Fj80 rocker chop body mounted sliders

[Redgrrr]

I'm not the first to do this but didn't see it documented well anywhere on mud. I figured a dedicated thread may help the few 80 owners that are wiling to chop. In my case my 80 was rusty in the rockers just in front and behind of the rear wheels. So cutting it all out was a easy decision. Plus I smashed up my rockers a few times already.

Gotta thank @joez and @brosky for the initial idea. My version is a little different than both but similar concept. I found their setup doing a google image search and that lead me back to a few pics and details here on Mud.

I'm trying to keep the weight down as much as possible and the clearance high. I'm guessing these style of slider nets 4"-5" more clearance at the rockers than a traditional slider setup. Still gotta come up with exhaust protection on the passenger side but that will come in the future. I'll have to add that to this thread when I come up with a strong solution.

For material I picked up a 2x4x3/16 thick box steel at 14' in length. Which gave me the extra metal I needed for capping the ends. I could have gotten away with a piece at 12' 6" if you have scrap metal laying around. If I do this again I may even go 1/8" thick. This material cost about $65 at my local steel supply for both sides.

For the tubing I used 1" and 1 1/4" .120 wall DOM and sleeved them together. I had this tubing already so if I had to purchase I would have just got one stick of .250 wall. I got the DOM from Tube service in Denver for around $3/ foot so around $80 total for both sides. With my tube Bender I had to use about 7' on each side to get the bends I needed.

I'm a carpenter so I cut, fitted and tacked everything together and had my friend burn it all in for me.

I only took pics of the driver side as I went But the passenger side is the same. hope this helps.

 

[Redgrrr]

More pics. I also chopped my wheel wells out. The B pillar was cut and folded over, I drilled holes and had my buddy spot weld them back together.

 

[Redgrrr]

When I mocked up the driver side I made a copy for the passenger side so they were the same. I had the passenger side completed before I chopped out the rocker and it fit well.

 

[dcguillory]

I am concerned and aroused. Keep it up.

 

[Redgrrr]

I messed up my final bend in the second tube kick out when I made the copy. I was winging it and my bends came out to an 1 1/2" long. I was lucky and had extra tube. Next time I'll make my first bend flip it around put the other side in and measure from the end of the bend/die to the center of the radius on the first bend so I have a reference number for the copy.

Here is some more pics. I'll have to add pics later of the back side. You have to beat the back piece over to the the box steel as you weld it because of where I cut the rocker. I think at where @brosky cut his the radius of the rocker sends the tube closer to the vertical inner rocker. I had rust I was trying to get rid of and I wanted mine to be as high as possible. I also didn't want to remove the fenders or doors so I want the weld area to be just below the door line.

I had my friend weld about 3" then leave a section open for water to drain out if it does get inside the pillars and drain down.

 

[Azca]

I would think you would need at least one mid-span support on the tubes to reduce bending. Maybe two...

 

[Azca]

I would think you would need at least one mid-span support on the tubes to reduce bending. Maybe two...

Nevermind

 

[Redgrrr]

A few more pics in action. I tend to use and abuse my vehicles and was nervous about bending these up and in. I'll report back if I have problems, but so far so good!

 

[Trail Mule]

That is super awesome! You did a clean job!

 

[joez]

Came out great!

 

[nukegoat]

That exhaust...

 

[Redgrrr]

That exhaust...

Hehe I was waiting for that... I'll smash and reroute later. The rest of the exhaust is actually tucked up nice but getting 100% of what I WANTED and what I GOT at the exhaust shops Is always disappointing. This took multiple trips to several shops to get what I got... I wish I could just pay them to rent the Bender...

 

[nukegoat]

Hehe I was waiting for that... I'll smash and reroute later. The rest of the exhaust is actually tucked up nice but getting 100% of what I WANTED and what I GOT at the exhaust shops Is always disappointing. This took multiple trips to several shops to get what I got... I wish I could just pay them to rent the Bender...

Amen

 

[ALX4X4]

I'm shipping my truck over now to have a set added. I don't have anywhere near the level of skills to do that but I'd like 3-4" tube just to balance out the 'look' under the door. Awesone job.....!

 

[artech]

First off- awesome job! When my rockers rust to the point they need replacing then this is how I want to go! Really like the little wedges you added in the back to match the body line, they make it all blend perfectly.

So couple questions; did you tie these to the frame or just to the body? How much of a bender did you need to get those pipes bent, can a manual hydraulic one do the job(HF kinda thing) or is it a pro-shop kind of deal? And any special things you found to watch out for as far as hooking up the rails to the body panels? Any advice for anyone else following your build?

 

[Redgrrr]

@artech Thanks!

These are tied to the body only. I've used them for three days of wheelin at our local TLCA event and I am hard on equipment. Time will tell how they hold up. I did set the weight of the vehicle on them several times as well as from the side to pivot. They held up great. I believe connecting to the frame and body would be bad idea considering how much movement happens between the two.

I have a pro-tools 105 Bender. It was almost ten years old when I bought it second hand from a local rock buggy/chassis fabricator. He purchased the same exact die's and Bender to replace it for less slop for repeated bends. I don't have any experience with the HF Bender so no advice there. If this we're the only tube I was bending I'd go to a buddy or fab shop that knows their Bender. I've wasted expensive tubing on this project and my fj40 tube project learning how to use and measure. Especially on tubes with multiple bends.

Advise is start cutting stuff out you'll have to replace it. The first side took me a stupid amount of time that I'd be embarrassed to admit here. The second side was cut out and prebuilt slider put in in less than 4 hours.

 

[artech]

Do you think there's any advantage to folding the B-post bottoms or in hindsight would you just cut them straight off and weld them to the new box tube? And when you get a chance, could you please put up more pics of the bottoms and maybe where it's welded on the back side? Thanks so much for posting this up!

 

[Redgrrr]

My buddy who welded everything up for me owns an autobody shop so he's the one who suggested I fold over and box it back into itself. For now the B pillar just rest on the tube. The A pillar is cut flush and welded to the box steel. I eventually want to take off the doors and weld some 1x1 Angle steel from the A and B pillar to the box tube to reinforce.

I honestly ran out of time and wanted to go wheelin. I painted everything, tore the paper off and drove to the campground.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Nice job.

I did this to my HZJ105 but used 3x3 backed up with 1x3. I tapered the outer bottom edge of the 3x3 to give it very slight boost sided shape to improve the clearance as much as possible.
I also used a hole saw so the round tube passed through my box section and through the inner section of the body at the A, B & C pillar to beef up the body a bit. Still purely attached to the body.

I've wheeled mind hard, dropped the whole weight of the rig onto the sliders crawling in rocks. I've slightly dented one tube, but there is no sign of any impact on the body

 

[jcardona1]

Looks great! I did something similar, still have yet to do the passenger side because of the cats, not sure what I'm doing with that yet. I cut the rocker, capped with plate and attached a 2x6 to the frame. A lot of work but the result is well worth it IMO.