Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, it appears your friend is not happy with your decision. Very hard to nap on that little desk.got rid of the couch in favor of this little roll-top desk
Above 1200 Sq/FT Ernie's Place
- Thread starter StormcrowAz
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I have often been amazed by what some people do to repair rusted out panels on vehicles. 
That's also a lot of dirt on the floor from those cavities. No wonder it rusted the way it did.
That's also a lot of dirt on the floor from those cavities. No wonder it rusted the way it did.
jollygreengiant
Well-known member
I have often been amazed by what some people do to repair rusted out panels on vehicles.
That's also a lot of dirt on the floor from those cavities. No wonder it rusted the way it did.
If you think foam is amazing, I have one that is even better. I was involved with a rust repair on my cousin's Ford Ranger back in my high school days when we were young and broke. The cab mounts had rotted off IIRC; we didn't know how to weld and this repair needed some rigidity to it. So what did we use? Hockey pucks.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Bob – Hah, he does look a wee bit sad! I don’t feel too bad about ditching the mini-sofa, though…the wife has more than made up for it in the sheer volume of dog beds spread throughout the property. I find it ironic that the pups still seem to spend about half the time laying on the tile or concrete.
Dan – It’s funny…when I was cutting those panels off and looking at what the previous owner had done…I was wondering if the next guy to tear into this vehicle some 50-odd years from now will be looking at what I’ve done and say to himself: “What was that guy thinking? He must have only had a cutting wheel and a mig welder!” And yes, she’s probably 20-25 pounds lighter after removing the dirt and corroded bits. Not too worry, though…I’ll probably add a few hundred pounds of new metal to keep the remaining rusty pieces together.
Went on another ride, this time up near Sedona.
First stop was this place called Robbers Roost. Local legend speculates this was a cliff-side cave used by bandits and bootleggers back in the day. With a decent-clearanced vehicle you can get right to the trail-head, with a fairly short hike to the cave.
As usual, Sedona is full of some pretty spectacular views.
There’s a little section of narrow trail that looks sketch but isn’t too bad. It's a bit steeper than it looks here.
This definitely looks like it would be a good place to hide out for a while.
Next stop was the Palatki Heritage site, ran by the forest service and you have to get a tour to see the good stuff.
Along with some neat history about the place, they offer some nice cliff-side ruins
And a lot of petroglyphs (hard to get good/clear pictures of)
Overall the trails were just about one step below paved, nothing really challenging and never even put it into 4WD. A lot of great scenery, though.
Dan – It’s funny…when I was cutting those panels off and looking at what the previous owner had done…I was wondering if the next guy to tear into this vehicle some 50-odd years from now will be looking at what I’ve done and say to himself: “What was that guy thinking? He must have only had a cutting wheel and a mig welder!” And yes, she’s probably 20-25 pounds lighter after removing the dirt and corroded bits. Not too worry, though…I’ll probably add a few hundred pounds of new metal to keep the remaining rusty pieces together.
Went on another ride, this time up near Sedona.
First stop was this place called Robbers Roost. Local legend speculates this was a cliff-side cave used by bandits and bootleggers back in the day. With a decent-clearanced vehicle you can get right to the trail-head, with a fairly short hike to the cave.
As usual, Sedona is full of some pretty spectacular views.
There’s a little section of narrow trail that looks sketch but isn’t too bad. It's a bit steeper than it looks here.
This definitely looks like it would be a good place to hide out for a while.
Next stop was the Palatki Heritage site, ran by the forest service and you have to get a tour to see the good stuff.
Along with some neat history about the place, they offer some nice cliff-side ruins
And a lot of petroglyphs (hard to get good/clear pictures of)
Overall the trails were just about one step below paved, nothing really challenging and never even put it into 4WD. A lot of great scenery, though.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Made a little more head-way on the Scout. Cut out the new floor pans and the Hypertherm made quick work of it.
Fine-tuned and dropped in for pictures and to make me feel better about making forward progress.
Had some cancer in the foot-well where the firewall meets the floor pan, probably a low spot where water collected. Cut it out and bent up a replacement piece. Tacked in just fine up top, but blew out on the side pretty bad due to thin and rusty material.
Decided to just cut out the whole bend across the floor there and make a new lip for the pan to sit on. The material a couple inches up doesn’t appear to be affected as bad so should weld better. Didn’t get more pictures as at about that time my buddy with the ’67 Scout stopped by and wanted to make a metal box for his shifter set-up. Didn’t think to get any pictures of that, either. Funny part, though…he brought over some sheet metal of his own to use and when I flipped the piece over I found this:
I believe both his dad and grandfather worked in the pipeline industry and he said his grandpaw never threw anything away and had this kicking around on his property. Be a shame to cut it up and weld on it. So I traded for some of my new sheet stock to fabricate his shifter box and will hang this on the shop wall somewhere.
Fine-tuned and dropped in for pictures and to make me feel better about making forward progress.
Had some cancer in the foot-well where the firewall meets the floor pan, probably a low spot where water collected. Cut it out and bent up a replacement piece. Tacked in just fine up top, but blew out on the side pretty bad due to thin and rusty material.
Decided to just cut out the whole bend across the floor there and make a new lip for the pan to sit on. The material a couple inches up doesn’t appear to be affected as bad so should weld better. Didn’t get more pictures as at about that time my buddy with the ’67 Scout stopped by and wanted to make a metal box for his shifter set-up. Didn’t think to get any pictures of that, either. Funny part, though…he brought over some sheet metal of his own to use and when I flipped the piece over I found this:
I believe both his dad and grandfather worked in the pipeline industry and he said his grandpaw never threw anything away and had this kicking around on his property. Be a shame to cut it up and weld on it. So I traded for some of my new sheet stock to fabricate his shifter box and will hang this on the shop wall somewhere.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
How far is Sedona from your home? Looks like not a lot of fancy restaurants and hotels in those pics. Even though not a lot of challenging road for your ride I bet it was a nice trip.
Any snakes or scorpions or other critters wandering about the caves or in the rocks and brush?
Good save on the sign and your welding skills are improving every day/year.
Any snakes or scorpions or other critters wandering about the caves or in the rocks and brush?
Good save on the sign and your welding skills are improving every day/year.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'll have to add Robber's Roost trail to our list. The wife and I are wanting to get to Sedona in the next year or so and do some off-roading. I've heard from friends that it is a must go destination for Jeeping so we put it on our list of destinations. Pictures are awesome and resemble several of the areas here in central and southern Utah. Love the pictographs especially.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Made a little progress on the Scout this past weekend.
Replaced the rusted out lip in the foot-well area. Knocked the welds down with the 4.5” grinder flap disc but it’s a bit tight in there to fully clean it up with that. Realized I’m out of roloc discs for the air angle grinder, so final hand-finishing will have to wait.
Took a break and added some functionality to the weld cart/dolly. The next door neighbor gave me a little vise which I temporarily clamped to the work platform on the dolly for a few things. Seems to be real handy, even though it adds a bit of weight up top and takes up a few square inches of flat surface. Figured I’d might as well bolt it on and see how I like it on a more permanent basis.
