85 4runner to Truggy @ ORS

[OffRoadSolutions]

Well, we have in a customer's vehicle that we will be doing some huge modifications to, the goal is to make a buggy on frame and make it reliable and great for offroad!

This is what we are starting with:
1985 Toyota 4runner on stock axles, Alcan springs, dual cases among many other mods.













What we have to do:
Transfer everything (except the body) over to a new frame. Why you ask? Because the current frame is separated. (see pic below)

The new frame has had the body mounts removed since we will not be using a Toyota body on it. We will be cleaning this frame up more and more as the project progresses.

Build a custom body/chassis out of tube and attach it to the new frame. (which we hope to have as a product after this is fully developed).
That includes the floor and dash being custom fab'd too. Also some sweet gauge mounts.
It will be a four seater (Corbeau seats) with buckets in the front and a bench in the rear. The back won't have too much space, so a tall adult wouldn't be able to ride back there, but it will be great for kids, which is what the 4runner's owner plans to use it for.
Some new shock mounts and other custom fab work to be done too!

Keep an eye out for updates and more pictures as we get further into this project.

Busted Frame:


New Frame (which will be cleaned up heavily through the project):

[ms018kmf]

That looks fun, badass welds there too.

Can't wait to see the finished product, you guys do excellent work.

[OffRoadSolutions]

thanks!

There should be some decent amount of work done to it this week, so I should hopefully be able to update with more pics soon!

[OffRoadSolutions]

Well we are modifying the frame today. Removing one of the crossmembers (the stock Toyota one was not beefy enough for us) and replace it with square tubing to reinforce the frame, provide a stronger crossmember, and cap off the end of the frame. Made for some awesome pictures with the plasma cutter too!

Here is the frame without xmember


here is the xmember on the floor


and here is Brian cleaning up where he cut out on the frame with the plasma cutter before installing the new crossmember

[OffRoadSolutions]

More work done today on the truck to buggy conversion...
Basically he cut the frame off at the end and then reinforced where he took out that crossmember with 3x3".

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

Those are pretty welds...... Mig?

[OffRoadSolutions]

Yep, a MIG welder

[knixen]

You bastards!!! Wicked welding!!!


Going too keep looking for updates here...

[OffRoadSolutions]

More work done today. Added in a crossmember/frame support in the middle of the frame, in order to remove the factory one and have the frame still be supported (the stock one was in the way of our drivetrain placement and not as sturdy as teh replacement we were putting in). We added in the new one before we removed the old one to make sure the frame was stabilized and that it would not tweak or anything of the sort.

Here you can see where we tacked in the new crossmember


Welding in more tabs on the frame (these are going to be frame brackets for the cab mounts and also aid in making the structure stronger for shipping as a whole when the product is finished being developed)






Cutting out the factory middle crossmember (cleaned it up afterwards as well)

[OffRoadSolutions]

Well over the end of the week and the weekend, ALOT more work has been completed. The 4runner/buggy has a floor and sliders. We are still working on finishing up the detail work in the sliders to make them more sturdy and ready to wheel. And I'm sure you noticed, the frame just keeps getting cleaner and cleaner!

Here is the main layout of the floor and sliders (keep in mind they are not finished yet and will be braced to be made more sturdy)


Here we are fitting some bracing for the sliders, to make them sturdier.

[ToyotaNick]

wow that is gorgeous! and man those are some pretty welds... it looks like a machine did them! cant wait to see it progress!

[beatdown83fj60]

GAwd I wish I could afford to have you guys work on my junk, I've been driving past your shop and have seen your vehicles all over CO for over 5 years. Nice welds! If you guys ever need a VERY hungry and aspiring welder/fab artist that will work for low pay pm me! (I do have almost a year of mig experience in a shop) On top of that if you guys see a well running 22re out of one of your motor swaps I'll take it. I can't wait to see the final product. You guys live my dream job every day of your lives!

[OffRoadSolutions]

Thanks toyotanick & beatdown, those are some hella kind words .

Right now we don't have any 22RE's.. but I will keep my eye out for you.

