Shark Bait
Rising Sun Member
Just think, you guys will be twins when you're done. 
Red_Chili's body swap
- Thread starter 87Xota
- Start date
When I have access I grind off the spot weld and outer layer of metal, if i don't have enough room for the grinder, I'll use a drill.
Then I can peel off the strip of metal with a little help from an air chisel when needed
Then I prep the surface for the new panel to be welded on
Same thing for the top and sides
Then I can peel off the strip of metal with a little help from an air chisel when needed
Then I prep the surface for the new panel to be welded on
Same thing for the top and sides
Red_Chili
Hard Core 4+
Wow, you're fast.
Don't forget to clearance the lower corners of the wheel well to clear 35s, I had to clearance the original with a Big Friendly Hammer on the front, a sawzall and POR15 putty in the rear (which is not the best way) - of course you will do it with more finesse!
Did the 4Runner plastic cab panels come off cleanly? Or do I need to order a pair?
Also, curious how you're gonna deal with the inner fender where it was cut... ??? Gonna add material so you can fold it factory style?
Don't forget to clearance the lower corners of the wheel well to clear 35s, I had to clearance the original with a Big Friendly Hammer on the front, a sawzall and POR15 putty in the rear (which is not the best way) - of course you will do it with more finesse!
Did the 4Runner plastic cab panels come off cleanly? Or do I need to order a pair?
Also, curious how you're gonna deal with the inner fender where it was cut... ??? Gonna add material so you can fold it factory style?
Cheeseman
Rising Sun Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2006
- Messages
- 637
Wow, Been gone for a week with the Boy Scouts training youth leaders and look what gets done. I stopped in the past monday morning and mine was in primer. Now I see he is buffing mine out in the background. The nice thing about Bill's is that his will be running when he gets his back. I will have to transfer all the electical and such over to this nice shiny newly painted body. And then swap it over. I have one of my Assistant Scoutmasters who drinks a mean beer that owns a shop just down the block from my house with lifts so that part will be easy. But we'll see if I can rebuild a 4runner and turn the key. So I'm jealous of Bill but twins, I don't know??? I am very grateful for Bill letting me know about Terry's shop.
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The cleanest way is to replace the inner panel, they aren't available new, but the one on the old body is good.
My intention is to do what I would do if it were my own truck, carefully cut out the one from the old body, and install it on the new body.
Red_Chili
Hard Core 4+
Sweet. Terry Dunrite.
farnhamstj
Hard Core 4+
Looking good guys. Great to see the progress.
I have most of the interior stripped out of Bill's old body now (Bill's body is old )
Quite a pile of parts removed this morning. Ever get that feeling that you're in way over your head?
Then I did the worlds fastest inner quarter removal, using the torch to cut around the inside edges and the shears for the outer panels.
Once I trim the metal off of the wheel house, it will install like a new panel.
I'm gonna have to stop on Bill's now for a day or two, but i'll post pics of the inner quarter work once I get back on it.
)
Quite a pile of parts removed this morning. Ever get that feeling that you're in way over your head?
Then I did the worlds fastest inner quarter removal, using the torch to cut around the inside edges and the shears for the outer panels.
Once I trim the metal off of the wheel house, it will install like a new panel.
I'm gonna have to stop on Bill's now for a day or two, but i'll post pics of the inner quarter work once I get back on it.
Looks like enough space to fit some 44's if you just finish off that trim job like that
I had a little more time available this morning than I thought I would.
So I worked on Bill's some more
Now I will remove the inner quarter panel that needs replaced, I first locate the spot welds
Then drill them out with a 5/16" drill bit, I am only gonna drill deep enough to penetrate the top panel
After they are all drilled out, I use an air chisel to help me split the panel off
Some areas that are covered with undercoating are real hard to find the spot welds, but if you use a flat grinding disc you can sand off the undercoating and see where the spot welds are
Once the panel is off I prep the weld surface
Then I coat that surface, and i'll coat the mating surface of the replacement panel with weld thru primer
Then I fit the panel up against the body and mark the locations where I will grind off some of the weld thru primer that I just put on. That weld thru primer protects the metal mating surfaces between the welds, and because it has a high zinc content, the weld heat will not burn it off.
Then i will clamp the panel in place, and I am going to fit the outer quarter panel onto the vehicle and make sure this inner panel is properly aligned, before I weld it on
After setting the outer panel on, I found that the inner panel needs to be a little higher
So I lossened the clamps and raised it up a touch and now the outer panel fits good
So now I can take the outer panel back off and weld the inner panel on.
More later
So I worked on Bill's some more
Now I will remove the inner quarter panel that needs replaced, I first locate the spot welds
Then drill them out with a 5/16" drill bit, I am only gonna drill deep enough to penetrate the top panel
After they are all drilled out, I use an air chisel to help me split the panel off
Some areas that are covered with undercoating are real hard to find the spot welds, but if you use a flat grinding disc you can sand off the undercoating and see where the spot welds are
Once the panel is off I prep the weld surface
Then I coat that surface, and i'll coat the mating surface of the replacement panel with weld thru primer
Then I fit the panel up against the body and mark the locations where I will grind off some of the weld thru primer that I just put on. That weld thru primer protects the metal mating surfaces between the welds, and because it has a high zinc content, the weld heat will not burn it off.