Looking at the pictures…I just realized it’s a good color match. Maybe it was meant to be?
Got back to the Scout and cut out the inner rocker panel on the passenger side. It had a half-way brazed in patch section and the rest was just about rusted out at the bottom.
Cut out a replacement piece, sized it to fit and tacked it in place.
Got it about a third of the way fully welded in and had to call it a day. Probably spent six hours on the Scout and the wife says: “That’s all you got done today?” Yes, yes it was. I guess time flies when you’re replacing rusty sheet metal.
Only had a few available minutes on Sunday so thought I’d do a quick shop improvement. I’ve been using the air hose reel on the wall next to the lift quite a bit and between the plasma cutter, air tools, blast cabinet, and shop press it’s been kind of a pain to keep swapping the hose around to the different tools. This was something quick and easy to alleviate some of that. Plus I already had all the fittings on-hand.
Now at least I don’t have to mess with connecting/disconnecting the blast cabinet and shop press. Even though those are on wheels, I think they found their home there for a while.
Replaced the rusted out lip in the foot-well area. Knocked the welds down with the 4.5” grinder flap disc but it’s a bit tight in there to fully clean it up with that. Realized I’m out of roloc discs for the air angle grinder, so final hand-finishing will have to wait.
Took a break and added some functionality to the weld cart/dolly. The next door neighbor gave me a little vise which I temporarily clamped to the work platform on the dolly for a few things. Seems to be real handy, even though it adds a bit of weight up top and takes up a few square inches of flat surface. Figured I’d might as well bolt it on and see how I like it on a more permanent basis.
Looking at the pictures…I just realized it’s a good color match. Maybe it was meant to be?
Got back to the Scout and cut out the inner rocker panel on the passenger side. It had a half-way brazed in patch section and the rest was just about rusted out at the bottom.
Cut out a replacement piece, sized it to fit and tacked it in place.
Got it about a third of the way fully welded in and had to call it a day. Probably spent six hours on the Scout and the wife says: “That’s all you got done today?” Yes, yes it was. I guess time flies when you’re replacing rusty sheet metal.
Only had a few available minutes on Sunday so thought I’d do a quick shop improvement. I’ve been using the air hose reel on the wall next to the lift quite a bit and between the plasma cutter, air tools, blast cabinet, and shop press it’s been kind of a pain to keep swapping the hose around to the different tools. This was something quick and easy to alleviate some of that. Plus I already had all the fittings on-hand.
Now at least I don’t have to mess with connecting/disconnecting the blast cabinet and shop press. Even though those are on wheels, I think they found their home there for a while.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Drives – Sedona is a 2 hour drive from my house and not too bad of a trip. In Sedona proper there are places to eat and stay at. Lots of artsy types in the area and I always think of it as one of those “hip” towns. The surrounding countryside is absolutely beautiful and while the trails we went on that day were very mild, there are other challenging options near-by. If you don’t have your own 4x4, you can always hire a tour for the day. Pink Jeep Tours is pretty popular there. We didn’t see any wildlife that day, but it is out there. I’ve seen my share of snakes while on hikes, if you’re paying attention the rattlers let you know to stay clear. Thanks for stopping by!
Mike – From what little time I’ve spent in Moab, I would agree the scenery is very comparable to the Sedona area and you won’t be disappointed. We had planned on visiting the Honanki Heritage site while we were in the area (it’s kind of in between Robber’s Roost and the Palatki site) but ran out of time. If you can squeeze in one of their tours it is well worth the whole $1 a ticket will cost you. And yes, the pictographs are really cool. I took a lot of pictures, but the camera (at least mine and my skill with it, anyways) doesn’t do it justice.
Mike – From what little time I’ve spent in Moab, I would agree the scenery is very comparable to the Sedona area and you won’t be disappointed. We had planned on visiting the Honanki Heritage site while we were in the area (it’s kind of in between Robber’s Roost and the Palatki site) but ran out of time. If you can squeeze in one of their tours it is well worth the whole $1 a ticket will cost you. And yes, the pictographs are really cool. I took a lot of pictures, but the camera (at least mine and my skill with it, anyways) doesn’t do it justice.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, nice job on the air system upgrade. My air system has evolved over the years and I had a similar problem working with multiple air tools. To avoid having the bulky and heavy hose reel donut next to my air tools I put hose whips on all my portable pneumatic tools. This is the abrasive tool collection, There's also nailer and wrench collections.
To solve the tool swapping issue I made up a 4-foot whip with a triple outlet. The whip is 1/2-inch and it has Milton V-style fittings at both ends so the tools all work great.
The whip with triple couplers can be moved to either of the hose reels in the garage and even to the 25-gallon reservoir (aka tank on wheels from dead portable compressor). The reservoir, with its own hose reel, lets me run air tools (like nailers, drills and paint guns) anywhere on the property.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Bob – I don’t have as many air tools, but I’m certainly on the path to getting there! Right now I have all of mine in a toolbox drawer, and if I had a whip attached to each one I could see it getting tangled up in there. How do you store yours? I too went the way of Milton (high-flow) fittings on everything. Are those swivel fittings on each tool? I’ve used a couple types and doesn’t seem like they last very long before leaking. I like the triple-outlet whip and will be copying that at some point! I’ve used my old 30 gallon Craftsman for similar “portable” situations and it has come in handy a couple times outside of the shop. Thanks for your input and stopping by!
A little bit more done to the Scout. Welded in the new rocker panel section and cleaned it up a bit.
It’s not perfect and hoping the truck bed liner I plan on putting in there will help hide some of that. I also tacked in the new driver side pan. When I get the passenger side in I’ll raise up the body and weld it from the bottom, too.
Ran out of shielding gas for the welder so went back to work on the front axle and finally convinced the carrier to free itself from the diff housing.
Ended up using a slide hammer, which I had actually purchased in anticipation of removing some dents on the rear panels of the Scout. Another case of after getting a tool you end up finding other uses for it.
Pulled the batteries out of the toy hauler as they have become suspect - one was reading 10-11 volts right after pulling it off the charger. They came with the trailer, were a mis-matched set of different brands, and stickers said they were from 2019 so probably due to be replaced anyways. I really dislike flooded cells, not only due to the need for maintenance but because of the inevitable leaking and corrosion to cables/terminals. I had thought about going all out and getting Lithium iron phosphate replacements, which would be the best for RV applications, but not only are those really expensive but I don’t have any chargers rated for lithium. So two sealed AGM marine batteries will have to do.
Of course there’s always something, but in this case the project creep wasn’t too bad. After removing the wad of electrical tape on the positive cables I found this gem. Probably not the sole cause of the old batteries going bad, but it sure wasn’t helping anything.
Cut a couple inches off the cord to get rid of the corrosion, crimped new lugs on, and added some heat shrink to clean it up. I think I first saw this little crimping tool here in GJ somewhere and it works great.
Installed the new batteries and renewed cables and everything works great. Should be good to go for an upcoming camp trip.
