Above 1200 Sq/FT Zeph's Quasi WWII Era Shop

[gazza]

Have a good look at where the welding and cracks are, we have had these chassis since the 60's and dad always said that these were riveted and "C" sections so that they could flex off road. Weld up the cracks and look to see if the weld is needed to join parts together rigidly.

 

[zepher11]

Nice work! Love the engine stand rotisserie!

Thank you. I built the rotisserie for my Jeep project, but had to modify it a bit for the frame. Much longer project. I really need a length of metal between the two stands. I need to be real careful with it in its current configuration. I'm now trying to determine if I can modify the rotisserie to use with my command car tub. It is large, but I think it will just fit.

I used three engine stands to build this one. Increased the height and lengthened the wheel base.

Frame looks great.

Thank you!

 

[zepher11]

Have a good look at where the welding and cracks are, we have had these chassis since the 60's and dad always said that these were riveted and "C" sections so that they could flex off road. Weld up the cracks and look to see if the weld is needed to join parts together rigidly.

I did notice that the welds almost look like an afterthought. The cross member is primarily riveted. I was more worried about the cracks in the cross member proper where it wasn't welded at the factory. I'm sure it would be fine if I hadn't noticed the cracks, but now that I know I can't leave it alone.

I can see what your father meant about flex at that location. It really isn't overbuilt whatsoever in that area. I know that the body is mounted with large springs to the frame a little further back from this location.

Thanks for the information.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

You did a great job on your build, I enjoyed going through all the posts!

 

[zepher11]

You did a great job on your build, I enjoyed going through all the posts!

Thank you. I treated myself to a new sign for Father's Day today. Hopefully, it will look good on the wall above the WWII vehicles:



One of Patton's command cars:

 

[coby65]

Just need the 50 cal accessory!

 

[BUGTHUG]

That frame sure looks brittle. Frame is telling a story of hard use, but its getting a second chance to be around another 100 years. A lot of hard/fun work, but it looks great.
I been painting a old metal shelf, and have the same problems with the weather not cooperating with my schedule. Back to the garage

 

[zepher11]

I think this will stop the bleeding so to speak. Worked it over with the welder:

Hopefully, she'll be good to go for another 100 years!

 

[hcallaway]

Nice job on the shop and rolling stock.

 

[yaidunno]

Great garage and vehicles! Thanks for taking the time to share. The sign turned out awesome as well.

 

[zepher11]

Nice job on the shop and rolling stock.

Thank you!

Great garage and vehicles! Thanks for taking the time to share. The sign turned out awesome as well.

Thank you. I decided to make a frame for the sign as well. Looking forward to hanging it to see how it will look.

Regards,

 

[zepher11]

Finished the frame. Not a work of art, but it'll work. Now I just need to figure out how to hang that thing. My trusty assistant (engine crane) just doesn't have the reach. It's heavier than it looks...3/4" MDF.

 

[fergus]

Really cool sign. Makes me want to make one for myself!

 

[ZRX61]

Did you stop-drill the cracks & V groove them before welding?

 

[Bighead38]

Make an extension arm for the engine crane.

 

[bj383ss]

Love the sign!

 

[zepher11]

Really cool sign. Makes me want to make one for myself!

If I can do it you can do it. It didn't take too long to make. With the exception of the "o" it went pretty well. I struggled on that letter. The rest went pretty quick.

Did you stop-drill the cracks & V groove them before welding?

No. I was chastised on another forum for not utilizing the stop-drill technique for the cracks, however. I think I remember hearing about that years ago, but completely forgot. I think the metal is a little too thin for v grooving. I had to turn down the amps as I kept burning holes through it.

I'll keep an eye on them. They couldn't be in an easier location to get to. It took 74 years to crack 1/2 an inch, so I hope they'll hold for at least half that long....

Thank you,

 

[zepher11]

Make an extension arm for the engine crane.

That's a good idea. Wouldn't take much to make that happen.

Love the sign!

Thank you!

 

[BUGTHUG]

that is a nice sign, take any pictures of the making of it?

 

[zepher11]

that is a nice sign, take any pictures of the making of it?

Thank you. Here's one. It is the leftover 3/4" MDF that I used for the workbench. I first painted the MDF with leftover white paint I used on the walls of the garage. Next I used 1 7/8" masking tape for the letters. I used the so called "edge lock" type which is useless. I can't find any masking tape that will actually stay down nowadays. Anything that works has been banned in CalifornIA.

