Squeaky Penguin's (Trip Reports) Build Thread

Good job bud. I knew you had it in ya.

 

This is going together smoother than anticipated.

Or maybe it just seems that way after the last project....

 

I missed it, what's the reason for the DIY rad support?

 

The stock one was staring to detonate under the abuse that the truck gets.

 

@Squeaky Penguin your PR guy needs a raise!

 

Really I am just avoiding some work stuff right now.

 

Few actual pictures of where I'm at. Super happy with how this is coming together given my mediocre fabrication abilities.

Radiator is just sitting on the fan, but bolts right up.



Need to tie in what's left of the factory sheet metal here and then it's all good.



This is tacked for now as I welded the rest of it off the truck. There's about a foot of tubing that slides into the factory fender supports and is plug welded in place.




Have a piece that goes across the front ready, want to tie in those factory lower fender mounts, make a mount for the accumulator and coolant reservoir, and some sort of grill mounts still to go.

 

Looking great man! Cool how it worked out with just putting tubing up the sides.

 

This got a little complicated.

 

Just waiting for a report on how those tires do offroad.

 

All these little tabs and brackets are taking some time, but I'm almost there.

 

That's coming out very nice!

 

don't get lazy... you got this!

 

That’s looking really good, Brett!

I’d love to see some pics of all of the tabs and stuff.

 

Lazy? I've been working on this all weekend for the last five weekends, and most nights after work. Pretty well determined to finish it at this point.

Nothing too fancy, it's just tedious making all these things work.

Had to get creative for this airbox mount.



Have a speed hole in this coolant reservoir/accumulator mount as my measurement was slightly off.



Little cut off with a captured nut for the battery tie down.



This angle is welded to my core support structure, but bolted to the sheet metal as I determined I suck at welding that and bolts would probably work fine. Captured nuts on this as well.



Slightly modified this bracket on the fender that holds the headlight to get it to fit.

 

Nice job, Brett. That’s pretty impressive design and fab work right there.

That project would freak me out because of all of the little shit that has to be just right, but you’ve done an awesome job of getting it all lined up. Hopefully I never have to resort to this, but I’ll be hitting you up for ideas if I do. I’m stoked to see how it all holds up as well!
























Hey, remember that time you were thinking about ditching your rig for a 2nd Gen?!

 

Thanks Jason!

Gonna go with mostly luck that it turned out as good as it has (so far). Had a little bit of a plan in mind, but just been building it as I go. Haven't put the bumper or hood back on, so hopefully nothing interferes. Don't believe it will be a problem though.

Still need to make tabs for the hood pins, a couple of good-enough grill mounts, and maybe put the horns back on and then it will be all set.

Yes. Still think it would be nice from time-to-time for a few reasons, but obviously I'm way too invested in this truck to quit now.

 

Getting the headlights, hood and fenders to line up was what gave me the most trouble. Finished it with “close enough”.

 

I get it, man.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking a 2011-15 DCLB would be a pretty sweet ride for family camping and light to moderate wheeling, but a 4th Gen Runner would be awesome too. Doesn’t matter right now, though, because the funds aren’t there for a family camping rig anyway. Gotta finish school first and then reassess.

 

Yep. Completely bolted on the driver side fender the other day, door gap is actually closer than I figured. We'll see how the hood lines up. Luckily 2 of the 3 headlight bolts go though that fender bracket, so I know they're very close to lined up, and should be aimed right up and down. I only had the one tab to weld on for the inside mount, which I estimated by temporarily attaching the grill. Guessing I'll have quite a bit of adjustment to do side to side.