if theres any 9.00x 16 ? or 11 x 16 those would be awesome........
ih8mud inspired build
- Thread starter Dagha Boy
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #42
After that digression, back to the Dagha Boy build.
I have left the chassis frame outside to take advantage of the hot weather besides not having space undercover. I hope the heat is "baking" the paint on and is good for it. It gets so hot during the day that one can only hold your hand on it for about a minute. It's 102F in the shade today. I started working at 05:00 at a temp of 64F and by 09:00 it passed 90F. I'm thinking of sleeping in the afternoon and evening and working from about midnight. Just too hot for me in my old age.
On the infamous trip from JNB it felt from time to time as if the vehicle was crabbing, not too bad and not all the time. Other than that the suspension was nice and I thought it would need no more attention than new bushes. I did not pay too much attention to it as I had plenty other worries with the transfer box threatening to blow up, a smoking engine and no brakes.
I thought it was the obvious; a broken centre pin on one of the rear springs. In the final outcome, both were OK but there were some other nasty little surprises.
On the front axle, the left spring main blade's front eye was worn through and broken off. Both shackles, and spring hanger pins were toast. The springs were so worn that they had worn into each other to a depth of about 5mm. Fortunately the spring and shackle hangers were OK. Complete new front suspension needed. Except for the shocks, they were brand new. I cannot imagine how bad they must have been for the PO to replace but keep the rest of the suspension.
I WONDER WHAT MILEAGE THIS SPRING HAS DONE. (left front)
WORM THROUGH
BROKEN OFF.
This afternoon Latie the resident giraffe male popped by to see what all the noise is about.
STILL LIFE: GIRAFFE AND LC FRAME.
I have left the chassis frame outside to take advantage of the hot weather besides not having space undercover. I hope the heat is "baking" the paint on and is good for it. It gets so hot during the day that one can only hold your hand on it for about a minute. It's 102F in the shade today. I started working at 05:00 at a temp of 64F and by 09:00 it passed 90F. I'm thinking of sleeping in the afternoon and evening and working from about midnight. Just too hot for me in my old age.
On the infamous trip from JNB it felt from time to time as if the vehicle was crabbing, not too bad and not all the time. Other than that the suspension was nice and I thought it would need no more attention than new bushes. I did not pay too much attention to it as I had plenty other worries with the transfer box threatening to blow up, a smoking engine and no brakes.
I thought it was the obvious; a broken centre pin on one of the rear springs. In the final outcome, both were OK but there were some other nasty little surprises.
On the front axle, the left spring main blade's front eye was worn through and broken off. Both shackles, and spring hanger pins were toast. The springs were so worn that they had worn into each other to a depth of about 5mm. Fortunately the spring and shackle hangers were OK. Complete new front suspension needed. Except for the shocks, they were brand new. I cannot imagine how bad they must have been for the PO to replace but keep the rest of the suspension.
I WONDER WHAT MILEAGE THIS SPRING HAS DONE. (left front)
WORM THROUGH
BROKEN OFF.
This afternoon Latie the resident giraffe male popped by to see what all the noise is about.
STILL LIFE: GIRAFFE AND LC FRAME.
I get excited when a deer or coyote comes through my yard. How cool. Keep up the good work.
JohnnyC
Long ago TLCA# 2231
I honestly think I have never seen a spring that worn into itself before ... Thanks for sharing that pic 
As well as the pic of geoffrey the giraffe watching your build... I'll need to show my kids that one for sure
I would say your paint will be well cured
As well as the pic of geoffrey the giraffe watching your build... I'll need to show my kids that one for sure
I would say your paint will be well cured
- Thread starter
- #45
The rear suspension was where the really big surprise came. Being a 1 ton pickup its suspension set up is quite a bit more robust than the short wheel base FJ40s. The spring hangers are the same, but the leaves and shackle hangers are an entirely different story.
The rear shackle hangers are really big cast iron units riveted to the frame by four rivets. Absolutely bomb proof. At least that's what I thought before I saw the condition
these are in.
NICE SOLID OLD SCHOOL BUILT TO LAST FOREVER.
they must have been run for very very long without the benefit of any bushes and have great big grooves worn in them.
At some stage a bush mechanic had lavished love on them by putting a bolt in the groove and "re-sleved" them with some tin and then added some bushes. Back to original...
