ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[rmack898]

Everyone needs a little get away time now and then. It gives your spirit a little energy boost.

 

[zmotorsports]

Well that explains it...towards the end of last week I was thinking where is Mike? Was going to start checking the Obits tonight...LOL...

Thanks for thinking of me Pat. It was nice to get away with the wife and relax.

Although reality slaps ya right back in the face when ya get home from a vacation.

 

[zmotorsports]

Everyone needs a little get away time now and then. It gives your spirit a little energy boost.

Ain’t that the truth Mac.

 

[zmotorsports]

I arrived home from a week in Monument Valley with the wife and got right back to work. Picked up the bumper from the powder coater after a ten hour day at work then settled in for 4+ hours in the shop finishing up this TJ bumper and tire carrier so the owner can come and pick it up.

After unwrapping it.




Fabricated a small guide block from UHMW and drilled & tapped a couple of holes to fasten it in position.


Bumper installed, trailer plug wired in and ready to accept the carrier.


Carrier installed after pressing the races in and packing the bearings with grease.


Completed.




Thanks for looking.

 

[larry4406]

Awesome job on the tire carrier!

 

[Duker]

I don’t know Mike..... that spare tire just doesn’t look quite befitting enough for the that custom bumper & tire carrier... ! As always, great job!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[zmotorsports]

Awesome job on the tire carrier!

Thank you, I appreciate that.

 

[zmotorsports]

I don’t know Mike..... that spare tire just doesn’t look quite befitting enough for the that custom bumper & tire carrier... ! As always, great job!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks Duke. I keep joking with him that he needs to put a couple more inches of lift under it but he likes it the way it is.

To be honest, this particular Jeep TJ is pretty cool overall. He purchased it wrecked in 1999. It was a rollover and he rebuilt it, then about 5 years ago he tore it back down and repainted it as he had some of the usual spot welds popping loose and he asked me to address them. He is a pretty good mechanic as that is what he did for 50+ years but body work and welding are not his strong traits. I repaired a few of the welds on the doors and tailgate for him and his brother shot the black paint on it after addressing a couple of small rust spots.

The Jeep has nearly 200k miles on it and is still in very good mechanical condition but he did tell me he needs to address a small oil leak and a squeaky u-joint that just crept up. He installed a Webasto pre-heaters system to the Jeep about 15 years ago that is pretty cool. He can activate it with a remote key fob that starts the small burner and heats up the cooling system and circulates it so when he gets in to turn the key the engine is already warm and blowing hot air out the heater and defrost. I had one similar on my 1986 Suburban that I installed right after he did his.

We installed them so when we would get off work our vehicles would already be warmed up and ready to drive to alleviate the cold start conditions but an added benefit to my Suburban was when we were snowmobiling all of those years. We would pull into the parking lot after a long day of sledding, I would hit the key fob to ignite the burner and by the time the wife had here bibs and coat off she could jump in a nice warm vehicle while my son and I loaded the sleds and the truck was already warm as we were heading down off the mountain. Pretty slick setup but I don't really think it took off on the market as I have never talked to anyone else who had one. I did get a lot of comments on mine and my cousin said he would have a lot of people inquire about his as well but I don't think they sold very many.

 

[leshyi]

A nicely done power element and a wicket with a spare, I really like this kind of work

 

[zmotorsports]

A nicely done power element and a wicket with a spare, I really like this kind of work

Thanks for following along on my project thread and commenting.

 

[aka Larry]

Looks awesome just like all the rest of your work Mike.

Do you mind commenting on the total cost? You can PM me if you'd rather not post it, or just say it's "NOYB", and that would be fine too.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looks awesome just like all the rest of your work Mike.

Do you mind commenting on the total cost? You can PM me if you'd rather not post it, or just say it's "NOYB", and that would be fine too.

The parts I have been using such as the spindle kit, push pin, latch and D-ring mounts I have been purchasing from either A to Z fabrication or RuffStuff Specialties over the past couple of years and have gotten good quality components and pricing from both. Most of the hard parts used run around the $175-$200 range for a rear bumper. Powder coating usually runs around $150-175 depending on if I have more pieces such as Rotopax mounts or Hi-Lift jack mounts. Steel will generally run ~$250 per bumper/carrier, a little less for a front bumper as I don't have the square tubing for the carrier but I bulk up where the winch mounts.