The tape idea worked well as the straight runs were a piece of cake. The curved...not so much. One can see the tape peeling up already in this photo:

I then tried to smooth the tape down just before I shot it with the same OD I painted the command car frame with. The tape came up a bit while painting, so I hand cut in some paint here and there. I channeled my inner youth and hulked up the sign this evening:

It was a lot easier than this one I tried a few years ago. This attempt forced me to hand paint it...and I did it on the sly to surprise my wife. I had to paint it where it is now. It was a surprise because my wife knows I am the furthest thing from an artist. Plus she thinks I'm a nut because I get these weird ideas once in a while:

 

[BUGTHUG]

Thanks, that was nice.
I was thinking while reading how you had trouble with the blue tape, if maybe you could find some cheap pin striping tape to use on the curves? I think your signs turned out great for not doing a bunch of them.

 

[250]

Zepher, enjoyed browsing through your build with this mornings cup of coffee. I grew up in redding, so I know the area well. Get out that way about once a year to see the family and I love the rolling hills dotted with oaks south of cottonwood.

Keep up the good work!

 

[zepher11]

Thanks, that was nice.
I was thinking while reading how you had trouble with the blue tape, if maybe you could find some cheap pin striping tape to use on the curves? I think your signs turned out great for not doing a bunch of them.

Thank you. That's funny because I did purchase some pin striping tape to do my next project. I have used if before to complete the graphics on some of my race cars. I didn't even think of using it for the "Keep 'Em Rolling" project.

This is the next thing on my garage must haves. Instead of using the 918th Bomb Group from the movie (Twelve O'Clock High) I will use "91st BOMB GROUP - H

I was trying to figure out in my mind how to complete the painting of the large "8" that has the Army Air Force roundel in it. I finally determined that determined that I should use the pin striping tape to create the 8. The rest of it shouldn't be too difficult if the darn tape will stay down! It is just frustrating to use masking tape to...well, mask something and it doesn't work!

Here is a photo of what I am going to do. It is the logo above the fireplace:

I can't get a better photo, but here one can just see the white star that has the red dot in the middle of the star that is the AAF roundel within the lower part of the 8 in this painting above the fire place:

Here is the roundel that will be in the lower portion of the 8:

 

[zepher11]

Zepher, enjoyed browsing through your build with this mornings cup of coffee. I grew up in redding, so I know the area well. Get out that way about once a year to see the family and I love the rolling hills dotted with oaks south of cottonwood.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you very much. I grew up here as well and live in Cottonwood off of Gas Point Road about half way out toward the high school. All of the properties in our neighborhood have the 300 and 400 year oak trees. And it is actually called Majestic Oak.

Very cool! Thanks you for the kind words!

Kind regards,

 

[zepher11]

Here is a better photo showing the whole graphic with the roundel in the eight:

I just noticed that GJ had my thread listed as a feature on the home page. I am honored! Very cool:

 

[gazza]

The easiest way to set this out and paint it is to simply use a compass with a knife and a straight edge with a knife. Mask the whole area with low tack mask and spray, set out all of the lines, circles and curves the cut out and remove the mask from the areas you need to paint. If you know the exact size of one of the bricks in the background it is a very easy layout to draw up and then scale to size because the left is a mirror image of the right.

 

[zepher11]

The easiest way to set this out and paint it is to simply use a compass with a knife and a straight edge with a knife. Mask the whole area with low tack mask and spray, set out all of the lines, circles and curves the cut out and remove the mask from the areas you need to paint. If you know the exact size of one of the bricks in the background it is a very easy layout to draw up and then scale to size because the left is a mirror image of the right.

I just scored a large compass from a retired machinist down the street. I had looked for a large compass online, but couldn't find a large one on the cheap. This will make it a much easier task. Most of the graphic seems like it will be fairly easy to pull off. It was just the taping off of the 8 that made me pause for a bit, but now I'm ready to rock and roll when time permits.

I think the compass is for use on sheet metal, but should work fine for me to make the basis of the 8 on the wall:

Thanks!

 

[gazza]

This should make it even easier for you, the pdf file can be resized to suit your needs, enjoy.

 

[BUGTHUG]

Congratulation for the feature post. 3

 

[zepher11]

This should make it even easier for you, the pdf file can be resized to suit your needs, enjoy.

OMG! That is so awesome! Thank you. That PDF will come in very handy for sizing.

 

[zepher11]

Congratulation for the feature post. 3

When I was on the home page, I saw the WWII motor pool photo and thought "cool, someone else is working on a WWII theme garage." Then I clicked on it and low and behold! Pretty cool.

