Project Brento-Box

[brentonodon]

So I picked up this '88 SWB that a guy had swapped in a 4D56 a few years back. Over the past few months I've done some upgrades and would love to detail them out here.

First off, here's how it started. Very clean specimen with very little rust on it thanks to being parked in the hills of the Santa Cruz mountains.

But you can see the front end was sagging a bit and needed some upgrades.
My plan in the beginning.
- Winch
- Front bumper with a bull bar
- a few inches of lift
- rear bumper with tire carrier and propane tank setup for camping
- roof rack
- lockers to help in the sticks

I've gotten pretty far on it and will spend the next few days getting this thread up to speed.

 

[brentonodon]

Here's how the bumper build went.

Started out by scanning the front of the montero with an iphone. The 3dscannerapp is pretty slick. Exported an .obj with color mapping on it to get some sweet renders. Took a tape measure to really get the details right on the bumper mount horns.

The fact that the phone made this in just a few minutes still blows my mind.

While I was dealing with the front end I opted to put on one of mondo harbor freight winches. Overkill for sure but they had a screamin deal on them so I went for it.

Cad'ed up the winch and the frame horns to get this winch plate sorted. This was an early iteration. I eventually scrapped the front lip and added on to the rear aiming downward so that it wouldn't hold water.


SendCutSend did a great job cutting and bending this part. If I was to do it again I would move the flanges in a mm or two for a little more clearance between the rails but it fits.



On to the bumper part. Designed it to look like the ARB bumpers that I've seen on the Gen2's.
Mocked it up in cardboard first and I'm glad I did. Some measurements were definitely a little off.

Initial CAD version.

Then onto the cardboard.

Decided it was time to cut it out. I usually like to use SendCutSend but they can't seem to cut long pieces like the top plate on here so I ended up going with OSHcut. They did a great job, I just had to keep checking shipping rates because at one point it was going to be exorbitant.
I'd be keen to sell these kits if people are interested. Someday soon I'll get it up on a site or something. Dreamin big ya know.


Took about 30min to get it all tacked together. Precision cut parts are the best. That and working with HRPO instead of grinding off mill scale. That's for the birds.
No idea if this will work but a short video of tacking it up.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fmT7bUdsNXSiF7sD8

Making the bull bars was fun. Some 1-1/8" flat stock, some torch work, and a bit of hammering.

The tubing section is always a hoot. tube bending is a dark art.


After powdercoating! Had the powdercoated hit the fairlead with a color that somewhat matches the body color. I think it turned out pretty good.

 

[SONICMASD]

Wow, that's so cool that you not only have the CAD skills but also the Fab skills to knock out a project like this, very impressive. Looks great!

 

[Toasty]

Great work dude! OSHcut was resaonable? I've never checked them out before, once I get my website going I was hoping to get a SendCutSend link embedded. Also, I have a tubing bender but I found a company that does precision bending and laser notching and holy smokes that takes makes things so simple and the joints are perfect! I can't recall the name but I have it screenshotted.

 

[plh]

That looks a lot like the ARB bumper on the front of my '89. Great work!

 

[ITTOG]

Here's how the bumper build went.

Started out by scanning the front of the montero with an iphone. The 3dscannerapp is pretty slick. Exported an .obj with color mapping on it to get some sweet renders. Took a tape measure to really get the details right on the bumper mount horns.
View attachment 761809
The fact that the phone made this in just a few minutes still blows my mind.

While I was dealing with the front end I opted to put on one of mondo harbor freight winches. Overkill for sure but they had a screamin deal on them so I went for it.

Cad'ed up the winch and the frame horns to get this winch plate sorted. This was an early iteration. I eventually scrapped the front lip and added on to the rear aiming downward so that it wouldn't hold water.

View attachment 761810
SendCutSend did a great job cutting and bending this part. If I was to do it again I would move the flanges in a mm or two for a little more clearance between the rails but it fits.
View attachment 761811
View attachment 761812

On to the bumper part. Designed it to look like the ARB bumpers that I've seen on the Gen2's.
Mocked it up in cardboard first and I'm glad I did. Some measurements were definitely a little off.

Initial CAD version.
View attachment 761813
Then onto the cardboard.
View attachment 761814
Decided it was time to cut it out. I usually like to use SendCutSend but they can't seem to cut long pieces like the top plate on here so I ended up going with OSHcut. They did a great job, I just had to keep checking shipping rates because at one point it was going to be exorbitant.
I'd be keen to sell these kits if people are interested. Someday soon I'll get it up on a site or something. Dreamin big ya know.
View attachment 761815

Took about 30min to get it all tacked together. Precision cut parts are the best. That and working with HRPO instead of grinding off mill scale. That's for the birds.
No idea if this will work but a short video of tacking it up.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fmT7bUdsNXSiF7sD8

Making the bull bars was fun. Some 1-1/8" flat stock, some torch work, and a bit of hammering.
View attachment 761816
The tubing section is always a hoot. tube bending is a dark art.
View attachment 761817

After powdercoating! Had the powdercoated hit the fairlead with a color that somewhat matches the body color. I think it turned out pretty good.
View attachment 761818

I was not aware there were online services that will cut, bend, etc for you. I need some simple angle pieces made. Too bad I don't have the cad skills to load into their programs.

 

[Salonika]

Here's how the bumper build went.

Started out by scanning the front of the montero with an iphone. The 3dscannerapp is pretty slick. Exported an .obj with color mapping on it to get some sweet renders. Took a tape measure to really get the details right on the bumper mount horns.
View attachment 761809
The fact that the phone made this in just a few minutes still blows my mind.

While I was dealing with the front end I opted to put on one of mondo harbor freight winches. Overkill for sure but they had a screamin deal on them so I went for it.

