Blue Ribbon 4x4 Build Thread

As always, looks great. I'd be curious to see a $ figure on what it would have cost if you would have had to get someone else to do the labor for all the cool sh&t you have done yourself.

 

good stuff geno. man you are getting that welding down like a natural

 

Haha, thanks! I learned a lot from this forum.

 

Hey thanks, Tin!!

 

Thanks for light write up

 

You got it. Got a project going?

 

Drove to Idaho for a family visit. Turns out it’s snowing and a sweet 30°. Also took advantage of the sand dunes in Winnemucca.

 

Great pictures. Once my services are no longer necessary in New Germany, excuse me, "New Jersey," I would like to think somewhere out that way should be home; Wyoming, Montana, Utah...looks so much more my speed. This part of the country has issues...

 

Created an account just to say that I love your truck.

 

100% respect this statement!!!

Hope we get you to stick around now that you have an account. This is a fun place to be

 

It’s very nice out there. Quiet. Different type of people than here in California. Seems more friendly. Although they are infiltrating…

 

Thank you so much!! I appreciate it greatly. I agree with @RobertD , this is a great forum, friendly people and tons of information. We’ll get you in a Tundra fast.

 

I’ve been eyeballing the shift surround a lot. There are nicks and scratches on it, and I always wanted to do something a little different with it. It just looks too plain.
I’ll include a few pics of the original mod with the three switch bezel and fiberglass work. I deleted the grey surround and incorporated the whole piece as one. I went back and forth with a blue idea but thought it would be too much.
The interior, I’ve always thought, should look sleek and as stock as possible like the exterior. I purchased some vinyl pieces from @Tundra234 They came out pretty slick, and I didn’t know what to do with them. Well, here’s the idea. I sanded the whole center piece down and modified the vinyl piece that I got. Sprayed with Rustoleum Professional black, applied the vinyl, then hit it with satin clear coat.

 

Now that is one bad ass mod! I like it!

 

Thanks! And thanks for the vinyl!

 

Looks killer. I am a little sad you didn't paint the blue portion come on, we know you have the skill hahaha
But seriously, that vinyl really brings it together. The whole shifter trim piece is incredible.

 

Thanks man!! You know I was damn indecisive about this one.

 

Any time!

 

All finished up and installed. I dig it.

 

I am still amazed by the fiberglass work and how smooth the paint came out.

 

That’s sweet

 

Thanks! I was gonna use SEM, that stuff lays so smooth, but I didn’t wanna waste it by clear coating over it.

 

Thanks!

 

Working on the next thing. A while back I was given some Mammoth guards for the front. They were incomplete, so I had to make the curved top pieces. I used a cardboard template, then cut them out of plexiglass, then used a heat gun to mold them into place.
I’m doing the same for the rears, I have a large chunk of plexiglass leftover from work. Basically this mod is free aside from the paint cost. After looking at plenty of pics of the other type, I decided I didn’t like the half moon curve at the top, and mimicked the curvature of the fender arch.
Next step is to trace them onto the plexiglass, cut with the bandsaw, mold them into place, the paint the same scheme as the front.

 

Well I was gonna let the templates sit until tomorrow, I don’t know who I was fooling. I traced and cut out the plexiglass pieces, then drilled the two center mount holes, and sanded the shine off to accept paint. I held each side up in it’s location and hit the corner with a heat gun, pressing slowly until the center hole was up against the mounting hole. I threw a screw in and did the opposite side. Once the two center screws were in, I heated up the rear first and let the plastic form to the fender well, using the back of a ratchet to smooth it out, letting it cool slowly so the form kept it’s shape. Then I could mark the outside screw locations. I removed the piece, drilled the outside holes and modified the ends just to make them look a little better. Mounted back up with four screws, I heated it up again to get the final shape. Pulled them off, and reinforced the back of the holes with plastic bond epoxy. There were a couple cracks, but I just fixed those with the epoxy. Hopefully tonight I’ll hit them with a first coat.

 

You are very talented! Many of the mods you do has a unique element to it because of that. These guards are going to look great when finished.

 

Thanks! I appreciate it!

 

I'm going to attempt some inner fender liners after the new fenders go on. Thanks for the visuals!

 

Awesome!

 

Paint going down. First primer then metallic cobalt blue, then tape, then flat black.