INGENIOUS REPAIR. TRUE BUSH MECHANIC REMEDY.
RE-SLEEVE DECONSTRUCTED.
I ground off the rivet heads but have been unable to get them out with my equipment so I'll be taking it in to a shop in town to knock them out and replace the shackle hangers.
The centre pins on the rear springs were fine but the u bolts were home-made-welded-together affairs and were all loose and judging by the state of the axle spring pads on the axle had been so for a long long time. That explains the crabbing on the way home.
LEFT REAR SPRING PAD
The fronts aren't much better and I will fabricate new ones when I get to doing the axles.
The rear shackle hangers are really big cast iron units riveted to the frame by four rivets. Absolutely bomb proof. At least that's what I thought before I saw the condition
these are in.
NICE SOLID OLD SCHOOL BUILT TO LAST FOREVER.
they must have been run for very very long without the benefit of any bushes and have great big grooves worn in them.
At some stage a bush mechanic had lavished love on them by putting a bolt in the groove and "re-sleved" them with some tin and then added some bushes. Back to original...
INGENIOUS REPAIR. TRUE BUSH MECHANIC REMEDY.
RE-SLEEVE DECONSTRUCTED.
I ground off the rivet heads but have been unable to get them out with my equipment so I'll be taking it in to a shop in town to knock them out and replace the shackle hangers.
The centre pins on the rear springs were fine but the u bolts were home-made-welded-together affairs and were all loose and judging by the state of the axle spring pads on the axle had been so for a long long time. That explains the crabbing on the way home.
LEFT REAR SPRING PAD
The fronts aren't much better and I will fabricate new ones when I get to doing the axles.
- Thread starter
- #46
Hi Rustic76
I am seriously privileged to live the life I do, where I do. Right now it has been dark for about an hour and I'm still out in the carport. For the past hour I have been listening to a male leopard calling and following his movements by the sound. He has done a complete circuit and is now fading away to the north. It is an aery sound. Sounds like somebody sawing a ply board with an old fashioned hand rip saw. (Hu-ah Hu-ah Huh x 10) No matter how "civilized and safe" we may consider ourselves it still gives one goose flesh when you hear it.
I am seriously privileged to live the life I do, where I do. Right now it has been dark for about an hour and I'm still out in the carport. For the past hour I have been listening to a male leopard calling and following his movements by the sound. He has done a complete circuit and is now fading away to the north. It is an aery sound. Sounds like somebody sawing a ply board with an old fashioned hand rip saw. (Hu-ah Hu-ah Huh x 10) No matter how "civilized and safe" we may consider ourselves it still gives one goose flesh when you hear it.
That's just really cool information and an interesting past.
Really enjoying this thread a lot.
- Thread starter
- #48
I farmed out the tub to a company to cut out the rust, weld in plates and fill in the many holes cut in all over, especially the dash. I was not happy with the work, for example they had welded plates over the rusted areas instead of cutting and replacing as instructed. I brought it back home and it has been lurking in the background worrying me. There is not an enormous amount of rust, nothing near what I see on ih8mud that some of the guys have to deal with. but the tub corners and floors are rusted as are the outer rockers. after sandblast this was all very nicely revealed as well as lots of little cracks, which I assume are stress/metal fatigue related. The right rear brace through which the mounting to the frame goes was completely cracked loose.
To be honest I did not know what to do and was scared of tackling it myself. In any case I did not have the equipment to even try.
The only solution appeared to be to get a MIG welder and do it myself. I made some enquiries and although the welder itself was not expensive, the gas suppliers wanted a large deposit and a monthly rental of R700 (about $50) per month. I read up some more and learned that MIG welding without gas is quite acceptable for what I wanted to do.
So, on Saturday morning I bought a little Chinese MIG welder from Adendorff Machinery Mart (sort of like a mini Harbor Freight) for R2650 (about $190). Took it out of the box yesterday and did some practising on a piece of scrap. To put it mildly, I battled a bit and the instruction manual was useless beyond a multitude of common sense warnings. I now also realize that practising on a PAINTED piece of metal was not so clever.
Got up this morning and decided to just DO IT.
I started on all the cracks in the floor at the rear of the tub. It went slowly but much better as I took the etch primer off before welding. Lumpy and ugly welds were produced. I ground them down and redid or fixed them as I went along. Somewhere on Mud someone said " I bought a welding machine and thought I'd become an expert welder. Instead I became an expert grinder" or words to that effect. He knows what he's talking about.
