Powdercoat and stuff

Over the weekend I managed to do a couple of things on the car (more on that later), and pick up some things I'd dropped off to be blasted and powdercoated.

I left some suspension components and brackets to be powdercoated, and also left a bunch of other bits including the chassis to be blasted.

Pictures and descriptions....

My stuff is hanging up in the foreground, and the white control arms are also mine.

Blasted and in white etch primer. The white shows up any cracks very well

Battery tray came up a treat!

The assorted bits which were powdercoated.

Pretty happy with the result.

Video update 1

Something a little different for the update - a video! It runs for 5 minutes, and the section in the shed was done in one recording, without any editing.

Sorry folks, I don't exactly have a "Radio Voice".

Hope you like this little update!

Floored - welding continues

Spent some time on the wagon, and managed to get the floor in the back.  My welding is getting better, but there's still a way to go before I'm happy enough to tackle the bits which can be seen.

The underneath of the wagon.  The shiny spots are where I've welded up some holes.

Floor isn't bad, and my welding is getting better. Pin holes are driving me crazy, but I'll get there eventually.

If you recall, I had to lift this metal to tuck the hangar underneath.

Not a bad result in the end.

The welding is a bit rough, but once cleaned up and painted with stone chip (and the petrol tank in place) it should look pretty good.

Welding with copper?

Did a little welding on the missing floor panel over the weekend. Slow progress as it consists of lots of spot welds, and I'm still fine tuning the welder settings to get the best result.

I found some copper tube and used it as a heat sink which helped prevent overheating of the panels.

Copper not only takes a lot of the heat away....

..but also provides a surface for the weld, so it doesn't destroy the edge of the flat panel.

Metalwork started

Over the weekend I managed to get the repair panel for the floor in the back of the wagon cut and fitted.

Looks a bit rough, but once cleaned up it will be welded in and fit very nicely.

The process was made a bit more difficult because there's a bracket which is used to hold the fuel tank straps that is tucked underneath the metal that forms the rear beaver panel.

The existing brackets were cut in half when the LPG tank was put in, so I needed to ensure that I could use the ones attached to the repair panel.

Here's what the panel looks like now that it's been fitted into place

This what I started with - the spare floor was cut out of another wagon

Here's the hole I need to get the new section into.

If you look closely, the brackets which hold the fuel tank straps have been cut, and they are tucked under another piece of metal. I've used a spot weld cutter and peeled the metal back where the brackets on the replacement floor will be positioned.

You can see the brackets here. I've cut around them in preparation for fitting.

Now the whole panel is screwed into place with self tappers. The idea is that the screws hold it in place, and an angle grinder with a cutting disc is used to cut through both pieces on metal, creating a hole and replacement piece which are a perfect match.

Here's the end result, held into place. I still need to clean the pieces up before welding in place.

These are the little clips which are used in the above picture to hold the two panels together.

The next step is to remove the panel again, clean the rust off, tidy things up, and then weld into place.

On the rotisserie

It's been a while since the last post, but I have been productive.  The car is now up on a rotisserie - which did take some effort.

I wasn't originally planning on doing the rotisserie thing, however I could get this one for nothing, and I was convinced that the body repairs would be a lot easier - which they should be.

The rotisserie isn't pretty - no powder coating, fancy handles and clamps, or gas rams.  It is, however, the right price! It's been used by other club members in the past for their Holdens, so I know it's up to the task.

Some pictures:

On the spit.

Not high enough yet, as the bottle jack I was using won't hold any weight.

I fabricated the mounted bracket for the front.  It uses existing holes.

Once I spin it, I'll be able to clean underneath easily.

I was lucky - the back bracket bolted straight in.

Happy with this.

The whole thing is on wheels so I can move it about the shed to work on it, and other things.

Over the weekend I'll get a new bottle jack to raise the ends, then I'll be able to spin it.   The first spin will  be a bit nerve wracking!

Diff out

Another productive day, today I managed to get the diff out of the car, and the chassis loaded onto the trailer in readiness for a trip to the blasters.

The bit out of the back. I'm getting pretty good at knocking the old bushes out now.

Not much left to take off!

 Apart from various bits to be taken to the blasters, I've got to clean and paint the diff, and then put the body on a rotisserie.  Once it's on the rotisserie the rust repairs will start.

Top front control arms - pretty good condition. They will look great after painting.

Lower control arms. They've been knocked around a bit, but will come up ok.

While the chassis onto the trailer I noticed a couple of cracks in the lower control arm mounting points.  These chassis are well known for their cracks, and welding up the cracks is a standard part of any build from HQ-WB models.

Crack in the mount.  The chassis is upside down, so normally this one might not been easily seen.

A matching crack for the other side. Welding will sort these out.