Hang in there. Sorry to hear about your DAD. This is one great project.
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Hang in there. Sorry to hear about your DAD. This is one great project.
Sorry to hear about your Dad, Mark, I know what a loss that is. The project is coming along great, thanks for the update!
Thanks for the pictures, Mark. Always enjoy looking at your fabrication skills. Sorry to hear of your loss of your Dad.
Sorry to hear of your loss Mark.
But thanks for making time for an update esp. with pictures!
Realy sorry to hear about your dad.
Sorry for your loss. CHF took my grandpa, I'll always miss him
Sorry to hear of your loss Mark
Thanks alot guys, your comments are very much appreciated. it's been almost a month since Dad passed and it seems like it's been a year... We are all okay though, getting back into the van and getting things done.
After doing some looking at my brake line routing I determined they were going to have to move... They were in the way of the coilover spring...
http://images108.fotki.com/v360/phot...MVC012F-vi.jpg
Anywho, I re-routed them to the front side of the housing. I built some new brackets to bolt the clamps to and modified a junction block to mount off to the side of the punkin.
The brackets were pretty simple 7/8th's square pieces of 1/8th plate and the junction block bracket is the same stuff bent into a "U".
http://images60.fotki.com/v361/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
The little brackets were drilled and tapped for the 10-24 screws
http://images61.fotki.com/v546/photo...MVC007F-vi.jpg
The saddle bracket for the junction block got clearance holes for the screws. I modified the junction block by drilling and tapping for the screws. This will slip in under the bracket and get bolted in place.
http://images55.fotki.com/v1617/phot...MVC018F-vi.jpg
I welded the brackets to the housing and mocked up the clamps and lines.
http://images54.fotki.com/v77/photos...MVC008F-vi.jpg
With the block screwed in place.
http://images16.fotki.com/v220/photo...MVC014F-vi.jpg
http://images58.fotki.com/v513/photo...MVC017F-vi.jpg
Pics of the clamps mocked up.
http://images49.fotki.com/v1508/phot...MVC011F-vi.jpg
That will get the lines routed safely. I still have to get the FlexKore lines to finish this up.
Thanks for looking
Mark
I've also been picking at the throttle cable/linkage situation. I was planning to use the Astro throttle pedal albeit a bit modified. After looking at cables (the Astro cable is a "little" short...) and getting an aftermarket cable hooked up to the GM pedal I determined it was actually cheaper to go with an aftermarket pedal. I got this one from Speedway for 35 bucks and it came with a 4' cable..
http://images49.fotki.com/v1508/phot...MVC004F-vi.jpg
This will ease cable routing also as I can pop a hole through the side of the doghouse flange on the firewall and route the cable across the front of the engine, around the back and up to the throttle linkage on the carb.
Lots of stuff coming together, just taking some time to get back into it.
Mark
I picked up some nickel alloy brake line over the weekend. This stuff is great! It bends and flares very nicely and even polishes up to a nice shine! it is made in the USA and it won't rust!
I ran both lines on the rear diff tonight in a little over an hour. And that included polishing one of the pieces and doing a couple flares...
http://images59.fotki.com/v420/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
Polished compared to the zinc plated stuff. I like.
http://images20.fotki.com/v422/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
This is the drivers side going out from the junction block.
http://images57.fotki.com/v1614/phot...MVC006F-vi.jpg
The passenger side was a little more involved but I got it done without wasting any material!
http://images55.fotki.com/v508/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
I will be making another bracket for the clamp you see in the middle of the picture.
http://images12.fotki.com/v335/photo...MVC011F-vi.jpg
The line routes along the back of the housing until it gets to the upper four bar bracket. It then sweeps up over the tube to the front to get it away from the shock.
http://images54.fotki.com/v77/photos...MVC013F-vi.jpg
I know it's a circuitous route but this was the only way I could see to do it cleanly.
