55 Wagon Progress

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Originally Posted by 34_40

I guess QA/QC was off that day..

Can't say I've seen that one before. But in this case it's a good thing.

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A lot of things on those trucks are built, let's say, inadequate. They are an economy type truck and the fit, finish, and assembly left a lot to be desired IMO. We had a fleet of 75 of those at a place I used to work. One of the good things about them was parts interchanged for a lot of years so the ones we had out back were picked pretty clean. :LOL:


Robert, nice work on that. That truck looks pretty rust free and with your fix should get them many more years of use out of it. It's way cheaper than buying a new, or newer one! :LOL:

Nice job BUT how did you manage to weld the panels back together with out messing up the paint??

The area of the spot welds (where the door gasket sits) is offset from the door skin about 1/2"

Started the evening off with some TIG practice, here tacking two panels together....

https://youtu.be/aTqQJoecqCw

Next, to use our fancy dancy paint rollers, getting epoxy inside the rocker panels and inner quarter in prep for installing the wheel wells...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%204775.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%204779.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%204781.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_1942.jpg

...and used a brush to cover the bare metal that was above the quarter panel's baffle..

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_1944.jpg

There was a bit of overflow, or dust control shall we say.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_1945.jpg

One rocker down, one to go..

Welded some more TIG coupons last night. I had a couple questions about weld placement, so I decided to do some samples that mimicked various body shape types.

First, we have a flat version, this would simulate the flat area at the bottom of a door skin...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1951.jpg

The second panel has more crown, such as toward the top of a quarter/door skin....

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1952.jpg

Comparing the two...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1953.jpg

Next, we have a repair piece that is joined at the beltline bead...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1954.jpg

The flat area distorts quite a bit... Normally we would planish the weld after cooling to remove this distortion, but here it was left to better compare distortion amounts..

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1959.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1960.jpg

Looking at the three samples, the flat one moves/distorts the most. The crowned panel a bit less, the beltline bead even less..

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/IMG_1995.jpg

This helps to show the benefit of weld seam locations, we should select anything but the low crown/flat areas if at all possible.. The crowned areas or those with beltline bead details will help to hold any distortion in check.

With the rockers and inner quarters covered with some SPI epoxy primer, tonight we'll get the quarter panel baffles welded in place so we can install the wheel wells.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_1943.jpg


Here's our home-made baffles:


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2009.jpg


Primer cleaned off for the plug weld holes..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2010.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2012.jpg


Kyle plug welding:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AIDbEy_uLc


Now plug welded in, we'll clean up these welds tomorrow evening, epoxy prime and seam seal around the top profile of the baffle inside the window extrusion area.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2015.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2016.jpg

When we fabricated the quarter panel baffles we trimmed the upper profile to leave about a 1/16" gap, so that any possible body flex would be less likely to rub paint..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2016.jpg


Plus, it gives a good anchor for the seam sealer....


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2026.jpg


Then we used masking tape to mark off the edges of the flange so we could transpose these to the wheel well for drilling plug weld holes...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2027.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2029.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2031.jpg


Next, we have another yellow vehicle to work on. A new driver at a local high school missed seeing the bright yellow oversized vehicle as it passed, and backed into the side of it..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...0/IMG_2022.jpg


New filler panel was made out of 18 gauge steel, ready for some SPI epoxy..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...0/IMG_2025.jpg

Well here's the saga of the latest bus repair. It seems a new driver at a local high school was attempting to back out of a parking space and missed the BIG YELLOW vehicle already occupying where he intended to move. Maybe they should change the color of those buses so you can see them coming.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2023.jpg


Note door gap closed up here...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1911.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1909.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1907.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1905.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1904.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1903.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_1900.jpg


So from the onset, it looks like we need one new door, a filler panel, some "adjustments" to a couple door frames, painting and buffing.


Filler panel was fabricated out of 18 ga cold rolled steel, abraded with the DA, and prepped for SPI epoxy primer..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2025.jpg


New door and filler panel have been sprayed with SPI epoxy, here shown after blocking with 400 grit..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2044.jpg


New hardware getting prepped for painting...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2045.jpg


Stainless hardware is used to stave off the rust issues. The bright polished finish does not provide good adhesion for a paint finish. Additionally, we've found that excessive paint build on these promotes cracking/chipping of the paint while driving them in during installation.. So to minimize the build on the hardware, we have eliminated primer on these parts. We media blast with 80 grit garnet media, blow off with air, and they get yellow urethane directly on the abraded fasteners. This method has shown to work well with NO chipping...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2046.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2047.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2053.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2052.jpg


Dis-assembly..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2060.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2063.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2064.jpg


The filler panel is actually sandwiched between two flanges at each luggage box, so the bus needed to be jacked up about 8" where the filler panel could be slid in place from the bottom, and bus dropped back down to level before attachment so we didn't have any twist in the boxes.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2065.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2067.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/IMG_2070.jpg


All door gaps addressed, painting, touch-ups, and buffing complete, ready for school!