A little bit more done to the Scout. Welded in the new rocker panel section and cleaned it up a bit.
It’s not perfect and hoping the truck bed liner I plan on putting in there will help hide some of that. I also tacked in the new driver side pan. When I get the passenger side in I’ll raise up the body and weld it from the bottom, too.
Ran out of shielding gas for the welder so went back to work on the front axle and finally convinced the carrier to free itself from the diff housing.
Ended up using a slide hammer, which I had actually purchased in anticipation of removing some dents on the rear panels of the Scout. Another case of after getting a tool you end up finding other uses for it.
Pulled the batteries out of the toy hauler as they have become suspect - one was reading 10-11 volts right after pulling it off the charger. They came with the trailer, were a mis-matched set of different brands, and stickers said they were from 2019 so probably due to be replaced anyways. I really dislike flooded cells, not only due to the need for maintenance but because of the inevitable leaking and corrosion to cables/terminals. I had thought about going all out and getting Lithium iron phosphate replacements, which would be the best for RV applications, but not only are those really expensive but I don’t have any chargers rated for lithium. So two sealed AGM marine batteries will have to do.
Of course there’s always something, but in this case the project creep wasn’t too bad. After removing the wad of electrical tape on the positive cables I found this gem. Probably not the sole cause of the old batteries going bad, but it sure wasn’t helping anything.
Cut a couple inches off the cord to get rid of the corrosion, crimped new lugs on, and added some heat shrink to clean it up. I think I first saw this little crimping tool here in GJ somewhere and it works great.
Installed the new batteries and renewed cables and everything works great. Should be good to go for an upcoming camp trip.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Eeewwww. The green crusties of death. Good find and job on eliminating them with new lugs and heat shrink.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, I'm afraid you're right about them getting tangled up but it isn't as bad as you'd think. I try to store them in the frequency of use. I store the least used (like the reciprocating saw) on the bottom and most used (angle and straight die grinders) on the top. Sometimes I just grab a handful of whips and pull 8 or 10 out at a time. I tend to use a half dozen pneumatic tools at a time. I do have two deep drawers on the bottom of the chest, a big one that hold the nailers and a small one that holds the smaller rotary tools.
The impact tools would take up most of the smaller drawer so they hang on the side of the cabinet next to the compressor.
The larger sanders would also take up a lot of the space in that drawer so they hang on the ends of the paint cart.
I hang the less used Harbor Freight DA (because it's heavy) and 4-inch grinder (because it's not a popular size) on the other end of the cart.
Two of my early air sander purchases are also too bulky for a drawer so they live on top of the paint cart. The long board sander and the jitterbug are great on flat surfaces but they're aren't a lot of those on a C3 Corvette.
Yes, the Harbor Freight whips have a swivel fitting at one end. It's a male pipe thread so it doesn't work well with every tool but so far I've been able to adapt them to 90% of the air tools (paint guns being the exception). In the 20+ years I've been using these whips, the hoses and the crimped ends have been the failure point. These are pretty cheap ($5- to $7) whips so the rubber cracks long before the swivels start leaking.
My paint guns are stored in the paint cart's drawer and they are the only air tools that don't have whips on each one. Instead I have one lightweight Flexzilla (more expensive) whip with a regulator at the swivel end. There's only one quick coupler at the regulator, which clips to my belt, so it's a very lightweight setup.
One other fairly shallow drawer in the tool chest stores all the blow guns and tire inflators as well as the extra V-Style fittings and some rarely used tools.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Bob - Thank you for the follow-up and pictures, much appreciated! I have some work to do in the Tool Acquisition and Organization department.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, the Garage Journal is a great place for those addicted to Tool Acquisition and Organization to feel normal. We all have friends who question our sanity and even family members who frown and start conversations with "Why do you have that [insert tool name]?" OR, "Why do you have so many [insert tool name]?" I don't recall frowns when those questions are asked here. It's always Like, Love or Laugh!
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Not a whole lot of progress out in the shop lately, but it’s not from lack of being busy.
A couple weeks back we took a trip to Utah to visit the Sand Hollow State Park area. A while back while looking up something on You Tube I got side-tracked by an off-road recovery video (Matt’s Off Road Recovery) and have been hooked ever since. This guy and a few of his friends made these crazy off-road wreckers to do recoveries with and decided to make an Olympic games type of event out of it. It was a three day ordeal and we boon-docked nearby at the Long Valley Recreational Area.
The event was held at the state park right across the street from the reservoir.
Here’s one their “regular” off-road recovery vehicles. 1962 Chevy Corvair Lakewood Wagon 700 series. Slightly modified.
Their latest build, the “Worlds largest off-road wrecker”. Again, some slight modifications involved.
One of the other competitor’s rigs, this one is diesel powered.
There were three other rigs based off of Chevy square-body trucks. Day one was a slew of events including a dead-pull through sand, flex ramp, dyno testing, and welding tests (each rig has an on-board welder). All the events were judged and all the teams were given a stack of $1 bills to bribe the judges with. Everything was done in fun and good spirits. Day two had each wrecker hauling a dead vehicle up a difficult trail near the event. I think they were older Isuzu Rodeo’s with all the fluids and glass removed. We got up early and played around in some of the areas nearby.
Tragedy struck the event at the beginning of the trail. Their head of security suffered a heart attack and had to be airlifted out. We learned later that he didn’t make it.
A couple weeks back we took a trip to Utah to visit the Sand Hollow State Park area. A while back while looking up something on You Tube I got side-tracked by an off-road recovery video (Matt’s Off Road Recovery) and have been hooked ever since. This guy and a few of his friends made these crazy off-road wreckers to do recoveries with and decided to make an Olympic games type of event out of it. It was a three day ordeal and we boon-docked nearby at the Long Valley Recreational Area.
The event was held at the state park right across the street from the reservoir.
Here’s one their “regular” off-road recovery vehicles. 1962 Chevy Corvair Lakewood Wagon 700 series. Slightly modified.
Their latest build, the “Worlds largest off-road wrecker”. Again, some slight modifications involved.
One of the other competitor’s rigs, this one is diesel powered.
There were three other rigs based off of Chevy square-body trucks. Day one was a slew of events including a dead-pull through sand, flex ramp, dyno testing, and welding tests (each rig has an on-board welder). All the events were judged and all the teams were given a stack of $1 bills to bribe the judges with. Everything was done in fun and good spirits. Day two had each wrecker hauling a dead vehicle up a difficult trail near the event. I think they were older Isuzu Rodeo’s with all the fluids and glass removed. We got up early and played around in some of the areas nearby.
Tragedy struck the event at the beginning of the trail. Their head of security suffered a heart attack and had to be airlifted out. We learned later that he didn’t make it.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
In the mean-time they decided to soldier on, there were about 4-5 thousand people in attendance. Here’s the start of the trail.
Did I mention there were a few people there?
All in all fairly entertaining, watching them struggle up challenging obstacles with a dead car in tow. Some carnage, cars tipping over, breakage, and general mayhem. They all made it to the top, though.