Both lines sweep back over the axle to the brackets for the soft line (use your imagination to "see" the brackets) :)
http://images20.fotki.com/v681/photo...MVC010F-vi.jpg
http://images14.fotki.com/v777/photo...MVC008F-vi.jpg
I still have to sweeten up the lines and make a couple of mounting brackets but the hard part is done and it didn't take long at all...
Mark
As always, very nice work on the little details, Mark! Paying attention to mounts, brackets, clamps, and hardware sure does beat the heck out of using a bag full of tie wraps!!!!!!:eek::eek:
Always good to see a person taking there time to do it right the first time Good work
Thanks guys! I tend to over think things but it is much nicer to have a place to mount the lines then to use zip ties. I used enough of them back in the day but brake lines and fuel lines require something with a bit more solidity (if that is a word...):)
Got home from work tonight, scarfed down some dinner and headed out to the shop (after I took out the garbage...). Had this mounting boss in my head and I had to get it out...
I grabbed a hunk of 3/4 dia. steel bar stock and cut off a piece about a 1/2 inch long.
http://images15.fotki.com/v1624/phot...MVC001F-vi.jpg
Chucked it up in the lathe, ran in a center drill to get a nice chamfer and through drilled it with a #25 bit for the 10-24 tap.
http://images43.fotki.com/v504/photo...MVC006F-vi.jpg
The above pic is with no flash on my Sony Mavica.
This one is with the flash...
http://images56.fotki.com/v701/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
Cool.
The center drill leaves a nice chamfer to ease starting the tap. This guides the tap straight into the hole...
http://images51.fotki.com/v299/photo...MVC007F-vi.jpg
Took a few minutes to run the tap thru the block. it is a lot easier if you use a cutting fluid when drilling or tapping small holes. I use Tap-Magic and Cool Tool, both work very well on steel and non-ferrous.
http://images61.fotki.com/v444/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
This is where I decided to weld on the boss. Locates the line in three directions and is out of the way.
http://images20.fotki.com/v1588/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
I did check driver clearance to that upper control arm bolt. No worries, plenty of room. :) The suspension is designed to run in the top hole but you never know.
http://images61.fotki.com/v443/photo...MVC013F-vi.jpg
Well, that's what I got done tonight. How about you?
Thanks for looking
Mark
Tap Magic is great stuff but you have to be careful as it contains Trichloroethylene. it is some bad stuff.
This looks awesome, Mark! Sorry to hear about your loss; I really miss my pop since he passed, too.
Thanks guys!
Hey Charlie, Tap Magic Pro Tap doesn't contain any of that stuff. One of the reasons I buy it.
This is from the manufacturers site:
"Tap Magic ProTap DOES NOT CONTAIN 1,1,1-trichloroethane or any ozone depleting substances. PROTAP does not contain chlorine, phosphorous, active sulfur, nitrates, nitrite derivatives, amines, polynuclear aromatic compounds either as ingredients or trace contaminants."
It's pretty much all synthetic and it works very well.
Mark
I used to use it a lot back 20 years ago they changed there product, Glad you told me if the new stuff works even 1/2 as good as the old stuff I'm buying it again
Thanks
Nice work Mark, securing the brake and fuel lines up and out of harm's way is another one of those things that's often overlooked----and causes problems later!
Thanks Dave, I feel the same way. Makes no sense to not do it and I definetly don't want or need problems with this stuff down the road.
We got a bit done this weekend. More thinking and test fitting then "done" but you know what I mean. I yanked all of the fuel filler stuff out of the van and started lookig at what I am going to do to get fuel into the new tank. I cut the old fill tube up and started looking at placement.
http://images46.fotki.com/v400/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
Dropping down, straight iunto the tank is the best route. The existing filler door will get filled and I'll move it to just above and a bit rearward of the wheel well.
The old location.
http://images55.fotki.com/v268/photo...MVC015F-vi.jpg
The new location. And a bit smaller...
http://images46.fotki.com/v4/photos/...MVC006F-vi.jpg
I will probably make the new fill neck out of 2" aluminum tubing. I have that bolt in fill neck from Speedway but I think I will just weld the new tube direct to the tank and connect the two tubes with a piece of 2" fuel hose.