After about four hours of this, something clicked, I lost my fear, relaxed, got my coordination synchronized and suddenly it just happened for me. I was laying down nice strong welds that required less and less grinding. When I blew through, I didn't panic and stop to look at the mess, I just carried on and fixed it on the run. Niiiiiiiice!!!!!
I cut out the rusty corners, made patches out of 1.6mm plate and welded the suckers in. I fabricated a brace/patch for a broken bit and a hole at the front. Man, I was cooking. By 6 tonight I had even put body filler on the front patch and it looks great. There were a lot of little things that I had resigned myself to living with, like a number of holes drilled all over. Now they will all be filled it takes no more than a few minutes to weld one closed. Wow! How did I ever live without the little Chinaman?
Looking at this morning's welded cracks they now look awful. Tomorrow I will grind the suckers down and put proper welds in, and finish them off nice and smooth.
Slow as I am, I could have it all done by Monday. Properly filled, smoothed and undercoated.
SOME OF THE CRACKS IN WHITE. (The burnt patches are from welds from the other side.) (Note PO's stove bolt repair)
NOT SO NICE REPAIRS. (They go tomorrow!)
FRONT REPAIR AND BRACE READY FOR FILLING
FILLED, SMOOTHED AND READY FOR FINAL FINISHING.
To be honest I did not know what to do and was scared of tackling it myself. In any case I did not have the equipment to even try.
The only solution appeared to be to get a MIG welder and do it myself. I made some enquiries and although the welder itself was not expensive, the gas suppliers wanted a large deposit and a monthly rental of R700 (about $50) per month. I read up some more and learned that MIG welding without gas is quite acceptable for what I wanted to do.
So, on Saturday morning I bought a little Chinese MIG welder from Adendorff Machinery Mart (sort of like a mini Harbor Freight) for R2650 (about $190). Took it out of the box yesterday and did some practising on a piece of scrap. To put it mildly, I battled a bit and the instruction manual was useless beyond a multitude of common sense warnings. I now also realize that practising on a PAINTED piece of metal was not so clever.
Got up this morning and decided to just DO IT.
I started on all the cracks in the floor at the rear of the tub. It went slowly but much better as I took the etch primer off before welding. Lumpy and ugly welds were produced. I ground them down and redid or fixed them as I went along. Somewhere on Mud someone said " I bought a welding machine and thought I'd become an expert welder. Instead I became an expert grinder" or words to that effect. He knows what he's talking about.
After about four hours of this, something clicked, I lost my fear, relaxed, got my coordination synchronized and suddenly it just happened for me. I was laying down nice strong welds that required less and less grinding. When I blew through, I didn't panic and stop to look at the mess, I just carried on and fixed it on the run. Niiiiiiiice!!!!!
I cut out the rusty corners, made patches out of 1.6mm plate and welded the suckers in. I fabricated a brace/patch for a broken bit and a hole at the front. Man, I was cooking. By 6 tonight I had even put body filler on the front patch and it looks great. There were a lot of little things that I had resigned myself to living with, like a number of holes drilled all over. Now they will all be filled it takes no more than a few minutes to weld one closed. Wow! How did I ever live without the little Chinaman?
Looking at this morning's welded cracks they now look awful. Tomorrow I will grind the suckers down and put proper welds in, and finish them off nice and smooth.
Slow as I am, I could have it all done by Monday. Properly filled, smoothed and undercoated.
SOME OF THE CRACKS IN WHITE. (The burnt patches are from welds from the other side.) (Note PO's stove bolt repair)
NOT SO NICE REPAIRS. (They go tomorrow!)
FRONT REPAIR AND BRACE READY FOR FILLING
FILLED, SMOOTHED AND READY FOR FINAL FINISHING.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2011
- Threads
- 89
- Messages
- 3,677
- Location
- Harbour City, the New Southern Wales
- Website
- www.freewayoneentertainment.com
Well done mate. Welding is an art [I can only oxy and stick weld] but good on you for having a crack. Will be so much sweeter once she's all mig'd up 
- Thread starter
- #50
Sunday night, and I'm not going to be done "by Monday."
