Keggo

I have a 1st gen rollbar ready to bolt up in my 2nd gen... the guy I had cut and reweld the plates cut waaayyy too much off the front legs (5 1/2" to be exact). I told him that it only needed a couple inches off the front legs... Anyway, we had to extend the bar with thicker and larger diameter tubing... Then welded that to the existing... Overall I'm a little concerned as to the integrity of the bar... There's only one weld on each side holding the extension to the original tubing, but I'm thinking about drilling a hole on each side to insert grade 8 bolts for reinforcement so if the weld flexes (I hope not, it's pretty heavy duty weld) there's more support for the original tubing... It goes with the old saying "If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself". Soon I will have my own welding equipment, etc... so, hopefully this type of thing won't happen again... Anyway, your stuff looks awesome!!

Rock Slide

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Keggo!

Sorry to hear your install isn't going so well. Post some pics when you're all done.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I hope this was an acquaintance or friend and not someone you paid to be a DA, especially after he screwed it up. :pat: Modding the 1st gen roll bar isn't hard and certainly 5 1/2" was WAY too much...WAY TOO MUCH...even just eyeballing it is WAY TOO MUCH. Bill and I guessed 2 1/2" from eyeballing it but test fit it after cutting 2" (you can cut off more if need be, but you see what happens if you cut TOO much) and saw that 2" was perfect.

You should have taken the part that was too long that he cut off and beat him over the head with it and made him buy you a knew 1st gen roll bar, especially if you contracted to pay him for his services. What you got will certainly work and be more than strong enough, but there was no sense in someone screwing up something so simple to do, especially after you told him about how much to cut. A lot of this mod is about looks and I don't imagine what you ended up with looks like you wanted it to.

Keggo

Heh heh... that's exactly how I feel Wabbit... The look isn't terrible, after I painted it with Rustoleum High temp... It actually looks pretty good. And yes, this guy (supposedly a friend) charged me... I was pretty torqued when I saw what he did... I had the roll bar sitting upright in the truck before he even cut anything... and the front legs were sitting about halfway up the curve on the wheel well... so, I already knew that it only needed MAYBE 2"... so, I'm going to invest in my own equipment and make sure it gets done right... I think this guy has inhaled too much MIG vapors... I think what he did was think the front legs were the same length as the rear (which they are easliy visible NOT to be... and he measured the wheel wells then cut the measurement of the wheel wells... *sigh* Gotta love idiocy! Ahh... on top of all that, he took like 3 days to "get around to doing it". If I had the tools that he has, I could have easily done it in an hour or less.

TX-BLKRUNNER

that looks really good! I am going to be a copycat and do the same thing. i had a couple of questions though. I already have the roll bar and when i was testing it for fit, it seemed like i need to section the length of it, do I? second would you guys recomend just welding it to the body? thanks!

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Yes.

No.

914runner

Wow! That roll bar looks great!

Dublin

Looks great Rock Slide, Sweet fab work Waskillywabbit. For those doing the rollbar in a 2nd gen I ended cutting off 2 1/2" and 2" to get it to sit properly (remembered to write down the measurements forgot to write down which was front or back Doooh). My reinforcement plates don't look as if it were a factory install (damn the Wabbit does nice work) but it's way to do it right. Also it looks like you were able to slide it right in your 3rd gen, not the case in the 2nd gen (it must be a larger opening in the 3rd gen). On my 2nd gen I had to remove a side window to swing it in place. The 2nd gen leg plates didn't require an angle because they aren't tapered like the 3rd gens.
Anyways Very sweet looking install.

Rock Slide

iTrader: (1)

Thanks! I love it. Brian did such a good job on the install, a lot of guys who see it think it was a factory install. I've since anchored a small shovel to it as well. hehe

Yeah, we had to twist and turn it to get it in there, but no windows had to be removed. That would have been a pain.

ADH8796

I know this is an old thread but I'm getting ready to put mine in and hopefully I can get some pics up after I'm done. Thanks to this thread I don't have to play as much of a guessing game as to how much I need to cut it down. Great pics and info.

ecchamberlin

Not sure if it was already covedred in this thread but on a 3rd gen cutting 2" off the front legs seems to be the magic number and I had to put it in the Runner throught he back seat doors instead of the rear hatch. I tried for a good long time and then thought about folding down the rear seats and it went it pretty well that way. Having the rear seat down also helped give more room for drilling the holes and tightening the hardware. I did it alone so I needed both hands to tighten the bolts. Not too bad of a job at all.

ADH8796

Thanks ecchamberlin I also figured that out after a few tries. It's in and looks great I just need to weld the platformes back on, sand it down real good, drill the holes, paint it, and then it's done. I'll get a few pics after it's all done.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

You will want to consider putting the front platforms back on at an angle as they won't sit flush on the sloping 3rd gen wheel wells...seems like I sloped them 1/2" with the inside being lower than the outside of the tubing.

ewong

ref the "bent" thing....

My eyes seem to note that the wheel wells are NOT the same lenght on the L and the R. The Drivers side extends back further for some reason.
I guess that causes the roll bar to go in crooked?

Also - my 89 did NOT come with a pad
(I bought it new)

But my 89 did come with the supposed discontinued vent windows

Oh - and as already pointed out - the OEM 4Runner roll bar was mounted to the body. There is a sheet metal nut plate welded to the underside, but no additional metal to prevent "punch through" on the top side...

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Yes, the wheel wells are not symmetrical on 3rd gens...or at least not this one, but the roll bar is in there symmetrically with the sides and top and square...just the d-side rear leg was a bit doglegged.

This is a nice mod for a 3rd gen that will give you a lot of extra storage "spots" for stuff and a bit more added protection in a flop or roll over if wheeling...but it certainly is no substitute for a cage. If I still had my 2000 I would have done this mod to it for sure.

ADH8796

I noticed this as well and will be sloping mine as well. Thanks for all the advice.

ecchamberlin

I did give mine a slight angle also to account for how they sit on the wheel wells. Good thing you brought that up Wabbit.

I did cut mine off at the same length side to side though. It seems level so if the wells are at diff heights it cannot be that much.

I have had mine in now for about 6 months and did go back and tighten the nuts down again. I was surprised how much more I could tighten them.

ADH8796

Just a quick question for those who have done this mod how close does the roll bar come to your roof line?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Eric,

I'd suggest using nylocks or nut/lock washer w/ some blue Loc-Tite. No need to tighten them down to a ridiculous torque, you'll just bend the sheet metal...flush and snug is fine IMO.

ADH,

I wanna say we had Rock Sliders' within a finger width, depending on whether you want to mount it on top of or under the carpet and padding..as that will add a 1/2" or so in spots.

Beast

that roll bar is not going to do much in a bad wreck attached to sheet metal
needs to be attached to frame to be substantial protection

what you have now is mostly cosmetic