Day 3 we decided to get up early and do some exploring on our own in the surrounding areas. Very beautiful there, and similar to Moab. Our trailer is one of those white specs in the valley.
While cruising around we ran across this heritage site
Remnants of an old fort still standing on top of a hill that you can walk through.
We took a short hike through a nearby valley
And what do you know? More petroglyphs. I did not plan this!
The rest of the Wrecker event was a trail clean up, vendor events, meet-and-greets with the You Tube famous folks, give-aways, and finally the closing ceremony.
We had driven up through Vegas to get there and decided for the return trip home to take the eastern route back through Flagstaff. It was a much more scenic drive.
This last weekend was mostly yard work. With the rains we’ve been having weeds were starting to take over. I use the broadcast sprayer to nuke the property with herbicide and pre-emergence where needed. On the little trailer I built to haul the sprayer around, I noticed that the decking is looking a little worse for wear. During the last shop clean-up I moved it outside and the sun is taking its toll. I had some of the Apitong Oil left over so figured it wouldn’t hurt to put a couple coats on. Hopefully extend its life out somewhat.
That’s about it for now…
Did I mention there were a few people there?
All in all fairly entertaining, watching them struggle up challenging obstacles with a dead car in tow. Some carnage, cars tipping over, breakage, and general mayhem. They all made it to the top, though.
Day 3 we decided to get up early and do some exploring on our own in the surrounding areas. Very beautiful there, and similar to Moab. Our trailer is one of those white specs in the valley.
While cruising around we ran across this heritage site
Remnants of an old fort still standing on top of a hill that you can walk through.
We took a short hike through a nearby valley
And what do you know? More petroglyphs. I did not plan this!
The rest of the Wrecker event was a trail clean up, vendor events, meet-and-greets with the You Tube famous folks, give-aways, and finally the closing ceremony.
We had driven up through Vegas to get there and decided for the return trip home to take the eastern route back through Flagstaff. It was a much more scenic drive.
This last weekend was mostly yard work. With the rains we’ve been having weeds were starting to take over. I use the broadcast sprayer to nuke the property with herbicide and pre-emergence where needed. On the little trailer I built to haul the sprayer around, I noticed that the decking is looking a little worse for wear. During the last shop clean-up I moved it outside and the sun is taking its toll. I had some of the Apitong Oil left over so figured it wouldn’t hurt to put a couple coats on. Hopefully extend its life out somewhat.
That’s about it for now…
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Cool trip. Sand Hollow trip is on my list.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'm with Justin, cool trip and great scenery. Very unfortunate about the head of security. 
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
In the mean-time they decided to soldier on, there were about 4-5 thousand people in attendance. Here’s the start of the trail.
Did I mention there were a few people there?
All in all fairly entertaining, watching them struggle up challenging obstacles with a dead car in tow. Some carnage, cars tipping over, breakage, and general mayhem. They all made it to the top, though.
Looks like a great time, too bad about the tragic death however. That ***** for the family and puts a damper on things.
Glad you had an enjoyable time while visiting Utah. Sand Hollow Recreation area definitely has some great wheeling. Hope our state treated you well. Weather wise, weeeelllllll, that's a toss up this year.
The picture above blows my mind to be honest. I'm not one of those safety above everything mansy pansy people but I do rely heavily on my gut instinct for risk avoidance and that picture is nuts. When we wheel and are climbing obstacles or doing a recovery with cables/lines in tension there are certain areas we will not allow people to stand in the event of a rollover situation or a vehicle getting away from someone and with that many people on the hillside there is nowhere to go if things went south. Probably why I avoid big sanctioned events and prefer to wheel with a smaller group but I'd be a bit anxious on that hillside with all those people and multiple vehicles climbing the same area all at once.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
it sure looks like you've been out smelling the roses lately (or the dirt with lots of activities) and thanks for sharing. sorry to hear the head of security didn't make it and I bet he was plenty stressed trying to figure out how to keep things together out there.
I rarely think of snow when I think Arizona, but there you have some. since it gets so hot in the summer I'm guessing even in your mountains the snow melts quickly (flash floods come to mind or maybe thats just a bunch of rain).
i'm guessing when you came back there is a lot of stuff to clean, but hopefully not much to repair.
have a great spring while I hopefully watch our DRIZZLE SEASON turn to days of sun again.
I rarely think of snow when I think Arizona, but there you have some. since it gets so hot in the summer I'm guessing even in your mountains the snow melts quickly (flash floods come to mind or maybe thats just a bunch of rain).
i'm guessing when you came back there is a lot of stuff to clean, but hopefully not much to repair.
have a great spring while I hopefully watch our DRIZZLE SEASON turn to days of sun again.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Justin – Make it sooner rather than later. Just saw a video where they are looking to put housing in several areas that would close down some well-traveled and iconic trails. Including the public camping area where we stayed at.
Mike – So far Utah has been fantastic. Weather was pretty darn nice in my opinion. Partially cloudy for a good portion of the weekend with some light showers here and there. T-shirt and maybe hoodie weather. And funny you mention the safety issue and all those people. If I was forced to complain about something that would be it. It also made it really difficult to see anything because so many folks crowded the trail. Right next to the trucks. The above pictures were towards the top where things were spread out a bit. It was much worse in the first ¾ of the trail. The event coordinators had lead and trailing Jeeps with speakers mounted to the roof to communicate with the crowd and kept repeatedly asking everyone to stay at least 25 feet back. Evidently safety wasn’t a concern for a lot of those folks as they ignored their pleas and stood within 25 inches of the rigs as they passed by.
Here’s a good example:
Winching a dead vehicle up a rough obstacle? What could possibly go wrong? Let’s go stand right next to it!
Saw a family set up camp literally three feet from the trail (you can clearly tell it’s the trail by the black tire marks going up the rocks). Good idea to sit down and have less reaction time to get out of the way of being crushed. Might as well bring the little kids along and let them hang out there, too!
I probably didn’t see as much, but I let the camera zoom work for me and stood back a ways. Nothing there work risking a snapped winch line to the face.
Mike – So far Utah has been fantastic. Weather was pretty darn nice in my opinion. Partially cloudy for a good portion of the weekend with some light showers here and there. T-shirt and maybe hoodie weather. And funny you mention the safety issue and all those people. If I was forced to complain about something that would be it. It also made it really difficult to see anything because so many folks crowded the trail. Right next to the trucks. The above pictures were towards the top where things were spread out a bit. It was much worse in the first ¾ of the trail. The event coordinators had lead and trailing Jeeps with speakers mounted to the roof to communicate with the crowd and kept repeatedly asking everyone to stay at least 25 feet back. Evidently safety wasn’t a concern for a lot of those folks as they ignored their pleas and stood within 25 inches of the rigs as they passed by.
Here’s a good example:
Winching a dead vehicle up a rough obstacle? What could possibly go wrong? Let’s go stand right next to it!