The Chinaman and I are getting along well. But as I have become more and more confident, I am doing stuff I did not consider doing before and was just going to live with and work around. I've got to the point where I quite ruthless about cutting stuff out and putting a patch in. What has taken an enormous amount of time as well is undoing all the work I paid the outside contractor to do.
The first BIG ONE I tackled was the floor that is baddly rusted and which the contractor had put a patch over.
I started on the left hand side because the floor is flat. Being so inexperienced I spent many hours just looking at it and planning how I was going to do it. The exterior rocker was rotted through, as was a portion of the interior rocker and the floor was rotten from the brace to the bottom of the fire wall where the floor and fire wall join with a lap joint.
I marked it all out with boiler makers' chalk and looked and thought some more.
THE PLAN...
First off I had to remove the plate that had been welded on top. Major PITA. Especially grinding away all the welding left on the lap joint.
Then I cut out the rust on the exterior rocker, made a patch and welded it in. That was the easiest bit and in any event had to be done first because the floor butts up against it.
READY FOR THE CHINAMAN.
Next I made up the floor panel. Much measuring and remeasuring. This was a tense time.
THE OLD AND THE NEW.
I dry fitted it and a miracle!! It fit perfect; absolutely perfect. No grinding, nothing. I just clamped it and the Chinaman and I got into our welding act. Man, I love that machine!
Once the floor was in and the welds ground down smooth, I sprayed some rust neutralizing goop into the rocker cavity that had rusted in the hope that it will not rust there again.
Then into measuring mode again for the inner rocker patch.
INNER ROCKER PATCH.
JOB DONE BUT FOR THE FINAL FINISHING.
About half-an-hour to-ing and fro-ing to the bench grinder and it fit nice and tight. I find that time spent on getting a nice tight fit all round is time well spent as it makes the welding so much easier. I find a good tight fit allows me to weld from the back only and I can leave the weld as it is and just smooth off the outside with a light grinding if I get nice penetration and the two plates are properly fused. This saves a hell of a lot of time and effort. I now consciously strive to achieve that on all my welds.
I welded up the interior rocker patch, ground off the excess welds nice and smooth.
JOB DONE BUT FOR THE FINAL FINISHING.
I then test fitted the passenger seat (left hand side, double wide), drilled the holes in the floor and welded nuts on the bottom.
It was in the process of fitting the seat that I discovered the problem. The new floor goes "boing" when I step on it and I can feel it give slightly. I assume it was as a result of too much heat applied somewhere along the line. The deflection is minimal and not visible to the eye and requires full weight to make it boing.
Can anybody help with advice on how to cure that without starting all over again! It must be fixed, it's going to bug me.
This did not happen in a day. It took days. I'm a slow worker and have learnt to plan and re-plan and think and look a lot before actually doing. I also like to have a beer and a cigarette every now and again and just sit and admire my work! Then of course there is also the time lost looking for tools that I had a moment ago and have disappeared in the clutter. Aaargh!!
And then there is the thinking ahead.... The right hand side with all its curves is scaring the bejesus out of me. It's nice to look at but how do I make one? Curves in all forms are good for admiring, but I'm not so sure about making them. And that's the next step.
I have moved this tub and rolled it over on all sides to every other side about a million times in the past four days. I can now appreciate why guys spend a lot of money on a rotisserie to do this kind of work. As you know this one has to be sold to avoid a loss, but I am contemplating doing one for myself and hopefully Santa will recognize my need in this respect.
I am really pleased with the result so for and reckon that with a nice layer of Rhino Liner over it all it will look really good. Most importantly, iyt will not rust again. I am amazed by the number of openings and nooks-and-crannies in the original design/construction which allow water and dust in and will keep moisture trapped. No wonder these damn things all rust.
My solution to the problem is to do all openings and seams with a poly urethane sealant/mastic (Soudal Carbond 940FC.) and then in the case of the floors cover all of that on both sides with Rhino Liner. That should keep the moisture and dust out.
Does anybody know the purpose of the three holes in the inner rocker panel? Given their location it can't be for drainage. I am now short one on either side due to the patches. Is there any point in cutting new ones?
The Chinaman and I are getting along well. But as I have become more and more confident, I am doing stuff I did not consider doing before and was just going to live with and work around. I've got to the point where I quite ruthless about cutting stuff out and putting a patch in. What has taken an enormous amount of time as well is undoing all the work I paid the outside contractor to do.
