As I wrote the following, I realized that I'm going to struggle with writing this buildup thread, if I try to just stick to the details of the physical work I'm doing on Turtle. Because the struggles I've had with all those details are connected to the final product. And those struggles mirror the struggles in the rest of my life. As I've worked through these issues I've found, as most of you know, as you solve a problem, you expose another. And sometimes the problem you know you need to solve is the one buried by the ones you don't even know exist.
So this is a warning: as I try to rebuild Turtle, and document this build, I suspect I'll be unable to separate the results of my work from the story of how I got there. This means a lot of writing in my future. And if you're interested, a lot of reading.
Sadly this is all because of my A.D.D. Whether you believe in that or not, is up to you.
As you're wondering why I'm telling you all this? Don't worry, so am I. Problem is if I don't, I'm afraid I won't tell you anything, and end never finishing Turtle. So I guess that's why.
I hope it works.
On to the previously scheduled post.
FYI most of the following is directly related to the pic of the drawing in the first post.
So finally about three years ago, I managed to get turtle into the garage. That's Falcon on the other side. Some time before this, I had tried to build a new rear crossmember/bumper out of some 4" square tube.
But I decided I didn't like it. So it came off. At the time I don't think anyone was making repro crossmembers, or I hadn't seen any at least, so I decided to build one my self.
Problem was, I couldn't figure envision what I wanted to do. Too many ways to skin a cat.
So I made a list of ideas and options I needed to consider:
Replicate a simple full width unit like the original.
Make a short section just to tie the frame rails together.
Build or buy a Kaymar style bumper
What do I do about tail lights?
How about a tire/jerry can/cooler carrier?
Recovery points
Hitch
Extensions coming forward to the rear wheel well?
Air tank
How do I mount it?
And in my head, all of those options, had options, that had more options, and he told two friends and so on... Blah blah blah!
I looked everywhere. Mud, pirate, the rest of the inter webs. Nothing seemed to be right. And dammit I'm just fussy! Ok? There I said it.
So I have to do it myself. So how do I build a bumper? First I needed to design it. To do that I needed to be able to draw ideas I saw in my head. I know some basic drafting, but that felt too technical.
(One of my never ending struggles, between technical skill, and creativity. This comes from working in technical theatre, doing lighting, sound, props etc. After you build a designers vision, from their plans and drawings, you start to wonder, where does their art end? And where does mine begin?)
So found a book, called, "How to Draw Cars Like a Pro", and started practicing. Here are the first things I discovered.
I want to use factory style tail lights, because I hate the cheap rubber grommet style lights that everyone seems to use. Don't get me wrong. I understand why everyone uses them. They're cheap to replace when they get broken on the trail. It's just seems too simple to me. Like it's the easy way out.
(Here, again the issue comes from my career. In theatre, and film/television for that matter, if the audience can't see it, it doesn't matter. Which leads to jokes like, "It's not just good, it's good enough!" I do "good enough" for a living, and I'm sick of it!)
I toyed with the idea of making my own tail lights. Basically use an old factory lens to make a mold, get some circuit board panels with a grid of, red, amber, or white L.E.D.s in the appropriate sizes. Find a 2-part epoxy like compound that could be tinted red, amber, or remain clear. It would also need to be UV resistant, and cure to a softish impact resistant product.
While I haven't given up on this idea, I decided to recess the factory style lights into the bumper.
In the Hot Rod world, this is called "Frenching".
Now that I know what lights I want to use, I also know I need enough vertical surface to mount them. The factory style crossmember does this fine. But, I also decided I didn't want to use the factory tire carrier. So I need to have a bumper that sticks out further than the crossmember so I have something to mount the carrier to.
This tells me I can use a short crossmember to tie the frame horns together.
I'll continue this later... I'm tired of writing.
Cheers
79 FJ40 Turtle (progress… finally!!!)
76 FJ55 Junior (Holding)
85 BJ70 Falcon (450,000 km and counting)
79 FJ40 Lucky (Not so much,at the moment)