Total for supplies usually run $575-$650 range for a rear bumper, $475-$550 for a front bumper. I then will generally charge around $600-$750 for labor depending on how elaborate the owner wants to go.

You can see how I actually price myself out of the market as most mass produced bumpers are in the $900-$1300 range. While I don't do many bumpers I do have a small clientele that actually prefer the one-off style that I offer and they can add their own personal touches to the design so no two are alike. To some people that is more important than actual cost, and those are the people I like to cater to. Even where I don't have my business any longer I still enjoy doing work for people when I have time and these bumpers are fun to do and it seems I learn something new or better way of building them with each one.

Thanks for your comments and for taking the time to follow along.

 

[aka Larry]

You can see how I actually price myself out of the market as most mass produced bumpers are in the $900-$1300 range.

ALL your work is TOP NOTCH, and worth every penny you charge IMO. Since I'm not into the Jeep stuff, I just had no idea what one of your masterpieces would cost. Thanks for your response to what I'll admit was a nosey inquiry.

 

[zmotorsports]

ALL your work is TOP NOTCH, and worth every penny you charge IMO. Since I'm not into the Jeep stuff, I just had no idea what one of your masterpieces would cost. Thanks for your response to what I'll admit was a nosey inquiry.

Thank you very much for your comments. I'm happy to share, no trade secrets or anything to hide here, what I can buy the components for is the same cost someone else can, although maybe steel and powder coating costs may vary slightly from area to area. We aim to be transparent as we are all here to try to help one another.

Again, thank you for taking the time to follow along and your comments are welcomed.

 

[zmotorsports]

I posted up a video of the bumper/carrier build to my youtube channel last night if anyone is interested in seeing more detail.

Thanks for looking.

 

[fnieto]

Welcome back Mike and nice work on the custom bumper, turned out very nicely.

Paco

 

[zmotorsports]

Welcome back Mike and nice work on the custom bumper, turned out very nicely.

Paco

Thanks Paco, I appreciate that. Took me a bit longer than I expected on this one but I didn't put in the late nights like I have in the past. Either way I'm glad it's out of the shop and the owner is happy so I can move on to the next project.

 

[b-dog]

You can see how I actually price myself out of the market as most mass produced bumpers are in the $900-$1300 range.

You're simply in a different market, custom. I run into this all the time with making or machining stuff. Some people expect making onesie twosie parts to compete with mass production, it just isn't going to happen. I tell people, if you can buy it then I'm not interested in making it.

 

[zmotorsports]

You're simply in a different market, custom. I run into this all the time with making or machining stuff. Some people expect making onesie twosie parts to compete with mass production, it just isn't going to happen. I tell people, if you can buy it then I'm not interested in making it.

I couldn't agree more. I have people all the time tell me I should refine my process and start mass producing things, whether they are the bumpers I've built, Watts Link for my Monaco coach or down to the Chapstick lid that I machined for my wife. Even back when I was fabricating custom ATV sand drag quads, I had people calling me to buy a standard chassis. I would tell them I have no "standard" chassis, all are custom and unique and if you want me to build one I would be happy to sit down and discuss it with them. I would have a very small percentage of people actually call me back and set up an appointment, most just wanted to make a phone call, get the cheapest price and have a chassis delivered to their doorstep. They didn't like it when I would tell them I would rather build the complete quad from the ground up including building the chassis, motor, all of the suspension, small custom touches and then painting the chassis and final assembly as a complete package vs. just selling a run of the mill chassis.

I would tell them that I have no desire to mass produce things and try to compete with those companies that do. Many of those companies are good at what they do, they produce a nice product and should be paid accordingly for their product development and production, granted there are also just as many companies that produce junk that I would never endorse but unfortunately there are a large group of people that are shopping with price and price only in mind. I am not nor am I ever going to attract those people, and for the most part I really don't want to.

Like you, I've carved out a niche for myself that although there isn't much I can't do in my shop, I like variety and working on various projects and solving various problems or issues. I like the problem solving aspect of machining and fabrication just as much as the profit aspect.

I am grateful that all those years ago that I made my mind up to be the one stop shop that never sacrifices safety or quality over price and I have been fortunate to have been able to stick to that mindset still.

Thanks for the comments and for stopping by.