Then i will clamp the panel in place, and I am going to fit the outer quarter panel onto the vehicle and make sure this inner panel is properly aligned, before I weld it on
After setting the outer panel on, I found that the inner panel needs to be a little higher
So I lossened the clamps and raised it up a touch and now the outer panel fits good
So now I can take the outer panel back off and weld the inner panel on.
More later
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Red_Chili
Hard Core 4+
Then I start spot welding, i've found that if the two panels are clamped tightly together it's alot easier to fill the hole in this thin sheet metal, if it's a spot where you can't get vice grips on it, drill a small hole next to the spot and use a sheet metal screw to draw the panels together, then you can remove the sheetmetal screw and fill that small hole easily.
Then spread some seam sealer on the seams
Then cover your lousy looking welds
and as much of the panel as you want with undercoating
And now it's ready for the outer quarter panel
Then spread some seam sealer on the seams
Then cover your lousy looking welds
and as much of the panel as you want with undercoating
And now it's ready for the outer quarter panel
Shark Bait
Rising Sun Member
Looks great! How long did that little job take?
Well what you see in todays posts, I have about 4.5 hours into. I also spent about 1.5 hours preparing the replacement inner quarter panel that I torched out yesterday, trimming the excess metal and prepping surfaces.
It's alot of work that I could have avoided, I got a little carried away when I was trying to come up with a better way to open up those wheel wells, and I cut off too much of that inner quarter. But that's the way it goes sometimes. I made the mistake, but I feel good about the way I fixed it.
And it's work that I enjoy. it's nice to get out of the office sometimes and back into the shop.
It's alot of work that I could have avoided, I got a little carried away when I was trying to come up with a better way to open up those wheel wells, and I cut off too much of that inner quarter. But that's the way it goes sometimes. I made the mistake, but I feel good about the way I fixed it.
And it's work that I enjoy. it's nice to get out of the office sometimes and back into the shop.
Red_Chili
Hard Core 4+
We used to call it the management VVO.
Vestigial Vocational Organ.
Vestigial Vocational Organ.
Moving on to installing the outer quarter panel
Pretty much the same process as the inner, I coated all the prepped weld surfaces with weld thru primer, fit the quarter on to the vehicle and marked all the spots that need the primer ground off, then pulled the quarter off and ground the primer off
Then I put the quarter back on the vehicle, clamped it around the perimeter in a few spots, then I started with the bottom and welded a few spots. I will skip around the panel making spot welds, so I spread out the heat and don't warp the panel.
I try to always have a clamp tightly holding the two panels together to get a good weld. Welding this thin stuff is tricky, I only weld with very quick pulls on the trigger, and I watch the color of the weld puddle, if it starts to look yellow, I stop until it cools a little but not too much, I try and keep it red so that it all flows together, but not yellow to where it melts thru the metal.
Up on top of the panel I really have to do good, this area is in plain view when the top is off, I will grind on those spot welds, but they need to be pretty good before I grind, in order to come out nice.
Pretty much the same process as the inner, I coated all the prepped weld surfaces with weld thru primer, fit the quarter on to the vehicle and marked all the spots that need the primer ground off, then pulled the quarter off and ground the primer off
Then I put the quarter back on the vehicle, clamped it around the perimeter in a few spots, then I started with the bottom and welded a few spots. I will skip around the panel making spot welds, so I spread out the heat and don't warp the panel.
I try to always have a clamp tightly holding the two panels together to get a good weld. Welding this thin stuff is tricky, I only weld with very quick pulls on the trigger, and I watch the color of the weld puddle, if it starts to look yellow, I stop until it cools a little but not too much, I try and keep it red so that it all flows together, but not yellow to where it melts thru the metal.
Up on top of the panel I really have to do good, this area is in plain view when the top is off, I will grind on those spot welds, but they need to be pretty good before I grind, in order to come out nice.
Red_Chili
Hard Core 4+
I think this quarter is gonna outlast the rest of the truck!
How do you prevent water/rust from coming up that bottom pinch weld area? Not Toyota's best design...
How do you prevent water/rust from coming up that bottom pinch weld area? Not Toyota's best design...
Shame on you Bill, berating Toyota design
It's actually how everybody does pinch seams, but Toyota has a built in drain.
In this picture near the front you can see a circular chanel, that is so that whatever water ends up inside the panel, can drain out. It's a good idea until that channel gets plugged with mud or debris, then water stays up inside that quarter.
Now everybody go out under their Toyotas with a piece of wire or a drill bit and clean out those channels that you'll see in several places along the pinch seam. I know you'll be tempted to plug them but don't. Water can get inside that quarter from lot's of places and it needs to be able to drain.
It's actually how everybody does pinch seams, but Toyota has a built in drain.
In this picture near the front you can see a circular chanel, that is so that whatever water ends up inside the panel, can drain out. It's a good idea until that channel gets plugged with mud or debris, then water stays up inside that quarter.
Now everybody go out under their Toyotas with a piece of wire or a drill bit and clean out those channels that you'll see in several places along the pinch seam. I know you'll be tempted to plug them but don't. Water can get inside that quarter from lot's of places and it needs to be able to drain.