| FJ Body Mount CHOP - Anybody who
wants to install taller, wider tires on a FJ Cruiser is faced with a
decision. Limit your tire size or chop. My FJ has a Rough
Country 3-inch suspension lift and 33x12.50x17 Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ's.
On just about a full turn of the wheel, the tire gets pretty close to that
body mount cover. On a full turn and a little bump that compresses the
suspension of the inside tire, it rubs and the traction control kicks in for
a second. The cover is about a half inch from the body mount so even
if I removed the cover, it would probably still rub, maybe hard while
offroad. I read plenty of write-ups on how people chopped the body mount.
I had plans to do a chop of my own. I own a cheap 300 dollar MIG
welder that does pretty well and this seemed like a very doable job.
Turns out it was easier than I thought it was going to be thanks to a
plan I came up with once I really started analyzing how I was going to do
the chop. This is my version of the FJ body mount chop. I've
only owned the FJ for 3 months and I'm already cutting and chopping it!
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| My approach started off with plans to remove the side of the mount that
sticks onto the wheel well, then replace it with a new piece of sheet metal.
Once I took the plate off, I determined that it was possible to remove
material from the mount, bend the side rearward, then re-weld the side back
on. The following is what I did, which is very adequate to clear
33x12.50 tires and probably a 34" tire as well. I'm not sure about 35"
tires with a 3" lift and this chop but from my perspective, it would look
like if a tire was going to hit, it would hit the fender well first.
If I were designing a plan around 35" tires, I may have just taken a little
more out, but clearing the new set of 33's are the goal.
I know that when I am planning and researching a job, I like plenty of
pictures, so I took plenty of pictures for anyone that likes pictures as
well.
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| Removed the cover plate.
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| Once I got the cover off, I started measuring just how much of
the body mount stuck into the wheel well. I did this with a ruler,
marking it with an all.
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| With the line marked at about as far back as I could go, I
broke out my favorite tool, the 4 1/2" angle grinder. |
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| My plan was to cut a "V" notch in the body mount, then hammer the gap
closed. I'd then weld it back up again. |
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| A little good pre-planning would benefit mediocre welding skills.
With this side, I should have brought the point of the V to a sharper point,
which would have made the gap much smaller and I wouldn't have had to do a
little filling in back there with weld material. I can weld, but I'm no
pro. Far from it. Plus I use flux core welding wire instead of
gas shielding , though my cheap welder is equipped for gas. I just
never bought any. Like I said I do love that angle grinder and it also
does a great job of cleaning up my "booger welds". But anyway, I
digress. |
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| Ok, so this was about what I chopped off the first side. I didn't want
to go too far around the rounded corner because when I pound it back with
the 5 pound sledge, I wanted the edges to meet as close as possible. I
actually did both side slightly different, but both ended up working out
great. |
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| Along with the V notch, I also put a relief cut in the bottom piece of
the body mount. You can see the relief cut in the lower right.
This relief cut is about where I wanted the side metal to pivot back.
This lines up with the body mount bolt, maybe slightly further in towards
the frame rail. |
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Bending the side back
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| Ok, time to start pounding. Using my stubby 5 pound mallet, I
started whacking the side back. BE CAREFUL! Don't hit the brake
caliper!
By the way, the watering container is to cool the weld so I don't melt
my rubber body mount.
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| The above pictures are about where I felt that I had the side
rotated back far enough to give adequate clearance to my MTZ's.
With this one, I actually had the side bending into the body mount.
I used a long screw driver to get it right where I wanted it. |
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| Then a good once over with the wire wheel to strip the paint from the
mating surfaces for welding. |
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| I also trimmed the jagged metal a bit. |
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| So this is what it looked like just before welding. Yes, that gap
is a little more than I really wanted but I know how to fill it in. If
I were to do it again, I would have made the relief notch a little further
towards the end or the V notch a little deeper so it would have rotated
slightly when bent back. |
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| This is my 300 dollar Century MIG welder. I bought it at Tractor
Supply Company (TSC), which is a great place to shop for tools and hardware.
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| A piece of aluminum coil was used to shield the body and plastic from
the welding.
I put the clamp right on the body mount. Don't attach it to the
body mount bolt! You'll pass current through the vehicle's grounding
straps! Clamp your welding clamp to the body mount itself. If
you can't find a clean piece of metal to clamp to, grind some paint off so
you get a good ground right there. |
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| A tack weld at the corner, then cooled with water.
Keep it cool! Weld a little at a time, stop and douse it with
water. Don't melt your body mount. You can't see flames through
a welding mask!
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| Several good passes on a medium setting that didn't melt my body mount
metal and I had it all stitched up. A few quick clean-up passes with
the angle grinder and my booger welds almost look professional. |
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Here's more angles from below and from the side. I was happy with the
outcome.
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| Don't forget to weld up the underside as well. |
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Once I was complete with the welding, I wire wheeled everything and used a
small wire brush to clean up the burned paint on the inside. |
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| A few good thick coats of black Rustoleum and this side was done.
Time-wise, I'd say about 30 minutes of planning and tool gathering and
about 1.75 hours of work.
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| As far as tire clearance, WAY better. I think I could fit 35's
under there now. I plan to modify the mudflap cover to a flatter shape
and put it back on.
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| The other side went slightly different with a tighter V notch and a
little more out of the front. Again, I didn't think about the angle of
the bend so I had a gap at the top, which I closed a little with a C-Clamp,
then tack welded it into place to hold it. Again, keep that water handy
and keep it cool. |
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| Here's a final of the welded passenger side. |
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| Looking down you can see that this one rotates back a little more. |
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| Side view and bottom views. A wire-wheel cleanup a paint job and
it was done. This side much quicker than the first. 1.5 hr
total. Again, I'm very happy with the way the job turned out. I
didn't have to fabricate anything, I didn't have to get into any tight
places with my angle grinder or welder, and I didn't have to compromise the
structure. The body mount is still as accessible as it was and I have
plenty of clearance now. Once I get the mudflap covers modified I'll
post pictures of that as well. |
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