Saw a family set up camp literally three feet from the trail (you can clearly tell it’s the trail by the black tire marks going up the rocks). Good idea to sit down and have less reaction time to get out of the way of being crushed. Might as well bring the little kids along and let them hang out there, too!
I probably didn’t see as much, but I let the camera zoom work for me and stood back a ways. Nothing there work risking a snapped winch line to the face.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Drives – Good to hear from you! Yes, been striving for that good balance of work-work, work/projects at home, and play time. Need to win the lottery so I can eliminate the work-work and focus on the work-at-home projects.
That’s one of the cool things about Arizona/Phoenix. Just a few hours of driving north and you’re in the mountain forests where it’s cool in the summer or snowing in the winter. Drive a bit further south and it’s blazing hot desert for a few months in the summer but nice the rest of the year. Good riding weather can be found somewhere year round. A few more hours further south puts you at really nice beaches in Mexico.
And yes, we managed to bring a significant amount of red dirt back with us. Between that and the rain we’ve been having lately, every vehicle in the fleet needs to be washed at this point.
That’s one of the cool things about Arizona/Phoenix. Just a few hours of driving north and you’re in the mountain forests where it’s cool in the summer or snowing in the winter. Drive a bit further south and it’s blazing hot desert for a few months in the summer but nice the rest of the year. Good riding weather can be found somewhere year round. A few more hours further south puts you at really nice beaches in Mexico.
And yes, we managed to bring a significant amount of red dirt back with us. Between that and the rain we’ve been having lately, every vehicle in the fleet needs to be washed at this point.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Todd, thanks for the reply. I worried about posting that wondering if I was sounding like a safety Nazi but I do worry about such things. There is no way I'd put my loved ones in harms way such as that. Especially sitting down as you mentioned as that greatly increases one's reaction time.
Another example, about 20 years ago we were going to the Jackson Hillclimbs in the spring of each year as support for a couple of clients. For anyone involved in snowmobile hillclimbing, this was the event of the year. It took place @ Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole, WY at the end of the ski season. People would line the sides of the hill to watch and there were more sleds that came bouncing and rolling down the hill than what actually made it up and over. You actually had to be on the hill to fully appreciate and respect the hill as it was nearly vertical in several sections. To make matters worse, they didn't want the competitors to climb straight up and over the top, oh no, that was too easy. So they put gates (flags) and cut trenches across the slope and make a course out of it. It was something to see a 600 pound piece of machinery lose control and go flipping and rolling down the mountain at a higher rate of speed than it was going when it was climbing the hill.
I was simply dumbfounded at those people who would position themselves right along the sides closest to the gates or trenches where the sleds were most vulnerable to lose control.
I was generally in the pits assisting or working but on a few occasions my son wanted to go up and watch. We took the lift up a few times and then climbed back down a few hundred feet so we were closer to the top to witness the few going over the top. I insisted that we be positioned near a couple of relatively large trees so in the event of a sled bouncing down the hill we could take quick cover behind a tree. I must say when a ~600 pound sled slams into a tree going 25-45 MPH it makes a hell of a noise and you can actually feel the impact in your feet. We also saw on several occasions those who were less methodical in their placement and what the same ~600 pound machine does when it contacts a person. Let's just say the sled always won.
Another example, about 20 years ago we were going to the Jackson Hillclimbs in the spring of each year as support for a couple of clients. For anyone involved in snowmobile hillclimbing, this was the event of the year. It took place @ Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole, WY at the end of the ski season. People would line the sides of the hill to watch and there were more sleds that came bouncing and rolling down the hill than what actually made it up and over. You actually had to be on the hill to fully appreciate and respect the hill as it was nearly vertical in several sections. To make matters worse, they didn't want the competitors to climb straight up and over the top, oh no, that was too easy. So they put gates (flags) and cut trenches across the slope and make a course out of it. It was something to see a 600 pound piece of machinery lose control and go flipping and rolling down the mountain at a higher rate of speed than it was going when it was climbing the hill.
I was simply dumbfounded at those people who would position themselves right along the sides closest to the gates or trenches where the sleds were most vulnerable to lose control.
I was generally in the pits assisting or working but on a few occasions my son wanted to go up and watch. We took the lift up a few times and then climbed back down a few hundred feet so we were closer to the top to witness the few going over the top. I insisted that we be positioned near a couple of relatively large trees so in the event of a sled bouncing down the hill we could take quick cover behind a tree. I must say when a ~600 pound sled slams into a tree going 25-45 MPH it makes a hell of a noise and you can actually feel the impact in your feet.
We also saw on several occasions those who were less methodical in their placement and what the same ~600 pound machine does when it contacts a person. Let's just say the sled always won. Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It seems motorsports attract two groups of people. One is the group of competitors who do everything in their power to be safe -- roll cages, safety suits, helmets, gloves, Hans devices and fire suppression systems. The other group are the spectators who do everything possible to put themselves in harms way. I stopped going to Daytona because the spectators leaving the event seemed to think they were in their own little 500.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
More welding and grinding for rust repairs on the Scout this past weekend. Nothing picture-worthy, though.
What was interesting is that a good friend of mine got a nifty rental car for the weekend. Evidently Shelby produced a total of 25 of these GT500-H super-cars for Hertz. My friend does a bit of renting through them so was able to get on the top of the list for a rental here in Phoenix. I’m not much of a Ford guy, but man…it’s hard to argue with 900+ horsepower at the wheel. EV’s are fast and all, but there is something to be said for the primal roar of a (supercharged) combustion engine. I always thought the Mustangs had a good sound, too. The weather couldn’t have been better out, so we loaded up, found a remote area with a relatively smooth and relatively straight road, and…took a couple of nice pictures.
What was interesting is that a good friend of mine got a nifty rental car for the weekend. Evidently Shelby produced a total of 25 of these GT500-H super-cars for Hertz. My friend does a bit of renting through them so was able to get on the top of the list for a rental here in Phoenix. I’m not much of a Ford guy, but man…it’s hard to argue with 900+ horsepower at the wheel. EV’s are fast and all, but there is something to be said for the primal roar of a (supercharged) combustion engine. I always thought the Mustangs had a good sound, too. The weather couldn’t have been better out, so we loaded up, found a remote area with a relatively smooth and relatively straight road, and…took a couple of nice pictures.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
I had a couple mustangs in my youth and when Ford turned the mustang into a grandmas car in the early 70’s I lost my love to buy a new one. That said the newer ones lately look and sound great and if I was 25 I’d have to put your friends little rental on top of a short list.
Did you find an open freeway to see what kind of mph 900 HP could produce?
Did you find an open freeway to see what kind of mph 900 HP could produce?
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Drives – We did find an open stretch of road, and of course adhered to all of the speed limits and motor laws as dictated by the great state of Arizona. That’s about all I’d be willing to admit to here on a public forum.
