Is it possible to do a $0 2F--3B swap in a 40? Follow along and see!

[Chungas Revenge]

Very nice work...Read the thread top to bottom...!

 

[MrMoMo]

Thanks - it's come a long way since the start - but there still seems to be a long way to go!

Got the two rear corner channels tacked in place today, and got the drivers side fender tacked across the top. Hit all the flanges and the back of the quarter panel with Eastwood self etching weld through primer before I put the quarter panel on.

Tied into the rear channel nicely (bottom end is just floating):

Also finished up fixing the lower lip on the passenger side. Need to trim the top edge of the upper lip (the old quarter) then do a quick blast

Yep, there are a few holes in the wheel well tops!

*Edit*

Ok, couldn't help myself - back out in the shop for another hour and got the lip trimmed so that the quarter panel fits with the same measurements as the other side...

Plan on rolling it outside tomorrow to blast the lip on this side (and the back side of the wheel well welds I did) then hit it with the SEWTP (Self Etching Weld Through Primer) then tack the top of the passenger fender on...

Another view:

 

[broth9640]

Looking good.

 

[MrMoMo]

Well I decided that I really should have tackled the outer edges of the main beam, at least where it ties into the wheel well - before I welded the drivers side quarter panel on - so to prevent the same mistake twice I am in the process of fixing the PS before the panel goes on.. (There will be many stages to fixing the main beam, this is just the first!)


Here is what I started with!

I hit that as hard as I could with the sand blaster to get as much if the rust out as possible. The bottom lip (top of the box) was actually in ok shape for the most part... But the floor and fender section were shot - so I cut them out and blasted around the cuts;

Next I made a small patch in the inner corner, and replaced the thin spot in the outer edge of the lower lip;

After that was ground smooth I made the second layer, which is the top of the box. Painted the bottom of it, along with the top of the flange in the pic above, then welded the new piece in, as well as making 4 plug welds to the piece below:

Ground down the welds and painted it, and now (after dinner) headed back out to install the final bit, the front lip of the wheel well...

Hope the paint is dry....

 

[MrMoMo]

And now, the rest of the story....

Paint was dry, part was already made - slipped it in place and started welding! (Back side was pre-painted with SEWTP)

Still have some spots that need leveling out with a few more hits from the welder, and a couple spots I can't get my grinder/die grinder into until after I split the tub, but it's a lot more solid now!

Next I need to weld the back side of the wheel well seam, then finish the tiny wedge that's missing from the outer lip, and trim the last part I welded in - it's sticking out a bit too far.

So glad I made that little bender, the time taken to build it has paid off 100X !! Works exactly as I wanted it to! I have also started using my pneumatic shear for cutting the pieces (just a cheapo hand held one). It's a little frustrating to use at times, as it quite often just stops cutting for no apparent reason, but once it gets going it's super easy to follow a scribed line and a much faster and cleaner cut than a grinder, let alone the mess of dust left behind by a grinder wheel.

Next I'm going to tackle making the corner parts of the rear sill - probably should have done that before I put the drivers quarter panel on too...

 

[MrMoMo]

Ok, a little work over the past two nights...

Got the passenger side wheel well to floor area finished up - hope the drivers side is no worse to tackle...

Also got started on cutting all the curved parts for the rear sill corners.... Then my air shear snapped the blade.... So tonight I stopped at P-Auto and picked up the new air shear that is advertised for being able to cut 16ga steel (previous one was only 18ga). On sale, but still 3X the price - figured if it doesn't cut it I will just take it back. Well - it lasted one inch - and the blade snapped. Guess I'm returning this one too.

So since I didn't want to cut them all with my grinder, I figured if spend some time with a little patch on the cowl... For some reason I didn't take a "before" so here is the patch held in with the handy panel holder from Eastwood ... (These are awesome)

After the first go around of welding and buffing:

And a few spot fills to level it out, sanded down again and good to go:

Next I started cutting the floor out in the heel area of the drivers floor - just need to find the spot welds and remove it from the body mounting channel. Pretty boring looking so no pics of that!

