My 02 SR5 4WD Build - "T. Belle"

3/25/13

Sneak peek of spare tire carrier...



The carrier will be able to lift up and lock in the horizontal position for full access to bed, if needed.

 

Subbed truck is looking sweet man!

 

Thank you, DD03SR5!

 

3/28/13

Stopped by Demello today to pick up wheel spacers for the FJ.

Wow, Belle's rack (pun intended) is looking good. Photos below.

42" ELS Atlas LED light bar and mesh floor.



Side profile (sunroof can still be opened).



Swing-up spare tire carrier.



To lock the swing-up carrier in the "up" position, support legs fold down and secure to the floor mounts.



Nearly complete. All that's left are two (2) removable Jerry can carriers (one above each wheel well), some weld-on tabs (for lights, antenna, etc.) and of course, powder-coating.

Suspension work should commence, once rack is ready for PC. My guess is next wk, hopefully.

 

i love both the Fj and the Taco man great work!!

 

The quality of the rack and welding really looks sharp. I continue to enjoy the evolution of this build.

 

Thanks, guys. Fortunately, Demello is local and great to deal with, making it easier to achieve my builds.

4/05/13

Checked in on Belle's progress today. Rear suspension is complete; front is in progress (gussets) and should be all done early next wk. Some photos below.

Reinforced rear frame and Icon v2.0 rear shock



Deaver J59 8-Leaf Springs



Cy welding gussets



Total Chaos gusseted spindles



Total Chaos gusseted upper coil bucket



Unfortunately, no photos of the final rack build (was at the powder-coater, along with sliders). Should be ready for install next wk.

Jerry can carrier support bases were welded on to each wheel well.





What the Demello Jerry can carriers will look like (this one is from my FJ).



The bed will be Line-X'd before rack is installed.

 

Wow! Great build! Can't wait to see what bronze looks like on the truck!!

 

4/10/13

With Belle's suspension and alignment complete, I was able to take Belle home for a few days to get Line-X'd. Rack and sliders were still at the powder-coater, but scheduled for delivery to Demello later on.

90+ miles of driving during the day allowed me a lot of seat-time in the new set-up. All I can say is WOW! Rides and handles like a new truck again (definitely better than new OEM). She even sounds new (no more squeaks, clunks, etc). I'm especially impressed with the Icon/Deaver set-up in the rear.

I expected the ride to be better obviously, but I didn't know how good it'd be. I guess it's like sex - you know/heard it's good...but you don't know just how good it is, until you've had it.

As she currently sits, the rear is slightly higher than the front. The addition of the rack and spare should help level her out.



Line-X appt is scheduled for Tue 8am. After which, I return her to Demello for rack and slider install, and front bumper fab.

 

Thanks jkirkpatrick! I couldn't wait either...

4/11/13

With Belle in temporary custody, I paid a cold visit to my local America's Tires to see, if by chance, they had any 285/75/16s in stock.

No luck with my first choice (Nitto Terra Grappler A/Ts). But, BFG T/A KOs (second choice) were (not surprisingly).

Ugh, I couldn't wait any longer. Boom. Done.



IFS set-up



TC Uni-ball UCA and Icon 2.5 Extended Travel Coilover



Rear set-up



Ahh, much better...

 

The 285's look great. Any rubbing issues? Are you going to have to do any trimming (i.e. the pinch weld or fenders).

 

Thanks, mudpuppet!

No rubbing during the 6 mile drive home, even with the old set of wheels/Yokohamas in back. Jason (Demello) didn't think rubbing would be an issue with this set-up, so we'll see.

More driving in various conditions is needed (especially after the addition of the rack), before I'm convinced that it'll be a non-issue.

 

Good info Deez. I am sure you have proper backspacing on your 16 inch wheels 4" or 4.5". From the pictures they clear the UCA's really well. Hoping to install my 3" toytec lift, LR control arms and Dakar rear leafs the weekend of the 20th. Since we have similar trucks, it makes me even more excited to finish my lift after looking at those pics with the 285's. Look for a build page hopefully by the end of the month.

The rack should only add weight to the rear and only affect rubbing if you really stuff it flexing. I see the most common problems on this site from people at the pinch weld and some trimming inside the lower part of the fender well.

 

Looks great with the lift and wheel/tire combo! Representing lunar mist like a beast!

 

Looks like I spoke too soon .

Went for a 20+ mile cruise around the outskirts of town to do a more thorough evaluation, and discovered there is slight rubbing of front tires against the frame when steering wheel is at full lock.

The inner rear edge of tires are barely catching the frame. I'll probably try out some wheel spacers to see if that eliminates the issue.

BS = 4.5" with a 0 offset

Agreed with the flexing part - I can definitely see some rubbing there. No Black Diamond trails with her (that's for the FJ). Any offroading will be for camping/shooting/misc outdoor activities, so I should be ok.

Nice, I'd imagine similar results and improvement in ride/handling with your new set-up. You must be super anxious! I'll be sure to check out your build page when it's up.

Thanks, 423 TACO! Once bumper/rack/sliders are on, she'll be in full beast mode haha

 

Got Belle Line-X'd at Empire Line-X (in Rancho Cucamonga) this morning and dropped her back off at Demello.

I'm pretty impressed with the results, better than expected actually.



Line-X emblem



Rack and sliders from the powdercoater, wrapped on the pallet.



Close-up of the PC (Hammertone Gray and Black)



No idea on front bumper ETA. IIRC, Demello has never made a plate bumper for the 1st Gen Taco, so they're going to modify an FJ plate bumper to fit.

Once done, bumper will get the same Hammertone Gray/Black PC finish.

 

4/25/13

Good news - Rack was installed and sliders welded on.



Bad news - Front bumper has been delayed. Their laser cutter guy is backed up, so hopefully another 1-2 wks before the pieces are ready.

 

Looks great!

 

Thanks, Box Rocket! I wish she was a DC like yours!

5/04/13

Since Demello had some downtime, I took Belle home for the wkend for some much-needed Q/T.

Finally! After a nearly 3 month hiatus (see Post #24), I finished the door speaker swap today. Only broke 1 door clip total...not bad.

Driver-side 5.25" driver installed with 6.5" XTC baffle (excess trimmed). For tweeter photos, see Post #24.




Crossovers are mounted to the inside of each door panel with

$8 3M VHB 100x200mm~ (4" X8") Double Sided Foam Adhesive Sheet Tape 5952 Automotive Mounting Industrial Grade Very High Bond 5952 (1 Sheets 100x200mm)

3M VHB tape (not shown).

Much better sound quality and clarity now with just the MBQs installed. But, now there's too much mid/highs. Definitely need some bass to balance it out. When I have more time, I'll eventually swap out the rears with Infinity Kappa 5x7"s (currently sitting in my garage) and upgrade the head-unit to a single-DIN Alpine (from Crutchfield).

While I was at it, I used this opportunity to paint the switch bezels black. IMO, they look better now, since they tie in nicely with the black dash/stereo console. I'm inspired to paint more trim pieces black.

 

Also used this opportunity to take some photos of the new rack.





Swing-up spare carrier and removable Jerry can carriers



Roof rack and rear light tabs



Jerry can carrier with lock bar



Swing-up hinges and tabs for CB Firestik and Ham radio antenna





Swing-up support leg





42" ELS Atlas LED