So new neighbors moved in next door and seem to be good folks. The shared fencing between our properties is chain link on their side and wood slat fencing on ours with a small gap in between. My fencing was there when we moved in 10 years ago and wasn’t new by any stretch at that time. It’s been on the top of my To Do list for replacing the whole thing as I’ve already had to re-attach a few boards as they are starting to fall off. Some of the main uprights are standard galvanized fence posts and some are wood 4x4’s stuck in the ground. Plan was to replace the wood uprights with metal and use those composite picket slats instead of replacing with regular wood. The neighbors said they were looking to put up block walls, not only at the shared fence line but replacing other chain link they had at the front of their house. We offered to split the cost of the shared area, figuring we were already looking to spend a chunk on replacing our dilapidated fence and the price wasn’t much more than we planned on. Plus I didn’t have to lift a finger to get it done. They came in, tore out the old fencing, trenched, poured the footing, and put in the walls over a weekend. Yay! Years ago I had put in a chain link gate between our properties as I was over there on the regular fixing things and helping out our previous neighbor, and in turn she would come drop off plates of spaghetti and fresh baked cookies. Will all the old fencing gone, both sides still felt it would be beneficial to keep a gate there for convenience and I offered to build it.
So, here we are again, making gates.
With the exception of the expanded metal, I had all the other tubing and flat strap left over from other projects. Oh, I also made these corner brackets. The new wall where this gate will hang is adjacent to an existing wall and thought it wouldn’t hurt to brace them together.
Had to buy the hinges and gate latch. Went with the weld on J-Bolt hinges which have been working great for the full-sized double-swing gates I’ve made. Just add a small piece of flat plate with holes for the wedge anchors.
Middle lower section will be expanded metal so our dogs can say hello to each other.
Looked for a nice latch that could be easily opened from either side and found these SpeeCo units
They are made for round-tube gates so that part, and associated hardware, goes in the junk pile. Cut a piece of well pipe to length and capped the ends. Drilled a hole through the gate and weld both sides. Also copied the lower bracket so it can be locked if either side decides we don’t like each other anymore.
Latch anchored to the new wall
Installed and removed the gate multiple times for test fitting. You can also see the reinforcement brackets tying the two walls together.
Rolled the gantry outside to rattle-can the gate. I keep thinking I should look into doing some real paint work now that I have a decent compressor that can handle it.
Final install and happy with the results
Also very happy with this latch system. Simple and robust.
So new neighbors moved in next door and seem to be good folks. The shared fencing between our properties is chain link on their side and wood slat fencing on ours with a small gap in between. My fencing was there when we moved in 10 years ago and wasn’t new by any stretch at that time. It’s been on the top of my To Do list for replacing the whole thing as I’ve already had to re-attach a few boards as they are starting to fall off. Some of the main uprights are standard galvanized fence posts and some are wood 4x4’s stuck in the ground. Plan was to replace the wood uprights with metal and use those composite picket slats instead of replacing with regular wood. The neighbors said they were looking to put up block walls, not only at the shared fence line but replacing other chain link they had at the front of their house. We offered to split the cost of the shared area, figuring we were already looking to spend a chunk on replacing our dilapidated fence and the price wasn’t much more than we planned on. Plus I didn’t have to lift a finger to get it done. They came in, tore out the old fencing, trenched, poured the footing, and put in the walls over a weekend. Yay! Years ago I had put in a chain link gate between our properties as I was over there on the regular fixing things and helping out our previous neighbor, and in turn she would come drop off plates of spaghetti and fresh baked cookies. Will all the old fencing gone, both sides still felt it would be beneficial to keep a gate there for convenience and I offered to build it.
So, here we are again, making gates.
With the exception of the expanded metal, I had all the other tubing and flat strap left over from other projects. Oh, I also made these corner brackets. The new wall where this gate will hang is adjacent to an existing wall and thought it wouldn’t hurt to brace them together.
Had to buy the hinges and gate latch. Went with the weld on J-Bolt hinges which have been working great for the full-sized double-swing gates I’ve made. Just add a small piece of flat plate with holes for the wedge anchors.
Middle lower section will be expanded metal so our dogs can say hello to each other.
Looked for a nice latch that could be easily opened from either side and found these SpeeCo units
They are made for round-tube gates so that part, and associated hardware, goes in the junk pile. Cut a piece of well pipe to length and capped the ends. Drilled a hole through the gate and weld both sides. Also copied the lower bracket so it can be locked if either side decides we don’t like each other anymore.
Latch anchored to the new wall
Installed and removed the gate multiple times for test fitting. You can also see the reinforcement brackets tying the two walls together.
Rolled the gantry outside to rattle-can the gate. I keep thinking I should look into doing some real paint work now that I have a decent compressor that can handle it.
Final install and happy with the results
Also very happy with this latch system. Simple and robust.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Nice job on the gate Todd. Making it look simple.
Dog communication port is a nice touch.
Dog communication port is a nice touch.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Your welding and fab skills have really improved these past few years. I’m sure it helps that you’ve improved your tools and shop. Keep up the great work!
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Time for the 5k mile lube, oil, filters change, and tire rotation on the Tacoma. Also knocked some of the Utah red dirt off the Can Am.
More rust repairs on the Scout. This is the passenger side kick panel. Looks like moisture found its way between the panel and a gusset/brace tacked to the other side.
There’s a good sized patch of rust here in this radius. The three holes above that is where the lower door hinge bolts to the body.
Cut a square section out of the panel
This is the other side of that panel. The brace is still attached in a couple spots and seems to be in decent shape.
Routed out the rust area beneath the hinge point. (no idea what the technical names are here, just making stuff up as I go along)
Sized up a new piece of square material and welded it in. I also plug welded it to the brace.
May not look the best but feels pretty solid. Still need to fab up a smaller patch and fix the hole beneath the hinge.
We have a couple palo verde trees up front that were starting to get out of control, overhanging into the drive-way. Not one drop I’ve ever watered these, but come summer time they grow like crazy. Last I checked tree trimming services were super expensive ($400-$600 per tree), and considering I have a chainsaw and now a decent sized trailer, might as well DIY. Costs $35 to dump it at the landfill.
Still have a couple more trees to go and it's not getting any cooler out...
More rust repairs on the Scout. This is the passenger side kick panel. Looks like moisture found its way between the panel and a gusset/brace tacked to the other side.
There’s a good sized patch of rust here in this radius. The three holes above that is where the lower door hinge bolts to the body.
Cut a square section out of the panel
This is the other side of that panel. The brace is still attached in a couple spots and seems to be in decent shape.
Routed out the rust area beneath the hinge point. (no idea what the technical names are here, just making stuff up as I go along)
Sized up a new piece of square material and welded it in. I also plug welded it to the brace.
May not look the best but feels pretty solid. Still need to fab up a smaller patch and fix the hole beneath the hinge.
We have a couple palo verde trees up front that were starting to get out of control, overhanging into the drive-way. Not one drop I’ve ever watered these, but come summer time they grow like crazy. Last I checked tree trimming services were super expensive ($400-$600 per tree), and considering I have a chainsaw and now a decent sized trailer, might as well DIY. Costs $35 to dump it at the landfill.
Still have a couple more trees to go and it's not getting any cooler out...
