Builds Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction

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On Board Air brackets....



This is my On Board Air system for the LX45. It is based on a 12V Puma Compressor and has a small aluminum tank I scavenged from the dumpster at work. This area is wasted space under the bed drawer area. I think trying to mount all this stuff in the engine compartment would have made things really crowded.



This started as a chip board template where I laid out the design for the bracket. I try and do this for all the brackets I make. The template is then transfer to some fresh sheetmetal. I really try not to make everything out of material that is needlessly thick. That adds up over the coarse of the build to pounds and mounts of extra weight.



After much drilling, dimpling, and bending you end up with this. I decided it was a great idea to use every size of dimple die I have on this one part. Super smart use of time....



This is my super high tech flange bending machine. These 1/2" flanges are really nice to stiffing up the edge of panels and changing the weld orientation.



All the mounting holes got weld nuts TIG'd in place. I really like these things. They are affordable and have a lot of thread engagement.



Tack welded in place on the chassis.



These are the little mounts I made for the tank mount. They are just formed 16 gauge steel and are welded to the frame. They trap a hose clamp which holds the tank into place.

Cheers.
 


I guess it's time to tackle the doors on this thing.

In broad strokes, I will be making a set of aluminum 2pc doors that have a sliding upper window similar to a series Land Rover. The upper part of the door will store in the false floor of the bed when not being used. I also need a latch system and a mirror.....
 
Doors.....



After playing around with the chipboard for a bit I ended up here....



The chipboard is really good template material up to a point, but it becomes kinda 'floppy' in big panels. I decided to up my template game and use some thin plywood for the doors. I found this stuff at home depot for a few bucks. It is very close in thickness to the 3/16" aluminum plate I plan on using for the doors. It is MUCH stiffer and is pretty flat.

I also decided to make the entire door in one piece for the template. I think this is the way I will fabricate the door eventually also. Make the entire door and then eventually cut it at the seam between the upper and lower. This should make the parts match up very well even if the cut isn't perfect.



The complete door was very interesting to play with. I also started laying out the window....

It feels odd to sit in the vehicle now with the door. It doesn't feel as small as I thought it would with the 56" wide tub. I do like the new door height with the raised body line. It feels really good. The stock body line would have felt very low. Keeping the door thin will help interior space. I am going to go pretty basic on the door. I ordered some Jeep TJ mirrors to use along with a locking paddle latch. I think I will be building the door hinges from scratch so I can have FJ40 on the body side but the TJ bolt pattern on the door to make the mirror work. I should also make them lift off, but then I have to make them a mirror left to right. Fun.
 
@Mieser please post what you find about the windows, tracking, etc. I am going to be needing to build upper doors as well. And have wondered if this would be a better option to making canvas ones like Icon?? I have been in Bobcats that had a nice simple track that the glass slid on. Seems the materials should be readily available. Thanks for all the detail and inspiration! Keep up the good fight!
 
waiting for time said:
Check for RV or boat windows.
Click to expand...

That is the route I started down, but my budget may not allow it. Rough quotes are coming back over 1K per window and that just isn't in my budget. I'm waiting for more quotes before I tick that off the list. I am trying to figure out other options to look at.
 
fjdiesel said:
@Mieser please post what you find about the windows, tracking, etc. I am going to be needing to build upper doors as well. And have wondered if this would be a better option to making canvas ones like Icon?? I have been in Bobcats that had a nice simple track that the glass slid on. Seems the materials should be readily available. Thanks for all the detail and inspiration! Keep up the good fight!
Click to expand...

I'll post up what I find for sure. I have found some of the commercial stuff that looks promising. Having the glass cut/tempered seems to be the hurdle with that so far....and the base window gasket only works on a thin frame.
 
Thanks! Our local Ace hardware can get tempered glass to any size made from a pattern. Does take like 2 weeks, but the price isn't bad. Just an idea for the glass.
 
After MUCH morning google-fu this is where I ended up....







