the dragonship

[kirvesmies]

@pistonpete , hey fella, how's things? just a quick question re: your rear quarter chop. what did you line the cut up with/to? i'm working on the patch panel n when i lazer eye the inside edge parallel to the cut, there's a 1/4" difference front to back. measured from edge of floor. the cut was paralleled from the crease just above the emblem. just curious if you ran into something like that. or did you just toss the tape measure n just lazer eyed the whole thing?

 

[pistonpete]

Hey man all good on this end.. If I remember right I went ( followed ) the lower body line and then the rust dictated the rest.. I can try n pull some pics if you want ??

 

[kirvesmies]

Hey man all good on this end.. If I remember right I went ( followed ) the lower body line and then the rust dictated the rest.. I can try n pull some pics if you want ??

no, it's all good. i was curious if you'd noticed some thing like that discrepancy wise, that's all. i was trying to use the floor line as an index point.

 

[cruiserpilot]

@pistonpete , hey fella, how's things? just a quick question re: your rear quarter chop. what did you line the cut up with/to? i'm working on the patch panel n when i lazer eye the inside edge parallel to the cut, there's a 1/4" difference front to back. measured from edge of floor. the cut was paralleled from the crease just above the emblem. just curious if you ran into something like that. or did you just toss the tape measure n just lazer eyed the whole thing?

How about some pics of what you’re doing. Lots of guys trying to figure out different ways of trimming
the rear rockers back. I’m going to be fixing mine like factory, so sheet metal will be done proper.
BTW, next time I’m thru London I’ll drop a line, didn’t realize you are so close, now you got a 60

 

[kirvesmies]

How about some pics of what you’re doing. Lots of guys trying to figure out different ways of trimming
the rear rockers back. I’m going to be fixing mine like factory, so sheet metal will be done proper.
BTW, next time I’m thru London I’ll drop a line, didn’t realize you are so close, now you got a 60

what?! you can't see the pics? i've got my monitor covered with photos picture side to glass
yeah the old flip phone ain't doing so well taking pics. just haven't got a guy to do my pictographs in stone yet.
ok, does cruiserpilot hint at what would bring you to london? i'm about a 1/2 hour drive from the airport so yeah, definitely get a hold of me

 

[cruiserpilot]

Yup, work out of the airport. Will call next time thru

 

[kirvesmies]

got a bunch of pictures from today's fab session n have no f#%kin' clue how to get them out of laptop n posted in here. thought i was doing well when i got them out off the camera into the laptop

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

got a bunch of pictures from today's fab session n have no f#%kin' clue how to get them out of laptop n posted in here. thought i was doing well when i got them out off the camera into the laptop

Someone recently asked me about photos… he had to buy a silver star membership, whatever it’s called, then he was able to. HTH!

 

[kirvesmies]

Work on the dragonship this weekend. first off, a big thanks to one of my partners in shenanigans, greg t. he posted these up while trying to teach this ol' tuckfard how to post pics. thanks bud
1st n 2nd pics obviously are the cuts made. in the 1st pic you'll see a piece clamped to the inner panel, that's a 1/2x1/2 angle that the patch panel will fasten to

passenger side not raped as bad by the tin worm

the tabs i used to give me hard points for measurement, side to side n end to end. from the pattern drawn i was able to get the blank size for the patch

here's the patch scribed n broke as required

n same in place. spend enough time measuring n your patches will be one shot, one kill. i'm pleased with the fit of the template. i've got the patch piece already cut to template but not broke

now, regarding template material, i asked my to try to find me some good stiff card board. damn did she score, got picture matte card board n it works mint. for doing breaks, score with a dull knife a couple times n fold. works much better than beer case or construction paper. it also cuts clean

 

[kirvesmies]

the extra you see on the left hand end of the template will tied into wheel well repair. not quite sure how that will happen....yet

 

[kirvesmies]

Someone recently asked me about photos… he had to buy a silver star membership, whatever it’s called, then he was able to. HTH!

totally overlooked this felicity, thanks for the reply

 

[kirvesmies]

ok, been a while since i updated n i gots pics
here's the rocker chops closed in

 

[kirvesmies]

yeah, what you see on passenger side pic is a body mounted spare tire swingout. i've got 1/8 plate backing inside. we'll see how well it hangs with my $h!t n abuse

 

[kirvesmies]

main rocker area on both sides were carved out n replaced 2x4x1/8 wall tube

the galvanized pipe you see in the second pic you can see burned in in the top pic. the stock metal got sliced just below the radius under the doorsill. i felt it was easier to burn sheetmetal to that pipe, then pipe to tube

the inside of the 2x4 was fastened rose welds aprox every 4". mounted square off the galvanized tube towards the inner rocker i gained about an inch n half ground clearance

no, the trailing edge of front fenders is not burned on. i'll do some sorta self tapping fastener on those

 

[kirvesmies]

rear shock crossmember under construction. the studs you see there are off the stock crossmember. 11/2" schedule 40 pipe driven through frame after cutting out what was left of original one. there was enough left to get measurements to index the mounts to stock position. oh yeah, if you build the mounts like i did, put them on the pipe when 1/2 way across, yeah don't ask

 

[kirvesmies]

 

[kirvesmies]

rear bumper underway, drop the receiver hitch, carve out the cRusty rear crossmember, slide the receiver into the frame upside down. fit a 2x6x3/16 channel to surround the receiver. auger a 3" dia. hole through both pcs n burn in 3/16" tube, no more flattened tail pipe. the clevis points are burned on to the receiver then fitted through the channel. that rusty wing was donated by my '91p.u.. one for both sidesthose are braced to the body mount behind the rear tire. there's a wee bit of work left on the bumper besides paint.

 

[kirvesmies]

curious as to why the the straps under the truck? there's a 31 gal. suburban tank hanging up in there. got some head scratchin' n redneckaneerin' to do. will complete bumper first so i can remove it so i'm not ringin' my bell off it workin' on the tank.

 

[kirvesmies]

got the week off so picked away at the beast today. would have yesterday n sunday but some dumb $h!t doesn't know how to keep his shop tidier. you know what i'm saying......clean the f%$kin' place up. forgot to charge my camera so no pics spent the time today building a support leg for for the swing away. if you envision a leg of 11/2" x 11/2" centered at the existing tire mount thru the tubes down across the face of the bumper, thru a double shear bracket with a 1/2" thru pin. if my thinking is correct, i believe that mounting will help stop the swing as well carry the weight vertically. we'll see i'll try to get pics up tomorrow.
tomorrow i'll drop the bumper n start on the tank mounting. hope to have it done this week.

 

[kirvesmies]

yeah, yeah, yeah. i've been delinquent. yesterday we had a wrenchfest in the shop, bunch of friends n enemies came over to give me a hand. brakes on all 4 corners got broke down, wheel cylinders n calipers need replacement. they were seized/rusted solid. fuel tank mounting finally under way. some parts (mini truck) were sold out of the dragon hoard. i'll take that win. also, shook hands with an other fella for his offer on the balance of said hoard. yup, all the 1st, 2nd n 3rd gen 4x4 p.u. stuff is heading out.