Great work, and great pics!

Rich

Must be fun jacking a Bus up 8"! Do you use some tall version of a floor jack, or 4x4's stacked with hydrolic jacks? Great repair. I think you've done a few buses on here. The School must be good for business!

Jack, block. Jack with spacer, block. Jack with taller spacer, block. Etc. Fun times! These buses all belong to a buddy of mine, he has somewhere around 20 buses. So yeah, he can keep me busy at times...

Very nice bus repair again. Does your friend lease routes for the buses or just lease the bus's services to the school district? I'm just curious. Around here it seems most school organizations own their buses.

Our local BOE has a transportation dept that manages the buses, and they issue local government plates to the actual owners for use on their buses. They have a mandated annual safety inspection, and since they "own" the tags, can and will remove them if safety issues warrant removal. Because of the local government tags, the only use these buses are available for is actual BOE sanctioned activities, be that school, field trips, school sports activities.. The BOE does own a few of their own buses, some used as Driver training platforms, but for the most part, local bus owners are contracted for the various bus routes. Most of the buses I have repaired involve luggage doors. My buddy has them on most of his fleet as those type buses are some of the first to be contracted for the extracurricular activites, sports events and field trips.



Fitting up the one piece wheel well into the passenger side quarter. Once fitted, the edge is marked with tape, wheel well removed, and the width available beneath for plug welds is noted. Then holes are punched in the wheel well to match, and it gets refitted. We started at the front so we could use vise grips to clamp, and worked progressively toward the back.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2073.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2074.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2075.jpg


We did have a few plug welds that were contaminated from the epoxy primer, so we'll grind everything smooth, fix those areas, redress the welds and finish any bare areas with epoxy primer. One step closer to the Line-x coating on the underside...


Here we are all tacked in place:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuCIhFYUMXY


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All plug welds completed and dressed. Now for the other side and we'll epoxy prime again..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2083.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2084.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2086.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2087.jpg

Tonight we worked on getting the driver's side wheel well installed. To help eliminate the contamination issue from the close proximity of the primer, we used these piloted burnishing brushes to remove the paint around the plug weld holes on both front and back sides...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2120.jpg


That did the trick, no volcanoes this time...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2121.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2123.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2124.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2125.jpg


Next we'll need to dress these welds and epoxy prime the bare spots. In the meantime, a test fit of the bucket seats. We're going to need to make some adapter brackets to weld to the floor, I don't think the wood one is going to fly...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2129.jpg

That piloted drill/brush is a real slick idea! Where'd you find that?

McMaster Carr, look here toward the bottom of the page for the Pilot guided....

https://www.mcmaster.com/#end-brushes/=15nxj2w

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MP&C

McMaster Carr, look here toward the bottom of the page for the Pilot guided....

https://www.mcmaster.com/#end-brushes/=15nxj2w

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Used something very similar to that for cleaning up grounds when I worked at McDonnell Douglas.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Used something very similar to that for cleaning up grounds when I worked at McDonnell Douglas.

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We started using them when modifying composite shelters for Hummers. Same deal, work well for grounding to the shelter skin.



Here's the path we took on the seat risers....it's been a while now that GM has used wood in the vehicle, no sense in us bucking that trend! Started by fabbing up some 14 gauge steel into a hat section and left some longer ears on the ends to fold down and close the ends off..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2141.jpg


Stainless hex nut welded inside for the seat frame hardware..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2142.jpg


Missed getting these pics on the other end, but cardboard templates were transposed to steel fillers, cut out and welded in place, along with the flanges around the perimeter.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2145.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2147.jpg


We plan on finishing the inner risers up this evening and leveling the seats across for sizing the height of the outer risers.


Finished up the plug welds on the driver's wheel well. We'll get a few more parts prepped for epoxy and address those bare spots at the same time.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2136.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2134.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2135.jpg

As I started to scroll through the pics I was thinkin' how did they make that end?? being longer , how would they fold that up?? But, you answered the question with the last couple photos.

As always thanks!

More very nice work. I really like the seat riser and thanks for taking the time to show how you accomplished such a one piece smooth design.