Things are going to start happening to me now! Just like making the phone book.

 

[RibsBrisket4me]

Zepher11
As one can see from my profile, I don't post here much. However I love this forum. The talent you all have is inspiring.

I just spent the whole morning reading this entire thread, and oh my gosh, what an incredible labor of talent and love!

I am a retired Air Force man my self, leaving active duty in 2006, and I really appreciate what you have done. My father in law is retired Army Air Corp/Air Force/ WW II vet as well. He is now 93 year old, and unfortunately his health is such that he is not able to enjoy this thread.

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your build thread and thanks so much for sharing it for so many to see, and to remind people what the greatest generation was all about.

One more thing, when I was in Squadron Officers School in the 1990's, they still used Twelve O'clock High as a leadership, training tool. We watched the whole movie and discussed it quite a bit.

 

[zepher11]

Zepher11
As one can see from my profile, I don't post here much. However I love this forum. The talent you all have is inspiring.

I just spent the whole morning reading this entire thread, and oh my gosh, what an incredible labor of talent and love!

I am a retired Air Force man my self, leaving active duty in 2006, and I really appreciate what you have done. My father in law is retired Army Air Corp/Air Force/ WW II vet as well. He is now 93 year old, and unfortunately his health is such that he is not able to enjoy this thread.

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your build thread and thanks so much for sharing it for so many to see, and to remind people what the greatest generation was all about.

One more thing, when I was in Squadron Officers School in the 1990's, they still used Twelve O'clock High as a leadership, training tool. We watched the whole movie and discussed it quite a bit.

Thank you for the kind words and feedback on the thread. I've always had great respect for the greatest generation...even before the name stuck. Obviously, Twelve O'Clock high is/has been one of my favorites since childhood. It wasn't until later that I learned that the US and many other countries used it as a training resource. Pretty incredible!

Thank you for your service as well as your father in law's service.

Kind regards,

 

[LXCam]

Zeph, my hats of to you. I'm thoroughly impressed with the shop and your accomplishments. I just spent the entire morning reading this thread. Keep up the great work and best of luck to you.

Cam

 

[Jeremy77]

Thanks for creating and continually updating this magnificent thread zepher. My grand father was 11th Airborne in the Phillipines during WWII and always had flags, banners etc. hanging in his shop. He was very proud of his service and this different items always sparked a conversation about his service. Fortunately, he's still with us and I plan on showing this thread. I know that he'll enjoy the shop and especially the restored vehicles. I look forward to seeing more of your posts in the future.

 

[BUGTHUG]

Thanks for creating and continually updating this magnificent thread zepher. My grand father was 11th Airborne in the Phillipines during WWII and always had flags, banners etc. hanging in his shop. He was very proud of his service and this different items always sparked a conversation about his service. Fortunately, he's still with us and I plan on showing this thread. I know that he'll enjoy the shop and especially the restored vehicles. I look forward to seeing more of your posts in the future.

So Jeremy, does the grand father still have all the old flags and stuff? you have any pictures of him and his memorabilia?

 

[Sunbimmer]

When I was on the home page, I saw the WWII motor pool photo and thought "cool, someone else is working on a WWII theme garage." Then I clicked on it and low and behold! Pretty cool.

Things are going to start happening to me now! Just like making the phone book.

You earned it everything you do is quite inspiring to me!!

 

[Trick414]

Things are going to start happening to me now! Just like making the phone book.

LOL, nice reference. Great movie. I had forgotten that line.

I'm going to have to add that one to my repertoire.

 

[zepher11]

Zeph, my hats of to you. I'm thoroughly impressed with the shop and your accomplishments. I just spent the entire morning reading this thread. Keep up the great work and best of luck to you.

Cam

I really appreciate the feed back Cam. Thank you!

 

[zepher11]

Thanks for creating and continually updating this magnificent thread zepher. My grand father was 11th Airborne in the Phillipines during WWII and always had flags, banners etc. hanging in his shop. He was very proud of his service and this different items always sparked a conversation about his service. Fortunately, he's still with us and I plan on showing this thread. I know that he'll enjoy the shop and especially the restored vehicles. I look forward to seeing more of your posts in the future.

Outstanding that your grandfather was in the 11th Airborne in WWII. Cherish every moment you have with him and document what you can. I wish I had done that with my grandfather. I was in high school when he passed. Even though I was really into the history of WWII, it never occurred to me to pin him down on specific details. It was all those high school girls running around that had me distracted I think.

Regards,