This web page is to document this installation of my Atlantic British rock slider/sill protectors installation. After months of research, email exchanges, talks with vendors, and fabricators I choose the Atlantic British Slider product. One of my primary concerns was protection for the vulnerable spot welded sheet metal seam under the doors. On several occasions I had minor damage to this area in mild rock crawling situations. After look at products and talking to vendors, I was unable to find the exact product I was looking for. The Atlantic British product looked strong and sturdy for outer body protection but does not provide protection for the body sill. I chose to purchase them anyway, and add my own sill protection. The installation was straight forward and relatively easy.
Below are before pictures of the fiberglass trim under the doors. As you can see, they have seen a little abuse.
The first step is to remove the original fiberglass piece under the doors.
Here is what was left of the little plastic rivets after removing them with a screw driver, trim tool, hammer, and pliers. Most of them were quite easy to remove, however some took a little more persuasion. Over all it took about 1 hour to remove both sides.
Once removed the vulnerable body and door sills are exposed.
Here are the holes left behind from the plastic rivets. I originally though they would be used to bolt the sliders on. This did not turn out to be the case. Most of the new holes were drilled in close proximity to the originals.
The next step in the installation was to install the frame brackets. The brackets are affixed to the frame extension gears that the body is bolted to. Their are two gears on each side. The front one is located under the hinge for the front door. The rear one is located in front of were the wheel well meets the body. In these pictures, you can see the front gear in the lower right corner. Also shown are the holes in the middle of the gear that will be enlarged to bolt the inner part of the bracket to.
Here is a view from the back looking forward of both the front and rear gears.
Here is a close up of the right front gear. The nut on the left will be used to hold the bracket on.
Here you can see the left rear gear looking from the front toward the back. On the left side of the picture you can see the body mount and the bolt holding it all in place.
Here is a close up of the body bolts that will be used by the brackets. On the left is the front and on the right the rear. Notice the few threads available on the rear.
Here are the brackets bolted in place. I used a 25/64 drill bit to enlarge the holes that were existing on the frame gears.
This is the right front.
Rear view of right front
Left front.
Right rear. Notice the rear brackets extend lower then the front brackets.
After the brackets are bolted to the frame you cant test fit the sliders to the brackets. This is a very exciting moment. I found that the sliders fit very tightly between the two brackets. I used a floor jack to help lift the 30+ pound sliders into place and get the right fit.
After a little test fitting and adjusting, it is time to start drilling. I chose to use 3/8" x 3 1/2" grade 8 bolts instead of the 8 MM Rivi-nuts that were included with the sliders. There are 10 holes in each of the sliders, so I purchased 20 bolts and nuts, and 40 washers. The 3 1/2" bolts were long enough to go through the lower body sill. Therefore, I had to drill holes all the way through the lower body sill. I used my trusty 25/64" drill bit for this job also.
Here you can see my assistant, Don Parker, tightening the bracket bolts.
Here you can see the finished product.
Now for the actual sill protection I used a piece of 3" x 4" x 1/4" thick angle iron. The pieces were cut to length, then two notches need to be cut out of the angle to clear structural braces behind the sill. All of the cutting was done with and Oxygen Actalin torch. Here I am cleaning the surface of the angle iron piece before painting. You can also see the bolts the were used to hold everything in place.
Below you can see the sill protection plate that I made for the Right hand side. It has all of the holes drilled, is paint, ready to bolt on.
Below is a series of pictures from the front to the back of the inner side of the sill protector.
That completes the basic install of the sliders and sill protectors. The installation took a whole day, including the fabrication of the sill protector. Feel free to email me JPoehlman@msn.com with any questions you may have. I plan to update this document further with more detailed descriptions in the future.
Version 1.0 8-26-99