Seat riser bracket number two fabrication, got more detail pictures this time..

Used the Tipping die in the Lennox to thin out the crease line, makes for a more crisp bend, especially given the 14 gauge steel we're using...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2156.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2159.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2162.jpg


After bending in the Diacro manual press brake using the gooseneck die...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2163.jpg


Fitting and trimming the end transitions while matched to the floor...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2165.jpg


Ready for the TIG


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2166.jpg

Like they say having the tools is half the job
Nice work

Very nice work. I'll be getting a bead roller and metal brake soon. I'm anxious to try some of your new tips and make some cool parts. :LOL:

I've got a bead roller , Troutles shear, brake, and his best tip (for me anyway) using the stainless wheels for grinding spot welds down.
Keep all that good stuff coming

OK, so sometimes you take another look and think yeah, we can do better than that (more scraps). Today the passenger bucket seat was test fit onto our riser. It could be brought a bit tighter to the floor.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2155.jpg


Next, looking at the cross member, the rear flange (red arrows) didn't match up to the rear flange of our riser.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2177.jpg


The blue tape shows the rear flange of the cross member below...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2178.jpg


Here's our updated riser, half as tall, and once trimmed the flange will match to above the cross member..


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2181.jpg

Good catch Robert.
When you're looking at a picture on a flat screen, you're not always thinking about the structural loading.
The new mount looks so much "sleeker" too. You guys do such nice work.

It's always the littlest things that take the most time, but in the end it really pays off. Those small detailed modifications that are made to any car whether inside or out are never really seen by most, but they still are cool and the builder knows and that makes him smile.

Nice work, I wish I could do metal work like that. My seat risers are flat steel bent at a 90.

More details on the seat risers, here the 5/8-11 hex nut is welded inside. The tacks at the top are merely to hold it centered within the hole to maintain our correct C-C hole spacing. It gets welded inside as well to keep things anchored in place.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2186.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...SizeRender.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2187.jpg


The 5/8 hardware was chosen as the factory seat bracket on these 2002 Monte Carlo seats had a hole that large existing already. The front of the seat bracket actually had another bracket underneath that was held in place with a solid rivet. We drilled out the rivet to remove the obstacle (so the rail was flat across the bottom), and opened the hole up for 3/8 hardware.


Test fit....


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2189.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2191.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2195.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2196.jpg


Still need to fill in the flange corners on the front and this one will be ready for SPI epoxy primer to coat all the surfaces before it gets welded in place..

Your attention to detail and perfection continue to astound me!!!

Very nice! Were the seat belts anchored to the rear seat track bolt and that's why they were so large? It seems that's how the newer cars are built but i'm not certain.

The inside seat belt is attached to the seat frame/track, the outer ones at floor/b-pillar are not. We still need to make some plates to weld into the B-pillar for bolting the shoulder/lap belt. That's a big reason the new version was extended in the back, the riser's rear flange will be plug welded through the floor and directly into the cross member, and the forward flange of the same cross member will be plug welded into where it also intersects the seat riser's side flanges.

I'm not going to show pictures of my seat brackets anymore:( Seriously, very nice work !

Haha! you should see the PRACTICE pile!


Moving on to the outer risers, these ones will be a bit taller due to the recess where the original seat frames bolted. We started out with using the tipping die in the Lennox to thin the 14 gauge cold rolled steel at the bend line for a more crisp bend.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKFZqnHb9eY


Next, after making the inside bends, the Fasti-werks bead roller is used with a skate board wheel to add a radius to the outer "leg" of the riser.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2253.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2252.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2254.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2256.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2257.jpg


Next time in the shop we'll get the ends closed up.....

Moving on to closing up the ends of the outer seat riser... Quite a bit of stretch to get this corner to match up to the seat riser...


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2270.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2271.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2272.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2276.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2277.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...5/IMG_2278.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzorB_hwLZM


Then the corner was Tig welded in place and another test fit with the bucket seat..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf-X5eHc5bE




.

Man, you do great work. I think I'd have to section a part of round tube and weld a flange on the bottom since I don't have a roller like that. (That would take a long time compared to what you have done)

Cody Walls took the Dave Thomas 35 Chevy to Pomona this weekend for the GNRS, the car took 2nd place in it's class and also received a paint award for the 57 Cadillac Biarritz colored finish. Well done Cody!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...s/2017gnrs.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16.../2017gnrs1.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16.../2017gnrs2.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16.../2017gnrs3.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16.../2017gnrs4.jpg

Cody learned his craft very well. Congrats Cody!

Proud for you guys!