XJ rocker replacement/ uni-body strengthening

#1
I made an effort to take photos of this project and will try to explain step by step what I did and how I did it. My goal was to add protection to the vulnerable are under the doors on the XJ while still being able to use the doors. I went a little more in depth than just a rocker replacement with mine. I also tied the rocker into the cage in several places. Take note that the rocker replacement will be a lot more solid if you already have a frame stiffener kit (or a home-brewed equivilent) on the unibody frame already for welding braces to.
Hope this helps someone. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give this project a 6. There is A LOT of very tedious sheetmetal welding involved.

Materials needed:
-2x6 11 gauge (1/8") wall rectangle tubing. Each side will need between 60-66". So about 11 feet all together.
-1 1/2" x 1 1/2" 3/16" rectangle tubing roughly 6 feet all together. You could use just about anything for this really. I just went a little heavy just because I could.
-1/8" to 3/16" plate to cap the 2x6.

First step is pull a chalk line at the seem under the door seal. Unless you can cut perfectly straight then just bust out the angle grinder and start cutting. You'll make two cuts: one on the outside under the door and another about a 1/4 inch from the pinch seem, completely removing the pinch seem all together.
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Decide where you want the braces to attach to the 2x6 and then cut access hole into the cab to allow for welding all four sides of the braces to the 2x6.
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Once you have the 2x6 cut to length and capped on both ends, it's time to stick it in place.
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Make sure it's pushed up as tight as it can go and as far in as it can, contacting the sheetmetal lip on the underneath.
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Once you have it at that stage, start welding. Doing a solid weld all the way down the door seem is not really necissary. I usually just do 2 to 4" beads every few inches or so.
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Now it's time for the inner seem. The best way to do this is to pound in the lip with a hammer to conform it to the 2x6 to make welding a lot easier.
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I decided it to be better to solid weld this all the way down mainly just to keep it from getting snagged on rocks and such.
SU1HMDAxNDktMjAxMTA1MjQtMTE0MC5qcGc.jpg

Brace placement: cut to fit and stick it up there. With the hole already cut through the floor you should be able to weld all four sides of the brace to the 2x6 and the other end to the frame. I did 3 braces per side.
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