

The first priority is to mount my gas tank and get it plumed and wired.  Then to finish up the body work so I can bolt the body to the frame for the final time.  I will get there eventually. 

[theslayer85]

I built some mounts for the gas tank, I will have to get some picutres of it.  I esentually cut out a tapered piece that goes from 2 inches wide to 3 1/2 or so wide out of some 16 gauge and welded that up into the body then cut a 1 1/2 inch strip to connect the two.  This being the 3rd of 4th set of mounts I am finally happy with how it sits.  That being said after I mounted it up I noticed the tank itself is buldged a little on one side so it sits uneven, nothing a little persuation cannot fix (I hope).  Next is to lengthen my hoses and wires and get some fule up to my motor so this thing can run some day.

I also spent 2 hours welding up my front fender and it is still not done.  It is looking better and not so frankenstinish with the completed welds on there.  I did take it off the truck to get to the inside and run a few beads from the inside so it looks better.  I have a lot of cleaning up to do on my welds.  I am using a 220 mig welder on sheet metal so it is not the best.  I run the smallest wire the supplier carried and I still cannot run a continuous bead.  So there is lots of grinding to clean the welds off.  I am also sanding off all the paint as I go so i can get it all primed and ready, I have a 60 gallon ingersollrand compresser and it cannot keep up with how much air I use.  I have been tempted to tie another air compresser in but the other compressor is super loud.  Maybe I will just sand blast the whole thing. 

[SNOW WALKER]

I also used a 220 welder with 035 wire to stretch my wheel wells and ya it's a pain. I also used fiber glass filler for all of the pin holes in the welds as well as some small gaps. Its water proof and won't absorb water like bondo will. For the top you need an SMC resin as the top is not fiberglass but smc. I used all resin and some matting in 3x6' strips. I laid about 5 to 6 layers over lapping them and get as many of the air bubbles out as possible. I screwed in 6 or so pieces of thick sheet metal  2x3' to keep the top square and I glassed over them. I also did both inside and out of the topper. I have some pics my build thred they are on photobucket in the link I posted so you arrow over and see all of them. I hope this helps. By the way I'm a paint and body guy by trade so not talkin out my A$$. LOL

[theslayer85]

I also used a 220 welder with 035 wire to stretch my wheel wells and ya it's a pain. I also used fiber glass filler for all of the pin holes in the welds as well as some small gaps. Its water proof and won't absorb water like bondo will. For the top you need an SMC resin as the top is not fiberglass but smc. I used all resin and some matting in 3x6' strips. I laid about 5 to 6 layers over lapping them and get as many of the air bubbles out as possible. I screwed in 6 or so pieces of thick sheet metal  2x3' to keep the top square and I glassed over them. I also did both inside and out of the topper. I have some pics my build thred they are on photobucket in the link I posted so you arrow over and see all of them. I hope this helps. By the way I'm a paint and body guy by trade so not talkin out my A$$. LOL

Yeah I went and got some .023 wire and turn the welder down as much as I can and it still will get too hot and blow trough at times then it takes forever to patch the hole back in.  That is good to know about the hard top.  I figured it was fiberglass.  I will look for your build because that will help to see what you did.  I cut it down and after I did it I realized putting it back together may be a little harder than I thought.  I was going to cut the rear windows down but that is proving to be a pain.   

[theslayer85]

so the bad news is that the rear windows of the hard top are a bit of a desaster to get figured out.  Because it is automotive glass it is tempered.  To cut tempered glass you have to heat it to at least 900 degrees and let it cool slowly which takes 8 hours then you can cut it like normal glass.  The problem then is that it is no longer tempered and not to safe for a car.  The other option is to find a glass shop that has a laser to cut the glass for me.  So option 3 was to try some plastic, and they cannot bend the curve I need.  It requires an oven to heat it then laying it over a form they build then slowly cooling it so it does not spring back up.  So I may end up just coving the hole all together and just not have a rear window.  I did pick up somemore resin epoxy stuff to finish putting the top all back together.  Live and learn, if I knew the rear window was this big of a pain I may have cut it different, but I do like that the front set of windows is still functional. 

On a side note I almost have the passenger front end done.  The fender is nearly done just a few more welds and clean up.  The inner finder is looking good too and slowly I am getting all the sheet metal back into it from moving so many things around.  I will have to snap a few pictures of it all. 

[SNOW WALKER]

I would just glass in the the part that goes over the top and use a flat piece of lexan. Atleast you would still have a window and WAAAY less body work. Just my 2 cents.

