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- Jul 22, 2012
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- 14,261
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- Winter Park, Florida
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- www.cruisermatts.com
You are making very fast progress. At this rate I think you will be done a lot faster than your 2-year estimate.
Builds When your inner voice speaks, you need to listen. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SHIfTHEAD
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- Thread starter
- #62
So no actual progress on the rig since last post. Instead I've been spending my time building a rotisserie. Started with a couple Harbor Freight engine stands and my old 3 ton engine hoist. The HF stands are too wimpy (IMO) to make the main parts of the rotisserie. However the engine pivot is pretty stout and I was able to use some of the stands to compliment the hoist bits.
There is still some final bits to make and gusseting to put in place, but the primary bits are there. The lift is being handled by two 2000 lb tongue jacks. That's the only part of the design that I'm not sure about. If they flex too much I'll scrap them and make some jacks out of threaded rod and a length of 2" and 1.5" schedule 40 pipe. But the CoG is going to be a lot higher than where the hanger is currently, so the stand is going to be retracted at least 6 inches, leaving about 4 inches of the inner tube exposed. So I'm hopeful it will be strong enough once the body is raised.
There is still some final bits to make and gusseting to put in place, but the primary bits are there. The lift is being handled by two 2000 lb tongue jacks. That's the only part of the design that I'm not sure about. If they flex too much I'll scrap them and make some jacks out of threaded rod and a length of 2" and 1.5" schedule 40 pipe. But the CoG is going to be a lot higher than where the hanger is currently, so the stand is going to be retracted at least 6 inches, leaving about 4 inches of the inner tube exposed. So I'm hopeful it will be strong enough once the body is raised.
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- Joined
- Jul 22, 2012
- Threads
- 484
- Messages
- 14,261
- Location
- Winter Park, Florida
- Website
- www.cruisermatts.com
I would highly recommend linking both end of the rotisserie together to combat the middle of the truck pulling trying to flex downwards.
working on a project right now and had it on it’s own weight started to cause minor figment issues on longer panels due to minor sheet metal flex over a long span. Probably not as big of an issue on a roofed truck like a 60 (this is a convertible sports car) but you are going to be cutting a lot out for awhile.
working on a project right now and had it on it’s own weight started to cause minor figment issues on longer panels due to minor sheet metal flex over a long span. Probably not as big of an issue on a roofed truck like a 60 (this is a convertible sports car) but you are going to be cutting a lot out for awhile.
- Thread starter
- #64
Yep, that's the plan. I've got some 1" schedule 40 pipe that will be inserted in the ends of the undercarriage legs with pinch bolts to secure them in place.
- Thread starter
- #65
Well I've got myself a rotisserie! It was a monumental pain in the ass to make, since I'm a cheap bastard, but it's here. Total money spent was about $80. $50 for the tongue jacks and $30 in welding/metal cutting consumables. It ain't pretty, but it works. I see some design changes I will need to make so I can rotate it 360 degrees, but honestly I can use it in this form for this entire project. You can see my unintended safety stop below as well (face palm).
Nice job, now get back to work! Your progress is awesome.
tmxmotorsports
SILVER Star
No doubt about that...yea get back to work lol
- Thread starter
- #68
OK, ok! So with the rotisserie in the mix getting to and fixing some of these hard to reach places is going to be so much easier. I've opened up the roof to see how bad it is in there. You can see with he roof off this is just going to be another jigsaw puzzle I will have to construct and then build. It could be way worse, IMO. I won't cut anything on the body just yet as I need to get some good metal in there first. What's left is all structural and the weight of the body could screw up the alignment. So I will weld a couple braces before I cut anything out. First I'm going to rust convert everything tonight to stop all the corrosion in its tracks and start rebuilding the super structure tomorrow.
- Thread starter
- #69
So today was me focusing on the left rear cargo window area. Thanks to the impact years ago, it looks like the seam sealer was damaged or perhaps removed by the body shop? Anyway all the rust in the upper part of the window is because the moisture got behind the seam sealer and just ran the seam and spread up and down from the seam. Having the corner of the roof removed is making repair much easier, plus there is a slight dent in that area of the roof that will be easy to fix now.
So I cut away the bad metal for the most part and hit it all with rust convertor. That stuff is amazing. Then while that is drying I focused on the lower parts of the window. There were a few holes and lots of compromised metal, so I started cutting. Once I got it all out I started building it all back. Having the metal shear and brake makes the job of making little parts with bends in them way easier too. It's a hand-me-down Harbor Freight brake, and its large shear doesn't work, but the metal brake part is a lifesaver. Anyway, here's some pics of todays progress
So I cut away the bad metal for the most part and hit it all with rust convertor. That stuff is amazing. Then while that is drying I focused on the lower parts of the window. There were a few holes and lots of compromised metal, so I started cutting. Once I got it all out I started building it all back. Having the metal shear and brake makes the job of making little parts with bends in them way easier too. It's a hand-me-down Harbor Freight brake, and its large shear doesn't work, but the metal brake part is a lifesaver. Anyway, here's some pics of todays progress
Dude you're an animal. Keep it up that's an amazing transformation already. Is the brake the 30" 3-in-1? I have that one and yeah the brake and roll former are great for what they are but the shear is worthless. I might make some high quality blades for it and see if it works any better.
