wagon progress

[MP&C]

Thanks for the comments guys!


Kyle finishing up on the hood brace....





Because he had gaps to contend with, we used some copper to insure less chance of blow outs. A piece of 1/2" copper pipe was flattened and bent in the press brake to make a fitted backing for the vee bead detail..











Just a bit of work with the sander and this part should be done. Like the new look without all the gaping holes..

Meanwhile, I continued to make dust. Here's a good view of the built in "guide coat" feature of the SPI. Blocking on the top of the hood shows a low spot.....



And with just a couple scuffs from the bottom, the low shows up there as well



Just a few bumps with the hammer from the bottom into the small shot bag on top and the low is gone.

And the rest looks pretty much the same other than the piles of dust on the floor moving around..

[MP&C]

Today's progress, Kyle finishing up the hood brace..






While I continue to generate dust on the floor...



Recently we installed a used core support that was quite a bit nicer than our original, but still showed some issues...



Here we see some rust...



And not quite enough clearance to the petcock..



So this will be next on the list, cutting out a new one with a bit better fitment.

[55wagoncrazy]

They sell this as a replacement Robert. I may be better to remove the old one and then change the depth of the drain opening,on a new one. I then drill holes in the back of the support and plug weld through from the back. It provides a nice finished product.

Mikey

[MP&C]

Thanks for the insight Mikey. Although I think we can make it quickly enough to be comparable cost, and won't have to wait for shipment. Hope to get this part done tomorrow evening.

[MP&C]

Well as I still hadn't finished blocking the front end, rather than pull the core support just yet, Kyle will start on the rear of the wagon in wrapping up some details there. Before pulling the tailgate, there was one gap that was inconsistent, so I gave him a hand with the rework before he got welding..





First to unfold the flange a bit...





Next, some 14 gauge steel was cut out and a strengthening bend added to use for some friendly persuasion..





Refolded...



For comparison, before:



After:



Then we tweaked the twist of the tailgate for good fitment to the opening and Kyle added three plug welds down each side to lock the skin to the inner tail gate.





...Then we removed the tail gate so he could finish the plug welds for the top flange of the tail pan, I had only tacked it in place when the tailpan was installed, so this should help check off another item from the list......
Meanwhile I continued blocking out the front end..

[55wagoncrazy]

I can't believe you are wasting that epoxy like that. Next time only put it where ya need it.......LOL

Brackets came today. Thanks

Mikey

[MP&C]

Worst part is the floor getting dirtier....



Well Kyle skipped out on me tonight, something about a birthday and his parents taking him out to dinner.. and here he could have been welding!

So I took the opportunity to have dinner with the family, so tonight was a short night...

One of the other areas I skipped over at the rear of the wagon was when the tail pan was installed. The factory version with the pinch welded flanges has a gap in the crimp seam for the rear bumper seal:



As I got rid of all the pinch weld seams at the rear of the wagon to eliminate those rust traps, the gap at the crimp seam will be filled in. To assist in filling in the wide gap, a piece of copper flat bar is used as a backer..





Next, as the reproduction tail pan has a rounded crimp seam and the area on the original quarters is more of a square, we'll add some hammer action here. The remaining piece of the flat bar is clamped in and used as an anvil..







Continuing welding...







.....and a repeat on the driver's side...

[55wagoncrazy]

Make sure you leave those gaps in the lip. This is where the center bumper bracket(s) lines up. If the bumper is lifted(with a jack of just a bump) the bracket will hit rubber, not metal, and not break the paint........ask me how I know this.....

Mikey

[MP&C]

Today Kyle finished up another loose end, tying in the bottom of the NOS quarter panel.. A bit of hammer bumping to get the panels aligned...



Plug weld holes drilled and filled.....









Then he turned his attention to duplicating a second half for the front divider panel for the rear seat.









Using the Erco kick shrinker....



Needs a bit of fine tuning still but he's getting there...



And I was making progress on more blocking of the front end body parts, at least until an emergency phone call from one of our tenants indicated some water pipe issues from the recent low temps... This is what I was greeted with....



The hole to the left is where the plumber had put the pipe through, right against the outside wall. Then the brainiac insulators failed to caulk, and then put insulation over TOP of the pipes, keeping them well acclimated to any outside temps. I cut some access holes in the wall and relocated the one pipe farther away from the outer wall board where insulation could go between the pipe and the wall, as it should have been done from the get go.







And here's the culprit...





I'll let things dry out overnight, and finish tomorrow with adding a bit of caulk and insulation. Drywall/painter due in early this week to close things up..

[Custer55]

Your doing a great job. Love your home made tools.
Thanks for the post