[theslayer85]

Finally have some updates.  It is a bad sign that when I update it tells me that the thread is so old I should consider starting a new thread.  I finally got a the gas tank mounts figured out and in.  After 4 tries I finally got something that works.  I have them all welded I just need to finish grinding the welds smooth.  The gas tank sits where the spare tire is supposed to sit.  you can see the air tank and lines in the background. 

The second picture showes the tank in place.  I have some straps that fit accross the bottom side.  I cut a piece of 1 1/2 inch square tube at an angle, drilled a hole and welded a nut to it then welded that to the crossmember.  This is what the straps will bolt to to hold it up.  I will build a skid plate at some point, and thoughts are out of a high end plastic to cut weight. 

Last is a side shot.  The tank doesn't come much farther down past the frame.  Now just to plum and wire it all up. 

[theslayer85]

I changed my mind...seems to happen a lot.  I had welded the little hatch door in and decided I didn't like it so I cut the seat out of a junk body I had and will weld that in place then splice in the body mounts like I did on the other side.  This is the last body mount I need to put back in.  I ended up moving four body mounts all in the back end.  Two where I bobed the bed and these two under the seat. 

[theslayer85]

The hard top.  It has been a project in of itself.  I still have to figure out the window for the back and I think I will use a flat piece of Lexan (or something like it) and close in the top part where the curve is and just have a flat window.  Or just cover the hole entirely.  It is my first attempts at fiberglass so it looks a bit rough but I think it will work. 

[theslayer85]

I had a picture with just one of these but I finally got the second in.  I will put an air gauge and an oil pressure gauge in there.  I already ran a hose in for the air next is the oil pressure gauge and some wires for the back lights. 

[theslayer85]

Last is the front fender.  The frist picture is the inner wheel well where your feet are suposed to go.  I moved it back all the way to the body mount.  I have a few spots to weld up and clean before it is done.  The next picture is the fender.  Sorry for the somewhat blurry picture, best I have of it with my cell phone camera.  It is almost all welded up and cleaned just a few more spots and some slight body work and paint and it is done.  Then do it all over again for the drivers side.  Pictures just don't do this justice for how much it opens it all up.  I have some 31 inch rollers on there now and with only a 2 inch lift and the wheel wells they look like tiny sedan tires. 

[SNOW WALKER]

Nice to see you've made some progress. It's looking great keep up the good work. Can't wait to see it with the big tires on it. Keep us posted.

[theslayer85]

I am such a slacker when it comes to this project.  Life seems to get in the way.  I moved to an apartment and have been there for 6 months and just got a garage.  I was worried it wouldn't be big enough for all my tool boxes, construction tools and my truck but it actually all fit.  The one down fall though is that my big 220 mig welder won't have a place to plug in so I am doing everything I can aside from welding that I can.  I bought my fuel lines for the Ford tank and have those run.  I also am working on building my dual cases, I had to track down all the pieces and parts.  I do need to weld the key stock onto the shifter linkage then I can throw it all together.  I ran all the wiring harness's and I need to go through my parts pile and get the engine bay section with the fuse block.  When the truck got in the accident the fuse block got cracked in half.  I also need to track down the wires for the factory fuel pump and get that ran. 

With the truck now where I live I have been making some steady progress on it.  I am hoping to get the fuel system all buttoned up and finished in the next few weeks.  Then it is the dual cases, gears in the 3rds, and putting the axles all back together.  I still have a dumb phone so it is a process to post pictures but I will try and get some up soon.  I can spend hours on the truck and it looks no different because it is little things I have done. 

[theslayer85]

Right as I am making progress on the crawler I took several steps back.  I am driving a tundra as a daily driver but it is still my dad's and now he wants to sell it, either to me or someone else.  He wants more than I am willing to pay so I decided to fix up a 94 4runner we had sitting around.  So I pulled the good motor out of my 85 and the bad motor out of my 94 and swapping the components that are different and I will have a good motor in the 94.  I do have another block back from a machine shop to go back together but I haven't had time to put it together.  So I will have another motor for the 85. 

I do already have plans for the 94.  I am thinking a long travel total chaos front suspension a custom long arm in the rear and a motor with a few more ponies to make it move.  A supra 2jzte twin turbo is looking like a good candidate and it will give a little more horse power than a 22re.  The downside is that that is a ton of money.  I can dream right.

