Bob Williams
09-12-2002, 03:01 PM
I’ve gotten quite a few emails in the past couple years, and strangely enough, several in the past couple weeks, from folks asking how I bobbed my 4Runner. I’ve even gotten requests for information from guys who are thinking about similarly trimming their Cherokees. Without a frame, I don’t think what I did would work, but hey, maybe you’ll come up with something that will work for you. I was going to do an article after I had finished the project, but I didn’t have any good pics. People have persisted in asking, so, without the aid of any pictures I’ll describe with words only, how I bobbed the rear of my ‘94 4Runner. You’ll have to use your imagination as I describe how I did what I did - but hey, that’s why we do this goofy “stuff” anyway - because we’ve all got overactive imaginations, right?
I needed to get rid of some weight and overhang on my truck. I was also growing weary of replacing $99 tail lights. So, while looking the rig over one day, I noticed that the front and rear angles of the rear side windows were parallel. The thought occurred to me that it should be possible to follow those lines when cutting the sheet metal, and simply eliminate that portion of the truck that happened to be in the space between. At the time, I had no previous experience with body work or welding sheet metal. So, I forged ahead with all the knowledge I had garnered using the 4 ½ grinder and Sawzall I purchased to trim my IFS suspension in preparation for the solid axle swap. I figured I could handle the welding when the time came.
So, if memory serves me correctly, here’s pretty much how it went…..(hmmm, I remember it like it was just yesterday).
1. The interior was gutted from the rear seats back, and the headliner measured and cut. The rear-most portion was removed.
2. The side glass panels were removed.
3. The tail-gate, rear wiper, wiring, bumper, etc., were all removed.
4. With everything out of the way, the cutting commenced. With a straight-edge, I scribed lines one inch forward and rearward of the space previously occupied by the rear side glass. I scribed lines across the top of the truck as well. I got the grinder out, and began cutting. When it came to the floor board of the truck, I used the Sawzall. Before I knew it, I was finished. It was all too quick, and too easy. All I had left was a shell and an idea in my head about what to do next. I stood back and looked at the strange sight in my driveway and thought to myself, “Will I succeed in creating something useable, or did I just ruin my truck?” I am sure my neighbors were all thinking, “He just ruined his truck!” I figured time would tell, so I continued.
5. After some measuring, I was pleasantly surprised to find that things were going to fit together pretty much as I had imagined they would. I cut the top 3” or so off the tail gate (just the outer shell) and welded it to the outer rear shell of the truck, right where they had met before. I used some tinted Lexan for the rear window.
6. What was left of the body was pretty flimsy without any supporting metal, so I crossed braced the sides of the body using two sections of light weight 1x½” rectangular tubing. I ran one near the bottom, by the floor pan, and one near the wall mounts where the rear seatbacks used to fasten in the upright position. I then added three or four vertical pieces between these and welded everything together.
7. Next, I welded what was left of the body shell in place. This was accomplished by using cut pieces of the body on the inside, and everything was kind of tacked together. Once I had done that, I welded a seam around the entire outside of the truck, then ground it as smoothly as I could, and finished it with bondo. I also added smaller pieces of metal all over the place to fill in little angles and holes that were left. Everything sealed up pretty well, but I used body sealer all over to keep it leak-proof. So far it has held together well.
8. To cover the rear portion of the truck, approximately where the seat backs would have been, I used two layers of metal. One layer of 1/8” thick sheet secured to the cross braces and vertical braces with self- tapping stainless steel sheet metal screws. I then ran some weld beads to further secure things.
9. The rear lower portion of the truck still looked unfinished, so I purchased a piece of diamond plate and had it bent with a lip at the top to match the section just below the rear window, and trimmed it to follow the contour of the truck body down to the frame. This was the second layer of metal. I had a lip bent in place on the bottom too, to tuck up under the floor board where I used body seam filler to keep everything nice and weather proof. This piece was also positioned using self-tapping sheet metal screws, and then welds were added to finish if off. The support cross brace is above the floor, and the metal lip below, so everything is well supported and sealed. Welding a piece of sheet metal to thicker diamond plate was an experience. All the welds were ground smooth so everything would look nice (as nice as I could make it look).
10. I loosened the clamps, and twisted the fuel inlet from the side position it had originally occupied, to a position pointing toward the rear of the truck. I then fashioned a metal clamp to fix the fuel filler neck to the rear of the truck. This puts it out of harm’s way when on the trail, and is still easily accessible for fueling.
11. I fashioned a flatbed to finish off the project, and primed and rattle-can painted the truck and flatbed.
My primary objectives were met. I got rid of up-high weight, created a much lower center of gravity with the addition of the flat-bed, and produced a much more “trailable” departure angle for the truck. The truck handles much better off-road, and I still have a cab that protects me from the elements. Overall, I am very happy with the results. I want to run bigger tires, but that’s going to take some more suspension and body work. My youngest son recently got frustrated with his 83 Jeep CJ7, so the Toy may stay as it is, and the Jeep get the bigger tires, haven’t made up my mind yet - I suppose that’s a story to be told another time.
The main tools and supplies I used were as follows: A 4 ½” hand held grinder, a Sawzall, three Sears 110v “shoebox” welders (two of which were returned for “warranty” reasons), about a million feet of welding wire purchased 2lbs at a time, probably 40 grinding wheels, a couple packages of Sawzall blades, bondo, sandpaper and wet/dry paper, primer, paint, leather work gloves and welding gloves and a welding hood, two pair of jeans and numerous pull-over shirts (funny how easily clothing catches on fire - funnier still - the time it takes one to discover said clothing is burning while on one‘s body - still funnier - how one looks while crawling out of a cramped space, throwing off welding hood and flailing arms and/or legs to extinguish said fire). I’m sure there was some other stuff, but that’s all I can recall now.