The first BIG ONE I tackled was the floor that is baddly rusted and which the contractor had put a patch over.
I started on the left hand side because the floor is flat. Being so inexperienced I spent many hours just looking at it and planning how I was going to do it. The exterior rocker was rotted through, as was a portion of the interior rocker and the floor was rotten from the brace to the bottom of the fire wall where the floor and fire wall join with a lap joint.
I marked it all out with boiler makers' chalk and looked and thought some more.
THE PLAN...
First off I had to remove the plate that had been welded on top. Major PITA. Especially grinding away all the welding left on the lap joint.
Then I cut out the rust on the exterior rocker, made a patch and welded it in. That was the easiest bit and in any event had to be done first because the floor butts up against it.
READY FOR THE CHINAMAN.
Next I made up the floor panel. Much measuring and remeasuring. This was a tense time.
THE OLD AND THE NEW.
I dry fitted it and a miracle!! It fit perfect; absolutely perfect. No grinding, nothing. I just clamped it and the Chinaman and I got into our welding act. Man, I love that machine!
Once the floor was in and the welds ground down smooth, I sprayed some rust neutralizing goop into the rocker cavity that had rusted in the hope that it will not rust there again.
Then into measuring mode again for the inner rocker patch.
INNER ROCKER PATCH.
JOB DONE BUT FOR THE FINAL FINISHING.
About half-an-hour to-ing and fro-ing to the bench grinder and it fit nice and tight. I find that time spent on getting a nice tight fit all round is time well spent as it makes the welding so much easier. I find a good tight fit allows me to weld from the back only and I can leave the weld as it is and just smooth off the outside with a light grinding if I get nice penetration and the two plates are properly fused. This saves a hell of a lot of time and effort. I now consciously strive to achieve that on all my welds.
I welded up the interior rocker patch, ground off the excess welds nice and smooth.
JOB DONE BUT FOR THE FINAL FINISHING.
I then test fitted the passenger seat (left hand side, double wide), drilled the holes in the floor and welded nuts on the bottom.
It was in the process of fitting the seat that I discovered the problem. The new floor goes "boing" when I step on it and I can feel it give slightly. I assume it was as a result of too much heat applied somewhere along the line. The deflection is minimal and not visible to the eye and requires full weight to make it boing.
Can anybody help with advice on how to cure that without starting all over again! It must be fixed, it's going to bug me.
This did not happen in a day. It took days. I'm a slow worker and have learnt to plan and re-plan and think and look a lot before actually doing. I also like to have a beer and a cigarette every now and again and just sit and admire my work! Then of course there is also the time lost looking for tools that I had a moment ago and have disappeared in the clutter. Aaargh!!
And then there is the thinking ahead.... The right hand side with all its curves is scaring the bejesus out of me. It's nice to look at but how do I make one? Curves in all forms are good for admiring, but I'm not so sure about making them. And that's the next step.
I have moved this tub and rolled it over on all sides to every other side about a million times in the past four days. I can now appreciate why guys spend a lot of money on a rotisserie to do this kind of work. As you know this one has to be sold to avoid a loss, but I am contemplating doing one for myself and hopefully Santa will recognize my need in this respect.
I am really pleased with the result so for and reckon that with a nice layer of Rhino Liner over it all it will look really good. Most importantly, iyt will not rust again. I am amazed by the number of openings and nooks-and-crannies in the original design/construction which allow water and dust in and will keep moisture trapped. No wonder these damn things all rust.
My solution to the problem is to do all openings and seams with a poly urethane sealant/mastic (Soudal Carbond 940FC.) and then in the case of the floors cover all of that on both sides with Rhino Liner. That should keep the moisture and dust out.
Does anybody know the purpose of the three holes in the inner rocker panel? Given their location it can't be for drainage. I am now short one on either side due to the patches. Is there any point in cutting new ones?
2fpower
SILVER Star
Amazing thread. Thanks so much for sharing.
I don't recall during assembly needing those holes you ask about.
I don't recall during assembly needing those holes you ask about.
The popping noise from the floor patch is a result of not having the factory stamped channels - these provide strength and rigidity to the panel . This is the hardest part about making replacement panels - without those stampings those areas become weak .