Cad'ed up the winch and the frame horns to get this winch plate sorted. This was an early iteration. I eventually scrapped the front lip and added on to the rear aiming downward so that it wouldn't hold water.

View attachment 761810
SendCutSend did a great job cutting and bending this part. If I was to do it again I would move the flanges in a mm or two for a little more clearance between the rails but it fits.
View attachment 761811
View attachment 761812

On to the bumper part. Designed it to look like the ARB bumpers that I've seen on the Gen2's.
Mocked it up in cardboard first and I'm glad I did. Some measurements were definitely a little off.

Initial CAD version.
View attachment 761813
Then onto the cardboard.
View attachment 761814
Decided it was time to cut it out. I usually like to use SendCutSend but they can't seem to cut long pieces like the top plate on here so I ended up going with OSHcut. They did a great job, I just had to keep checking shipping rates because at one point it was going to be exorbitant.
I'd be keen to sell these kits if people are interested. Someday soon I'll get it up on a site or something. Dreamin big ya know.
View attachment 761815

Took about 30min to get it all tacked together. Precision cut parts are the best. That and working with HRPO instead of grinding off mill scale. That's for the birds.
No idea if this will work but a short video of tacking it up.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fmT7bUdsNXSiF7sD8

Making the bull bars was fun. Some 1-1/8" flat stock, some torch work, and a bit of hammering.
View attachment 761816
The tubing section is always a hoot. tube bending is a dark art.
View attachment 761817

After powdercoating! Had the powdercoated hit the fairlead with a color that somewhat matches the body color. I think it turned out pretty good.
View attachment 761818

What was the cardboard cutout part used for?

 

[MontySquareo]

What was the cardboard cutout part used for?

im guessing it's a test fit bumper before he gets the real bumper made. when I build stuff I usually make it out of cardboard first and then after two or three prototypes I build the real thing.

 

[brentonodon]

Great work dude! OSHcut was resaonable? I've never checked them out before, once I get my website going I was hoping to get a SendCutSend link embedded. Also, I have a tubing bender but I found a company that does precision bending and laser notching and holy smokes that takes makes things so simple and the joints are perfect! I can't recall the name but I have it screenshotted.

Yeah, Toasty, OSHcut is pretty reasonable. Their prices don't include shipping so make sure you keep that in mind. A link to the sendcutsend page would be cool. I've been debating on just getting 5 or 10 kits cut by oshcut to save on packing and setup fees. It knocks quite a bit off an order.

ITTOG, you can draw flat patterns on their site if you want. If you're keen, let me know and I can run you through how to do it.

Salonika, yeah, it's to test fit the bumper. The scan is cool and all but it's not that accurate. I found that the bumper needed to be widened a little and that the height was a bit wacky. Definitely cheaper and faster to test these out in cardboard than steel.

 

[Salonika]

Yeah, Toasty, OSHcut is pretty reasonable. Their prices don't include shipping so make sure you keep that in mind. A link to the sendcutsend page would be cool. I've been debating on just getting 5 or 10 kits cut by oshcut to save on packing and setup fees. It knocks quite a bit off an order.

ITTOG, you can draw flat patterns on their site if you want. If you're keen, let me know and I can run you through how to do it.

Salonika, yeah, it's to test fit the bumper. The scan is cool and all but it's not that accurate. I found that the bumper needed to be widened a little and that the height was a bit wacky. Definitely cheaper and faster to test these out in cardboard than steel.

So once the cardboard is done, you cut the same pieces out of metal and have at it?

 

[Ozarker]

Very good job, skills and tools, always a good thing to have.

What about that aluminum headed diesel 4 banger? In the late 80's through the 90's that was an issue, over heating, warped head, milling, etc. Is that why the last guy changed it out?

Looks nice, should be a good project.

 

[brentonodon]

That's exactly what I do, Salonika. The cardboard just tapes together really easily.

@Ozarker, the aluminum headed 4 banger is a real piece of work. It's the 4D56 that came in these. Unfortunately it's the naturally aspirated one. I have gotten a turbo for it (the stock one). I'll detail more on that here in a few days.

 

[Salonika]

That's exactly what I do, Salonika. The cardboard just tapes together really easily.

@Ozarker, the aluminum headed 4 banger is a real piece of work. It's the 4D56 that came in these. Unfortunately it's the naturally aspirated one. I have gotten a turbo for it (the stock one). I'll detail more on that here in a few days.

Ok so what does OSHcut do then? Are you sending them the dimensions on your cardboard pieces and they custom cut it for you?

 

[brentonodon]

I send oshcut a .dxf with all the part profiles in it, spec a material, and a lead time. They cut it and ship it. They can bend but I didn’t need any of that for this. They also have tools on their site to create profiles that they’ll cut for ya but for me it’s faster to do the design work in software I’m already familiar with.

 

[brentonodon]

As @Ozarker pointed out. These motors have a hard go keeping their heads straight. I was noticing pressure in the cooling system after only a few seconds of running which is a sure sign of a blown head gasket on these things. Super common issue. So the ebaymotors to the rescue. A fella in Spain sells reproduction fully assembled heads for not too much. Was able to get that swapped and now it's still a bit of a turkey when it comes to power. I had been suspicious that the previous owner had put the wrong type of head on since these came with two types. The earlier ones had valves that stuck up proud of the mounting surface and the later ones with the recessed valves. Turned out he had the right one. It just had warped and blown a gasket.


Right into the cooling jacket.


New gasket and cleaned up. You can see the pistons are the type with the pockets in the top. This is for the old style head.



And here's what I mean by protruding or proud valves.


Once it was all installed I set the clearances and off she goes!