T-1000

I decided to cut the back off of my 2nd gen, because I thought it would look cool, and eventually I want to 4 link it, and I'll relocate the gas tank to the bed. The shock towers could come through the bed too. It isn't finished yet, obviously. Elvota, I'm callin' you out. I think it's your turn. All taped up The bare bed Me cuttin' On the roof My friend Brian Interior junk, I might reuse some of it The bed side That top corner was a b****, there are something like 8 layers. It took a while to get through it all using a 4" and 7" cutoff wheel. The edge. The end result.

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fillsrunner4

Haha everyone is doing it now Not only does it look cooler but best of all it gets rid of the scary top weight and enhances visual on the trail.

I love it

fillsrunner4

Your future List: 4link, SAS, MOTOR, MOTOR, MOTOR???, tires, cage and on and on

Whats the plans for closing it if any???

I like mine open. the elements dont bother me but mine is just trail!

904_runner

geeze all the cool kids are doing it.

guess im not cool enough.

fillsrunner4

Sorry

Maybe oneday!

904_runner

nope, i like the way it looks with the top. but every since that one i saw of that guy chopping his 3rd gen, that looks sick!

maybe ill be cool if i ever get that 3.4 swap in!

Lol

crolison

wait till you see what i am gonna do with mine

Elvota

No doubt. Seems like in a few more months I'll be the only 4Runner on here with a full back half.

Keep up with the pics. Good to see detail shots of the cuts and what lays underneath.

Will you be bobbing the back as well? To me, that would be a huge help on the trails as well.

yotasavg

nice, can't wait to see the end result!

run4her

Careful its addicting!!

904_runner

lol

i don't have the courage to hack into mine like that!

Plasma cutter would have been your best friend!

i hope with the effort of the chop maybe you will remove the rock magnet running boards???

Cant wait to see it done

BTW, how much weight would you estimate the chop took off?

scuba

Ha, he called elvota out.
Well good luck, as others said cant wait to see the end result.
I think you should weigh all the peices that you cut off so we could all get a general idea of how much comes off.
I need to get a runner so i can get to chopin !

tc

Plasma cutter doesn't work very well at all when it's multiple layers, believe me.

I would think Sawzall with a very fine toothed blade would be the weapon of choice ...

904_runner

ah, i just try to find use for plasma cutters!

bullcrew

SCHMUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! You still need to add Truck Nuts too it to make it tough!

T-1000

Thanks for all the input.

I'd really like to put in a 1UZ-FE, and maybe some other cool drivetrain stuff (dual cases) but I think I'll have to wait until my "I'm about to move here in a few months" situation is passed and I can get another beater to drive around while Rhonda (this 4Runner) is out of commission.

I was considering long travel for a while, but now I think I want to SAS and 4 link it, again, that'll have to wait a while.

As for cage, I think I'm going to do a simple exoskeleton, I don't want to do one of those way over the top holy s*** pipe everywhere jobs.

I'm going to close it by moving the back window forward and putting a sheet metal wall under it. I MIGHT try to get the window to move up and down, but I'm pretty sure I have enough work as it is, and the wheel wells seem like they'll get in the way.

By the way, does yours just not have seatbelts in the back? Not sure what I'm going to do about that. Find lap belts I guess.

Yeah I'll post more pics if you want more detail, those front corners are definitely the toughest part to get to. I think the "x-ray vision" will be a big help when you get down to it.

I thought about bobbing the back, maybe later on, but not right now. I shouldn't be too hard to cut that part a little more if I need to.

I'm going to leave them until I get actual sliders, because they saved me from some body damage when some chick on a cell phone sideswiped me (I was sitting still!!)

I think about 100-150 lbs...Me and my buddy easily carried the back around. It could be my imagination, but I think it squats less.

I didn't want to get that wavy effect going, and I don't have much experience with them...I would think that the thick part at the top would be a real b**** to get with a Sawzall....

abecedarian

the trick with a sawzall is to NOT cut with the blade straight into the panels- might as well get a jig saw then...
...but use the long blades and lay it back as far as possible while still cutting deep enough, and let the blade to the work, don't force it.

otherwise, looks good- keep us posted.

Whitey13

It seems like most (not all) of the people that do this, their trucks spend most of their lives in the shop and not on the trail.

STEVE_R

i did mine a few weeks ago, i moved the stock seat belt locations forward , i cut the panels that housed the threads for the bolts to just behind the seats and tacked them in place , if i get time i'll take some pics. i was going to do a retractable soft top ( sorta like a portable fishouse design) but it was going to cost to much and bieng that i'm building this truck for mainly ice fishing and hunting purposes i figured i should just seal off the area behind the seats. i also was going to use the tailgate and all for the lower wall and keep the window retractable, but that gate is really cumbersome to even try and cut to fit around wheel wells, i'm going to use like a 3/4 in mdf for the inner wall and maybe like a 1/2 in. plate steel for the outer and bedline the whole bed area. here a pic of what i've done so far, the back window section is just held in place with some sheet metal screws for now until i get time to weld it all in place.

STEVE_R

sorry for huge posting!