[theslayer85]

Well I took the 94 out for the maiden voyage last Saturday. After I got a new battery and cleaned up all the wires the motor fired right up.  Not to bad for a the motor having sat for 4 or so years.  It did overheat which I am hoping is only due to low coolant.  I added more and it took almost another half gallon.  I filled the radiator to the brim but once it pulled everything into the dry motor it was low again.  I also had an exhaust leak that I tracked down today.  One of the studs from the main exhaust manifold down to the exhaust pipe was stripped so the bolt was doing nothing.  I ended up having to pull the entire exhaust manifold and use vise grips to pull out the stud. 

To make a short story even longer I bought new studs (which apparently are an odd size that no-one has).  I brought it all back just to find out that the threads are so bad the stud wont thread in.   So back to three different stores looking for a tap and had to special order one because no-one had the right size.  So another day for that one to finish up. 

I do have family coming into town for the holidays and if I can talk my brother into helping me there will be a ton of stuff done to the 85.  My brother is an amazing welder, he learned in high school and every job since then has been with welding.  I would be surprised if he gets much of anything done while he is here even though I have offered to pay him (ridiculous that I have to bribe a sibling to help out).  I am making a custom transmission cross member that will lift it up to make a flat belly.  I also have some spacer plates that I will lift the motor just a little to keep it all even.  I bought a sheet of UHMW plastic (it is like cutting board stuff) that I am going to use for skid plates.  The little 4 cylinder doesn't have enough power to get out of its own way so where ever I can cut weight I am going to try.   With any luck I will have the sheet metal done and just need to put pieces and parts back in and will have it done soon. 

I have said that before so I won't hold my breath for too long.

[theslayer85]

I finally got some time and motivation to work on my project again.  I had one fender that wasn't done yet (or started) so I cut it apart and tacked a strip in.  Then to ensure it matched the other side I pulled them both off and mounted them side by side on a saw horse. 

While they were off it was a good time to finish the welds in the inner fenders and engine bay.  Other than some grinding most of the engine bay is done.  I did get the piece fitted and tacked at the inner wheel well right where the drivers feet go.    I had to take the clutch peddle off to fit in the sheet metal.  I will have to figure out how it will go back in later. 

I also cleaned up the welds on the back fenders and inner wheel wells.  I probably could have got more done if the welder didn't run out of gas. 

[theslayer85]

I cannot get the pictures to post without a lot of extra work to size them down. 

[OVRAROK]

I cannot get the pictures to post without a lot of extra work to size them down. 

have you tried tapatalk, that what I use, straight from phone to tapatalk

[theslayer85]

The 4runner after the fenders were pulled.  Welding and grinding the fenders and wheel wells. 

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[theslayer85]

Fenders pulled and mounted next to each other to make sure they match.  The strip is tacked in and need to make the remaining pieces to fill the gap. 

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[OVRAROK]

cant wait to see some primer on this thing

[theslayer85]

Thought I would do an update on the 94 4runner.  The motor I pulled from the crawler ended up loosing its oil and threw a rod out of the block. 

So I was out of a car again.  This being the 4th motor that has blowen on me I decided to quit being cheap and bought a new one.  I had reduilt my own and bought a cheap rebuild locally and they were all junk. 

I did some looking and the one brand that kept coming up with high recomendations is 22RE preformance.  It took 6 months to get the motor and after putting it in it was not firing on the 1st cylinder.  After trouble shooting a lot of things and regular pjone calls to 22RE preformance they had me ship the motor back to check it under warranty.  It ended up having a bent intake valve.  The motor runs great and has almost 7, 000 miles on it and runs strong. 

I would get another on for my 85 but they are a bit spendy.  I may also want to get it to the point that it needs an engine before I buy it and it will sit unused. 

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[OVRAROK]

What are you doing with the old motors

[theslayer85]

Some of the motors are no good at all because they have been bored too far or have a hole through the side (like the one I pulled from the 94).  I did send a full motor back to 22RE performance as a core.  We still have a few sitting around in various stages.  My dad has some industrial style shelving like Home Depot has that we stack all the parts on. 

[theslayer85]

Snapped two more pictures.  This is the drivers side wheel well.  I got it filled in.  A problem I may face is no room for my clutch.  I will have to figure that out later. 

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[theslayer85]

Several years ago I made a pattern for a cross member mount like Front Range Off Road.  I took a spare t case back end and used card stock to trace where the holes were then used that to draw it in CAD.  Now I finally got around to having it cut out.  I did it in sheet metal first to test the holes and check the hole alignment.   I will get everything mounted in the truck I will revise the mount and have it cut out of 3/8". 

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[58rag]

Nice work on the T-Case mount. I enjoy using CAD programs a lot. makes things much more professional.