So, there you have it, my afternoon ramblings describing how and why my truck looks the way it does. With similar tools and lots of imagination, you too can hack your truck to pieces in short order! Good luck.
I needed to get rid of some weight and overhang on my truck. I was also growing weary of replacing $99 tail lights. So, while looking the rig over one day, I noticed that the front and rear angles of the rear side windows were parallel. The thought occurred to me that it should be possible to follow those lines when cutting the sheet metal, and simply eliminate that portion of the truck that happened to be in the space between. At the time, I had no previous experience with body work or welding sheet metal. So, I forged ahead with all the knowledge I had garnered using the 4 ½ grinder and Sawzall I purchased to trim my IFS suspension in preparation for the solid axle swap. I figured I could handle the welding when the time came.
So, if memory serves me correctly, here’s pretty much how it went…..(hmmm, I remember it like it was just yesterday).
1. The interior was gutted from the rear seats back, and the headliner measured and cut. The rear-most portion was removed.
2. The side glass panels were removed.
3. The tail-gate, rear wiper, wiring, bumper, etc., were all removed.
4. With everything out of the way, the cutting commenced. With a straight-edge, I scribed lines one inch forward and rearward of the space previously occupied by the rear side glass. I scribed lines across the top of the truck as well. I got the grinder out, and began cutting. When it came to the floor board of the truck, I used the Sawzall. Before I knew it, I was finished. It was all too quick, and too easy. All I had left was a shell and an idea in my head about what to do next. I stood back and looked at the strange sight in my driveway and thought to myself, “Will I succeed in creating something useable, or did I just ruin my truck?” I am sure my neighbors were all thinking, “He just ruined his truck!” I figured time would tell, so I continued.
5. After some measuring, I was pleasantly surprised to find that things were going to fit together pretty much as I had imagined they would. I cut the top 3” or so off the tail gate (just the outer shell) and welded it to the outer rear shell of the truck, right where they had met before. I used some tinted Lexan for the rear window.
6. What was left of the body was pretty flimsy without any supporting metal, so I crossed braced the sides of the body using two sections of light weight 1x½” rectangular tubing. I ran one near the bottom, by the floor pan, and one near the wall mounts where the rear seatbacks used to fasten in the upright position. I then added three or four vertical pieces between these and welded everything together.
7. Next, I welded what was left of the body shell in place. This was accomplished by using cut pieces of the body on the inside, and everything was kind of tacked together. Once I had done that, I welded a seam around the entire outside of the truck, then ground it as smoothly as I could, and finished it with bondo. I also added smaller pieces of metal all over the place to fill in little angles and holes that were left. Everything sealed up pretty well, but I used body sealer all over to keep it leak-proof. So far it has held together well.
8. To cover the rear portion of the truck, approximately where the seat backs would have been, I used two layers of metal. One layer of 1/8” thick sheet secured to the cross braces and vertical braces with self- tapping stainless steel sheet metal screws. I then ran some weld beads to further secure things.
9. The rear lower portion of the truck still looked unfinished, so I purchased a piece of diamond plate and had it bent with a lip at the top to match the section just below the rear window, and trimmed it to follow the contour of the truck body down to the frame. This was the second layer of metal. I had a lip bent in place on the bottom too, to tuck up under the floor board where I used body seam filler to keep everything nice and weather proof. This piece was also positioned using self-tapping sheet metal screws, and then welds were added to finish if off. The support cross brace is above the floor, and the metal lip below, so everything is well supported and sealed. Welding a piece of sheet metal to thicker diamond plate was an experience. All the welds were ground smooth so everything would look nice (as nice as I could make it look).
10. I loosened the clamps, and twisted the fuel inlet from the side position it had originally occupied, to a position pointing toward the rear of the truck. I then fashioned a metal clamp to fix the fuel filler neck to the rear of the truck. This puts it out of harm’s way when on the trail, and is still easily accessible for fueling.
11. I fashioned a flatbed to finish off the project, and primed and rattle-can painted the truck and flatbed.
My primary objectives were met. I got rid of up-high weight, created a much lower center of gravity with the addition of the flat-bed, and produced a much more “trailable” departure angle for the truck. The truck handles much better off-road, and I still have a cab that protects me from the elements. Overall, I am very happy with the results. I want to run bigger tires, but that’s going to take some more suspension and body work. My youngest son recently got frustrated with his 83 Jeep CJ7, so the Toy may stay as it is, and the Jeep get the bigger tires, haven’t made up my mind yet - I suppose that’s a story to be told another time.
The main tools and supplies I used were as follows: A 4 ½” hand held grinder, a Sawzall, three Sears 110v “shoebox” welders (two of which were returned for “warranty” reasons), about a million feet of welding wire purchased 2lbs at a time, probably 40 grinding wheels, a couple packages of Sawzall blades, bondo, sandpaper and wet/dry paper, primer, paint, leather work gloves and welding gloves and a welding hood, two pair of jeans and numerous pull-over shirts (funny how easily clothing catches on fire - funnier still - the time it takes one to discover said clothing is burning while on one‘s body - still funnier - how one looks while crawling out of a cramped space, throwing off welding hood and flailing arms and/or legs to extinguish said fire). I’m sure there was some other stuff, but that’s all I can recall now.
So, there you have it, my afternoon ramblings describing how and why my truck looks the way it does. With similar tools and lots of imagination, you too can hack your truck to pieces in short order! Good luck.