 

[joyRidaz]

Looking forward to seeing how you address the bottom portion of the main beam.

I am curious to see if it can be done without pulling the tub from the frame.

Great work, I'm really enjoying this thread!

 

[MrMoMo]

Well hmmm - I think anything "can" be done so in sure if you had to you probably could replace the center box without pulling the tub from the frame - but it would be very hesitant to do it without at least having the hard to mounted to stop the whole thing from sagging... I'm already off the frame - and 99% sure I'm going to split the body in half at the main beam - just to know that all the rusties are gone...

So.... I returned my air shear to Princess Auto and figured I'd give it one more shot - glad I did as this one seems to be holding out much better. So nice being able to cut clean edged strips off a big sheet! One thing I have found is that it doesn't really do corners... So with that in mind I rough cut my rear sill corner "horns" using my band saw... Could only rough cut them as the blade is pretty deep and I couldn't turn at the required radius. Once the curves were rough cut I did the straight lines with the shears - much nicer! Also cut the 2" strips with the shears. Lastly I gave the horns the final shape with my grinder and flap disc.

Here is what I started with for each corner:

Next I tacked the tip of the curve to the corner of the square strip - leaving about a 1/16" gap. I tacked both "horn" strips at the same time with a 1/16" gap all the way down. Each time I put a tack, I pulled the horns down, which put a slight bend in the 2", then I added the next tack, repeat.... Eventually ended up with this:

Then I connected the dots. The nice thing about having the 1/16" gap is that you can get 100% penetration so no need to weld the backside. I welded the whole thing down hand (or downhill as some call it) so was able to get decent length stitches without putting too much heat into it... No warping.

All stitched up...

Next I ground the outsides of the welds flush with my flap disc and put a little bit of a radius on the corner...

Here is the back side where you can see the penetration is all the way through (less so at the tacks, but not enough to concern me):

I left the face extra long, but will trim it when I have the exact fit onto the rest of the rear sill. What I cut off will then get bent into the inner reinforcement...

Should be able to finish up the 2nd one tomorrow. Then I think I'm pulling the drivers quarter panel back off to install the sill horn! While it's off I'll probably do some work on the wheel well/floor on the drivers side...

 

[joyRidaz]

Wow you're making this look so easy and doable... Awesome work. And thank you for giving us a good playbook to follow.

What gauge sheet metal do u recommend for the horns?

Also, I always wondered why we don't close up the backside? Seems like it might collect less rust promoting gunk.... Any functional purpose for it to be open? Obviously it looks more stock, but does it give access to screws, bolts, or spot welds etc?

Very inspiring, this work and this thread is great for us wannabe couch mechanics to get up and get motivated... and at least go to the garage to assess our situations, and maybe even gameplan a bit.

 

[alberta mac]

I think the original is 1/8th thick ! if you can get your hands on some Galvalum or similar spray can of galvanizing to hit it before paint that would be nice ! I know how fast things rust in Ont. ( days )
cheers

 

[MrMoMo]

What gauge sheet metal do u recommend for the horns?

I'm using 16ga for everything - it seems like it would be thin, but when you look at the box structure, and the proximity of the body mount to the edge of the wheel well there is a ton of structure there.

Also, I always wondered why we don't close up the backside?

Yeah, the only reason I can think of not to close it in is that IF moisture got inside it would rot from the inside out... Somewhat like my center box section... It would be pretty easy to cap the outer end - but I think with a very good coating of chassis saver and monstaliner or raptor liner in there - it will last plenty long... (That's the hope anyway!!!) worst case - they are not hard to make so if 38 years from now I need to make another set - I'm fine with that!

Very inspiring, this work and this thread is great for us wannabe couch mechanics to get up and get motivated... and at least go to the garage to assess our situations, and maybe even gameplan a bit.

Glad to hear that - I've spent a lot of time "couch mudding" and every one of the threads I've read on mud inspire me to get working on mine. Sometimes I just go out in the shop and stare at it.... But I figure on the days I don't feel like working on it - if I even take a measurement and draw a cut line and that's it - I'm still doing something to move forwards! I also get a lot of inspiration from the comments people leave in the thread - so thanks for chiming in!

