Realistic budget of a 2wd -4wd and goodies build

[OLDBULL8]

Just read your post today about the accident. Sorry to hear about that. Built Ford Tough, but those damn trees are a lot Tougher.

Port Huron was my old stomping grounds when I lived in Marine City.

I94 or I96, in the Video. 100 MPH then 10 MPH, repeat repeat.

 

[Greg5OH]

arthur tussik.
4:00 mark shows how he lines his panels up. I will be doing the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_enrYPJYBI


Brian, I was actually just telling my buddy this repair shouldnt take long, you took two trucks and made a 6 door out of em in just a weekend!

 

[IDIoit]

Brian, I was actually just telling my buddy this repair shouldnt take long, you took two trucks and made a 6 door out of em in just a weekend!

while this is correct, remember...
1) i did not do it on my own.
2)i was working in optimal conditions
3) i have a fab shop.

i could not have done it without my buddys.
and i was wearing shorts the whole time.

you may want to explore replacing the entire rocker and top as a whole.
it may be easier than trying to replace just the bad sections.



when doing this type of work by yourself, tools like these are invaluable!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/K-SERIES-DE...865349?hash=item3abb52bec5:g:yAUAAOSw~FNUYoMK

 

[Greg5OH]

i will have my buddy with me when doing this and the entire section will be supported by the crane to hold it into position. Yes I do plan on doing it right down to the rocker. then you have a nice straight line to up along with. My custom floor is welded to the stock rock panel, so basicaly I am jsut cutting that weld seam I have done before, no biggie!. I am hoping I have enough room to work around the engine with teh HVAC and fender etc removed to be able to weld and seal everything nice. Dont know if you can tell from the pics but I cut the roof and firewall basicaly halfway down the middle so i have alot of extra metal. Ill show my planned cut lines later on once i have the interipor stripped. i dont want to cut too far into the firewall as it will be tough to seal and weld right behind the motor. But at least this cab has mint foam aroudn the HVAC unit

Brian, could you elaborate what those cleco pliers are?
edit: ok those are cool, but i need the little plates fo runderneath it too ya? Should i jsu tmake my own for those? I assume I would be using this for the roof section.
regarding welding the roof. Should I braze the whole seal or tack weld the entire seam starting from one side and jsut keep moving forward? How do i get it compeltely flat and pinhole free?

 

[IDIoit]

i will have my buddy with me when doing this and the entire section will be supported by the crane to hold it into position. Yes I do plan on doing it right down to the rocker. then you have a nice straight line to up along with. My custom floor is welded to the stock rock panel, so basicaly I am jsut cutting that weld seam I have done before, no biggie!. I am hoping I have enough room to work around the engine with teh HVAC and fender etc removed to be able to weld and seal everything nice. Dont know if you can tell from the pics but I cut the roof and firewall basicaly halfway down the middle so i have alot of extra metal. Ill show my planned cut lines later on once i have the interipor stripped. i dont want to cut too far into the firewall as it will be tough to seal and weld right behind the motor. But at least this cab has mint foam aroudn the HVAC unit

Brian, could you elaborate what those cleco pliers are?
edit: ok those are cool, but i need the little plates fo runderneath it too ya? Should i jsu tmake my own for those? I assume I would be using this for the roof section.
regarding welding the roof. Should I braze the whole seal or tack weld the entire seam starting from one side and jsut keep moving forward? How do i get it compeltely flat and pinhole free?

Tach everything first. first, on every major corner, then on every 4", then 2" then 1" and so on.
KEEP MOVING AROUND! do not continue to weld in 1 spot. this will dispurse the heat, and keep the metal from warping.


your entire replacement panel must be tached before you do any final welding.

i dont care how good you/your MIG welding rig is.
you will never be pinhole free.
unless you TIG it.
this is why you use fiberbond after welding/grinding.
it will seal it up.and its waterproof.
this must be done at the required temp tho.

those clamps should have "balls" to hold the inside of the metal and the pliers depress them to pull it out.

if this were me, i wouold be cutting at the drip rail, and the very inside of the rocker.
makes sealing it and metal work that much easier.

 

[Greg5OH]

cutting at the drip rail is out of the question for me, i dont have the entire roof of the donor to work with, and well, my roof is all mangled anyhow.
However..maybe it would be easier if i cut the donor up in 2, basicaly seperate the roof skin fro the door pillars, and reattach the roof later?

basicaly do the door frame which would be A to C pillar. the C i plan on cutting straigth down from where the drip rail ends, following the outside corner where the door sits-becuase i cant get in to weld behind the headache rack very well, plus want to leave the rear window alone.

