Project Chewie (1 Viewer)

[CrowleyFJ40]

New comms complete. Yaesu 8900 quad band with cross band repeat. A ton of features I'll likely never use. Thanks to @tornadoalleycruiser for the quick QSO to test my setup. The speaker is wired up through the center channel speaker in the dash. It's loud and crystal clear. Really excited with how clean this came out.

Main body mounted under driver's seat

Panavise no drill mount, made for a very clean install of the remote head.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Needed a place to put the ham mic. Didn't want anywhere it would be in the way or tie up space in any of the cup holders or cubbies, didn't want to drill into the dash, and didn't want it hanging from the mirror. Had some aluminum sitting around, so I bent up this bracket. It's not in the way of the passenger, cupholders, or controls. Probably never have to take it out, Yaesu mics are really good at picking up voice from a distance. But if I need to, it's very ergonomic to get out.

Also, it's warm out, so G&T in the cupholder (not driving).

 

[half k cruiser]

@CrowleyFJ40 what mount did you use. My buddy has a 4th gen and wants to do a 2m setup. This would work well for him.

 

[half k cruiser]

@CrowleyFJ40 what mount did you use. My buddy has a 4th gen and wants to do a 2m setup. This would work well for him.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

@half k cruiser I used a panavise mount, part 75137-303.

Bought it from eBay:
PanaVise In Dash Mount for Toyota 4Runner 03-09, 75137-303 | eBay

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

There are no power outlets in the back seat. As I prepare the vehicle to embark on a 30 hour road trip, plus all the time in the vehicle spent wheeling, I decided having the ability to charge electronic devices for the kids in the back seat would be crucial to my sanity. I found a two outlet housing that came with two 12 volt outlets. I may switch one out for a USB, but for right now I can just add a USB plug and it give me the versatility of running other accessories that use a 12 volt cigarette plug.

Started by figuring out where I wanted to mount it. I decided on the back of the front seat center console. I pulled the center console out, and then pulled off the back panel. I drilled two small pilot holes for the mounting, and one larger one to put a grommet in and run the wiring through, so it's all hidden inside the center console.

Added the plugs to the ends of the wires and wired it all up in series.

Then routed the wires up through the center console on the top of the HVAC duct to keep it all secured. I split the power off into another USB outlet (see next post), and terminated them at a pair of Anderson Power Poles to make it easy to disconnect for console removal.

For power I run off the auxiliary fuse panel under the driver's seat. I ran this power through a 30 amp Bosch relay (not pictured, tucked into center console) to only power it when the ignition is in accessory or on. No need in waking up to a dead battery because we left a DVD player running all night.

And finally, the finished product. It still allows the trash bag holder to swing up and be used as well.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

I'm currently on my 3rd USB plug that goes into the factory dash switch cutouts (seen in the pictures below next to seat heater switch). The first two died a pretty quick death. The worked great when they were first put in, but after a short while they just quit charging. They would charge for a few seconds, then stop, and did this every time you plugged a phone in. I'm trying a slightly different looking one from @1MAC that looks a little different, but came in the same packaging.

So I decided to go ahead and add a different one that I have had success with before. It has 2 2.1 amp ports, and fit perfectly in the little cubby where I keep my phone right in front of the arm rest on the center console. It's wired in with the outlets shown above, so it's on ignition power. Can never have enough USB outlets!

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Had my gauge cluster repaired. The fuel gauge almost never worked, the tach worked half the time, and the coolant temp worked 2/3 of the time. I actually ordered a rebuilt one from Tanin Auto, and was going to sell them my core, bit when I got the cluster from them it was from an SR5. The gauge faces and trim were wrong, the shift indicator did not have a 4th gear, and the seatbelt indicator flashed when I buckled my seatbelt. So I sent them mine and they replaced the stepper motors, and shipped it back. Then I returned the SR5 one they sent me. No pictures, not exciting...

I made a mount for my off brand Maxtraxx to go on my roof rack.

When I removed my running boards, I lost the lights at each end of the boards that provided courtesy lighting. To be honest, they were pretty faint and not all that useful. Cue the COB LED light strips. I mounted two per side and wired into the factory wiring. Eventually I will probably wire them up to be controlled my a switch as well for rock lights.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Wheel spacers on. Then off. Then on again. Spidertrax 1.25". @1MAC stopped by with his sweet new mobile service truck Monday night to help and we slapped them on. Thank you! Ended up with a shimmy. Took them off Tuesday morning, then got it realigned today. Spacers back on and tires rotated tonight, and she's good to go. Had to do some slight modifications to the inner fenders because they started rubbing once spaced out. So I pulled out a couple of screws and pushed the inner fender forward, drilled new holes, and put screws back in. Then I used a heat gun to mold a little more wiggle room. I will probably trim the bumper to match the new fender liner body line, but that can wait until after CO. Looks really nice without sticking the tires out of the wheel wells.

