52 chevy pickup

[TeckniX]

Luv the progress pics - it provides a vision and at the same time allows us to wait for the final look

[mdmvisuals]

I like where this is going!!!

Nice work so far sir!

[M.Doban]

You're doing great work! These are always my favorite types of threads.

[TheCrabMaster]

Sweeeeet! cant wait for some more updates

[bluetweedsuit]

So I after finally get this thing back onto the wheels I have been able to start figuring out ride hight.







So thats about what I figure ride hight will be. Should be able to lay the side steps on the ground once aired out. Might have to get some drop spindles for the front to achieve that though.

Started working on the frame notches for the rear. Took sooo long to cut them all out and probably 15 cutting disks. But I was able to get them cut out and tacked onto the frame.







You can see that the centre of the notch is further back then the center of the original frame hump. The rear wheels were to far forward in the wheel wells from factory so I had to move the axle back about an inch. Hopefully get it all welded up tomorrow and then I can start figuring out bag mounts and the 4 link. Should be fun!

[bluetweedsuit]

So I finally got the chassis back on to its wheels. I was still having troubles with my MIG welder. It was being super inconsistent. The weld was bubbling up into a little mountain. Then it would kind of boil. Looked like lava rock. It would also weld like there was no gas. I was getting very frustrated and wasting a lot of time grinding down welds to redo them. After lots of fiddling around with no success, I went and to talked to the guy were I buy all my supplies to see what he had to say. He didn't really have any help for me ,but after chatting for a while I decided to buy a new roll of wire as what I had in the welder was the cheapest you could buy. So the guy at the store gave me half off on some really good quality wire and I rushed to the shop and installed it. It now welds waaaaayyy better! I made a few more adjustments to other settings but I am 90% sure there was some containments on my old roll of wire.



So I am super happy with that. I just have to go back and redo some a few more sections but I will wait until I'm finishing up the frame to do that.

So its back down on the wheels. The whole chassis is much stiffer and it doesn't even have the trans crossmember in it yet. Very happy with the results. Now tomorrow I have to go talk to the shop that is going to do the inspection and see if they are all good with it. Then on to the 4 link.

















Can always check out my instagram @bluetweedsuit for more pics

[bluetweedsuit]

Man I had no idea about that with the copper.

Yeah it worked great. I also turned the amperage down and the feed up a bit. Made it easier to fill.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Man I had no idea about that with the copper.

[bluetweedsuit]

So I have been getting some work done. So first things first I started trying to get the MIG running better. I had run out of argon so I went and got the bottle filled. He had told me to get pure argon and the guy at the place also said pure was better. So I got the bottle filled then went home and did some investigating and found out you are suppose to use 75/25. So I went back to the store and got the bottle exchanged. Then I changed the liner and the tip. It welds much nicer now. A lot less spatter and a lot more consistent.





Also did a little TIG practice on some thinner stainless. Still not very good and haven't been able to put much practice time in.

Still learning and figuring things out. Want to try to get just a good couple hours with some practice pieces but it is always hard to give up project time.

Weld through primer seems to work pretty well. To me seems like a pretty weak primer protection wise but its better than bare metal. It also makes spatter removal easier. Anyways finished up welding the outside plates. Starting to feel really solid. Getting quicker at the whole process

Make the template


Transfer it and cut it out


To bend these guys to fit I just tacked the flat piece on. Then heated it up and bent it. Then using a scrap piece of pipe as a form, re-heated the steel and beat it with a hammer. Then welded it up




Removed the old battery tray, which is under the floor. It had obviously be "repaired" before.


I heard that using copper as a backing would allow you to just fill the holes with weld and not have to cut little circles to fill the space. So I found a piece of copper pipe. Flattened one end. And cleaned it a little bit to prevent contaminants.


Then I plugged up all the old holes in the frame. Copper worked great. The piece got super hot quite fast. Just have to remember to use a good glove.


Also had to weld the nuts for the side step mount on the inside of the frame as they are now longer accessible due to the frame being boxed in.


Used the rust converter stuff on the inside of the frame. Seemed to work super quick. Turned the rust like a black/grey, but then after a day turned white. Not sure if it really worked. I gave it a good brush and then a coat of the weld through primer. And to end the day got one of the inside plates cut out, trimmed and tacked on.


And one "artsy" photo from my wife


Its that time of year when I have to start bundling up to go in the shop. Nights are starting to get close to 0 degrees celsius. Shop doesn't offer warmth but keeps you dry and out of the wind. Pumped to get this thing back to a roller but finding time seems to be my biggest problem.

[zeissxbxr]

dis gon be real good

[bluetweedsuit]

Got out to the shop for a few hours today. Decided to try out some new products

First. Weld through primer. Part of the frame is going to be completely boxed in and just wanted some protection after grinding the rust away for weld.

This is what I used. About 18 dollars a can. Does it work? Not to sure. Did a test piece and it seemed to work after I realized I ran out of argon. Having a really problem with contaminates when welding. Welder been acting funny too so not sure if it's the welder or contaminates or the primer. I've been grinding away the rust and sandblasting my plates but it randomly bubbles up into a mountain. Very frustrating as this has to pass an out of province inspection once done and that will not look good. I'm going to do some maintenance on the mig before I weld again just to make sure that it is not part of the problem.

Also tried this.

Rust converter. Only put one coat on before I left and it seemed to work almost instantly. Turns the rust to a sort of blackish grey coating on the steel.

As for actual work. Continued welding the new clip on and boxing in the frame. Going to have to grind out some of the welds that will be visible once done and try to get them looking nice a smooth. I would like to try to tig most of it once all the plates are on just so it looks nice and tidy.


Here's the bottom section. Required I little more forming to fit properly



Added a layer of weld through.




And welded it on. You can see were I was having issues. So disappointing.


Didn't get as much done as I wanted to but hopefully I can just figure out what is causing the inconsistent welds.

[A4crn]

Sick!! A patina'd truck on bags is at the top of my wish list, subbed

[Evil Panda]

Cant wait to see where this goes. Love the Mini.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

This is relevant to my interests.

[guglielmos]

They are large, but they are also sold.