 

[zmotorsports]

The wife just called and said the sunroof on her Acura shattered on the way to work this morning.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me removing the headliner and mechanism to vacuum all of the glass out and replace the glass.


Looks like there goes any profit I made over the past two weeks of building a bumper.

 

[yaidunno]

The Jeep bumper came together very nicely Mike! It looks right at home.

I don't envy your sunroof project though.

 

[C_F]

Aw man, that ***** about the sunroof. How did that happen?

I have two vehicles with sunroofs, and the thought of one getting broken pops into my head pretty much every time my windshield gets hit with a big rock on the freeway.

 

[GRN96WS6]

I've never seen a sunroof shatter, wow. That *****, can you just get the glass?

 

[zmotorsports]

The Jeep bumper came together very nicely Mike! It looks right at home.

I don't envy your sunroof project though.

Thanks.

Got the interior torn apart, not exactly a pleasant job but I should be grateful I can repair it.

 

[zmotorsports]

Aw man, that ***** about the sunroof. How did that happen?

I have two vehicles with sunroofs, and the thought of one getting broken pops into my head pretty much every time my windshield gets hit with a big rock on the freeway.

I think that’s exactly what happened, a rock. My wife said she saw it bounce in front of the car and thought it hit the windshield then heard the pop and had glass on her.

She said she didn’t think the rock was that big. I told her if it was big enough to see coming at you, it was bigger than you think.
I’m just thankful she didn’t get hurt or get in an accident. The car can be fixed.

 

[zmotorsports]

I've never seen a sunroof shatter, wow. That *****, can you just get the glass?

Yes, I was able to purchase just the glass, as expensive as it was I’m glad I didn’t have to buy anything more. The glass alone would have only been about a fifteen minute job, there’s only four screws holding the glass assembly to the carriage. However, with all of the shards of glass I wanted to completely disassemble the headliner as well as the track system to ensure I get all of the pieces of glass vacuumed up and none get lodged in the track or somewhere it can cause damage.

 

[zmotorsports]

It hasn’t been a great day around the zmotorsports shop and home. I moved my son’s Jeep outside so I could pull the wife’s car into the front bay. It started and ran perfectly, then when my son went to start it and move it to the other bay after cleaning up it wouldn’t stay running. We diagnosed it and discovered the IAC motor took a ****.

I guess I should count my blessings that it crapped out in the back yard and not out somewhere that I would have gone and rescued him from.

It’s been a hell if a day. I told my wife some days your the windshield, some days your the bug. Today I was the bug. [emoji15]

 

[nutjob]

Mike,
Even if it might have been a rock, lots of issues with exploding sunroof's.
See this article:

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroof-cases-head-to-court/

Kevin

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,
Even if it might have been a rock, lots of issues with exploding sunroof's.
See this article:

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/exploding-sunroof-cases-head-to-court/

Kevin

Thanks Kevin, I've seen quite a few similar threads on various forums so I just chalked it up to the car being at the exact right place at the exact right time for the rock to hit the sunroof.

 

[bmxdad]

Small metorite?

 

[zmotorsports]

Small metorite?

She said it wasn't that big of a rock, she saw it hit just in front of her and bounce before hitting. I told her if she saw it then it was larger than she realizes.

 

[ttpete]

Thanks Kevin, I've seen quite a few similar threads on various forums so I just chalked it up to the car being at the exact right place at the exact right time for the rock to hit the sunroof.

My new Explorer Platinum came with TWO sunroofs. I think I'll stash a piece of plastic and a roll of masking tape in the spare well just in case.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Small metorite?

Chinese satellite ?

 

[zmotorsports]

On to more damage control or repair if you will. Two weeks ago when the wife and I were on vacation in Monument Valley and southern Utah we had one night outside of Kayenta, AZ and then the drive to Torrey, skirting around Lake Powell through Hanksville, that we experienced some HELLACIOUS winds, sandstorm is actually more accurate. Anyways it seemed to have scratched our coach a bit so tonight I started polishing out the paint. Holy **** that’s a lot of real estate to polish.

I don’t know if will show or not but it’s a bit dull with some scratches.



I started with 3M Finesse It II with a yellow polishing pad followed by 3M Machine Glaze and a foam pad.


After both steps on the rear half of the curbside of the coach.




Now to continue around the coach over the next few nights. Up and down the ladder wore me out tonight.

