Builds 1997 LX450 Ute (1 Viewer)

[yohavos]

Front DS sunroof drain had been repaired, presumably by the shop that did the rest of the repairs.

Got the PS corner tacked in. Between the sun reflecting off the metal and darkening my hood and the wind blowing my shielding gas, I'm just glad it's holding

Lots of welding and grinding ahead of me

 

[gofast]

You'll be happy if you get the makita. It will make short work but not take off too much metal.

You may wish to pick up these and run them in your drill or die grinder

Nice idea on the tube for the transition!

 

[yohavos]

Thanks everyone!

I removed the carpet to find... ants :/

So, a thorough deep clean is in my future.


The boss is home and we're off to Walla Walla for the evening, so that's it for today

"Are you home alone taking pictures of your truck??"

As she sits:

 

[2fpower]

Just found your thread. Great to see someone else going on a diet and dropping some weight!

Keep the pictures coming.

If you have an air compressor, harbor freight has a decent alternative to the Makita sander.

http://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-belt-air-sander-60627.html

 

[yotasavg]

Way cool, I like how just get at it, keep it up!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

Awesome build thread. One tip I found out when grinding many new body panels/welds, stay away from the Dewalt (or Home Depot like) grinding wheels. Go to your local welding supply and pick up some Flexovit grinding wheels. These cut through metal in about 25% of the time as the Hardware store brands.

Keep up the great work...Subscribed 4 sure.

 

[hamishpotter]

Awesome thread. Inspiration!!

 

[hicruise55]

Awesome awesome awesome man!!

So impressed with you just getting after it and staying motivated! I can't wait to check it out!

 

[canman]

Excellent work. Looking forward to your build.

 

[bhicks]

My wife would kill me if I did this to our LX. You got some balls. Have fun and keep posting pics. This is fun to watch.

 

[yohavos]

Cut a few pieces out of the scraps to use later. Figure I can use these to cap the roof and rain gutter.

Cut the taillight bucket area out to see if I can use it to finish off the bottom... No bueno. Going to stick with tube and sheet.

 

[yohavos]

Started welding random sheets in open areas. Not sure why I did this one, but I think the idea will be to double wall everything.

 

[yohavos]

Then I got focused... Let's close this can up!!

Trailer park tactics return... My tube corners:

You'll notice I scabbed in a bit more outer door panel. This is why I haven't made a scrap metal run yet!

Then I ran a bit of tube horizontally in line with the floor to cap off this area. I'll box the rocker in separately.

 

[yohavos]

I've been doing everything for both sides simultaneously; using the same templates and measurements in order to get it symmetrical.

I was excited about getting the DS corner tube done so I dove into the PS.

First obstacle: I thrashed the door cutting it originally. She did not go back together easily... I'm learning so much about sheet metal/body work!

I put the sledge behind the panels I'm joining and give em a tap from the other side with the rubber mallet to help em line up. This works well after welding when the metal is hot.

I'm just tacking and stitching as not to warp anything.



Then I rushed my tube work and seriously screwed the pooch. I made some measurement comparisons, realized I needed more "rear door" and broke my tube.

This thread will have the good, bad, and ugly... So here's a cluster for ya:

That tube is measured out the same length rearwards as the drivers side. I need more door exterior there

 

[yohavos]

So, I decided to work backwards a bit... I went to my beautiful DS and fitted cardboard for the final big sheet to fill the bottom of the rear wall. This is what it looked like:

The plan? Cut two of these and tack them on each side of the tailgate. I'll use that as a reference for my tube and the passenger side pillar.

I started labeling my sheet... They're easy to mess up when you're all over the place like I am!

Of course I had to tack up the DS. It really looks like I may pull this off!

 

[yohavos]

Plan ---> Action


Nice and symmetrical

Salvaged the PS... Just need to fill that space in with some sheet. No problemo.

 

[yohavos]

Filled in with some scrap, tacked then stitched together.

Coming along...

 

[yohavos]

I'm really happy with how this is coming together.

My goal of maintaining some semblance of factory lines while eliminating the bubble look seems to have been met beautifully!

 

[yohavos]

Tedious, filling in holes. Wait till it's just grinding

Feeling good about this little transition

 

[yohavos]

Both my halogen work light bulbs are blown... And the hardware store didn't have more.

No matter... This train ain't stoppin'

Desk lamp to the rescue. It's actually great being able to soften it a bit, perfect for my welding mask.

Going to try to finish up the cab floor tonight so I can put the gas tank back under her.