Build 86 Xtra Cab Build (4Wheelunderground 3 link front, 4 link rear and 3.4 swap)

[aztoyman]

@ntsqd, Good eye and idea. IDK why I didn't think of that for Riv-Nuts. I do that for adding a drain plug to my transmission pans. That idea will be implemented here. Thanks for the tip. I didn't like painting over them anyway.

 

[aztoyman]

Opinions needed here. Here's a pic of a legit door bar. One diagonal bar combined with a sill bar is an acceptable design. Must be at a height to pass between the shoulder and elbow and not be higher than halfway up the door opening. (If getting inspected) Obviously I don't have to pass tech. I'd rather not get skewered though.

I'm turning 65 and I'm beat to hell. My wife is right behind me with artificial hips and knees so getting in and out is going to suck. It's doable but somewhat difficult.

I'm thinking either put in a swing out kit for the full bar or just shorten it up enough to make access easier. Swing out's are NHRA legal for cars running the 1/4 @ 8.50 or slower so they're not a death trap. Shorter is a simpler solution.

By the way, where this bar attaches is at the bend of my main hoop and also where my horizontal bar attaches. So I'm going to leave it in place and add a 1.5" x .120" wall DOM harness bar higher up as some of you have suggested. Perfectly acceptable solution.

Here's a couple door bar pics for reference.

 

[gnob]

id go with the second option(for the foot relief) while being conscious about that bar location and repeatedly smacking my elbow on it

 

[ntsqd]

Tough call that I think you're the only one who can answer. The top pic would be what any tech inspection will want as it is the best for triangulating the main hoop. Bottom pic is a compromise. This isn't a comp truck, so how much compromise can you accept?
Those swinging door bars are a pain. Open the door, open the bar, climb in, close the bar, close the door. Now picture being out on a trail ride where you're getting in and out frequently. Most of those that I've seen in vehicles like yours end up getting removed entirely.

I'd be inclined to shorten the diagonal up even further if it gets it away from your feet and your elbow as gnob pointed out.

 

[aztoyman]

Yeah, I was leaning toward the shorter bar. I know people with swing out bars and they definitely suck. They needed it for a drag car and usually pulled it out completely for daily driving.

I think something is better than nothing here. I'll get my elbow involved in the testing as well. THANK YOU!

 

[bkg]

Before you fully weld… spend an afternoon getting in and out and in and out and in and out. And then do it again.

I pulled the PRP Daily Drivers out of my truck because getting in and out over the side bolsters eventually became such a PITA that I didn’t even want to drive the truck….

 

[ntsqd]

I've got PRP DD's in the Wagon project and I've worried about that a little, but compared to the Mastercrafts in the FSB they're easy to get in and out of.

Flip side is that I can and have spent long days of driving long distances in those Mastercrafts and I'm not fatigued at the end of those days. Longest time spent in them is just a little short of 12 hours, and furthest driven is just under 750 miles. Only get out to re-fuel and pee, so ~15 min max stops.

 

[aztoyman]

I ordered the flat seat option but kept the slight bolsters in the back rest for just that reason. These are the Enduro Trek model. The Crawl has high seat bolsters and back bolsters. The Trail version has the high seat bolsters and no back bolsters. These Treks are very similar to the buckets I had in here originally. Actually my 4Runner buckets have larger side bolsters.

But, yeah @bkg. Once I get the driver seat at least tacked so it stops slipping out of position, I will definitely try it out and fine tune as necessary.

I have more room to get out of this cab than my standard cab. I carry a small step for my wife just to get on the slider so I'll set her up as best as I can.

THANKS for the excellent feedback and advice you guys.

 

[ntsqd]

In the FSB I carry one of those folds-flat step stools for my wife. I tied a short piece of small nylon rope to it and tied a monkey's fist on the loose end. That way she can use it to get up inside, and then pull it in after her.

 

[aztoyman]

I really need to look for something like that. I've been using a metal milk crate I have to grab from the bed before she hops in. Jumping down isn't the hard part.

 

[Broski]

I do the small folding step stool for my wife also. Works well
And she only uses it getting in.

 

[bkg]

I've got PRP DD's in the Wagon project and I've worried about that a little, but compared to the Mastercrafts in the FSB they're easy to get in and out of.

