|
|
|
Quick 'New Year' update. First thing is that the later radiator support panel that I bought is essentially no use whatsoever. It's about 4 inches thinner and bears little resemblance to my one. No matter though, I shall crack on with the one I have, it's not that bad - certainly still usable until a better one turns up from somewhere... It's not all bad though, I've managed to get hold of a pair of bedsides that are about a million times better than mine - they are from a C10 long bed pickup, but are mostly identical when it comes to the important bits that I need. Anyway, it's not a huge amount of work, but it's a real mojo kick in the right direction - I've welded up the front of one of my inner fenders. It had a severe case of grottage, and while my repair isn't picture perfect it is solid and plenty strong enough to do the job. I'm hoping to get the other one done this coming weekend Before: After: Like I say, it's not a huge amount of progress, but it's kick starting me to get it done. I want it on the road by mid-July at the latest as I've promised some people it will be at a local car show.... Excellent news to see you back on it again. Such a pity we do not all I’ve closer to each other. A weekend with two or three welders, some grinder and some meat on the BBQ would see you a long way down the road. Regardless, MoJo boosts are great.
|
|
|
|
|
Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
|
|
|
My plan is to get the vast majority of the welding finished by the end of the month, that way I can move on to cosmetics, the few little mechanical jobs that I need to do (new exhausts, handbrake cables need new brackets, and various other little 'snagging' things that have arisen from fitting the lift!) and tidying up the wiring - particularly under the bonnet. So with my new plan in mind, I figured I ought to tackle one of the jobs that I've been putting off for several years (whilst accumulating parts). The left hand bedside is in pretty bad condition, and I wasn't sure if I was going to use the repair panel/s I had bought, or cut the majority of it off and use the bedsides that I picked up the other month. I decided to start by offering up the repair panel and cutting out, basically using the edge of that as a guide, so I knew the hole would be the right size. That way, if I wasn't into good metal then I could take the slightly more arduous route and use the full bedsides. Like thus: I swear that whoever did the previous bodywork has shares in a filler company (possibly Bondo?) Just the 8mm or so of filler on this bit that I peeled off... Other bits of the truck have been found to have more than that! Anyway, having cut that out I decided that there was enough good metal around to use the arch repair panel. There was some more grot down the bottom, but a couple more sections cut out removed any unpleasantness - ready to be replaced with good metal from my other panels. Rear section removed Evidence of previous repairs in the section I cut out from the back. Why use 1 layer of metal when 3 will do? Now all chopped out and ready for new metal: First arch panel tacked in - I can't tell you how happy I was when it fitted in as planned. And the rear section tacked in, with the main arch panel partially welded up properly. The small rear repair panel was cut out of a new rear light area repair panel that I had bought previously And that's as far as I got today before I had to down tools, pretty pleased with my work today - mojo is well and truly back. Hopefully get a few hours on it tomorrow - got to keep the work going while the momentum is up!
|
|
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
|
|
|
|
|
As stated on FB.
FARKINELLL !!!!!
That is a load of work.
And brilliant result so far
I am so pleased to see you back onit again.
Well done mate.
|
|
|
|
Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
|
|
|
As stated on FB. FARKINELLL !!!!! That is a load of work. And brilliant result so far I am so pleased to see you back onit again. Well done mate. Cheers mate, talking to you about, and seeing you getting on with yours is certainly a part of what has spurred me on to get cracking with mine again!
|
|
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
|
|
Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
|
|
Jan 15, 2019 21:17:05 GMT
|
Managed to get an hour or three to work on it this evening and made a bit of progress. I like to think of it as both forward and backward 'progress' I knew there was a bit of grot behind the front of the rear fender, and the rear of the sill was showing signs of rust too. I had prepared myself for the worst, and I wasn't disappointed... I chopped out the front of the rear fender (making sure I had enough panels to repair whatever I cut out) Yup, that's a bit grotty Let's chop the back of the sill out - the visibly rusty bit Shone a worklight down between the inner and outer sill and it looked more or less the same all the way down Grindy grindy chop chop Did someone say 'box section sills, with added rock sliders for that beasty off-road look'? No? Well I did, and I'm seriously considering it. Helped by the fact that I have a big length of 60x100 box section in the garage just sat there doing nothing... Can't do that until I've repaired what needs repairing behind it though, first bit is a little plate at the rear end. This will be followed by a single piece the full length of the inner sill, once I've managed to chop out the rest of the inner sill grot. I'd had enough of looking at that, so decided to finish welding all around the repair panel I had welded in last time. Day-job dependent, I'm hoping to spend most of the weekend working on the Blazer, so should make some decent progress all being well. Oh, one more little thing that has been niggling at me - I bought the correctly sized 1/2" UNC bolts to mount the shocks and got 2 of those bolted in. It's not much, but it made me smile
|
|
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
|
|
|
|
|
Managed to get an hour or three to work on it this evening and made a bit of progress. I like to think of it as both forward and backward 'progress' Oh, one more little thing that has been niggling at me - I bought the correctly sized 1/2" UNC bolts to mount the shocks and got 2 of those bolted in. It's not much, but it made me smile And that smile is what these cars are all about. Prozac has always done it. My Blazer got a pat on the rear tailgate and a smile, plus a comment “I do like you” last night when I went to check Holley the air cleaner that I need to replace with a decent, new one, once I figure out the right one to buy. I hope the weekend gives you more of what you need. Progress is progress.
|
|
|
|
Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
|
|
Feb 10, 2019 22:26:36 GMT
|
Ok, so moving to a different area now, got to keep the interest going. Bit of a catch up from late January first Here we have the captive nuts that the original bucket seats mount to. I won't be using these (fortunately as you can see below, they are rotten) as I am putting a bench seat in and need to fabricate some mounts for it. Chop chop chop Weld weld weld Paint paint paint Happy looking drivers side cab floor Next I shift my attentions to the p/s rear arch. It's not as bad as the drivers side, but it's partially rotten and I've got the panel so it's getting replaced regardless! Not the arch, but urgh, that's got to go Urgh Clampity clamp clamp (having chopped out the above grot) Grindy grind grind (including a hole on the inner arch support) Weld up the little hole Then we have a couple of weekends of regular life which means minimal to no garage time.
|
|
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
|
|
Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
|
|
Feb 10, 2019 22:36:01 GMT
|
Which brings us to today, when I managed to get some more time in the garage. After re-fitting the wheels to my BMW GS (new tyres) and removing the clutch slave cylinder for repair on the Range Rover, I could attack the Blazer again I hate filler. Ground enough back to give me a weldable surface, and covered the garage in dust. Once it had settled, a quick wazz over with the garage-vac had it looking less snowy Weld the repair panel in Miss a couple of photo opportunities, but the general idea is that I cut more metal out and I find more rust. Surprise! Taking a break from the rust for a moment, I made a couple of minor modifications to the tailgate mounting crossmember that I had previously made, now the tailgate actually lines up properly. Happy days! Hopefully manage to get a couple of hours on it Tuesday evening and then a decent chunk of time next weekend too... That's the plan anyway!
|
|
Last Edit: Feb 10, 2019 22:40:06 GMT by Mr S
Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
|
|