I think the original is 1/8th thick

Uhhh, I'd be very surprised if they were 1/8" - if they were my remaining one corroded VERY evenly! I thought long and hard about making the box structure out of something thicker than 16ga - I have some 2"x2" OD box tube but looking at the design of what came from the factory it just made sense to copy that... Heck mine were pretty much gone and I didn't even notice - so they can't be that structurally significant!

Anyhow - I only had a few hours today as I built a 12' long foot bridge behind my shop so my son can get to the neighbors house (and their kids can get here) without going through the muddy ditch. Sunk a few cinder blocks into the ground then just used 3 scrap 2x4's for the girders and scrap 2x6's for the decking - all leftovers from when we built the house. My son had a class this year (grade 5) about building bridges so he was somewhat interested - even managed to get him to fire the pneumatic nail gun on a few boards...

So - back to working with metal instead of wood! I took careful measurements of the inner box brace, and then bent it out of the excess "face" of each sill horn. I did the first 3 bends while still attached to the horn - then cut it to make the last bend.

Measurements I used were...

20mm to first bend
51mm from the outside face of the bend to the second bend (1mm to make up some of the thickness)
60mm to the 3rd bend
Measured 70mm, then cut, then measured 51mm to the 4th bend, from the outer face of the 3rd bend (confusing enough?) ;cD made sense to me enough that I repeated it the same the second time!!

After I finished it off, I put it in place - matched its position to the original part by clamping the two together...

Then I bent up the second one - placed it on top of the first to be sure it was right. (Used my pneumatic puncher for "spot weld" holes - works great!

Clamped everything together and welded them up (left and right - not both the same!!) still need to trim these down to the same dimension as the horn.... Shouldn't take long with the grinder

Almost ready to install...

 

[alberta mac]

Old frame horns : Wow nothing rusts like a cruiser in Ontario !
Nice work on the frame horns ! have you looked at the body mounts below the driver & passenger seats attached to the body that bolt to the frame ?
my bj42 ds. was brutal ! practicly no metal left. Surprisingly the ps. was still solid enough that I didn't have to replace it. DS. repaired and replaced.
"Q" You dont know a guy named Ben ( cruiser mech/ parts ) around Bowmanville do you ?
Cheers

 

[MrMoMo]

Hey Alberta Mac - I take back what I said previously - the main beam channel, mid cab, and forward cab DO seem to have 1/8" or so steel for the U shaped structure that the body mounts fit to... Doesn't seem to be the case for the rear sill, mid bed, or fwd bed mounts though... Odd...

Nope - don't believe I have met Ben yet....



Well I've got some concerns over alignment in the back end of the body (https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ca...asurement-for-me-77-fj40.853900/#post-9716095)
so I decided to go back to the drivers foot well before I go any further with welding the rear sill horns on. I did get them trimmed down and the mount hole drilled though.

So, cut the floor out over the front channel (note, the mid floor body mount is supporting the weight, NOT this one - I'm not quite Wiley E Coyote..) then cut out the rotted section of the channel. Originally I was going to do this after I flipped the tub, but looks like it won't be too hard to fit and at least weld the top side right side up - then weld the outside once I flip it. (That way I can weld both sides and get the floor down.

Floor cut out - still some I can't get at at the outermost edge...

Body mounting channel cut out around the 1/8" - which seems fine... (Pic from below!)

New piece with flange bent into it, mostly trimmed to fit... (Need to trim the outer edge a bit more)

The rest of it is solid, just needs a good cleaning and some paint before I put the floor down. Still can't get the damn bolt out of this one!!!

Plan at this point to get proper alignment of the rear sill corner "horns" is to get the above fixed, then I think it's best to actually get the mounts out, and use the frame to fully line up the body - then bolt the horns to the frame, then weld them to the sill.... That should also tell me if my sill is in the right place! (Fingers crossed!!)

