Topic: 86 Runner Build - Down to Rails

[Plainview]

I like the sounds of that epoxy/trim black combo, been looking for something other than POR15. 

I used POR15 extensively when I restored my '72 Firebird and I thinned it and sprayed it.  You have to be careful when spraying it as it's full of isocyanates so you need a full body tyvek suit and a respirator.  Isocyanates are nasty stuff and will absorb into your body through mucous membranes and even your eyeballs.

After all that, it worked okay but ten years later there are places on the frame and axle where it's peeling off.  When I paint the frame & axles of my truck I'll definitely give the epoxy/trim black a try and I'll be re-doing all the under-hood stuff on my Firebird at some point and may use it for that also.

A friend of mine has used Rustoleum with good results.  You can buy it in 1/2 gallon cans, thin it a little and spray it.  I have an axle I bought from him that was treated this way and it's held up really well.  Rustoleum is only available in either gloss or flat black so he mixed the two 50/50 and it looks good but slightly too glossy.  If I go this route I'll try a 70/30 flat/gloss mixture.

Nice work on that Runner! Going to be a sweet rig when you get it done.   

[Miller [OP]]

Lost some time ordering and waiting on parts.  Due to my concerns for teh front shackle angle, I moved teh front hangers back an inch.  Flush now with front cross member.  I'm more comfortable now.  Glad I did it because I don't think I can get the steering box moved forward enough for the arm to clear the tie rod.  Thankfully the rearend will move back under compression to give me the clearance I need.  Put the body back on to get the rails tacked on and figure out how much trimming to do for the steering box.  I'm thinking of flattening out the steering angle and using less of a drop pitman, maybe even flat.  Got the front end all rebuilt and gusseted and trussed.  I had the first version Marlin gusset kit, but didn't like it, switched to teh new version.  After I got it all welded up and was assembling teh knuckles I realized very quickly there is a fair amount of finesse work required to get the welds cleaned up to clear the felts.  I'll blast in my update photos.  Pretty happy with the stance on the truck so far with the RUF.  Need to add a couple leafs to support the motor and tranny.  Having the body back on has given us new hope on this thing.  Been working on parts so long it didn't reef like a truck.  Getting more and more excited to see how she will sit on new 37's.  Next task is the steering box and hydro assist mounting.

[OVRAROK]

looking great, man that body is laser straight

[Miller [OP]]

SO you ever get all nervous about cutting a straight line with a grinder?  Then circles are even more nerve racking.  I decided to make my own backing plate eliminators from the factory ones in an effort to retain the caliper hard line mount.  I laid out my cut, started cutting a radius to eliminate teh unwanted part.  I was so proud of my cut as I was doing it, I just kept cutting...  When I was almost all the way through I realized...  I just made a complete circle and cut off the part I was trying to save!   This is why I don't work with wood.  Had to weld the damned thing back together, but it turned out in the end.

[Miller [OP]]

Got Rails tacked on and test fit front bumper.  Still have to set up the rear to clear 63 shackles and be up as tight as I can get it.  So can't wait to get the bulk of this thing together so I can start working on all the custom trick stuff I have planned. 

Question:  Was planning on running 14" Bilsteins.  I'm planning to order them after cycling the suspension to confirm bump stop locations and travel to confirm I can run 14"  Does 14" sound too optimistic?  We're running big hoops and top mounts on the axle up front and relocating the rear uppers with low hung mounts on the rear axle.  I say low hung, but mounting about center of tubes on back side as outboard as I can get em.

Back to work...

[Miller [OP]]

looking great, man that body is laser straight

Thanks.  It was straight as an arrow with no rust!  I say was.  If you look closely at driver rocker, Day 2 I jacked it up on it's side to pressure wash under it.  Jack slipped and teh damned thing fell on a stand right on the rocker.  So first body damage to it occurred before I even got it out...

[Miller [OP]]

All my tube work is getting the bronze treatment.  I used a gloss clear on the body, but the top and the tubes get satin clear.  When in the sun you can see the difference.  I'm hoping the satin will prove to be a little more durable and not show as much.

I'm starting to dream up rear tire carriers and water / fuel storage.  If anyone has ideas and photos, I'm looking for advice.  Thinking I might build off the rear receiver and hinge it down for use as an extended tail gate/table...  While it's nice to swing out of the way, I want to keep it simple and useful.

[twistedtoy92]

Thing is beautiful!!! Keep up the great work!!!

[OCD]

Thanks.  It was straight as an arrow with no rust!  I say was.  If you look closely at driver rocker, Day 2 I jacked it up on it's side to pressure wash under it.  Jack slipped and teh damned thing fell on a stand right on the rocker.  So first body damage to it occurred before I even got it out...