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice job bringing that back Mike! Like you said, that's a lot of real estate to polish up. Glad it's not me.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job bringing that back Mike! Like you said, that's a lot of real estate to polish up. Glad it's not me.

Wish it wasn't me Dan. Kinda pissed it happened but at least I can fix it, just a lot of elbow grease, sweat and a few tears shed over it.

 

[bmxdad]

On to more damage control or repair if you will. Two weeks ago when the wife and I were on vacation in Monument Valley and southern Utah we had one night outside of Kayenta, AZ and then the drive to Torrey, skirting around Lake Powell through Hanksville, that we experienced some HELLACIOUS winds, sandstorm is actually more accurate. Anyways it seemed to have scratched our coach a bit so tonight I started polishing out the paint. Holy **** that’s a lot of real estate to polish.

I don’t know if will show or not but it’s a bit dull with some scratches.


Now to continue around the coach over the next few nights. Up and down the ladder wore me out tonight.

Curious if this is removing the top clear coat, or burnishing it. How often can you do this before your cutting into the paint?

 

[zmotorsports]

Curious if this is removing the top clear coat, or burnishing it. How often can you do this before your cutting into the paint?

There's a lot of clear on this and a long way from the paint. Think of it in terms of the clearcoat not being just a single layer but more of in terms of mil thickness, this will help to visualize it.

That is unless you catch a corner or edge wrong then you can get down to primer rather quickly. It takes some practice but after a short while you can get the feel for your buffer, the angle, speed and direction. You begin to get as comfortable as the feel of your own _____, but you get my point.

You also want to ensure that the surface is clean before you even begin with the machine polish or you will just imbed the grit into the clear. Whenever I would cut & buff paint jobs that I had completed I felt better about it because I was the one that had the gun in his hand and knew how much clear was going onto the vehicle. I have to be a little more cautious on one that I didn't actually spray.

Luckily I didn't have to sand any of this as the scratches were not that severe, just enough that you could detect them in the lighting. I skipped over the course 3M Microfinishing Compount and went right to the Finesse It polish with a yellow wool pad. That's what did the most work, then I followed it with 3M's Machine Glaze and a foam pad that removed the swirl marks from the previous step.

 

[zmotorsports]

I also thought it might be worth mentioning that with urethane clear coat there is a balancing act as far as heat goes. For the first compounding stage you have to create enough heat when buffing to get the clear to do what you want but not so much that it removes it or takes it down to the color, or worse the primer or bare steel. To control this heat on the first step I generally keep a water bottle handy to spritz the surface as I'm buffing to help control that heat. Not enough to get the pad wet or saturated, just enough to keep the surface from heating up too much.

I generally don't worry too awfully much about the heat on the next couple of steps because I cover a larger area and ensure I'm working the surface in a manner than controls the heat by machine only. Things like keeping the buffing wheel running off a panel vs. coming back onto a panel are key. Again, once you get the feel for your machine it becomes intuitive or second nature where you don't even think about it, you just flow with the machine and watch the surface. The final step with the machine is just using a glaze to remove the swirl marks and create a uniform lustrous finish that looks about 3' thick.

 

[ttpete]

There's a lot of clear on this and a long way from the paint. Think of it in terms of the clearcoat not being just a single layer but more of in terms of mil thickness, this will help to visualize it.

That is unless you catch a corner or edge wrong then you can get down to primer rather quickly. It takes some practice but after a short while you can get the feel for your buffer, the angle, speed and direction. You begin to get as comfortable as the feel of your own _____, but you get my point.

You also want to ensure that the surface is clean before you even begin with the machine polish or you will just imbed the grit into the clear. Whenever I would cut & buff paint jobs that I had completed I felt better about it because I was the one that had the gun in his hand and knew how much clear was going onto the vehicle. I have to be a little more cautious on one that I didn't actually spray.

Luckily I didn't have to sand any of this as the scratches were not that severe, just enough that you could detect them in the lighting. I skipped over the course 3M Microfinishing Compount and went right to the Finesse It polish with a yellow wool pad. That's what did the most work, then I followed it with 3M's Machine Glaze and a foam pad that removed the swirl marks from the previous step.

Don't know if you have found them, but the 3M Finesse-It microfiber cloths are the best and softest I've found. I use Hand Glaze on the bikes and use the cloths to buff it out.