By the A pillar i would cut it rigth alogn the drip rail and then down to have the actual A pillar, and at the dloor right isnide the rocker panel where the old rocker and custom floor were welded.

I would then cut out and replace the bad section of firewall and cowl, again keeping intact the custom floor and just basicaly patching in the new heater/blower area. this would also include the lower part of the windshield/cowl area.

THen finally i would put the top part of the roof on by cutting it straight with the inner most part of the 4th (counting from the right side inwards) roof rib, and butting that seam up together-considering making a flange here and moving the seam inwards to the flat metal to have more meat available to weld???
This would include the upper part of the windshield seal area as well. Inside i would have to cut the inner skin of the roof and reattach it later.


speaking of tig..i wish! im buying my buddies off of him but thats not untill tax time..and i cant wait that long! man...would be so buttery smooth with a tig. So what about brazing??

 

[IDIoit]

brazing, not too sure about, ive seen gas welding on sheet metal, but IMO too much heat.

the roof is a tough one.
i still want to replace the roof on the 6 door with a van roof.
i say cut the drip rail where youre replacing the A-C pillar, on both and then patch what you have to.
the firewall, i would cut the donar to where it will overlap the old firewall with the bad piece cut ourt, then cut and weld at the same time.
easier to get the 2 pieces at the same angle/length.

one thing that will help you is to temporarily zip screw/have your buddy hold a piece of aluminum behind where youre welding.
it will soak up the heat and give you a backing to weld on. saves wire, time, and frustration.
aluminum wont stick, alot lol

 

[junk]

Not a big fan of brazing. My buddy used to braze a lot of stuff. It seems to be a lot of heat and warpage. And it seemed to be a dirty joint. His brazed repairs never seemed to last long. I would skip brazing.

Like Idiot said I'd remove the roof skin from the parts side. Then piece in the side. Then put roof in. I like your plan for seeming it. So your cab has an inner skin? I wasnt' aware crewcabs had that. I thought all crewcabs just had supports across. Learn something new.

If it was me the rear window would come out. Then I'd cut out the whole back pillar at the factory seams at the roof and along the back wall. Then your sure to have completely straight door opening. And it moves the joints to more hidden locations. I suggest this assuming I'm understanding how your planning to cut the rear corner.

Piecing through the firewall so deep will suck. I feel for ya. Although if the damage got that deep in there, best off to put straight metal back in.

Also everything IDIOT said about taching things in place and sheet metal screwing stuff is dead on. Make sure everything sits nice before welding.

sounding good! Keep us up to date.
Jeremy

 

[Greg5OH]

thanks for the tips. I am very excited to get this project going actually. No point brooding about it, looking forward to bettering my skills!. I have completely gotten used to working in the cold. As long as its out of the wind its not bad at all. got a propane fishing hut heater to warm my hands over and everything else is ok. Just need more lighting in the shop. Working outside in the snow has its advantage is that there is plenty light everywhere.

Got a guy coming this saturday for me to change his timing belt on the 2.0 TDI which i did on my wifes already, so should be nice quick straight forward work for a nice 400$ cash profit. That should mostly offset the wreck cost.

rear door and clip-$160
front door $40
welding wire-$20
fender and mirror, 60-70ish
windshield $170 isntalled

 

[laserjock]

Greg, did you ask for another measurement? I seem to remember seeing an email notification about it but then I came here and I can't find anything. If you do let me know what it was. If I was dreaming then... well... I'll just sit quietly.

 

[Greg5OH]

I did, but then realized I have what I need from your drip rail measurement already!

PS when we are talking abotu cutting the roof at the drip rail, should I cut it on the roof side or the Pillar side? Im thinking to do it on the roof side, but then how far in? My lines haves to be perfectly straight for all this to line up nice.

 

[IDIoit]

roof side!
after you cut it, you will have nothing but sheet metal to deal with.
makes it a bit easier.
i actually used the drip rail as a guide for the grinding wheel

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[Greg5OH]

Thank you.

I watched some butt weld panel joints being made up and welded. they then use some sandind discs which are much less aggressive than say a flap disc. Any comments to what I should use to ge *** sanded super smooth after? I got an angle air die grinder whcih is what it seems they all use.

 

[IDIoit]

i used a 40 grit flapper wheel to knock down the big stuff, and then a rolox wheel on a die grinder to smooth it out, i think it was a 60 grit.

 

[laserjock]

Glass reinforced filler. My experience thus far with butt welding panels is that they pucker in a little. Might as well use the filler to make it smooth. Easer to fill a dip than hide a ridge.