Mel was out and we got the relay box brackets wrapped up.
He made the plate out of a piece of .090 aluminum. He made a cardboard template and then stomp sheared and band sawed the aluminum into submission. :)
http://images20.fotki.com/v685/photo...MVC002F-vi.jpg
Drilling rivnut holes. The fender and wheel well mounted brackets will carry the rivnuts which will greatly simplify installing the plate
http://images61.fotki.com/v665/photo...MVC007F-vi.jpg
Rivnuts installed. These are for 10-32 screws.
http://images54.fotki.com/v461/photo...MVC008F-vi.jpg
Cutting a big clearance hole in the plate so I can run wiring harnesses in thru the back. That 5 dollar scroll saw sure comes in handy.
http://images60.fotki.com/v661/photo...MVC011F-vi.jpg
The plate mounted.
http://images14.fotki.com/v390/photo...MVC016F-vi.jpg
While Mel was working on all of that stuff I was fabbing a bracket to bolt inside the box to attach relays to.
I used a piece of 2" wide .090 from the scrap pile. Bent it up on both ends and installed #8-32 rivnuts so I can bolt it into the box.
http://images56.fotki.com/v168/photo...MVC014F-vi.jpg
I laid out the spacing so I can get 6 relays in the box.
http://images20.fotki.com/v386/photo...MVC015F-vi.jpg
Drilled the holes and installed rivnuts for the relays.
http://images54.fotki.com/v77/photos...MVC017F-vi.jpg
http://images60.fotki.com/v367/photo...MVC018F-vi.jpg
With a couple of relays installed and mounted to the bracket. The relays are for the three cooling fans, the back up light switch and whatever else I find I need a relay for.
http://images14.fotki.com/v373/photo...MVC023F-vi.jpg
The box will get painted body color and all of the wiring will be hidden so it will just disappear into the fender.
Thanks for watching.
Mark
another good day at the shop
Nice work and a nice place to hide a bunch of relays! I've got to come up with a similar plan for the Cutlass, Mike was up last week and conned me into doing the wiring, too.....As always, nicely planned and executed, Mark!
Yep, great to see a well thought out plan executed well. Makes me think of rivnuts in a new light!
Thanks Dave, thanks Roger. The Radio Shack Project Boxes work well for hiding relays, distribution lugs and terminal strips. I will probably end up with four of them in the van.
Got a lot of head scratching done last weekend. We starting mocking up the scissor style hood hinges. Mel made a couple of plates to get the ends constrained so the hinges operate properly.
http://images50.fotki.com/v405/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
Here are a couple pics I marked up in Paint to show how the hood will open forward. The hinges will mount to the radiator support in some fabbed boxes. This is with the "hood" closed.
http://images52.fotki.com/v640/photo...markup1-vi.jpg
And one with the "hood" open.
http://images52.fotki.com/v1565/phot...markup2-vi.jpg
The reason for this is I want to extend the hood back to the windshield to remove the plastic wiper cowl. I also want to have the cowl hood scoop reach back to the windshield. There is no way the Astro hood will open using the stock hinge pivot points so this is my fix.
I will be building the hinge boxes where the hood bumpers live now.
Drivers side.
http://images59.fotki.com/v684/photo...MVC008F-vi.jpg
Passenger side. We stuck the HVAC box in to check clearances.
http://images108.fotki.com/v1623/pho...MVC010F-vi.jpg
I am planning to build the hinges with nylon bearings and use shoulder screws or threaded spacers to put everything together.
We also started building the rear floor closeout that kicks up over the rear frame. We laid out a pattern on the rear wheel well and Mel bent up some 16ga. brackets we will spot weld to the tubs.