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Down here, our palo verde trees snap and break long before they get that big from the winds we get around here.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I have a tree guy do my big palo verdes and mesquites- $160/tree, he is really talented. They're well-shaped, look huge, but are basically empty on the inside of the canopy. Reduces the chances of them blowing over in a monsoon windstorm. It's worth it; I don't have enough years left to watch replacements grow in.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Dan – I hear ya. I’ve come out to broken limbs on a few occasions. Hoping that thinning them out will help.
PugetDude – That’s good price per tree and would be tempted, but…I have a lot of trees and not a lot of money right now, so will probably continue to be a cheapskate.
Not a lot of stuff going on in the shop, been mostly doing yard work, chores, and things not picture worthy.
I did go on a quick ride to Sheep Bridge this weekend. Put in just below Cordes Lakes and took FR269 south until it crosses the Verde River, a little under 40 miles one way.
Broke in a new co-driver for this trip
Starts off pretty plain, just a lot of desert road.
Then it gets into get into some hills and nice scenery.
Sheep Bridge. In order to allow sheep to safely cross the river the original bridge was (according to the plaque): “erected with hand tools and a few mules during World War II, the bridge was constructed largely with salvaged materials.” And: “Verde River Sheep Bridge was the last of its kind in the Southwest when it was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 1988, weakened by years of service and floods, the bridge was disassembled. In 1989 the bridge found here today was erected.”
After reaching the bridge we dropped down to the river, found some shade, and had lunch.
Of course we had to walk across.
The original wooden base reinforced with concrete still standing off to the side
A little warm on the way back, but fortunately there were a few small creek crossings along the way to stop and cool off at. Good trip overall.
PugetDude – That’s good price per tree and would be tempted, but…I have a lot of trees and not a lot of money right now, so will probably continue to be a cheapskate.
Not a lot of stuff going on in the shop, been mostly doing yard work, chores, and things not picture worthy.
I did go on a quick ride to Sheep Bridge this weekend. Put in just below Cordes Lakes and took FR269 south until it crosses the Verde River, a little under 40 miles one way.
Broke in a new co-driver for this trip
Starts off pretty plain, just a lot of desert road.
Then it gets into get into some hills and nice scenery.
Sheep Bridge. In order to allow sheep to safely cross the river the original bridge was (according to the plaque): “erected with hand tools and a few mules during World War II, the bridge was constructed largely with salvaged materials.” And: “Verde River Sheep Bridge was the last of its kind in the Southwest when it was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 1988, weakened by years of service and floods, the bridge was disassembled. In 1989 the bridge found here today was erected.”
After reaching the bridge we dropped down to the river, found some shade, and had lunch.
Of course we had to walk across.
The original wooden base reinforced with concrete still standing off to the side
A little warm on the way back, but fortunately there were a few small creek crossings along the way to stop and cool off at. Good trip overall.
Honch
Well-known member
I'm a little late to the conversation on whips but wanted to add, I have been using Blubird hoses for about 6-7 years now and am really happy with their ability to stay clean, flexible and have no leakage problems. I have 3 or 4 of their whips and have had no issues with the swivels leaking. I even started buying their garden hoses, the hose reminds me of the quality of Goodyear hose 15 years ago.Todd, I'm afraid you're right about them getting tangled up but it isn't as bad as you'd think. I try to store them in the frequency of use. I store the least used (like the reciprocating saw) on the bottom and most used (angle and straight die grinders) on the top. Sometimes I just grab a handful of whips and pull 8 or 10 out at a time. I tend to use a half dozen pneumatic tools at a time. I do have two deep drawers on the bottom of the chest, a big one that hold the nailers and a small one that holds the smaller rotary tools.
The impact tools would take up most of the smaller drawer so they hang on the side of the cabinet next to the compressor.
The larger sanders would also take up a lot of the space in that drawer so they hang on the ends of the paint cart.
I hang the less used Harbor Freight DA (because it's heavy) and 4-inch grinder (because it's not a popular size) on the other end of the cart.
Two of my early air sander purchases are also too bulky for a drawer so they live on top of the paint cart. The long board sander and the jitterbug are great on flat surfaces but they're aren't a lot of those on a C3 Corvette.
Yes, the Harbor Freight whips have a swivel fitting at one end. It's a male pipe thread so it doesn't work well with every tool but so far I've been able to adapt them to 90% of the air tools (paint guns being the exception). In the 20+ years I've been using these whips, the hoses and the crimped ends have been the failure point. These are pretty cheap ($5- to $7) whips so the rubber cracks long before the swivels start leaking.
My paint guns are stored in the paint cart's drawer and they are the only air tools that don't have whips on each one. Instead I have one lightweight Flexzilla (more expensive) whip with a regulator at the swivel end. There's only one quick coupler at the regulator, which clips to my belt, so it's a very lightweight setup.
One other fairly shallow drawer in the tool chest stores all the blow guns and tire inflators as well as the extra V-Style fittings and some rarely used tools.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Honch – Appreciate the heads-up on the Bluebird hoses, I’ll definitely check them out. Thanks for stopping by!
So the new neighbors seemed pretty happy with the shared gate I built and I offered to help build a couple more they need for their new block walls. Another person-sized gate and one RV-sized for back yard access. Instead of a set of swing gates for the big opening, I talked him into doing a cantilever style roller gate. No assist rollers on the ground or tracks needed. He’s got the room and it’s in a good spot for it as well. I think it’s a cool concept and should be a challenge and fun to build.
Sketches for what we came up with on designs:
Single-gate:
Cantilever gate (what should be visible from the street):
Although the neighbor is more into wood work than metal fabrication, he has been enthusiastic about helping out in the build process. We’ve already spent a couple days in the shop knocking out the outside framework. More square tubing cut and welded together to form larger rectangles, I won’t bore you with more of the same pictures. With that out of the way we got to the inside design work, starting with the “sun”. I don’t have a tube roller for this, so we plasma cut the profile out of some 1/8th plate:
Cut up some small pieces of 1” square tubing to act as spacers and clamped and tacked the two pieces together:
1” flat strap tacked and bent around the outside diameter:
For the inner diameter, we cheated a little and used the shop press. I cut up a slice heavy-wall pipe and welded it to another jig I had made a while back. This got most of the inside done fairly easy and finished it up with clamps.
Burned it all in:
Ran outta time, but the next step will be cleaning up the welds and getting these situated in the gates.
So the new neighbors seemed pretty happy with the shared gate I built and I offered to help build a couple more they need for their new block walls. Another person-sized gate and one RV-sized for back yard access. Instead of a set of swing gates for the big opening, I talked him into doing a cantilever style roller gate. No assist rollers on the ground or tracks needed. He’s got the room and it’s in a good spot for it as well. I think it’s a cool concept and should be a challenge and fun to build.