Sarge
Sarge
2fpower
SILVER Star
you can still add rigidity.
I have seen people make Z out of small thin angle iron and welding on the bottom side. I cut out the humps and welded them in place once on the new metal, but yours look pretty rough.
I have seen people make Z out of small thin angle iron and welding on the bottom side. I cut out the humps and welded them in place once on the new metal, but yours look pretty rough.
- Thread starter
- #54
It has been a frustrating two days on the right hand side floor. I cut it out leaving only a small piece of the raised area which I thought I would be able to save. I then test fitted the transmission cover and it became clear that the raised area was entirely too far gone to be saved. I then cut off the portion of the raised section from the discard and welded it back on to the piece left in place.
THE PLANNED CUT.
But to take one step back. With the "boing" on the left hand side my suspicion was that a brace may prevent the problem, (Thanks for confirming that Sarge, and thanks 2Fpower for the brace plan) and when I test fitted the transmission cover, it showed that the front corner of the floor was droopy and needed to move up about 10mm (nearly 1/2") which I could achieve in that way. I made a brace out of 20mm square tubing and welded it in place between the existing cross floor brace and the cab mounting brace. I bent it to follow the curve on the raised portion of the floor and added an arm to support the tip of that and raise the corner of the floor to meet the transmission cover properly. This saved the day when I had to reconstruct the raised portion.
BRACE IN POSITION (The square piece is just a temp wedge.)(The cover is pretty ragged too)
I then proceeded to cut the floor patch. Look Ma, no template!! Well, that ended in a few hours wasted on trying to get the patch to fit. Eventually I tossed it, made a hardboard template and with some minor bench grinding it fit perfectly and I welded it in and ground everything smooth. The brace works. No "boing" and nice and solid feel to it. I will make a similar brace for the left.
The rusty raised area now sits next to the nice new floor. Waiting for a plan.
THE RUSTY HUMP BACK IN PLACE.
I simply do not know how to go about making a piece like that by hand. I don't have an anvil here. Nothing to hit against. I'm using 1.6mm plate (I don't know what gauge no that is) and that seems quite impossible to bend by hand like that, certainly for an inexperienced and unskilled person.
The preliminary plan is this. I'm going to finish the other work on the tub, and then turn it over, weld a box around the edges and mix up a seriously strong batch of concrete and make a casting with a 50mm extra on top. Once that is done, I will take it out and make another boxing around it, put pallet wrap over it and make the opposite casting. After 28 days or so of curing I should end up with a positive and negative moulding. Then I'll put a nice 10mm backing plate behind each and box them around with 50X6mm angle iron so that just the moulded part sticks out. I know somebody with a 40ton hydraulic workshop press and then I reckon it will be a matter of aligning the two moulds exactly centre sticking a piece of plate between them and pressing.... (First with a thinner gauge and then try the 1.6 I'm working with.)
Will this work? Or will the concrete moulds just explode under pressure? Has anybody tried doing this?
At first I couldn't understand all the rust in that area and the transmission cover, but I now see that it is just one big dirt and mud trap. I'm going to have to fashion some sort of effective gasket to keep muck from getting in there.
Has anybody come up with a cure for this yet? Any ideas?
I'm thinking of dry fitting the transmission cover, with cling wrap around the mating edges, once all is finished and then turning the tub upside down and squirting some expanding foam in there filling in and covering all the little ledges and nooks. Then trim it all neatly, remove the cover and then take it for Rhino Liner right over all that. Providing of course the Rhino Liner is compatible with spray foam. But that's a problem for another day.
Still have a constant parade of critters passing by. The male giraffe seems to be a bit of a petrolhead. He comes by almost daily and just hangs out amongst the cars.
ONLY KNEE HIGH TO A GIRAFFE. (I think a raised suspension is needed.)
THE PLANNED CUT.
But to take one step back. With the "boing" on the left hand side my suspicion was that a brace may prevent the problem, (Thanks for confirming that Sarge, and thanks 2Fpower for the brace plan) and when I test fitted the transmission cover, it showed that the front corner of the floor was droopy and needed to move up about 10mm (nearly 1/2") which I could achieve in that way. I made a brace out of 20mm square tubing and welded it in place between the existing cross floor brace and the cab mounting brace. I bent it to follow the curve on the raised portion of the floor and added an arm to support the tip of that and raise the corner of the floor to meet the transmission cover properly. This saved the day when I had to reconstruct the raised portion.