The pattern
http://images49.fotki.com/v1510/phot...MVC022F-vi.jpg
The brackets
http://images52.fotki.com/v727/photo...MVC020F-vi.jpg
These will get welded in approximately here on both sides. Following our layout lines.
http://images52.fotki.com/v639/photo...MVC019F-vi.jpg
Once these are in we will fab a strip of 16ga to weld on top of them. This strip will carry the Dzus fasteners to hold the panel in. It will be nice to have easy access to the shocks and rear diff through this panel.
I also spent some time looking at fuel filler designs. This is the Astro filler neck I cut up for "look see" stuff. It is 2" in diameter.
http://images16.fotki.com/v301/photo...MVC018F-vi.jpg
I just ordered some 1 1/2" dia. mandrel bent aluminum tubing I will use to build the filler tubes. I also need to pick up some fill hose and the fuel filler I am planning to use is from Speedway. It is a flush mount with a keyed cap.
Before we knocked off Sunday we routed a light cord to measure the shifter cable required length. I figured 10 ft would do it but I will get an 11 footer just to be sure. There is plenty of room under there for cable routing so an extra foot will not hurt anything.
Thanks for following along! Hopefully next itme there will be some real work done.
Mark
I like the hood hinges Mark!!! Hope they work out well for you so I can copy them!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Dave! Copy away dude!
Got a lot done this weekend. Mel was out yesterday and we got the brackets for the rear closeout panel built and welded in and got the flanges made to start rebuilding the back of the floor.
here are some pics of the rear brackets being put in. We clamped up some sheet stock to hold them for plug welding.
http://images56.fotki.com/v1298/phot...MVC001F-vi.jpg
http://images59.fotki.com/v426/photo...MVC002F-vi.jpg
After welding. These are pretty strong even with just a few welds.
http://images60.fotki.com/v778/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
To show you how strong these are we had to do a little tweaking to bring the angles into line... This is Mel using a hand seamer on the 18ga to bend it after welding. No issues with weld strength here.
;)
http://images20.fotki.com/v1590/phot...MVC011F-vi.jpg
Once got those welded in we made up the actual strip that the closeout panel will get fastened too.
These are 1 1/2" wide strips of 18ga. I will drill them for Dzus fasteners after we have them finished and the panel made.
http://images60.fotki.com/v661/photo...MVC015F-vi.jpg
All welded in. The plug welds were nice and flush. These strips will get seam sealed to the tub after all of the fab work is done.
http://images12.fotki.com/v532/photo...MVC018F-vi.jpg
An over all of the area we are working on
http://images49.fotki.com/v566/photo...MVC020F-vi.jpg
Once the welds were smoothed off with a flap disc we moved on to make the lower flange.
This is the passenger side.
http://images58.fotki.com/v448/photo...MVC022F-vi.jpg
And this is the drivers side. These will get the Dzus fasteners.
http://images14.fotki.com/v777/photo...MVC024F-vi.jpg
The upper four link bars will intrude iinto the interior by a few inches at full jounce so we cut a couple of clearance notches to give them room.
http://images52.fotki.com/v640/photo...MVC025F-vi.jpg
We designed a little flange to close out the back of the floor and give us something to weld the rest of the floor too.
Here is the design with some dimensions.
http://images50.fotki.com/v1527/phot...MVC006F-vi.jpg
And here is the part. We bent this up out of 20ga on the 3 in 1.
http://images57.fotki.com/v505/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
This is the flange clamped in place between the suspension notches.
http://images46.fotki.com/v400/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
That's what we got done Saturday.
Thanks for looking.
Mark
I was working alone today. I got more done then I figured I would but I kept busy in between Daytona 500 breaks!
I puttered around a bit before I got to work on the van. I went thru a box of old drill bits and sharpened and sorted around 30 of them. I also put new points on a couple of worn center punches. I chucked them in the lathe and ran a carbide over them to sweeten up the points.
I got the 1 1/2" aluminum tubing I ordered for the fuel filler. I trimmed off the 180 degree piece to make the fill neck and cut a hole intot the corner of the tank for it.
http://images14.fotki.com/v777/photo...MVC006F-vi.jpg
http://images56.fotki.com/v124/photo...MVC002F-vi.jpg
http://images12.fotki.com/v236/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
I did a bit of figuring to start making the tunnel pieces for the suspension notches. The bars come up thru the floor at about a 15 degree angle so I based my drawing on that.
