SRQ Fab 4625 Build Thread (KOH2019)

[SRQ Fabrications]

Ok, let's do this.

SRQ's owner (Matt) joined me at King of the Hammers in February of 2018 and quickly had fascination for building an Ultra4 truck. Helping @snivilous (Toby) and his LC80 4500 team at KOH2018 really did him in. On his flight home to Tampa, FL, all he could think about was having my own truck to bring out. But not in a 5 year plan, screw that. How about next year. 11 months after being at King of the Hammers for the first time, he wanted to be sitting behind the wheel in his own truck on the start line.

I, (4Running Daily or Connor), met Matt at King of the Hammers for the first time when I brought Toby an axle shaft and wheel hub from Phoenix so he could race the following morning. I started talking to Matt fairly regularly about building a front long travel kit that eliminates the stock LBJ that so many have issues with. He was interested in sponsoring that project and selling it under the name "SRQ Racing".

Well July rolled around and he asked me if I would be interested in building a 4600 car for him, including this very long travel kit that I had lacked the motivation to get started.

Well I'm not dumb, and knew I would never get this chance again, so I said yes. I'm always happy to gain more experience. I have some free time; I work from home and am finishing up my masters in Solar Engineering.

So here is the thread of trying to make Matt's dream a reality

 

[SRQ Fabrications]

Starting with the truck.

1999 Toyota 4Runner 4WD V6 Limited with 234k Rebuilt title. He was in AZ, I was in CA. Looked nice, made a deposit. Got there, didn't have a locker, and he wouldn't negotiate. So RIP $2k. Shouldn't have paid more than $500. Thing was beat.
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Note my clean backyard
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Started stripping it down to look at the damage
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Ripped the radiator, core support, etc out
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Work space. Phoenix is hot.
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Bought an Optima Red Top
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New Power Steering Pump
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Interior was disgusting. Broken glass, blood. You name it.
39070649_477112239419496_2944019280464707584_n by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Cleaned it all up
38924266_309264659647139_1377668063645663232_n by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Got a new core support and a hood
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

 

[SRQ Fabrications]

Got some new PRP seats
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Prepped to start the timing belt and water pump
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Good thing too as it was trashed
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Don't need that AC compressor anymore
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God damn this truck was a POS that was uncared for.
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New new new
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New intake and fan and everything else
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Drove it around for the first time!
DSC_0273 by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

 

[SRQ Fabrications]

Now we get to some of bigger issues. Unknown to me when I bought it, the front frame rails were both tweaked. The driverside was bent down a noticeable amount.

Literally crumbled
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

So, cut it off
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Weld up a new one off a scrap truck that I took the core support off of
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Now for pulling the crumbled core support out
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Trashed
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Cut it too
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Fit up the new purple one
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Start welding some filler panels between the two
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Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Seal it up
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[SRQ Fabrications]

New PRP steering wheel recently released
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Paint core support silver
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Mount some trans and power steering coolers
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Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

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Trans left, power steering right
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Paint them silver
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First drive with drivetrain finished
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Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

 

[SRQ Fabrications]

Method Beadlocks
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Got a new hatch to cut up. Going to recess a spare in to it.
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Tires selected. Falken MT's 35x12.5x17
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Pictured jumpstarting my POS
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Ignition Panel
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Finally, my LT kit. This bolts into the stock LBJ location. Still in proof of concept phase. It will go through one more round of changes and then I'll laser cut it out and weld it up.
Tease 3 by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Tease 5 by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Tease 4 by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Welded the bung onto the steering column and mounted the steering wheel
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

Luxury racetrack
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[SRQ Fabrications]

McNeil fiberglass
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Pull all the windows
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Cut the rear hatch
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Tease of the True North Front bumper we'll be running
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Booty
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The next stage was the roll cage and 32 gallon JAZ fuel cell install. Sadly, I'll be working on the LT kit, so I don't have time to do both. Toby, the guy who raced the LC in 4500 last year, will be doing the cage and fuel. So I stuck it on a trailer and drove it up to Cedar City, Utah

Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr
Untitled by Connor Rhoades, on Flickr

I'm missing some stuff like the new steering rack install, and a couple other things. But this is where it sits now

 

[AssBurns]

Awesome start to a build thread! This will definitely be a highlight of this forum here! Now go post up in the Race Teams Thread.

 

[DuroBumps]

Awesome Build SRQ! I'm glad to see I can follow the build here on this forum now.

 

[05tacomabro]

Subd! Sic!

