Brody
March 21st, 2010, 06:34 AM
Jason asked me to do to some mods to his FJC and I got them done yesterday. Here is what he asked me to to and the pictures:
The first things was to extend the Toyota FJC rock rails so that they both provided more protection for the doors and also acted as a step. As you can see from the picture, the stock FJC rock rails are pretty much buried under the rocker panels of the rig and don't extend far enough to provided too much protection for the sides of the doors. I removed the factory rock rails, cut them apart, sleeved the ends with a smaller diameter tubing, cut a piece of 2" to match the additional width and rewelded them back together. I also cut the factory stock flat brace that goes between the two pieces and extended and welded this back together. Not liking the looks of the simple flat plate too much, I decided to further strengthen this piece with the additional of a flat bar on top, making a very strong 'T' reinforcement.
He had also gotten one of the FJC All Phase Off Road 3/16" sliders. These extended from the from the front of the rig to the motor mount cross section, but left the transfer case exposed to damage. He wanted me to install the AP skid plate and make a transfer case skid plate. Adding the transfer case plate required making an additional cross member for the rear of the case to bolt to. This plate was also made from 3/16" and needed a cutout and extended cap to clear the exhaust where Toyota, in their infinite wisdom, decided to continue with their stellar exhaust designs with anything that says 'Cruiser' on it, ie: route the exhaust where it will get munched by rocks-under the frame rails, lower than anything else in the undercarriage, extended past and under the rear bumper.....
Installing the AP skid took a little time and was easy, and was a matter of removing all of the factory skids and bracketry and drilling two new holes for the rear mount. I thought that they relied too much on pretty cheesy flat washers, especially where the bolts were designed to go though very large factory holes. To solve this problem, I used some leftover much heavier shock bushing washers, the ones that are a little cone shaped and mounted them upside down in the bigger holes. What these did, aside from tripling the thickness of the cheese washers that AP had provided, was to locate the bolts in the center of the large (1" plus) factory holes on the topside of the frame cross members. I also replaced all of the washers AP provided with heavier washers.
After making a template for the transfer case skid plate and locating the exhaust cut out, it was then down to just making a new cross member for it to bolt to. I had picked up some 2x3 rectangular stock which worked fine. Brackets were made for bolting the cross member to the inside of the frame and for bolting the new skid plate onto these.
Everything was given a thorough cleaning, primed, painted and reinstalled. I thought that Jason's idea of extending the factory rock rails was extremely clever and added a great deal of functionality to an already great rig.
I'll be more than happy to talk to anyone else with an FJC about doing this simple an extremely functional rock rail modification to their FJ Cruiser. The cost of this, including install, extension, painting, reinstall and materials is $230. Please call me at 303-507-3066, PM me, or contact me via email: peterbrody4@gmail.com.
The first things was to extend the Toyota FJC rock rails so that they both provided more protection for the doors and also acted as a step. As you can see from the picture, the stock FJC rock rails are pretty much buried under the rocker panels of the rig and don't extend far enough to provided too much protection for the sides of the doors. I removed the factory rock rails, cut them apart, sleeved the ends with a smaller diameter tubing, cut a piece of 2" to match the additional width and rewelded them back together. I also cut the factory stock flat brace that goes between the two pieces and extended and welded this back together. Not liking the looks of the simple flat plate too much, I decided to further strengthen this piece with the additional of a flat bar on top, making a very strong 'T' reinforcement.
He had also gotten one of the FJC All Phase Off Road 3/16" sliders. These extended from the from the front of the rig to the motor mount cross section, but left the transfer case exposed to damage. He wanted me to install the AP skid plate and make a transfer case skid plate. Adding the transfer case plate required making an additional cross member for the rear of the case to bolt to. This plate was also made from 3/16" and needed a cutout and extended cap to clear the exhaust where Toyota, in their infinite wisdom, decided to continue with their stellar exhaust designs with anything that says 'Cruiser' on it, ie: route the exhaust where it will get munched by rocks-under the frame rails, lower than anything else in the undercarriage, extended past and under the rear bumper.....
Installing the AP skid took a little time and was easy, and was a matter of removing all of the factory skids and bracketry and drilling two new holes for the rear mount. I thought that they relied too much on pretty cheesy flat washers, especially where the bolts were designed to go though very large factory holes. To solve this problem, I used some leftover much heavier shock bushing washers, the ones that are a little cone shaped and mounted them upside down in the bigger holes. What these did, aside from tripling the thickness of the cheese washers that AP had provided, was to locate the bolts in the center of the large (1" plus) factory holes on the topside of the frame cross members. I also replaced all of the washers AP provided with heavier washers.
After making a template for the transfer case skid plate and locating the exhaust cut out, it was then down to just making a new cross member for it to bolt to. I had picked up some 2x3 rectangular stock which worked fine. Brackets were made for bolting the cross member to the inside of the frame and for bolting the new skid plate onto these.
Everything was given a thorough cleaning, primed, painted and reinstalled. I thought that Jason's idea of extending the factory rock rails was extremely clever and added a great deal of functionality to an already great rig.
I'll be more than happy to talk to anyone else with an FJC about doing this simple an extremely functional rock rail modification to their FJ Cruiser. The cost of this, including install, extension, painting, reinstall and materials is $230. Please call me at 303-507-3066, PM me, or contact me via email: peterbrody4@gmail.com.