4xFort Build Thread - previously Frame Swap

Exactly. I wanted the same thing and then I realized how much work the thing needed to make it reliable and work and school got upped big time... Hopefully I'll be done this semester and have the whole summer off from work to finally make this thing run. I'm jelly you're so close to those places. Definitely want to make it out there...

 

Well, when you’re ready, I’d be down to go exploring! We could drag each other out as our trucks crapped out by going before they were ready lol

I’ve destroyed a 95 corolla, a 95 Impreza, and 03 neon From countless miles of washboard and going places where they were never meant to see. Was so stoked to buy this rig finally and to find out, well, that I might be doing this instead!

 

Im actually in the market for a build rn, not sure what i want to do yet. but mine will be a toy and get towed every where.

 

Think I found a good frame. Taking a botescope to inspect it soon. What all should I check for?

Also, plan to grind it down and do all the repainting and rust protection before we do the swap. I hear POR15 but it seems like that is best used for adhering to a rusty surface. If this is stripped to bare metal, what's the best to do for the outside?
I'll still run the Eastwood internal frame coat after any fab/welding mods.

 

Get it powered coated

 

Is that the optimal solution for the outside? Better than rustproofing and chassis paint? I'm guessing that's a lot more expensive and it would involve hauling the frame around without a good solution most likely. While the painting is something I can do...

What should I look for when inspecting the frame? Definitely going internal with a scope...

 

As long as its not rust and the frame is square then you should be good. Powder coating is probably the best possible paint job. It’s something like 5x stronger then normal paint. That why lots of guys get there suspension stuff and bumpers powder coated. If you find a good shop around you that will pick it up then do it. If you lived here i know a shop that will pick your frame up but sadly your to far lol. Most powder coat shops can sand blast everything before painting too.

 

Not sure what powder coating a whole frame is going to cost, a lot of guys use POR-15 on frames to prevent rust or a chassis coating - Eaton makes a good one.

 

Probably like 800$ ish to powder coat a frame. But then agian its like 100$ for a punch of ratle cans of chassis paint

 

I would call around to shops in your area and get a quote. It is all ways cheaper if you do all the prep work your self but imo powder coating is the best way to go that why lots of guys do it. Its also fairly cheap. And my experience with it is the cheapest shop doesn’t allways mean bad and expensive shops dont always mean its good so look at reviews as well. But if i was in your shoes everything that is metal under the car would get powder coated. Do it the right way the first time so you dont need to do it agian.

 

Most guys in the north east and Canada that are serious about rust prevention will use an oil coating during the winter.

I'd do some research about rust converters and frame coatings. Not every process you mentioned will address rusting inside the boxed portion of the frame. Don't want to sway you either way, but more research on rust prevention sounds like it's warranted with the expense vs. desired outcomes you're talking about. I could think of some fun stuff to spend some of that money on if there are more cost effective solutions that provide similar or even better results.

 

My experience was that I was able to keep the exterior of my frame virtually rust free with a regimen of paints and oils, but the rust came through from the inside. Give it a good coat of frame paint and invest the savings in Fluid Film and the applicator equipment to protect the inside.

 

Hmm, these are all very valid points. The outside of these frames is all well in good, but like mine, the rust is on the inside. Even though it isn't structurally failing, it's hard to pass up a full swap including frame for $1200 since doing the strengthening I was looking into would be around $1k.

From the research I've done, many of the rust prevention products are designed to apply to already rusted surfaces. I've read and heard from others' experience that POR15 doesn't adhere worth a damn to clean metal. Along with the Eastwood products I have that I bought to do my rear frame. I'll definitely be applying fluid film to everything biannually from here on out. I'll have to look into that oil based coating mentioned... that sounds appealing. I wish I could just soak the car in creosote, but, alas, that only works by soaking into wood (I'm from southeast Alaska where the only wood products that last for more than a generation are the ones soaked in creosote, think telephone polls and train track logs). So, usually the more hazardous a product, the more I like it haha.

Can the inside of the frame be sandblasted and powdercoated? I'm doubtful, but I put in calls to 5 shops in the area to get price estimates. Might as well do this thing right, one way or another, before swapping.

 

I think por can withstand 450 degrees idk how hot powder coating get. I might be able to apply it on the inside before powder coating. But powder coating is cool cause it uses a static charge to draw the paint to the metal and it gets it in hard to reach places where normal paint cant get. So I would definitely call up a shop and see what they say

 

Right on. Well I'll hear back on Monday.

What all parts should I be prepared with or expect to replace? Things that will either break along the way or that should just be replaced because they're accessible.

So far here's what I'm thinking. Whatever I missed?
Oil pan gasket
Transfer and tranny seals
Clutch
Main seal?
All the bushings
Suspension
Aftermarket UCAs
Maybe new stock LCAs? If I get a good deal on fresh ones.
All the fluids
Cat-back exhaust
All the bolts
Debating getting those engine and tranny mounts that I saw for sale in the classifieds section here on TW.

 

Maybe some tacoma world stickers. Get all the extra hP lol. But no you seem to know what yout need to replace.

 

You can change the oil pan seal if you want - I haven't heard of too many instances of them leaking. Rear main is an obvious choice if you're doing the clutch and resurface the flywheel while you're at it. You only need aftermarket uca's if you get suspension with enough travel that the uca's become the limiting factor or you lift your truck more than 2-3". If the bushings are bad on the lca's you could replace the bushings or get all new ones. If your transmission isn't leaking I'd leave it alone. Everything else is up to your budget. I'm still apprehensive about powder coating the frame. I'm not sure that the price is proportional to the benefit. A couple of frame off's have just used the appropriate coating with good results up in the regions that get a lot more rust than SLC. Of course I'm not the one paying for it and if you have the budget and it makes you happy to have it, that's the whole point of modding vehicles lol.

 

Haha thanks for the input!
Yeah the transfer case has a leaky seal. The oil pan gasket loses about a quart every other week. It's getting pretty bad. And it's $15 for fipg to fix it once the diff is outta the way.

 

Well, I bought a frame, and it’s in great shape. Ran a borescope down in there but could immediately see that there was no rust. Just some surface stuff on the external faces. I guess it’s about time to make a build thread... haha
How do people go about naming their build threads?

 

Let the build name itself lol suggestion "I'm totally inframe to be doing this" build