 

[miles.less.traveled]

yee yee boyz!

 

[Tymeson]

Dope build man

 

[Brindybot]

Here to watch and learn..

 

[Hank]

Oh. My. God. Yes.

 

[ACE115]

Nice build man! This is my next project rig.

 

[opt.offroad]

Sub’d, it’s gonna be awesome to see the final product in person next year.

 

[snivilous]

Steel showed up FINALLY, only a week late.

I'm starting on the front and moving back, since the front is (imo) the hardest since you need to make outriggers from the frame since the frame narrows up front where as the rear you can usually just come straight down onto the frame. I had to move the truck around a bit because there's only one 220 outlet in the shop that fits one of the adapters I have for the welder, and of course it wouldn't stretch to where I had it before. Then pulled the front tires to get room to weld.

I decided to come down where the body mount is, that's a good reference point on both sides and is nicely tucked forward and outward for good leg room. Though the body mount arm is kind of a bitch to work around, plus would need to get plated, so i said screw it and just chopped it off. I then welded a 2" piece of tube to the frame, then slid a 1/4" plate of steel over it and welded that to the frame and to the tube, then overlaid some little 1/4" plates over the edge to help blend it back into the frame.
As always, I am NOT a welder and if you have some feedback for me for how to improve I would love to hear it! I don't usually have anyone who can give me guidance or tips on how to improve, so any critique is appreciated!

And that kind of wraps up pictures....

Yes, these will be gusseted. I won't gusset anything until the very end once I know the locations of everything related to the cage and then will tie everything together. I started on the driver side and the frame is prepped but need to cut the steel still. I am hoping tomorrow to finish that side and then do the lower A pillars and dash bar and maybe get the steering column hung.
My tentative plan, although I'll mostly just go with the flow, is to kind of do a top and bottom half of the cage. This way I can fully weld up the top section and then slide it in and on top of everything and then weld it to the lower section, that way I can easily fully wrap all the top welds. So for example, the lower A pillars will come up and terminate at the dash bar. Then the top half of the cage will have the angled top section of the A pillar come down and be notched and set in on the dash bar. So instead of doing one long piece with some bends like i have before, those bends will just be a tube junction and allow the cage halves to separate. Of course there will be elements like braces where I already know the top welds won't be an issue, so they'll be one long piece, but in general that's my plan (though I still haven't figured out how I want to do the B pillar entirely....).

Let's see what else... oh the firewall insulation was kind of a bitch to get out and seems to be clamped underneath the steering column seal so need to pull that out. Also I was very happy to see how easily the floor sound deadening stuff comes up by just wacking it with a hammer, on my land cruiser that stuff was stuck down really well. Anyways, just trying to play catch up! I have a business trip I leave for on Saturday for the next 7+ days so lose another week at least from that too. Hopefully get a few tubes done before I leave though.

 

[snivilous]

Quick update. Worked on the truck for like 3.5 hours today and got a lot done. Got the driver's side outrigger made and welded in, got the lower A pillars made and tacked to the outriggers, got the dash bar made and capped and fully welded to the lower A pillars. I averaged over a tube an hour, which as I recall doing one tube an hour is hauling ass for me usually. That doesn't sound like much, but figure you have to measure everything, cut the tube out, clean the shipping shit off, test fit, notch, clean with acetone and grind/sand it, test fit, tack it, do the same thing on the other end, and that's assuming just a straight piece. Maybe I'm slow, but I feel like I move at least at an average speed

Anyways here's a few pics I snagged. By the way, I'm pretty stoked on the fitment of the notches I did.

No pic, but I tacked the bottom to a tube so it wouldn't warp when welding it.

It's just tacked to the outriggers right now.

Single 15deg bend in the middle. Nothing fancy but I think it looks good and matches the lines of the body a bit and gains some room while not being a more complicated multi-bend piece like my 4500's dash bar was. I also have it set pretty low, it sticks up maybe a 1/4" past the bottom of the windshield mounting face--so tried to get it as high as possible while not impeding vision whatsoever.

And that wraps up today's work.

 

[DuroBumps]

Cage is coming along nicely. Will be anxiously waiting for you to get back from the business trip. I'm a feen for these updates! its awesome to see the step by step process.

Welds look great!

 

[AssBurns]

Damn! Coming along nicely! An hour a tube doesn't seem all that bad considering the work that goes into each tube to get a good fitment. I remember when I was building my front bumper, how long it took to get all the tubes fitted in just right.