Ice Horse's 1998 Tacoma Long Travel/Hybrid Project

Sub! Since your other build never goes anywhere. What's involved in fiberglass bedsides? Cutting the old one off? How does the new one mount up?

 

Sorry for the slow response. Seems this thread gets buried in all my other notifications haha

Haha my other truck hasn't been stuff getting done to it. Although NOW it wants attention and popped a code. Just needs an O2 sensor though lol.

I found this really good reference article, I'll have to see if I can find it and share the link. I would have been lost without it lol.

Essentially, you have to go through and drill out all of the spot welds. At first I thought you cut the sides but I guess a lot of other vehicles are all a solid piece but our bedsides are separate. And there's a bunch of spot welds along the front of the bed by the cab, along the bed rails, by the tail light, and underneath the tail light area. About 40 on each side So you have to pull the bed off and scoot it back, take off tail lights and tail gate, flare and inner fender. Then go to town. I went through two specialized $25 spot weld drill bits doing them all. There's also a little welded spot you have to grind off in the back corner. Once you do that, you pull it off and just the "inner bed part" is exposed. Then scrape off all the old epoxy.

Then there's a larger bracket you take off from the taillight area and then you chop off the top of another spot near the taillight to make it flush to the bed rails.

Then you attempt to put the sides on. Keyword is attempt. Guarantee you they won't go on So you have to look where it's rubbing. Grind the glass. Grind the metal. Repeat that about 100 times. Once we got them all properly we used little clamps to help hold it against the metal flat. Then drilled holes and used bolts for most of them. We did use a few sheet metal screws near the top of the bed on the front by the cab since we couldn't really reach a bolt to put a nut on the back that high up in there. Added holes and bolts along the inside bed rail and then back by the tail light. Then get angry because they only put half the tabs on that you need to screw the taillight into.

Here is that awesome article: http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/project536.html

 

Pics

 

Or it didn't happen

 

Looking like she is coming together well

 

Slowly but surely! I'm pretty sure the fiberglass has to be one of the hardest parts to do haha Lots of put on, take off, grind, repeat lol. Probably about 90% finished with them but still have to put in the lights.

Oh and my frame plates came in!

 

<33333

 

Mmmyeah. Please make this thing in the air.

 

I'm not that rich haha

 

Rigs like that?


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I'm not convinced

 

That rig's not that expensive!

 

Gah...but the point is, more than just one!

 

Technically that's dads truck anyway haha. I own the Taco's and he has that and the Tundra

 

One is never enough

 

I'm hearing a lot of excuses....

 

I'd have all my suspension stuff by now otherwise

Forgot too I ordered my sliders but it'll take 8-12 weeks.

 

Who did you end up going with as far as sliders?

 

Im impressed by the fitment on that fiberglass, you seem to have natural bodywork talent

 

BAMF. I won a $500 gift card in Moab so that pretty much covered them.

Thanks! They aren't perfect but others I've seen had huge gaps and that would drive me nuts. So we trimmed up some areas and built up some to make them fit better.

Bolting them on only to have to take them back off over and over is enough to drive someone mad haha. But it's worth it in the end.