Mini Truck Body Drop - Traditional Body-Drop 101

11. and 12. For the front of the floor, and to finish off the ends of the side fillers, templates were made again, then transferred into metal, and welded into place.

13. Here, you see the corners once completed, and the front fully welded into place. Sometimes some gentle persuasion was needed to shape the 16-gauge sheet, you might even need to grab the BFH for the job.

14. The next major issue was to clear the firewall for the wheels, which involved tubbing the firewall.

15. We marked and cut away the trouble areas and had another hole that needed to be filled. We made another template and cut out a filler piece.

16. We made sure it fit, and cleared the tires when laid out, and then tacked it into place.

17. and 18. The wiring harness port needed to be moved up to clear the tire. So, to kill two birds with one filler, Seth also moved the clutch master cylinder up an inch.

19. and 20. The clutch did not line up with the pedal anymore, so to fix that, Seth cut the clutch mount off of the pedal assembly and moved it up an inch. Before fully welding it, make sure it lines up correctly, so you don't have to cut it apart again. You'll need to adjust the clutch linkage if you just put it in and it doesn't engage. Don't forget that before you go and take it for a cruise.

21. and 22. We measured how far the bumper mounts stick above the crossmember. This one was 3-1/2 inches, and was being body-dropped 2-1/4 inches. So, the mount will stick up 1-1/4-inch above the front crossmember after it's dropped.

23. With the bumper and body mounts dropped, the radiator hose hit the front crossmember, so it needed to be clearanced.

24. and 25. It is necessary to spread seam sealer on any joint you weld. We laid a bead down, then used Blue Nitrile gloves and spread it evenly with a finger.

26. and 27. With the body-drop, the hood generally doesn't clear the motor. To fix this, Seth built dropped motor mounts. The hood closed with a little trimming of the hood supports directly above the air filter. The mounts don't drop the motor far enough to interfere with the steering or engine crossmember, and the oil pan is still off the ground.

28. and 29. Next, it was time to roll that pinch weld. We removed the heavy wall tube from under the truck. The first 2 inches of the pinch weld was attached to the stock body-mount brace, and was about 1/4-inch thick. It would be very hard to bend this, so we cut that section off. We started with a gradual bend using a set of channel locks, making two full passes along the whole pinch. Once it was at a 45-degree angle, it was time to bust out that BFH again. Sharing this job with some friends over a few beers wouldn't be a bad idea.

30. Now comes more fun. Fitting the interior back together has its challenges, but if you angled the fillers on your body-drop, the carpet will fit in relatively well. However, a new carpet kit with a little extra material on the sides is always best. After a few trims of some plastic pieces, the entire interior went back almost as easy as it came out. You know what that meant? It was time to go enjoy the fruits of our labor, and drag the damn thing!

31. After her maiden voyage, we parked her in the driveway to admire the lowered stance. Damn, she's purdy!