PIG + Chebby Avalanche Trim =?

[dieselcruiserhead]

Just when you think "I'll just level this out w/ my grinder real quick & leave my safety glasses next to me" Well, I didn't think it'd happen to me, but now I'm a spokesperson You DON'T want an opthamologist revving up his rotary tool on yer eyeball do 'ya? Never thought a little chunk of grinder disk could make me miserable like that, but I'm tellin 'ya, DON'T get careless around power tools. Lesson learned Sorry, no carnage pics.......

Crazy chuck... Happened to me too a couple years ago, painful!

 

[chappysfj40]

damn this is so damn awesome lots of time fabbing kickin ass

 

[LC_Hamma]

Side Mirrors:

damn this is so damn awesome lots of time fabbing kickin ass

Yep, 2 weeks from today I'll be goin on the 3rd year of this buildup Only took a few weeks break Thanks for the encouraging words

That sheetmetal work gets boring - tacking....wait....let cool....run small bead, blah, blah... Figured I'd fab up some side mirror mounts. Picked these up from the local yard from a little econobox. Already started making the bases to raise it up a few inches due to the raised seats. Notice how they fold back, which was the main reason I chose them over reusing the stock one's I ordered some flush door latches, which I'll hafta figure out the mount location.........

 

[rsbcruiser]

Mirrors

Yes, having knocked an $80 mirrror off, the folders sure seem a good idea. Every time the 4 wheelin gets serious I have to take them off, slightly annoying.

 

[LC_Hamma]

Yes, having knocked an $80 mirrror off, the folders sure seem a good idea. Every time the 4 wheelin gets serious I have to take them off, slightly annoying.

I'm tryin to keep things tight to the body. That means no typical sliders or fancy bars around the sides. This wagons gonna be able to fit where the 40's go & hopefully won't take on much body damage.

 

[LC_Hamma]

Door Tops Done:

It took more time reconstructing 6 of the 8 top corners of the doors than it did to cap the tops. Not only were they rusted heavily, the window frames were welded there. Only the frontmost corners of the front doors were okay. There were many offsets to contend with. I used curved pieces of 1/8" tube & let the weld puddle drip down onto the sheetmetal edges w/ only a few blow-throughs

 

[LC_Hamma]

Door Bottom Protection:

Finally made it to the last part of the Avalanche trim Instead of fabbing some protruding sliders, I'd rather make up some functional & closer to the body door bottom armor I'm using 3/16" for this design. I'll reuse the parts cut out, curve & slope them from the bottom outward to the top. They'll be sloped inward on the sides as well for *easy sliding. The inner panels will all be reused sheetmetal from what I cut out of the doors previously. Only the bottom inner panels will be 1/8" cuz I plan to have a small storage area w/ a hinged lid. I still hafta figure out what kinda design I'll cover the cut outs with :shrug:

 

[LC_Hamma]

Mirror Bases:

Finished these up too! I'll burn these in when everything else is done on the front doors. The angle of these mirror brackets isn't gonna match my door frame, but oh well I really like the benefit of my collapsible mirrors ;p

 

[miletwo]

IF you're looking for a nice latch system, I'd take a look at the bear claws. I fabbed up mounts all the way around my 55, including the tailgate (not that you need that info) and I'd be happy to share some pics. Ended up pulling the handles off of a Heep and engineering the activators... came out sweet.

Let me know if you're interested in pics and I'll dig 'em up. Bear claws are very inexpensive and strong as heck.

Cheers,

Jeremy

 

[LC_Hamma]

IF you're looking for a nice latch system, I'd take a look at the bear claws. I fabbed up mounts all the way around my 55, including the tailgate (not that you need that info) and I'd be happy to share some pics. Ended up pulling the handles off of a Heep and engineering the activators... came out sweet.

Let me know if you're interested in pics and I'll dig 'em up. Bear claws are very inexpensive and strong as heck.

Cheers,

Jeremy

I was debating on whether to use paddle type or bear claws & after looking at the prices & figuring time spent on the install, I went the cheap route & bought the paddle type They were 1/2 the price of bear claws. I do remember seeing pics of your modded tailgate w/ the claws After reading about them, I believe the claws are more heavy duty & therefore may be a better choice for long term safety. Sooo, I'd like to see how you fabbed the handles to trigger the opening mech. of the claws. Pics to: stewart4666@bellsouth.net Thanks Jeremy!

 

[miletwo]

It was super easy. I'll put out the pics tonight when I get home and send them over. Maybe I'll even renew my star and post them... we'll see.

 

[LC_Hamma]

Door Armor Raised Plate:

Finished up cleaning all 12 raised sections. Next, I'll burn 'em in then weld the plates to the doors.

 

[LC_Hamma]

Finished Door Armor:

Alotta cutting, grinding, & welding went into these. I think they turned out pretty Still hafta knock out some bondo & weld these onto the door bottoms.

 

[chappysfj40]

that is pretty darn cool

 

[LC_Hamma]

that is pretty darn cool

Thanks dude! They'll look really trick when I'm done. I ran outta wire today, so I'll buy 2 spools so that doesn't happen again on the weekend when I need it In the meantime, I've been cutting out pieces & leveling up the insides. The more bondo I knock out, the more patchwork I'm creating Although this'll be a trail rig, I want it lookin
I bought some small marine flush mounted lights for the cargo area over the seats for the front & rear. Already cut out the pieces & next I'll show them installed

 

[chappysfj40]

it is gonna be one heavy rock knocking ass door,,,,,,, look out rocks!!!!
cheers

 

[LC_Hamma]

it is gonna be one heavy rock knocking ass door,,,,,,, look out rocks!!!!
cheers

They'll be within a *few lbs. of the stock doors fo sure ;p

Got the overhead light for the front seats in. I'm thinkin about mounting the rear one on a hinge that'll swing back to provide illumination to the bed area as well as the rear seats.

Also finished up the door armor plates, all the rust patching & am currently patching extra pre-punched factory holes. The rears will have cup holders mounted in the bottom area. The fronts will have a small hinged top for storage. Won't be much space in the door bottoms, but it's useable anyway:

 

[chappysfj40]

i would hate to be a rock or a stump that gets in the way of the door.


cheers

 

[LC_Hamma]

Front Door Inner Panels:

Started on the bottom inners first since they'll take the longest to fab. Yeah, I'm using more cabinet hdwe. for the hatch. I'll do the rear bottoms next while I'm waiting for my door latches to arrive.

 

[Farr off road]

Well I have been real busy and haven't been able to check your thread in awhile but I see you have been VERY busy too!!!

That is one krazy set of doors you have there!

So I can't remember, are you going to have rockers or did you cut those off?

Looks great man!!!