Before

After, with sneak preview of @1MAC service truck in bumper

Before

After

 

[rockstate45]

@CrowleyFJ40 , did your shimmy end up going away after the rotation?

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

@rockstate45 There is still just a slight shimmy around 55. It's not there without the spacers. But it will get me by for this trip. I may start looking for a new set of wheels with different backspacing so I can get rid of the spacers, but it's driveable.

 

[rockstate45]

@rockstate45 There is still just a slight shimmy around 55. It's not there without the spacers. But it will get me by for this trip. I may start looking for a new set of wheels with different backspacing so I can get rid of the spacers, but it's driveable.

I wonder if the tires are out of balance just ever so slightly and the wheel spacers are adding back that shimmy?

Time for some steelies like all the cool kids?

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Wow, so I came here to post an update to Chewie. Holy cow it's been a long time! Please join me in my way back when machine as we teleport through time for a few key updates.

April 14th, 2018 - @tornadoalleycruiser and I spent the day putting a big hole in a perfectly good fender to add some molded plastic rollover protection, AKA snorkel. As one is not made for a 4th gen, some adaptation was required. A couple of pieces of PVC glued up and painted black did the trick quite nicely.

Here's to hoping I'll never use it!

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Next stop for the way back when machine is November of 2018. Troy Boy helped me build a set of drawers at Papa's (Grandpa's) house.

I had been using the Toyota shelf system that was installed with a couple of under the bed totes to store things, but didn't like this for a multitude of reasons. There was a lot of unused space, and you had to pull the totes all the way out and set them down to be able to access anything. The only positive was I could take the tote of cooking items over to a picnic table to have it close at hand while prepping/eating.

I wanted something with 2 drawers as full depth as possible, that would utilize space in the most efficient way. Because of where it would meet the back of the 2nd row seats, there would be an area of potentially wasted space. There was also the wheel wells to contend with, getting around their awkward shape. I took a lot of measurements and drew up multiple variations for the drawer system trying to come up with a system that I liked the best.

This is one of the designs that was in the running. Used 22" drawer slides and had a hidden panel that, once the 2nd row was leaned forward, could be removed. I thought about making access to it via the top, but decided that when it was covered in gear I didn't want to have to unload the truck to get to it.

This is the design I ultimately settled on. It has 36" drawer slides that are the full depth. The back is flat where it meets the seats, leaving a triangular shaped empty space behind the seats. This space works out really well for storing items that are seldom used and otherwise awkward to store. Fishing poles/tackle, extra roll of TP/Paper towels, extra propane bottle cushioned by aforementioned TP.

It also has "wings" on each side that contour to the side of the interior panel and flip up on a piano hinge. This allows access to the tie downs that were used to secure the box on that side with turnbuckles (2 more used in the void behind the seat for a total of 4 attachment points), access to the factory jack and tools, 12 volt power ports (both factory and a constant hot, more on that later), and then another void that can be used for storage. The left side is currently storing ratchet straps and various other items, while the right side with the factory 12 volt port is storage for chargers and batteries for a handheld Ham and cordless tools.

Here is a sketch of the design winner. It is built using 1/2" plywood everywhere with the exception of the top, which is 3/4" to have a higher weight carrying/spanning capacity. I cut out most of the bottom panel, since it would be sitting on the floor and not really supporting the weight, more just for keeping it square and not racking.

Troy Boy sanding the bottom piece with oversight from Papa.

I couldn't find any pictures of the drawers after they were installed, so I had to snap some new ones. As you can see in this picture, I have since added a fridge and slide, because fishing for soggy food in ice water sucks. You can also see where a bag of coal slag leaked... The tie down and latch on the right side are for securing a large tote of camping gear. My trusty Coleman stove will fit on the fridge slide perfectly next to the fridge if I slide it all the way over to the left, and put all the water in the fridge. I went with locking paddle latches so that I could secure them while parked overnight at motel, camp, etc.

Here are both drawers pulled out to full extension. I cut grooved slots in the drawer sides and used some 1/4" plywood as adjustable dividers. The piece of wood on the top of the right drawer is a table. I added the old school retro 4Runner label by printing it off and using Polycrylic to transfer it to the wood.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Here's with the table deployed. All the cooking stuff is in the right drawer, so with the table set up I can cook with all my dry goods and utensils at my fingertips, and can pull the fridge out to access cold foods at the same time. The left drawer is tools, so presumably I won't need tools while cooking or cold stuff while wrenching. Beer while wrenching is the only flaw in this plan.