Flip side is that I can and have spent long days of driving long distances in those Mastercrafts and I'm not fatigued at the end of those days. Longest time spent in them is just a little short of 12 hours, and furthest driven is just under 750 miles. Only get out to re-fuel and pee, so ~15 min max stops.

part of the frustration - which I neglected to mention - is due specifically to vehicle height. Even after lowering the tacoma 1.5", it was still frustrating. Only work around that I came up with was to slide the seat all the way back before entering/exiting.

Mostly liked the PRP's once settled... but after a couple of years of climbing over the bolsters, I became disenfranchised and went back to stock. For a wheeling-only truck, NBD... but trying to split wheeling & DD/weekend home depot runs.... entry and exit became much more an annoyance than I ever dreamed.

 

[ntsqd]

Oh yeah, I get it. The FSB is up 4" on metric 35's, and it's a very upright seating position so the side bolster is almost at the bottom of my rib-cage when I'm standing on the ground next to it.

The Wagon is deliberately on 33-10.50's. Not sure how much lift (bought it this way), but it is a LOT lower entry than the FSB. No step likely needed for my wife to get in or out.

 

[aztoyman]

The original seat belt mounting point on the trans tunnel is in a good location but I can't use it for my harness since the outer belt will be attached to the sill bar.

So I bent up a pair of tubes to run parallel to the tunnel. I really like this Rogue Fab tool.

I'm going to weld a sleeve in these tubes so I can run an M12 bolt into the reinforced belt mounting point. There's also a seat bolt hole that can tie it into the under floor bracing. There's more along side the sill bar.

 

[aztoyman]

I cut up my original halo bar for these seat tubes. All I had left was the two bends. One of them fit perfect to get over the tunnel so I could tie the driver and passenger side sill bars together. I don't know another solution for that. I still have to figure something out for the forward one.

 

[aztoyman]

So I cut both A-pillars and cut the tack welds for the dash bar so I could tilt the roof down for weld access. I got the tops fully welded but I will need to tip this down again for more stuff I still need to get to.

Realigning at the cuts is a bear to do and be able to sleeve it. I ended up polishing the 1 1/2" DOM sleeves in my lathe and running flap wheels inside my cage tubes so the sleeves will slide inside.

I drilled holes for roll pins in the bottom tubes to stop the sleeves halfway across the weld joints. So to get the cage back in position, I slid the sleeves up into the top side and they slid down into position once lined up.

When I get ready to tilt the roof down again for finish work, I'll pull the roll pins and let the sleeves drop below the joint so I can get it apart. Yeah, it's tight enough that it's a struggle to do.

I'll have to get the sleeves back out and repeat when I'm ready to weld them up.

While the dash bar tacks are cut, I can easily pull the lower half of each A-pillar for full welding of the base plates.

I also welded the dash bar tie in to the cowl and steering column supports. I still need to fab the tie ins to the cab at the door hinges.

 

[aztoyman]

Here's a pic of how it's coming together.

 

[ntsqd]

It's not against the rules to go THRU the trans tunnel unless there's something in the way or will be occasionally. At full rear bump is the rear drive-shaft that close to the tunnel?

 

[aztoyman]

@ntsqd I saw where someone made a drive shaft loop and had the bottom half under the truck and the top over the hump. I got down under the truck and took a look to see if that would work for me. My horse collar cross member is directly under the cab floor at that position.

My trans and cases are raised up some and why I had to modify my tunnel but, I'll take another look tomorrow and see if going straight through would work on the rear most tube. The forward tube would go straight into the rear case shifter. Thanks for the idea.

To add, Looking at the shape of the floor you can see where the cross member would be. I had to move the cross member slightly forward to clear the battery box. If the tube doesn't interfere with the drive shaft, going straight through might work.

 

[aztoyman]

@ntsqd , That tube DOES have room to go straight through. Barely. There is no way to put it through as one piece and even if it would, I'd need to cut and sleeve it in order to get all my welds finished.

This floor structure is so close to the floor that I can't weld around the bottom of the tubes. I'll have to cut in the right places so I can have enough room to fully weld it and either sleeve it or put in some tube connectors.

The tube will cross just forward of the frame cross member.

The white structure is where the seat belts and rear seat mounts bolt to. I was going to tie the seat tubes to them.