Asha'man
07-09-2008, 11:30 PM
I know a lot of us on here with first gens already have bikinis, but here's what I posted on YT tonight. Combined with 4runnerx3 and our own Djlarroc's writeups, noobs should be in good shape over there. :)
I bent mine up yesterday, and right before I began writing this post I fitted my bow to the truck after painting. I bend conduit at work all the time so mine looks perfect ;). For the flat bar I just measured/eyeballed the length and cut it a bit long. I think it was 54" overall, and I trimmed the ends today to fit the bikini, which is 52" IIRC. To bend it I actually fit it to the weatherstripping on the cab, and just used my hands and the cab roof to gradually get the right angles, constantly test fitting it along the way. I probably have six hours total into the project - it wasn't fast by any means - but it looks great.
Here's a tip I did not see in either Djlarroc's or 4runnerx3's writeups. To get the bow mounted, one ideally uses the threaded holes in the rollbar intended for shoulder belts. 4runnerx3 has those shoulder belt units and used that existing bolt, but I could not find the correct bolt to fit those threads, and it would have been a rather large hole to drill in 1/2" conduit anyway. I ended up taking a 3 1/2" bolt, 3/8" hex head, and sliding it through the rollbar. It fits snugly and perfectly. I flattened the ends of the conduit and drilled a 3/8" hole through the flat parts, then used a nut and lock washer to mount it all together. I put flat washers on the rollbar on both sides, just for protection. I was able to tighten the bolts enough to hold the bow upright on its own, although I do have a retaining strap as well. So, parts list for that attachment method:
(2) 3/8" bolts, 3.5" long
(2) 3/8" nuts
(2) 3/8" lockwashers
(4) 3/8" flat washers
Pics:
http://i34.tinypic.com/35i4swn.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/261oh8h.jpg
More detail of the way the top is rolled over against the weatherstripping:
http://i36.tinypic.com/295b7f7.jpg
It's taut! We'll see how it sounds on the highway now!
http://i37.tinypic.com/v5bcbo.jpg
A good view of the bow angle. My uprights were about 17" long, as I did not want the bow sticking out too terribly far:
http://i38.tinypic.com/2vjqt1y.jpg
The underside, with velcro straps and pipe insulation (and plenum-rated zip ties from work :P )
http://i35.tinypic.com/2ivl98k.jpg
And my truck as it sits right now :)
http://i37.tinypic.com/j6oi6u.jpg
I bent mine up yesterday, and right before I began writing this post I fitted my bow to the truck after painting. I bend conduit at work all the time so mine looks perfect ;). For the flat bar I just measured/eyeballed the length and cut it a bit long. I think it was 54" overall, and I trimmed the ends today to fit the bikini, which is 52" IIRC. To bend it I actually fit it to the weatherstripping on the cab, and just used my hands and the cab roof to gradually get the right angles, constantly test fitting it along the way. I probably have six hours total into the project - it wasn't fast by any means - but it looks great.
Here's a tip I did not see in either Djlarroc's or 4runnerx3's writeups. To get the bow mounted, one ideally uses the threaded holes in the rollbar intended for shoulder belts. 4runnerx3 has those shoulder belt units and used that existing bolt, but I could not find the correct bolt to fit those threads, and it would have been a rather large hole to drill in 1/2" conduit anyway. I ended up taking a 3 1/2" bolt, 3/8" hex head, and sliding it through the rollbar. It fits snugly and perfectly. I flattened the ends of the conduit and drilled a 3/8" hole through the flat parts, then used a nut and lock washer to mount it all together. I put flat washers on the rollbar on both sides, just for protection. I was able to tighten the bolts enough to hold the bow upright on its own, although I do have a retaining strap as well. So, parts list for that attachment method:
(2) 3/8" bolts, 3.5" long
(2) 3/8" nuts
(2) 3/8" lockwashers
(4) 3/8" flat washers
Pics:
http://i34.tinypic.com/35i4swn.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/261oh8h.jpg
More detail of the way the top is rolled over against the weatherstripping:
http://i36.tinypic.com/295b7f7.jpg
It's taut! We'll see how it sounds on the highway now!
http://i37.tinypic.com/v5bcbo.jpg
A good view of the bow angle. My uprights were about 17" long, as I did not want the bow sticking out too terribly far:
http://i38.tinypic.com/2vjqt1y.jpg
The underside, with velcro straps and pipe insulation (and plenum-rated zip ties from work :P )
http://i35.tinypic.com/2ivl98k.jpg
And my truck as it sits right now :)
http://i37.tinypic.com/j6oi6u.jpg