This is a window system by CR Laurence that basically does what I want. It basically just snaps into a hole. The cost doesn't seem too bad. It should work on all 4 windows that I will need ( fronts and split rears) with common parts.

The unanswered questions so far....

-Where to get glass cut/made? Tempered?....or just use lexan?
-I need some kind of latch for the inside. I haven't been able to find that yet
-The gasket is only rated for use up to a 0.140 thick flange. That throws a bit of a wrench in my plans for the construction of the door.
 
Are you gonna make the bottom of the glass straight? Or make it follow the angel of the half door? That looks like a pretty awesome gasket setup.
 
fjdiesel said:
Are you gonna make the bottom of the glass straight? Or make it follow the angel of the half door? That looks like a pretty awesome gasket setup.
Click to expand...

I would like to make it follow the door with the angle cut......that may prove challenging.
 
Todays mini-project.....





I finally made some fill in panels for the gap behind the fender. Overall, I am really happy with the improved look with that area filled in. They are just flanged to the inside and will bolt to the fender. This should let me dial in the position during final assembly....and let me change my mind later if I don't like it.

Some of the process....



It all usually starts with a template made of chipboard.



Transfer to some aluminum scrap. I feel bad for keeping stuff like this around sometimes, but I always seem to find a use for them somewhere in the build.



You can never have too many clamps can you? I drilled and tapped my welding table years back with a 6x6 pattern in 3/8-16. That has been VERY handy over the years for jigging up projects. In this case I used some small sections of 2" angle to set the parts at 90 deg for the welding process.



I TIG welded the parts together with some 1" stitch welds and let it cool in the jig. Sometimes it is tough to know when to stop welding. The more you weld the more the parts will pull. Since this is only an aesthetic part it didn't need to much.....but I did need the flange to be at 90 to the outer valance. In the end it worked well with only a slight trim and tweak for the final fit.

Bonus.....



I found some hose clamps for the air compressor tank mount. Win.
 
Looks Great! Interesting idea for the sliding windows. I will be looking forward to your solution
 
Mieser said:
I would like to make it follow the door with the angle cut......that may prove challenging.
Click to expand...

your top and bottom track will need to be parallel to keep the sliding glass engaged in the track.

the flange mounted track you pictured above only gives you one sliding and one fixed panel per window, you'd be locked in to which panel you can open. Do they do a double track system? A double track system give you the option of opening either panel. Either way you get less than half the window area open at any one time, but for side doors, you could choose to open the front half, or open the back half.

I've been in older landrovers that had simple sliding glass windows, I'm fairly sure both panes slid

you could look for a simpler joinery/cabinet glass door track and recess it into the top of the door so the bottom track stayed parallel to the top, and still keep the shape you're looking for. (Assuming you are going to have a boxed, double skin (inner/outer skin) door?)


Mieser said:
My OCD is kicking in a little....



I added some neodymium magnets in a piece of heat shrink tubing to the tailgate cables. This makes them stick to the bed post. I hope they won't flap in the wind on the highway.....
Click to expand...

love this attention to detail! such a simple idea that makes a difference
 
Mieser said:
Click to expand...


what's the capacity of your little tank?
I have an empty CO2 fire extinguisher aluminium cylinder of similar size I'm going to use. I had people tell me it wouldn't be strong enough. The damn thing has a pressure relief on it rated at 290Bar! as if it won't cope with 100psi or so :lol:
 
mudgudgeon said:
what's the capacity of your little tank?
I have an empty CO2 fire extinguisher aluminium cylinder of similar size I'm going to use. I had people tell me it wouldn't be strong enough. The damn thing has a pressure relief on it rated at 290Bar! as if it won't cope with 100psi or so :lol:
Click to expand...

It is about 1/2-3/4 gallon. I run a slightly smaller one in my old flat fender and it has worked great.
 
Mini-project tonight.....



I had some scrap 1 x 3/4 aluminum bar stock that I turned into a battery hold down. I added a little lightness. Yes, I will trim the all-thread down.
 
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