There is no shame in buying what you need from Horrible Freight.
The 1/2-inch box end wrench from HF gets lost/stolen/walks-away just as quickly as a Craftsman...
Printable View
There is no shame in buying what you need from Horrible Freight.
The 1/2-inch box end wrench from HF gets lost/stolen/walks-away just as quickly as a Craftsman...
Beautiful work, gmwillys!! Not sure I'm ready to jump off in the deep end and go to that extent, yet. I'm the same as you as far as tools. I can't see spending crazy money when I can get functional for less. I spent the day working on the passenger floor pan. Got the old cut out and assessed the extent of damage from the old rust worm. Looks like I'm gonna have to do a bit of work on the floor riser. The flange is pretty eaten up. So is the area where they put the doubler. Feels like eating an elephant, lol. One bite at a time.
"Feels like eating an elephant, lol. One bite at a time."
Or, as Ira/Pelago taught us; "Just one bolt at a time"
That's right Cajun, one bite at a time. You are making good progress though it doesn't feel like it. Yes the flanges for the riser are usually in tough shape. I've had to cut it out completely and weld in new with some scraps I had on hand. The wagon project will need new flanges formed for the tool box walls. I need to invest in a shrinker/stretcher to form the curve at the corners of the tool box.
gmwillys, I’m scavenging too. My original tailgate is past being repairable, so I’m cutting out all the good metal. It’ll go into repairing the riser. I think I even have some usable metal left from the floor pans I cut out! Gotta make good use out of what you have!
Ira/Pelago and GMWillys have commented that the original metal is easier to work with than modern metal. It may be something to do with being very similar alloys from the same time frame.
That is a true statement about the metal. I much rather use donor steel from the '50s. It takes heat better than modern steel without warping. The second picture was of a floor replacement on a M151A2, using some vintage steel to form the complex curves to match the original contours. On the M38A1 project that I had posted some of the pictures from, I was lucky to find two donor tubs that were too far gone in the areas that I didn't need. We did get a third, but the body was too nice to cut up. I did use the frame from the third to set the repaired body to verify the body mounts were correct, while the original frame was being rebuilt.
Every time I see that body hanging on the engine stand, genius gm!
A better trick was the wagon body. That was a bit more work. Hopefully by the end of this year, I'll have a two post lift to aid in dropping the body back on.
Well, took a few days off to take the wife to the Texas Hill Country. Happy wife, Happy life! Worked on the tail light panels today. They had both rotted out behind the body mounts, as usual. I was able to cut out the bad and fab up some replacement panels. I'm happy with the way they turned out. For reference, the body is sitting upside down.
I'm pretty happy with my patch panels. Now I have to tackle to rear floor riser. That's gonna be a bear.
Your doing a damn good job there Cajun!!!
Before long your baby will be in the paint booth.
And you are right on about the riser it is a bear, but it looks like your taking your time and that’s the key.
Time and patience!!!
I agree with TJones. Very well done Sir.
Nice tack and stitch technique. Are you using a heat sink backer?
LarrBeard, I'm not using any heat sink. I just go slow, trying not to overheat the metal. I have an occasional blow through but this old steel welds up pretty nicely. I have all my measurements for locating the new body mounts and holes for the tail lights. Looks like I'll be taking several weeks off from the project as I have to head out, overseas, for work, starting this weekend.
One more question for the braintrust. How are you guys going about getting to the light rust that forms in between the body panels, where they're spot welded together? I want to treat all these areas to delay/prevent it's return.
Cajun, I use these products with great success. https://www.eastwood.com/paints/rust...treatment.html Their inside frame coating is very good. Very thin it gets everywhere.
Thanks, bmorgil! I'll take a look at them. I think I still have an Eastwood catalogue laying around someplace!
I use a weld through primer to prep the panels before installation. I have found that any good self etching primer will work in a pinch. I like to use the Rust oleum self etching primer rattle cans. It doesn't effect the weld too much, and most paint sticks to the primer well.
https://www.eastwood.com/ew-self-etc...SAAEgL49PD_BwE
I’ve got a good weld thru primer that I’m using on all the areas that will be hard to paint and between sandwiched metal that I plug weld. Don’t want to be doing all this work again in my lifetime!! Thanks again for all the advice.
There is one thing for sure Cajun you are doing it RIGHT!!!
Looks Great so far!!
TJones, I appreciate it. This Willys will go to one of my boys some day. I want it to last another 60+ years!!
