81 BJ42 - I have to bring it home and pass inspection

[Awl_TEQ]

I started the right door today.

Began by cutting a section of the hemmed skin patch and tacking it on

I then did the same with the inner piece (can't see it here) and tacked the two together before welding the outer skin fully.

Started cleaning it up

 

[Awl_TEQ]

grinding done

These corners will be fun to fab. I'm just going to build them up form different sections (scraps) of material and fill with the TIG and silicone bronze filler rod.

This is the radius corner (outer)

And this is the sharper corner (where the two doors meet)

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Finishing the outer skin patches



I like it!

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Then the fun. I just took my time and copied the upper door corners and consulted online photos to get a similar profile to stock.

Here you can see I started with a section of the patching material and slit it with the grinder so I could bend it. Then I made little slits on the top of it and tapped it in a bit with a hammer. That gives it a bit of a radius instead of a sharp edge. You can see the scraps sitting on top that I used to finish it out.

Sorry for the blur. This is where I switched to the TIG and brazing rod. I filled all the voids in the joints and also used the brazing to build up the form so I could sculpt it out with the grinder and a flapper disc.


Done. ish. Thats all I got to today. About three hours. Spent the rest of the day doing family stuff.

 

[45Kevin]

Yeah, your lucky that corner pic was blurry. It's hiding your shi**y work.

Why aren't you working on tail gates?

You're going to do a complete resto on that 42 before you drive it, aren't you?

Did you loose your license or something?

 

[cody c]

It looks good Kevin, even the fillet between the two pieces in that bottom corner look amazing.

How do you take the weld/metal down to blend the two pieces youve welded so well, and without taking too much material off the surrounding metal that youve warped it or made it too thin?

For me its very difficult to not end up with paper thin steel where ive welded two pieces of sheet metal together by smoothing it with a flap disc.

 

[KY Longhunter]

Simply amazing, and all that in 3 hours.

 

[IanB]

Amazing work!

 

[tmarx]

Amazing work!

x 2 !

 

[Awl_TEQ]

It looks good Kevin, even the fillet between the two pieces in that bottom corner look amazing.

How do you take the weld/metal down to blend the two pieces youve welded so well, and without taking too much material off the surrounding metal that youve warped it or made it too thin?

For me its very difficult to not end up with paper thin steel where ive welded two pieces of sheet metal together by smoothing it with a flap disc.

Short answer= grind carefully.

Long answer= I use a 5" 80grit flapper disc if there is access just to take the bulk of the weld material off. The a 2" Roloc (3M) disc on an air angle grinder to feather the weld down to the parent material. Trick is to keep moving. If you stop you will make a depression. Thats depressing.

The flapper disc works well when you use the edge to feather an inside radius like where the complex shapes are on that corner.

 

[cody c]

Short answer= grind carefully.

Long answer= I use a 5" 80grit flapper disc if there is access just to take the bulk of the weld material off. The a 2" Roloc (3M) disc on an air angle grinder to feather the weld down to the parent material. Trick is to keep moving. If you stop you will make a depression. Thats depressing.

The flapper disc works well when you use the edge to feather an inside radius like where the complex shapes are on that corner.

Huh, maybe its the heat applied when holding it one spot to remove the bulk of the weld that creates that problem.

I still plan on widening the rear wheel wells on my hilux so I definitely want to know your secrets!

Ill have to have a peek for the Roloc 3M discs too. Actually Ive used the gasket remover pads lots before and they are excellent.

You get enough wrenches/tools for your tool kit yet?

 

[Awl_TEQ]

You gotta move. The flapper makes a lot of heat. Also, you can't press hard. Less is more. Sometimes just the weight of the grinder is enough.

Bruce was just here. He left me a care package:

 

[Chamba]

That door is so pretty that I almost teared up.

Josh

 

[cody c]

That door is so pretty that I almost teared up.

Josh

Yeah, if he wanted, he could probably work with sheet metal for a living with them skills! ;p

Hey Kevin, you got any self clinching 1/4-20 steel or stainless nuts at your shop?

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Could you talk a little bit more about "tig and a brazing rod"? Are you using a brazing rod with the Tig or are you tig welding and then brazing afterwards?

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Cody, yes

HJ, yes. Using silicon bronze filler rod with the TIG. Essentially brazing. The TIG is just a fancy torch and silicon/ bronze filler rod is basically (if not exactly) like brazing rod. I could do the same thing with steel filler rod but the S/B rod requires less heat and is easier to flow into gaps and build up fillets for fill.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Here is the stuff I got from Bruce. As per his instructions I will pass on whatever I don't use. I'm just looking to build an original set.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

So, other than the jack, is this a "set" for a 79-84 vintage?

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Next question.... Tomorrow I am sending a shipment of parts to our plating subcontractor. Should I send him all the plated stuff for a re-coat??

Next.... What the f... heck is this thing? Bruce was trying to explain it was for pushing the center cap off the wheels on some models???

I dunno, but all three are slightly different.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Everything in that set fits in the tool bag including the sections of jack bar. Soooo.... What goes here on these clips? The clips seem to be too far apart for those jack bars. Am I looking for a hand crank?