Hit mine with the forklift before it's first trip out of the shop... 

Nice build! 

[Miller [OP]]

Started playing with the travel and plotting shock mounts.  Also started fitment for the steering box.  Been trimming little by little on the inner core support, finding it is double wall in most of teh areas needing trimming.  I'll post up pics once I finish up, but it appears I'll be able to cram it in there with no visible evidence from the front exterior.  I still have a little more trimming to do to in board side of the body mount to make final fitment.  It appears I will be getting the best overall fitment by flattening out the box to an almost level pitman arm swing.  Which means getting my hands on a flat arm.  Hoping I won't be channeling the frame to clear the crown nut.  There really isn't a whole lot of room for error in this space between leaf compression, spring keepers, frame and tie rod.  When I add another leaf or two I'll move the keeper down the pack some to avoid conflict with box. 

I was really surprised to see how far forward we got the axle with the RUF and spring hanger.  In attempting to twist it up in the shop the front right springs started going negative at 5" from spring plate so I now have an idea for bump stops.  I blocked it at flat and tried again.  Was nowhere near maxing out when I realized I had it high enough and twisted over to where the mocked up rear bumper was sitting on the work bench and had to stop.  Outstanding droop and limited compression, but absolutely centered in the wheel well at bump stop location.  Pleased with spring hanger locations all the way around. 

Rear 63" front mounts were place at 10.5" forward, opening up the wheelbase by at least another inch.  Rear shackle angle is right where I wanted it and looks like I may get lucky with clearing the rear bumper mounts but yet to test rear at full compression.  Does look like I'll have to trim the rear wheel well just a bit since I moved the axle back.

[redneckcustoms13]

Turning out very nicely. The body is amazing.

[Miller [OP]]

This weekend was filled with fitment.  Layout, align, trim... repeat.  Over and over until I got it.  I still have to hog out the steering box holes just a bit to allow enough play to get the bolts in and out without any binding but the steering box has now been relocated over 2" forward to accommodate the RUF front axle relocation.  I'm really please with the clearance between the pitman arm and the tie rod.  I'll have to get a flat pitman to clear the spring under compression which is better anyway.  NOTE:  The bolts provided in the steering box brace kit fit really snug as do the sleeves/bolts.  Ensuring absolute square is imperative or when you get it all in place, the bolts won't go through box, outer plate, outer frame, inner frame, and inner plate.  I found this is trickier than anticipated.

So in case this information ever assists others in moving the steering box forward, here's what I did.  After figuring out +/- where the box needed to go I started poking around on the core support with a small drill bit.  putting small holes from the outside marking limits of cuts.  You have to be cautious not to hit the AC line located forward of the core support.  Luckily, this line is just above the area I needed to clearance for the box.  While doing this I found the core support in this area is double wall and the body mount and gussets on the outside can be salvaged entirely with no evidence of clearance work from outside the engine bay.

I placed the box in place (as close as I could) and marked the size on the core support.  I just used a die grinder and carved out a small rectangle area to slide the box into.  Be careful with the die grinder to only cut through the first layer of sheet metal.  I went deep along my top cut and have to weld that back up. 

Once I had the rough hole cut I slid the box in and had to trim again for a better fit.  Once I got into this mode, I kept sliding it in further for better and better fit, making small trim cuts each time.  I found that for my best fitment I had to trim off the inside of the body mount turndown gusset but not enough to render it useless.  I also trimmed the inner fender to allow the box to clear better and get in in and out easier.

I found that once I cleared everything off the inner wall of the double wall core support, I had enough room to adjust the box angle to either use flat pitman or use the drop.  I was able to get a far better fit with a flat arm and the steering shaft angle is still acceptable.  I did drill a 1" hole through the core support for additional clearance on the box where there is a casting "hump".  I also did a little massaging with a couple hammers.  Turned out to be rather unnecessary but nothing touches.  I tried to get good pictures to show the areas of clearance to assist others.  I know a common comment is "I wish I would have moved it further forward" so with that in mind I took all I could get.

Also found once the box was relocated, the steering shaft was going to make contact with the inner fender so I trimmed out a small window at the contact area and had to do some creative sheet metal work around the flex joint as well.  I'll have to add a couple inches to the steering shaft next.

The pictures show the conflict with the box and the spring keepers, those will be moved inboard on the pack with added leafs. 

Once I get off the steering box I'll move into placing the mounts for the hydro assist.  I think there's got to be a better way than described in the installation instructions for clearance.  If anyone has shots of their assist mounts, I welcome the advice.