Hey Cajun, ran over to see my mom today, 84. First time in her place, last year has been balcony get togethers only. Watched bonanza or rifleman or something on over air tv mid afternoon. Talked ahwile. It was good to see her. Thought of your build being for your mom! I'll trust the ones who know how good your work is to say as much, but it looks good progress.
Well, I'm back after an almost 3 month hiatus. Work and life sure can get in the way. Had to spend a few months in the lovely Middle East for work but I'm done with that till it cools off a little. I finally found some cold roll 18 gauge steel. That was like pulling teeth. Covid, I guess. Anyway, I'm getting ready to get back to work. Question for the brain trust. How square are the bodies on these old jeeps? I've got mine all shimmed up and everything is level but when I take crossing measurements, I'm always off by about a 1/2". That's the way it was when I took the tub off of the chassis. It's never been wrecked. I want it straight but how straight were they to start with?
Alright. I'm finally asking. Why call it a hat channel?
In a cross section, it looks like a fedora ...
I just got all new hat channel from KW. I thought I'd be able to salvage mine but finally decided it was a case of diminishing returns. I got the hat channel that's not welded up. That way I can get everything aligned like I like and tack it together. Next on my list of things to do is to get an air conditioner for my shop. This heat and humidity is crazy. Today, I cut out over half of the rear floor riser and got the new piece trimmed and clamped into place. Before I final weld that, I have to add a three inch strip of sheet metal to my rear floor, where it meets up with the tool box. Once that's in, I'll finish weld that riser in place. Then I'll have to address the rot along the bottom of the body, below the door openings. It's good to be back in the shop!!
Air conditioner for the shop..... priceless! Its got my vote.
How was the quality of the KW hat channel?
bmorgil, the hat channel looks really nice. I had heard bad reviews about it previously, but I believe they were referring to the channel that was already welded up. With the individual pieces, I should be able to lay it out like it needs to be. I still have my old hat channel, intact, to use as a pattern. I'll be back at it later today. I'm gonna wait for it to get a little hotter, lol.
I put the biggest mini-split I could find in my shop last year after a run of 100+ temps. Trying to cool my shop down to the seventies is asking too much of it but it does pretty good when set for 80. Putting some seals around the big door (40w x 12t bifold) would help quite a bit but haven’t decided how I want to do it yet.
51 CJ3, I had the spray-in foam insulation put in my shop. I've got it set up to install a 220V window unit A/C that should do a good job of keeping the temps comfortable.
Your floor is going to turn out great! I'm with you on the hat channel. It is much better to buy the pieces and adjust them for what you actually have. In my little fab shop/garage/catch all, I have a little 110 A/C unit. It actually does pretty descent to remove any humidity, and makes life a bit more pleasant.
I got away with the biggest 110v window unit I could find, in a 3 car garage when I lived in Scottsdale. It did a pretty good job. You are right on about the humidity. Around here it is surprising how getting the 90 deg 90% humidity down to 80 and 50% feels so much better.
Anyone know if any reasonably priced metal-brakes that perform decently. I’ve got some sheet metal patches that have 45 and 90 degree bends. My attempts, last night, came out less than stellar.
I would spend a little extra to go first class, in my opinion. Woodward Fab puts out some good quality products, at not a huge amount of cash.
https://www.woodwardfab.com/product/...shear-machine/
gm do you have any experience with the Eastwood stuff?
https://www.eastwood.com/metal-fabrication.html
I just purchased a multi-process welder, (MIG, TIG, Stick, Spool gun/Aluminum) from Eastwood. After two months of the purchase, everything has finally come in, so it will be rip and roaring to go. I'm hoping by this weekend I will break it in right by welding on some new tail light mounts on the trusty car hauler. In short, there will be some upcoming information and critique of the welder. I will say that it is the best bang for the buck that I came across. Plus one of my guys who builds rock crawlers in the evenings, has had one since they first rolled out, and he loves it.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-mp...g-tig-arc.html
Got my floor riser welded in today. Also got the passenger side floor pan trimmed and fitted. Gonna get it welded in tomorrow. I'm finally starting to feel like I can see the end of the road as far as the rust repairs go.
Spent the day in the shop, fitting, trimming, welding, grinding, and sweating! Got a good bit done. The floors and tunnel are pretty much done. I had a lot of rust along the passenger side, below the door opening. I cut out the bad and installed the patch panel and got it welded. I just need to dress the welds. Next on the list are some minor repairs to the toe boards, installing the new toolbox that I got from KW (not impressed at all with the quality), and finally, installing all the new hat channel to the bottom of the floor pans. Slow and steady wins the race!!