[OffRoadSolutions]

The guys have been working hard on this 4runner/buggy this week.

Got the floor/slider bracing measured, cut and tacked in.
Bent the Main hoops and tacked those in, bent the drive train hump tubing and tacked that in, and got the a-pillars bent and tacked in.

We have a full cab now!

Not to mention the motor is mounted.

This thing is coming along great, and its impressive to watch the guys in back work on this type of custom fab.

And the pictures:

here you can see the 2 main hoops in along with the floor hump


the hump itself


the chassis again



the a-pillars are added here, as is the motor


(ignore the bar sitting across the floor that you see)




here's the sliders, notice that the back goes down and the front goes up. We did this to accommodate fitting the large tires in there, with the axles location being so close and not causing clearance issues


the motor/floor hump


a rear view

[OffRoadSolutions]

Alright, this 4runner/truggy REALLY looks like a vehicle now. Got the windshield bracing in, the roof bracing in, and "fenders" and hood/grille bracing. Granted there is more tube to come, but it really looks like you could ride in it now. Especially since they threw the seats in for test fitting.

The seats will end up sitting about 3" higher than they are right now, but you get the idea anyways.

The front of the cab/rear of the fenders will also have more tubing for support and strength.







from the rear

[kling-on]

WOW very nice

[liljlandon]

Wow! Man i wish we could do stuff like that! Would you hire right out of Wyotech? Hehe!

[OffRoadSolutions]

Well, we're not hiring at the moment. But feel free to send us your resume. One of our current guys is actually from there, though he had some experience before he applied here.

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

Why do the 2 over engine tubes bend towards center at the firewall? Seems less structural....?

[buffethat@comcast.ne]

Nice build and the welds look great.

Odd topic, last fall you guys had a black 4Runner sitting in front of your store. Is that the one you are building now? If so do you guys still have the front bumper of it? I asked back then if you were interested in selling it and told me to check back.

BTW the wiring harness for the front e-locker I bought works fine now. I had to change the connection on the e-locker from your old style to the new style but it worked fine on China mans gulch. I tell everyone who needs wiring to get it from you guys, it is a true plug an play...............if you have the right plug ;-)

[OffRoadSolutions]

Originally Posted by 2ndGenToyotaFan

Why do the 2 over engine tubes bend towards center at the firewall? Seems less structural....?

The place they come into (the windshield bracing) is a good structural point, we also wanted it to look different and eye catching.
We are going to be adding tringulation to the front along with other bracing, so structure definitely will not be an issue

Originally Posted by buffethat@comcast.ne

Nice build and the welds look great.

Odd topic, last fall you guys had a black 4Runner sitting in front of your store. Is that the one you are building now? If so do you guys still have the front bumper of it? I asked back then if you were interested in selling it and told me to check back.

BTW the wiring harness for the front e-locker I bought works fine now. I had to change the connection on the e-locker from your old style to the new style but it worked fine on China mans gulch. I tell everyone who needs wiring to get it from you guys, it is a true plug an play...............if you have the right plug ;-)

Are you talking about the black pickup we had here? We have a bumper available for 2nd gens that was on it.
That is not the vehicle we are working on though.

Glad the harness is working for you! We really appreciate you telling people about us too. Thanks

[buffethat@comcast.ne]

"Are you talking about the black pickup we had here? We have a bumper available for 2nd gens that was on it.
That is not the vehicle we are working on though."

No, it was a 4Runner beat pretty bad, 1st gen. No biggie I was just wondering, I am getting ready to start an EXO cage and that would have been a good base to start from.

[OffRoadSolutions]

Ahhh sorry!

[OffRoadSolutions]

Well, the guys got more of the tubing done. The notch they had to make to get this to work was pretty crazy. You will see the "fender tube" that was there already, and this is another bracing tube for the fender/hood area to add structure and integrity.

Looking from the front:


Looking from the back:






The guys also got the rear hoop built, the one for behind the back seats.





Also, they strung up some string (the yellow string you see in the picture above and this photo) around the chassis to show you points they will be re-enforcing in the near future with more tubing.