[Miller [OP]]

I didn't mention the main reason I went vertical with the box was porting placement for the hydro assist.  By rotating the front of the box up, it allowed for a clean penetration through the core support for the hydro line.  There is not enough room for fittings with as far forward as we got the box.  Putting a rubber grommet lined hole for the hydro line to slip through and make it's way around the frame down to the ram gave me an out from carving a huge notch in the heavily trimmed core support.  Not to mention it will poke out right through the middle of the body mount support above the body bolt.  I may hard line with fittings through the core support so I can 90 once through.

[redneckcustoms13]

Looking good! Very high quality build man.

[camhays556]

nice clean work! I wish my runner was that clean 

[Miller [OP]]

So been busy.  Once we got the body back on and figured out where everything needs to go and tacked, body back off for final welding.  Now it's stripped back down, getting ready for paint.  In another post there was talk of POR15 and I offered up my solution for paint as epoxy primer and SEM Trim Black for top coat.  Met with my paint supplier today and we're going to try a new approach, should be far better durability and fewer steps.  I'll post up a pic of the material and let you know how it goes.  This stuff is industrial and essentially will go over anything and because it's catalyst it holds up to chemicals like brake fluid and other nasties.  He said it will go over bare metal, old paint, rust... anything...  I'm still prepping to make sure and using it as the base for the Bronze on the tube work. With any luck, next week we'll be all painted up and going into final assembly.  Right about the time Marlin sends out the new diffs.  Went with a high pinion v6 in front and V6 rear with Grizzlies and 5:29s.  It's looking like it will be done in plenty of time to test run a few times before the Roundup so we're registering both rigs later this week.  Hoping to check out some of these other builds up there.

[Miller [OP]]

We did something a little different for adding a rear crossmember to the relocated shackle hanger location for the 63's at the end of the frame..  Incorporated one into the rear bumper for final welding at final assembly time.  While adding this cross support I though I'd add a little more support to the receiver as well.  In doing this I was able to make use of the void where the stock spare would sit.  We now have an ideal location to insert anything we want into the inner side of the receiver to be stowed up tight under the rear of the rig.  For example, the thought of 36 volt welder comes to mind. 

[Miller [OP]]

Amidst all this "work" we threw together our mobile hoist for assisting out back in getting parts.  Thought you guys would get a kick out of this contraption...

[Miller [OP]]

.

[Miller [OP]]

And what my wife calls "Truck Porn"...

[Cheesemaker]

Looking good.  I have seen worse jerry rigged setups for dragging rigs around.

[twistedtoy92]

Lookin sweet!!! Can't wait to see some pics of this thing in action!

[kjchubby]

I will be watching this one...looks great so far!!! 

[helipilot77]

I hope to see it in action at MCR.

[84 yota dude]

Bitchin man!

[Miller [OP]]

Diffs Arrived!  5.29 V6's Grizzly with high pinion front.

[Miller [OP]]

So the paint I used worked out really well.  Covers well and is bullet proof.  Used it for base on the bumpers too.  Seems like the top coat bit real well into it so should hold up well.  Trim Black is still a better overall finish for factory look and sprayability but this stuff covers and hardens up good.

[Miller [OP]]

Now for a RUF question to those who may have tried this...  My first pack consists of the following:
1. '86 4Runner Rear main
2. '86 Runner 2nd leaf
3. '84 xcab 2nd leaf cut down
4. '84 xcab 3rd leaf with keepers cut off
5. '86 Runner 3rd leaf
6. on Left only... Cut down overload

Take a look at how they stack up.  Not too sure about the stacking on 2 & 3.  Thinking this may have beefed the pack up too much for the little stuff, making it rigid?  I was able to keep all the sliders in on every leaf and got decent spacing on all the leafs but 2&3, making 1,2&3 almost like one big leaf....  What are your thoughts?

My plan is to clean 'em all up, paint them and get the assembly done to try it out.  I figure I can always do some cutting, but I'd lose the little leaf pad sliders...  Could slip an add a leaf in the pack somewhere and ditch the free 2nd leaf, but defeats the free available parts theory.

[Miller [OP]]

Here's another question for y'all.  Extending the steering shaft is easy enough.  Just cut out a section, tube it and get it where you want it and finish welding...  BUT we thought we'd try to drill out the plastic pins and see how much we can get out of the original shaft.  I'm convinced after spending a hour trying to get the two pieces to slide, separate or even show signs of movement that some little fellah thought it would be funny to plug weld this shaft and cover it up.  Anyone have a trick for separating the steering shaft? 

[redneckcustoms13]

I just cut it and sleeved it.