The bottom edge of the cardboard is the floor. You can see the angle of the rear panel on the left and the flange is apparent at the back of the floor.
http://images15.fotki.com/v792/photo...MVC008F-vi.jpg
Mel and I figured a 4" wide tunnel should be plenty to clear the bars so, with this drawing and the knowledge that 1/2 the circumference of a 4" circle is 6.28", I sheared off a couiple strips of 20ga at 10" wide. That will give me a 2" deep "skirt" on either side to reach down to the floor.
This is one of the pieces with a centerline and two tangencies laid out for rolling.
http://images61.fotki.com/v52/photos...MVC007F-vi.jpg
Just getting the shape started on the 3 in 1.
http://images16.fotki.com/v258/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
After a few trips through the rolls I had a shape that was close. I use the tangent lines as a guide for the rolls. As I roll the steel back and forth I stay inside the tangent lines. This maintains a straight skirt on either side.
http://images16.fotki.com/v383/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
After the piece comes off the rolls I need to do a little "sweetening". :)
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/phot...MVC013F-vi.jpg
Clamping the piece to the bench so I can hand bend it to straighten out the profile. That's a piece of 1 x 2 tubing clampes on the tin.
http://images108.fotki.com/v1623/pho...MVC015F-vi.jpg
Here you can see the profile is pretty darn close. This took about 15 minutes from layout to formed piece.
http://images20.fotki.com/v1588/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
Sweet!
http://images61.fotki.com/v53/photos...MVC016F-vi.jpg
Mocked up in van. Obviously this is a bit long....
http://images60.fotki.com/v367/photo...MVC020F-vi.jpg
http://images12.fotki.com/v531/photo...MVC001F-vi.jpg
I made another tunnel and got everything mocked up before I knocked off at 4 and went in to finish watching the 500...
http://images59.fotki.com/v255/photo...MVC011F-vi.jpg
http://images59.fotki.com/v684/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
Well, thanks for watching. I hope to get a bit more done during the week so I'll keep you updated.
Mark
More of that time consuming work that nobody ever notices when they ask you if the project is done yet!!!!! Nice work, Mark.
Finishing the cuts in the floor for the clearance tunnels. We cut out the rest with a cutoff wheel in a die grinder. Made pretty quick work of it.
http://images12.fotki.com/v213/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
We made a bigger cut then necessary on the drivers side just to get rid of the floor rib. That was making it difficult to get a nice flange under the floor. This will get pieced in as we weld the floor together.
Once we had the holes opened up we marked the tubes for final trimming. I ran a line about an inch outside of that one and we set up the bead roller. We formed flanges on either side of the tunnels which will get welded into the floor.
http://images14.fotki.com/v1625/phot...MVC008F-vi.jpg
After a few trips through the tipping dies we have a flange!
http://images49.fotki.com/v1555/phot...MVC011F-vi.jpg
A bit of grinding and fitting and the tunnels are clecoed in.
http://images15.fotki.com/v587/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1556/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
Here we are getting the back edge square and level. The flange we made last weekend needs to go here.
http://images12.fotki.com/v531/photo...MVC016F-vi.jpg
Setting up the level so we can clamp the floor at the right height.
http://images58.fotki.com/v449/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
We drilled 1/4" holes along the edge in the valleys to spot weld to the flange.
http://images59.fotki.com/v255/photo...MVC018F-vi.jpg
Once this is all welded to gether it will be really strong.
The tunnels will get trimmed off to match the plane between the top tubing and the floor flange we just welded on. Of course they will be lrft long like we did the floor flanges. We'll run the tipping dies around the ends to form a nice spot welding flange.
http://images57.fotki.com/v1354/phot...MVC021F-vi.jpg
http://images108.fotki.com/v191/phot...MVC022F-vi.jpg
With all of this set up I will make patterns for the filler panel and get that made this week.