Keep up the good work and continue to share.
Keep up the good work and continue to share.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
I’ve been eyeballing brakes on Facebook used but did see that HF too on google too. I watched a diy on making one too. Definitely seems like a worthwhile tool to have around.
- Thread starter
- #72
Well a couple more days of cutting and welding and the roof line is starting to come together. I had to stop early today because I ran out of welding gas. Building the rotisserie used a lot, but that thing is already paying for itself in spades. Being able to move the body up and down with one hand is SO freaking nice. I'm spoiled now.
Anyway I spend a bit of time opening up the roof last week and cutting away bad metal, then rust converting all that was left. BTW, that stuff is awesome. It puts a finish on it that is hard to break through with the welder, so it's nice and sealed afterwards. With the bad metal out of the way I was able to start building the various pieces that would reconstruct the body up to and under the roof cap. The images below where there are gaps in the welds are all going to be left that way since they will be under the roof cap. The tough part was recreating the body line that runs right under the rain gutter, you can see I forgot it initially till after the first two pieces were tacked on. So I had to cut those off, add the bend and retack. No biggie. What I have there now is real close, but the line will be perfect after the truck has gone through block sanding down the road.
Next I have to get some more gas and rebuild the corner and rear of the body. Then I can tack the roof back on and see how it all lines up. If I'm lucky I won't have to redo anything <fingers crossed>.
Anyway I spend a bit of time opening up the roof last week and cutting away bad metal, then rust converting all that was left. BTW, that stuff is awesome. It puts a finish on it that is hard to break through with the welder, so it's nice and sealed afterwards. With the bad metal out of the way I was able to start building the various pieces that would reconstruct the body up to and under the roof cap. The images below where there are gaps in the welds are all going to be left that way since they will be under the roof cap. The tough part was recreating the body line that runs right under the rain gutter, you can see I forgot it initially till after the first two pieces were tacked on. So I had to cut those off, add the bend and retack. No biggie. What I have there now is real close, but the line will be perfect after the truck has gone through block sanding down the road.
Next I have to get some more gas and rebuild the corner and rear of the body. Then I can tack the roof back on and see how it all lines up. If I'm lucky I won't have to redo anything <fingers crossed>.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
Hey what gauge is the sheet your using? Apologies if it’s written somewhere above.
- Thread starter
- #74
Anything structural is 18ga. Other stuff like rocker panels may be 18 or 20ga.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
Awesome. Thanks.
- Thread starter
- #76
Actually, I got those wrong. It's 20 and 24. The steel I ordered wasn't 18ga it was 20.
- Thread starter
- #77
The roof repair is progressing well. I thought the roof cap was straight from the top edge to the rain gutter but it was actually slightly curved. So I had to add a very mild curve to the metal piece that runs the length along the roof cap to the rear. No biggie, I've been wanting to see if I can use a hammer and dolly (poor mans English Wheel) to see if I can add a curve to a long piece. You can, but an EW would have been way faster and better overall results. But No big deal since this whole area will need some skim coat and blocking to smooth all the <amateur> sheet metal transitions anyway. But it's good to see this section starting to come together.
The other day when I ran out of shield gas I went ahead and started cutting out the fairly small holes in front of the passenger rear wheel well. As you can see, a small means there is a lot of bad stuff that will need to get removed. This is largely because the factory coating underneath holds everything together, including the stuff causing the rust. And there are tons of little seams and pookas for the rust to run and hide into. The drivers sides is a little worse that this side too. Yay.
The other day when I ran out of shield gas I went ahead and started cutting out the fairly small holes in front of the passenger rear wheel well. As you can see, a small means there is a lot of bad stuff that will need to get removed. This is largely because the factory coating underneath holds everything together, including the stuff causing the rust. And there are tons of little seams and pookas for the rust to run and hide into. The drivers sides is a little worse that this side too. Yay.
Hoooly s*** man. You were in the market to kill a LOT of time! Keep it up dude, I would have cut that body up in a heartbeat.
- Thread starter
- #80
Yeah, that would have been the smart thing to do. But I like the idea of saving it. Like getting a dog from the pound.
I bought a gallon of "Rust Converter Ultra" from Amazon for about $50. You apply it with a paint brush and it's the consistency of runny yogurt. I've used others on other projects but like this stuff the best.
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