Here's some close ups of the right and left cubby areas.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Next stop is March of 2019. We purchased a new garage. It has a house attached to it, so the rest of the family was able to come along and stay with me and the rigs. I had to run some service cable and install a 100 amp sub panel in the garage and add a bunch of outlets and LED lighting, because it had the typical 2 outlets on the back wall, and no 220.

With that done, and a 220v Hobart added to the arsenal to replace my Harbor Freight 110v flux core, I was ready to start on the next fab project. Moab trip was coming up, and I knew I needed sliders before going to play in that sandbox. Also knew that with kids and Amanda, it should double as steps to aid entry and exit. Started with some 2x4 3/16" wall rectangle tube. I used the plasma cutter to split some 2x4 and welded that against the rectangle tube to give the kick outs to serve as steps as well as pushing the rig away from rocks as it slid toward the wheel wells.

Pretty simple fab job. Used some leftover 2x2 1/4" wall to make the riggers to run to the frame and then welded some slider frame brackets from Trail Gear onto those. Welded the whole setup to the frame, but not before giving it a nice bright Home Depot orange paint job, and some grip tape for the steps.

Moab was a blast and the sliders definitely got a lot of use, and served their purpose extremely well. SO glad I did that before the Moab trip.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

All aboard! Next stop in the way back when machine (WBWM) is January of this year. Finally, we're in the right decade.

Santa blessed me with a battery tray and battery isolator for my dual battery setup. Using a weld in battery tray from Speedway Motors, I fabbed up a bracket to mount a new Odyssey Group 34/78 battery in the unused area of the engine back in the back right side. Since I had planned to add a second battery from the beginning, rewiring the 2 auxiliary fuse panels (one under hood, one under drivers seat) was as simple as moving the wire that fed those two panels (via two circuit breakers) from the starting battery to the auxiliary battery side of the isolator. I used a Battery Doctor 150 amp smart isolator. It monitors voltage on the starting battery, and only switches to charging the aux. battery once the main battery is fully charged. It also has an override button to link the two together to self jump start.

So now my fridge, 12 volt power ports for the back seat, usb ports for the front seat, ham, and under hood lights all run off the aux. battery.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

And our final stop on the WBWM is present day. Kept weighing all the options for front and rear bumpers, and finally decided that I have the tools, I'll go ahead and make my own, exactly how I want them. Started with the front as it's more straight forward than the giant, plastic encapsulated rear bumper.
Didn't start this fab job with CAD, at least not the computer based one I normally use.

Since I couldn't get the cardboard to strike a clean arc, I went ahead and switched to metal. Used some leftover 1/4" plywood from the drawer project to make some templates for the plasma cutter. The frame mounts are 4x4 1/4" angle, and the winch plate is from Harbor Freight. The shackle points were something I had on the shelf, I don't remember where they even came from but they are beefy, and fully welded all the way around, as well as plug welded on the back. The rest is 11 gauge sheet.

Had a winch bucket tacked up in no time.

And started designing the "wings" from there. The entire top of the bumper is all one piece.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Once I had the wings cut out, I went back to do some more CAD work to finish it out.

Then was a lot of welding. And grinding. Had to tack it quite a bit to keep any warpage down to a minimum.

Mounted it up for a test fit. at this point, the wings had too much flex, so I added one more triangular piece going from the center section up to the 2nd bend that you can see it later pictures.

Added the lower section to protect the radiator and condenser. Plasma cutter and a speed square. I ended up having to add some more plate after this to cover the very bottom.

And a final mounting for test fitting.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Once it was all welded up, I media blasted the entire thing with coal slag. I was having a hard time getting my little blaster to feed right, kept getting water in the air despite an air/water seperator. @tornadoalleycruiser suggested a Motor Guard M60 filter. That did the trick and got me clean, dry air.

Next on the agenda, how to finish it. @tornadoalleycruiser and @2fpower were both extremely helpful and invaluable, as always. I went with Southern Polyurethanes epoxy primer to lay down on the bare metal. I decided to go with Monstaliner as the topcoat, and Kelly highly suggested I spray it as well. Very glad I went that route. It was extremely easy and fast, and relatively little mess. I would hate to roll that stuff, it would take forever compared to spraying.

I used plastic sheeting to make a paint booth in the garage, and built a box around an old furnace fan from Erik for the exhausting of fumes. It worked extremely well and pulled a hell of a vacuum! Also kept the house completely odor free, which was a huge plus with the people that occupy that space. Used a smart outlet and wrote a script so that it would run for 10 minutes every hour overnight so any off gassing was cleared out.