BRACE IN POSITION (The square piece is just a temp wedge.)(The cover is pretty ragged too)
I then proceeded to cut the floor patch. Look Ma, no template!! Well, that ended in a few hours wasted on trying to get the patch to fit. Eventually I tossed it, made a hardboard template and with some minor bench grinding it fit perfectly and I welded it in and ground everything smooth. The brace works. No "boing" and nice and solid feel to it. I will make a similar brace for the left.
The rusty raised area now sits next to the nice new floor. Waiting for a plan.
THE RUSTY HUMP BACK IN PLACE.
I simply do not know how to go about making a piece like that by hand. I don't have an anvil here. Nothing to hit against. I'm using 1.6mm plate (I don't know what gauge no that is) and that seems quite impossible to bend by hand like that, certainly for an inexperienced and unskilled person.
The preliminary plan is this. I'm going to finish the other work on the tub, and then turn it over, weld a box around the edges and mix up a seriously strong batch of concrete and make a casting with a 50mm extra on top. Once that is done, I will take it out and make another boxing around it, put pallet wrap over it and make the opposite casting. After 28 days or so of curing I should end up with a positive and negative moulding. Then I'll put a nice 10mm backing plate behind each and box them around with 50X6mm angle iron so that just the moulded part sticks out. I know somebody with a 40ton hydraulic workshop press and then I reckon it will be a matter of aligning the two moulds exactly centre sticking a piece of plate between them and pressing.... (First with a thinner gauge and then try the 1.6 I'm working with.)
Will this work? Or will the concrete moulds just explode under pressure? Has anybody tried doing this?
At first I couldn't understand all the rust in that area and the transmission cover, but I now see that it is just one big dirt and mud trap. I'm going to have to fashion some sort of effective gasket to keep muck from getting in there.
Has anybody come up with a cure for this yet? Any ideas?
I'm thinking of dry fitting the transmission cover, with cling wrap around the mating edges, once all is finished and then turning the tub upside down and squirting some expanding foam in there filling in and covering all the little ledges and nooks. Then trim it all neatly, remove the cover and then take it for Rhino Liner right over all that. Providing of course the Rhino Liner is compatible with spray foam. But that's a problem for another day.
Still have a constant parade of critters passing by. The male giraffe seems to be a bit of a petrolhead. He comes by almost daily and just hangs out amongst the cars.
ONLY KNEE HIGH TO A GIRAFFE. (I think a raised suspension is needed.)
- Thread starter
- #55
I'm having some problems getting the photos to stick.
PLANNED CUT.
BRACE IN POSITION
PLANNED CUT.
BRACE IN POSITION
Concrete will likely just explode in a press - you'll easily exceed it's pressure rating . Originally , those panels were made with steel die stamps and a huge stamping press - like 100 tons or more . I have worked steel panels into shape with light heat , a shot-filled heavy leather bag and some big forming hammers but it's a lot of work . Best bet would be to make a small strip front to rear or side to side to form into the shape , then add in the side shapes and weld it together and add it into the larger patch . Either way , it's a lot of work to duplicate those small areas that are compound shapes .
Sarge
Sarge
- Thread starter
- #57
Thanks Sarge
I've also had second thoughts about the wisdom and practicality of making a concrete mould to press metal with. I like your suggestion of cutting strips and welding them together and then maybe hammering them on a concrete mould for final finish.
I'm also considering making the casting and them using it to make a fibreglass piece.
There is one problem with that and that is that the one leg of the right hand (driver's) seat attaches on top of the raised portion. I don't think the fibreglass would withstand that unless I add a modification to the brace to take the seat weight.
If i make a fibreglass moulding 2mm thick, that will match up evenly with the new floor it must butt up to. Two or three pop rivets to hold it in place and then turn the tub upside down and add about 3 - 4mm over that encapsulating all of the the brace. It will rest on top of the square tube brace up to the middle which is where the new steel floor ends.
I'm a bit worried about using 20mm tube for the new piece of the brace as it will be directly over the transfer case selector shaft. I don't know how much clearance there is between the transmission and the cover and whether the hole for the gear lever is exactly centred over it. When I centre it on there and rest it flat on the transmission there is about 20mm clearance on the flat, meaning it would just touch a 20mm brace. Maybe lifting the whole body 20mm higher off the chassis will solve that and not look bad. Alternatively 6mm flat bar with a bit of a gusset where it joins the existing square tube brace.