Sketches for what we came up with on designs:
Single-gate:
Cantilever gate (what should be visible from the street):
Although the neighbor is more into wood work than metal fabrication, he has been enthusiastic about helping out in the build process. We’ve already spent a couple days in the shop knocking out the outside framework. More square tubing cut and welded together to form larger rectangles, I won’t bore you with more of the same pictures. With that out of the way we got to the inside design work, starting with the “sun”. I don’t have a tube roller for this, so we plasma cut the profile out of some 1/8th plate:
Cut up some small pieces of 1” square tubing to act as spacers and clamped and tacked the two pieces together:
1” flat strap tacked and bent around the outside diameter:
For the inner diameter, we cheated a little and used the shop press. I cut up a slice heavy-wall pipe and welded it to another jig I had made a while back. This got most of the inside done fairly easy and finished it up with clamps.
Burned it all in:
Ran outta time, but the next step will be cleaning up the welds and getting these situated in the gates.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
In between all that, I did manage to squeeze in a little progress on the Scout.
Cut and bent up this little patch for the rusted out radius below the door hinge:
Welded in and cleaned up a little:
Since most of the major rust repairs were done on that side, figured it would be a good time to put the new pan floor in:
With the pans in, thought I would address the body mounts. There was this piece of hat channel welded under the original pans that the forward-mid body mounts bolted through:
My local metal supplier didn’t have hat channel in that size and wall thickness, but did have some 1” x 3” x .188” rectangular tube which I think should be sufficient. Cut up a couple pieces to size and tacked them in place. This should give me a sturdy lift point forward on the body.
The rear-mid body mounts are already in place, but I still need to re-do the rear-rear mounts after cutting out and replacing a bunch of stuff back there by the bed/bumper. Once that’s done and I have everything squared up, I can figure out where to drill bolt holes in the new supports and pans. Will have to cut out the new support to sleeve the bolt hole and cap the ends before making it permanent.
Wonder how many more times I’ll have to pull the body off the frame?
Cut and bent up this little patch for the rusted out radius below the door hinge:
Welded in and cleaned up a little:
Since most of the major rust repairs were done on that side, figured it would be a good time to put the new pan floor in:
With the pans in, thought I would address the body mounts. There was this piece of hat channel welded under the original pans that the forward-mid body mounts bolted through:
My local metal supplier didn’t have hat channel in that size and wall thickness, but did have some 1” x 3” x .188” rectangular tube which I think should be sufficient. Cut up a couple pieces to size and tacked them in place. This should give me a sturdy lift point forward on the body.
The rear-mid body mounts are already in place, but I still need to re-do the rear-rear mounts after cutting out and replacing a bunch of stuff back there by the bed/bumper. Once that’s done and I have everything squared up, I can figure out where to drill bolt holes in the new supports and pans. Will have to cut out the new support to sleeve the bolt hole and cap the ends before making it permanent.
Wonder how many more times I’ll have to pull the body off the frame?
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Small update. Took our biannual sabbatical to the beach. Did not disappoint.
Finished up (mostly) the neighbor’s smaller gate. He’s into woodworking so he is going to cut and stain panels for it. We’ll need to figure out mounting tabs before it gets painted/powder coated.
Puppers helping me hold down the floor
Welded and hand-finished.
Sat and stared at the Scout for a while. Think I have a go-forward plan for the rear cross-member replacement, where the body mounts are located and also where eventually the rear bumper will attach to.
Finished up (mostly) the neighbor’s smaller gate. He’s into woodworking so he is going to cut and stain panels for it. We’ll need to figure out mounting tabs before it gets painted/powder coated.
Puppers helping me hold down the floor
Welded and hand-finished.
Sat and stared at the Scout for a while. Think I have a go-forward plan for the rear cross-member replacement, where the body mounts are located and also where eventually the rear bumper will attach to.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Good to see you have ample shop helpers/inspectors.
OP
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Justin - They might not do much for increased productivity, but certainly entertain and make life generally more enjoyable.
Made some headway on the Scout this weekend. Now that the floor pans are in, it’s time to deal with mounting the body to the frame. Started with the four mounts at the very rear of the tub. Original design had a bent piece of sheet that wrapped around and bolted to the frame. The rear of the bed sits on top that channel. That’s what the bumper was bolted to as well.
When I pulled that channel piece out it was warped pretty bad, assuming from a fender bender or some such. As a replacement I’m going with some actual C-channel. Pulled this picture out of the archives for comparison.
You can see one of the original bushings still stuck to the old channel on the left there. After doing some reading, a few of the Scout guys said they went with Scout II bushings as an upgrade. A little bit nicer than the original rubber washers the 80 came with, and might even get a tiny bit of body lift from them. The kit was readily available from Energy Suspension. I like how it comes with a center bushing riding through both upper and lower bushings, as well as an inset metal sleeve of sorts in the upper bushing, which I’m assuming helps with crush resistance.
Time to put some holes in the c-channel and good opportunity to try out those stencils I cut on the CNC for plasma cutting by hand. Scribed some lines on the templates in attempts to obtain some accuracy and repeatability.
Makes it easy to line up scribe marks
First cut/hole was a little rough, but the rest went easier with experience. Cut them a little undersized and then touched up with the grinder for a snug fit.
While quite a bit beefier, one of the problems with actual c-channel versus the bent sheet is the increased thickness in the web area not allowing things to sit square and flush.
Measured about a 0.200” gap there.
My answer was to make tapered shims to compensate. Grabbed some scrap 1/4“ pieces of plate and welded a little handle on for grinding it to size on the belt sander.
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Probably not perfect, but it got me a lot closer.
Burned them in
Made some headway on the Scout this weekend. Now that the floor pans are in, it’s time to deal with mounting the body to the frame. Started with the four mounts at the very rear of the tub. Original design had a bent piece of sheet that wrapped around and bolted to the frame. The rear of the bed sits on top that channel. That’s what the bumper was bolted to as well.
When I pulled that channel piece out it was warped pretty bad, assuming from a fender bender or some such. As a replacement I’m going with some actual C-channel. Pulled this picture out of the archives for comparison.
You can see one of the original bushings still stuck to the old channel on the left there. After doing some reading, a few of the Scout guys said they went with Scout II bushings as an upgrade. A little bit nicer than the original rubber washers the 80 came with, and might even get a tiny bit of body lift from them. The kit was readily available from Energy Suspension. I like how it comes with a center bushing riding through both upper and lower bushings, as well as an inset metal sleeve of sorts in the upper bushing, which I’m assuming helps with crush resistance.
Time to put some holes in the c-channel and good opportunity to try out those stencils I cut on the CNC for plasma cutting by hand. Scribed some lines on the templates in attempts to obtain some accuracy and repeatability.
Makes it easy to line up scribe marks
First cut/hole was a little rough, but the rest went easier with experience. Cut them a little undersized and then touched up with the grinder for a snug fit.
While quite a bit beefier, one of the problems with actual c-channel versus the bent sheet is the increased thickness in the web area not allowing things to sit square and flush.
Measured about a 0.200” gap there.
My answer was to make tapered shims to compensate. Grabbed some scrap 1/4“ pieces of plate and welded a little handle on for grinding it to size on the belt sander.
[/url]Probably not perfect, but it got me a lot closer.
Burned them in