Mark
Love to watch the sheet metal work makes me want to go build something, can't go wrong with Milwaukee tools .
As always Mark great work. I was up in Owosso Sat. that can't be far from you..
More great work, and fantastic detail photos and explanation of your steps. Thanks once again for taking time to document your work.
Thanks guys! Charlie, Owosso is about 20 minutes NW of me. I was over there last evening.
Spent today working on the floor again. I made up templates for notching the rear bulkhead panel around the clearance tunnels.
http://images55.fotki.com/v268/photo...MVC016F-vi.jpg
http://images12.fotki.com/v155/photo...MVC015F-vi.jpg
Once those were done we trimmed a sheet of 20ga to size and laid out the notches for cutting.
http://images52.fotki.com/v641/photo...MVC018F-vi.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v566/photo...MVC019F-vi.jpg
I cut them out with a die grinder and cutoff wheel and cleaned them up with a stone in the grinder.
http://images43.fotki.com/v398/photo...MVC020F-vi.jpg
Test fitting the panel.
http://images61.fotki.com/v439/photo...MVC022F-vi.jpg
Once we did a little fitting we clecoed it in place and marked the tunnels for trimming.
http://images15.fotki.com/v792/photo...MVC023F-vi.jpg
Once the tunnels were marked we pulled one out and I laid out cut lines to trim to. We left it about an inch long so we could roll up a flange for welding to the floor.
http://images46.fotki.com/v529/photo...MVC019F-vi.jpg
After a few runs through the bead roller with the tipping dies in place we had a nice flange that only took a hammering to get flat enough to cleco in.
http://images57.fotki.com/v1613/phot...MVC021F-vi.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v274/photo...MVC022F-vi.jpg
This is under the floor. We had a bit of fitting to do to get it sitting right.
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/phot...MVC023F-vi.jpg
Once we had everything fit together we put a couple of cleco's in the top flange and called it a day...
http://images50.fotki.com/v1513/phot...MVC007F-vi.jpg
The fit is pretty good underneath. This will get tightened up a bit while we are welding it in.
http://images56.fotki.com/v1599/phot...MVC005F-vi.jpg
Thanks for watching.
Mark
I posted this in the homemade tools thread also but thought I should put it here for continuity.
Today Mel and I made a simple sheet metal bender out of scraps I had laying around. Necessity being the mother that it is, I had to bend a panel for the van that was just under 39 inches long and the 3-in-1 is too short to do that.
This is the panel. You can see the dashed tangent line at the top. That's where we needed a 1" radius bend.
http://images61.fotki.com/v439/photo...MVC022F-vi.jpg
Using some 3 x 3/8ths plate, a piece of 1x2 tubing and the top tube out of an old swingset I fabbed up a simple bender that will clamp the steel in place and except a piece 48" wide.
Here you can see the 38" piece we bent for the trial. It has a short flange on one side and we just clamped it in place and hand bent it (20ga).
http://images16.fotki.com/v220/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
You can see the tube here with the bent flange at the top.
http://images58.fotki.com/v449/photo...MVC005F-vi.jpg
Here is the panel set in place. Very nice.
http://images55.fotki.com/v268/photo...MVC008F-vi.jpg
I will get some clearer pics later. Once the sheet was bent I cleaned up the bender and sprayed it gloss orange so I had to wait to let the paint dry.
This is the "top" piece. There are no bolts. It just gets C-Clamped together while I am doing the bend. Quick and easy...
http://images52.fotki.com/v727/photo...MVC010F-vi.jpg
The bottom half. This is a 1 x 2 rect tube welded to the two end plates. The upper half clamps in between to capture the sheet being bent. This guy will clamp to the fab bench or the jig tables.
http://images60.fotki.com/v661/photo...MVC014F-vi.jpg
Mel and I spent about an hour making this thing. Do you know how much time it will save trying to clamp steel and round tubing together to make a long bend? A LOT!!!