The more I think of it the more I like this approach. I have to keep reminding myself it doesn't have to pass an originality test, as close as possible, but not necessary to bust a gut. A bit of fibreglass done carefully and properly should be OK. It's not as if it is being put on over rust. I'm sure that it will not even be noticeable once the Rhino Liner is done.
BOTTOM VIEW: The cut out will be the part marked in white chalk - along the left hand edge of the short arm of the brace then along the centre of the long curved arm and then along the edge of the original brace. The proposed additional arm to the brace is hatched. The nut at the top is for the transmission cover. The rust hole that looks like Australia is where the seat leg bolt broke out. That is directly above the transfer case selector shaft, if my positioning of the cover was right.
TOP VIEW: The cut in white chalk again and the proposed new brace filled in in white. The new floor runs roughly down the centre of the new brace but for the last 20mm where it turns up. (More support for the fibreglass piece.)
GEARBOX AND COVER.
I've also had second thoughts about the wisdom and practicality of making a concrete mould to press metal with. I like your suggestion of cutting strips and welding them together and then maybe hammering them on a concrete mould for final finish.
I'm also considering making the casting and them using it to make a fibreglass piece.
There is one problem with that and that is that the one leg of the right hand (driver's) seat attaches on top of the raised portion. I don't think the fibreglass would withstand that unless I add a modification to the brace to take the seat weight.
If i make a fibreglass moulding 2mm thick, that will match up evenly with the new floor it must butt up to. Two or three pop rivets to hold it in place and then turn the tub upside down and add about 3 - 4mm over that encapsulating all of the the brace. It will rest on top of the square tube brace up to the middle which is where the new steel floor ends.
I'm a bit worried about using 20mm tube for the new piece of the brace as it will be directly over the transfer case selector shaft. I don't know how much clearance there is between the transmission and the cover and whether the hole for the gear lever is exactly centred over it. When I centre it on there and rest it flat on the transmission there is about 20mm clearance on the flat, meaning it would just touch a 20mm brace. Maybe lifting the whole body 20mm higher off the chassis will solve that and not look bad. Alternatively 6mm flat bar with a bit of a gusset where it joins the existing square tube brace.
The more I think of it the more I like this approach. I have to keep reminding myself it doesn't have to pass an originality test, as close as possible, but not necessary to bust a gut. A bit of fibreglass done carefully and properly should be OK. It's not as if it is being put on over rust. I'm sure that it will not even be noticeable once the Rhino Liner is done.
BOTTOM VIEW: The cut out will be the part marked in white chalk - along the left hand edge of the short arm of the brace then along the centre of the long curved arm and then along the edge of the original brace. The proposed additional arm to the brace is hatched. The nut at the top is for the transmission cover. The rust hole that looks like Australia is where the seat leg bolt broke out. That is directly above the transfer case selector shaft, if my positioning of the cover was right.
TOP VIEW: The cut in white chalk again and the proposed new brace filled in in white. The new floor runs roughly down the centre of the new brace but for the last 20mm where it turns up. (More support for the fibreglass piece.)
GEARBOX AND COVER.
JohnnyC
Long ago TLCA# 2231
all that looks good to me....
on my truck we used 1/8" steel ... no need for brace lol... the brace you made looks great!
Pic of toyota press for @Weber Sarge
on my truck we used 1/8" steel ... no need for brace lol... the brace you made looks great!
Pic of toyota press for @Weber Sarge
Uh , yeah - that's a bigger press than I own here ....lol .
Hence , my suggestion to make smaller pieces and work them into shape , then weld together and final finish . Fiberglass is never going to hold up with steel surrounding it - that tub flexes across that area and the glass will break .
Sarge
Hence , my suggestion to make smaller pieces and work them into shape , then weld together and final finish . Fiberglass is never going to hold up with steel surrounding it - that tub flexes across that area and the glass will break .
Sarge
JohnnyC
Long ago TLCA# 2231
i remember a mudder using wood to press the ribbing... came out good
edit: found the one i thought of: Anybody interested in making ribs?
edit: found the one i thought of: Anybody interested in making ribs?