 

[alberta mac]

Nice fitting skills ! though I'm thinking mabe you should have rebuilt the whole channel ? Looking at that channel has got me wondering about the shape mine is in and I can't remember if it's pooched or not ! I may be going down the same road you have if so !

 

[MrMoMo]

Ha! Yeah, that's exactly what I thought as I was cutting it up! I could still do that - but really it's just surface rust on the rest of it - the truck came from BC originally so most of its life it was saved from the salt... I'll blast the inside of the channel when I'm done so any other spots that are issues will show up.

 

[MrMoMo]

Back to the drivers heels floor area.... Finished fitting the replacement back side of the body support channel - welded in place inside and out - but still needs to be ground down. Let me tell you the top edge of the weld across the 1/8" U channel was a bugger to get the gun in!

So, before I can finish fixing this area, I also need to repair the base of the A pillar, as well as a small area of the rocker just ahead of the door. Also need better access to weld everything, so out came the cutting disc!

After I cut the base of the A pillar off I bent up a piece to fit. FYI, it's not a square box! (Apparent when you look at the shape of the truck) here is the part ready to fit... ~40mm x 70mm x 35mm

In place on the inside with a piece of steel in place to simulate the floor that's not in place yet...

In place (same place!) on the outside, with view of inside. Should be enough space to stick the welder in for most of the back side:

Now, I need to finish the floor and blast all the rust out before I can weld this in - but I need some small cutting wheels for my die grinder, or new blades for my air saw to finish cutting out the floor panel so figured I'd get this part made tonight instead...

 

[MrMoMo]

Well through a series of careful calculations, interpretations and speculations - we determined that I'm in need of reconsideration of this iteration of the foundation.... (I welded it crooked)

Put the top sides on and the doors, then threw the quarters on for good measure, and yep, my rear sill is out by "enough" on the passenger side that I can't stand it. It could work, likely that 95% of the people wouldn't notice - but it would bother me forever. Like my welding teacher said years ago - if you're not willing to sign your name on the outside of it - grind it out and do it again.

After these pics we pulled it all apart again, I cut out the tacks holding the PS corner channel out, and cut across 95% of the weld holding the rear sill to the floor.

Just a little more than a grinder disc thickness to take out, then I'll pull the passenger side forwards to close the gap, and tack it back in place and feel much better about it. Should have it back in place and welded up tomorrow so not a huge time loss.

Other than the sill throwing off the PS door a little - everything else appears to be lining up great!

 

[MrMoMo]

Well, there was no sense in waiting so out came the grinder and I zipped the rear sill 95% off, ground the gap open and pulled it in with a ratchet strap until both sides were the same. For reference, 1189mm from the lip of the sill to the bend at the front of the bed - with whatever curve is in the tape measure. I expect it's not factory, but it is the same on both sides now!!!

Cut, pulled and tacked in place:

Welded, ground and buffed:

Here is how much it moved forward: (see the shift in the lower part)

I also blasted and primed the fwd body support channel - and bent up the fwd floor section that ties to the firewall. Blasted all of it and primed the bottom of it. Just need to drill some plug weld holes then it's ready to weld in place

Bent floor patch ready to go in:

Once that's welded in, the repair of the base of the A pillar can be done - then the patch on the side, then the rocker below the door!

From the inside (but a bit blurry)

 

[MrMoMo]

Well, of course the last bit to get done before the floor goes down would have to be the hardest.... I would say that of all the parts I've made so far - this on by far was te most challenging! I started with a piece bent to match the angle of the floor to tranny hump. Got out my stretcher and put a curve in it. Then smashed it about 55 times on the anvil. After a few test fits and trims, and another 750 or so tweaks (not twerks) on the anvil.... It was close!

What got cut out:

And the part, blasted and ready to go in... Very interesting shape - no where near equal in any direction!

Test fit:

Welded, ground, buffed and etch primed:

Also got the rear corner channels welded in place top and bottom, drilled and plug welded up the side - and buffed down as well.

 

[broth9640]

Moving along nicely!