Mark
Mark found a Tube Coping Calculator program you might find handy down the road.
Tube Coping Calculator
Neat work as always Mark, fabbing up tools and fixtures sometimes eats up as much time as the build itself, doesn't it??? Keep at it, really great attention to detail, going to be a 1st rate ride, for sure!!!!!!
Thanks Pepi! I've had that site bookmarked for a long time and had forgotten about it! Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks again Dave. Yea making stuff to make stuff is part of the world of fabrication I guess. It took some time to make the bender but future bends will be so quick and easy it was stupid to NOT build it...
Here are some better pics of the radius bender. Here it is, assembled, clamped on the welding table.
http://images59.fotki.com/v1579/phot...MVC016F-vi.jpg
This is one end of the top "die" if you would. The notch in the end plates clears the 1 x 2 in the lower die and lets the centerline of the tube snuggle up to the edge of the 1 x 2.
http://images49.fotki.com/v571/photo...MVC008F-vi.jpg
A few of the notch with the bender assembled. The round tube is centered directly over the edge of the rectangular tube.
http://images49.fotki.com/v109/photo...MVC007F-vi.jpg
This is a cutoff from the tunnels we made. I clamped it in the bender with a C-Clamp. I'll do a little bending with this so you can see what can be done.
http://images14.fotki.com/v218/photo...MVC011F-vi.jpg
Bending the back edge up, around the top die. This was done by hand.
http://images61.fotki.com/v439/photo...MVC013F-vi.jpg
Bending the front edge down, around the rectangular tube for a sharp corner.
http://images60.fotki.com/v224/photo...MVC012F-vi.jpg
This is pretty cool. I'll get a lot of use out of this dude.
http://images55.fotki.com/v268/photo...MVC014F-vi.jpg
It will be easy to make additional top dies also. Black pipe of any diameter will make excellant dies to bend around.
Get out and build one of these things...
Thanks for looking.
Mark
Spent most of yesterday morning out in the shop. Thursday was my last day at AM General. Monday I start working back at the GM Tech Center in Warren. Anyway I had the day so I didn't want to waste it.
I needed a fitting for the '86 Chevy Power Steering return hose from the reservoir. The pump has a 3/4" tube nipple and I couldn't find a fitting to go from that to -10 37 degree flare. So I made one.
Here is the pump with a long piece of 3/4id hose stuck on it.
http://images43.fotki.com/v680/photo...MVC001F-vi.jpg
Inside this chunk of 1" diameter aluminum is a 3/4" OD "hose barb". You can't see it, but it's in there... :)
http://images14.fotki.com/v219/photo...MVC002F-vi.jpg
I bought a couple of -10 weld bungs from Speedway. The bung will get welded to the barb after it's turned on the lathe.
http://images16.fotki.com/v368/photo...MVC003F-vi.jpg
Making the hose barb. Can you see it? This was in there all along...
http://images16.fotki.com/v363/photo...MVC004F-vi.jpg
The weld bung has an ID of about .47 so I drilled the barb out to .50 to make an unrestricted path for the PS fluid.
http://images14.fotki.com/v218/photo...MVC007F-vi.jpg
Before parting off the "barb" I added a nice chamfer to the weld joint.
http://images46.fotki.com/v523/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
I ran a 3/8th inch bolt thru the fitting to hold everything together for welding.
http://images49.fotki.com/v570/photo...MVC013F-vi.jpg
After welding. I know it's not real pretty but it will do the job without leaking..
http://images15.fotki.com/v1626/phot...itting2-vi.jpg
Here is the hose and fitting held in place at the pump. Just imagine there is a piece of black hose connecting them together.
http://images46.fotki.com/v274/photo...itting4-vi.jpg
Mark
Thanks for posting the details of your bending jig, Mark. It's a versatile design, and like you said you'll probably get lots of use out of it, and you didn't even visit Harbor Freight!!:LOL::p:LOL:
Nice work on the adapter, too. Gotta admit you had me going on the "...hose barb inside" comment....:confused::LOL::LOL: