55 Wagon Progress

[MP&C]

Still haven't set up the new photo hosting, so todays update via youtube. Got the passenger corner all formed up and Tig welded in place for the rear seat back enclosure..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZ1zktynes

[MP&C]

Well I think I have google images figured out now, so lets try an update on the wagon.

With the back seat rear enclosure and it's frame both sprayed in epoxy, time to assemble the two together. I didn't want to use hardware/rivets on the skin as I thought it would stay flatter under the upholstery without. Also, with the amp and bass speaker inside the enclosure, we needed something to limit vibration of the adjacent pieces. Our choice is to use some body molding adhesive tape to join the two together.





The tape is applied to the frame, and then the skin attached on top of that..








Next, we need to work on our console and the shifter inside of it. We have the console that came with the 2002 Monte Carlo interior, but it has far too much plastic that it didn't belong. In looking at other options, we decided on the horse shoe shifter used on the Chevelle. In conducting a test fit of the cable, we found it's trajectory path was much too straight where it either lifted the front of the shifter, or pulled the bulkhead fitting out of the "tunnel" mockup.






Shifter lift:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-HXW7oNYg


Our solution was to raise the cable exit from the shifter housing higher in order to have a better arc of the cable for entry through the floor. Here a "relocation bracket" has been added:





Bracket all welded in place, looks like this will work for our shifter, return policy officially void now, but cable path fits much better through the floor:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LySdi8tifvQ


We also needed to finalize seat belts for the rear seats. These are 12 gauge CRS pieces that are plug welded to the floor pan, 1/2" diameter bolt holding the anchor points for inner seat belts.





The outer belts needed to be all the way out to the wheel well, and to better "anchor" we made similar 12 ga brackets, this one with a hemmed end to "hook" the pinch weld seam of the floor pan/wheel well, then plug welded in place to the wheel well. Again, a 1/2" bolt will anchor the seat belt:






While Mike and Jake started the layout of the console.........






......I fabbed up some bucket seat brackets out of 16 ga CRS for a 37 Ford. These had to be 3" high and only 1-1/2" wide, which was too high for my gooseneck die in the press brake. Chose to make them in two pieces and fusion tacked together using the TIG.

[CraigRK]

Great to see you back. Looking forward to seeing the progress and excellent fabbing.

[oldman3]

Robert, I agree glad to see you back, always enjoy your post...Jim

[MP&C]

Thanks guys!


Console fabrication





Bottom and under dash edges are hemmed, folded flanges will support the filler panel between each side..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV1yiaFoUfQ



Fitting up the corner radius



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NdR3c_S8nE

[MP&C]

Some sprayouts done this evening to see if we can nail down a color for the green.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxz8aMOzI0



Will take another video tomorrow in the Sunlight for the true test.

Color 1: Corvette Limerock Green
Color 2: Land Rover Kosrae Green
Color 3: Audi Azores Green
Color 4: H/K Organic Green Kandy Basecoat

[MP&C]

Sunlight views in same order,

Color 1: Corvette Limerock Green
Color 2: Land Rover Kosrae Green
Color 3: Audi Azores Green
Color 4: H/K Organic Green Kandy Basecoat


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DoEQZkZJpc


Didn't get pictures in overcast, but these help to show, 1-3 don't show color well at all in overcast or dim/indirect light conditions. As we'd like the car to look green regardless, we're leaning toward the H/K

[MP&C]

Had a short break from the wagon as we were cleaning up for this years metalshaping class at the shop that was held a couple weeks ago.


Our guest instructor this year was Pat Brubaker of Custom Rides in Hastings Nebraska. We focused on minimal tools this year. A largely forgotten tool that is (was) seen in many shops is the arbor press. Pat has developed a die set to use in the arbor press that makes it an invaluable tool to have in your metalshaping arsenal.







This video shows tuck shrinking, much the same as using the stump, but here using less impact for less stress added to the panel..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUQghpUVohU


Pete Hagan brought some 2002 BMW front fenders to practice with, one having a noticeable dent in the front..





Here we match up one of the dies to match the crown of the rear of the fender, and try our hand at removing a dent using the arbor press.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oI9U0YJS9E


It did a good job of removing the majority of the damage, and more importantly, without adding any more stretch. Minimal work at this point would have this ready for paint.


We also discussed various pattern techniques, and the benefits realized with each one. One of the class participants, Laser with a Z, had brought a 1961 Impala front valance to duplicate, as it had many rust issues.





Some of the rust issues were filled with clay in order to get a more accurate pattern.


Flexible shape patterns show better the amount of shape in the panel, and paper patterns were used to get an accurate read on panel material size.








The replacement panel was made in two pieces and welded together. Laser did a nice job of welding, note the consistent width in the HAZ for minimal distortion..





Comparison:





Jake's project for the class was a replacement for our practice fan shroud from last month.. The rear edge was unfinished, so we aimed to fix that, and also make it out of aluminum to better match the radiator.





To finish off the rear edge, we chose to add a bead to the edge and a hemmed flange to close it off, keeping the hem flat so as not to interfere with the fan.





The beads were added, flanges tipped to attach to the baffle panel, and the linear stretch dies in the Lennox used to stretch the correct outer radius.








We attempted various welding methods to attach the shroud to the baffle plates. The spot welder lacked the balls to make the welds, and TIG spot welds or weld passes seemed to add more distortion to our practice pieces than the precise circle we had rolled would tolerate. So we used some stainless hardware and nylock nuts to hold the parts together..





Here are some videos of the installed shroud..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSQf_V4Jyi8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZQBxsxkorQ


Some of the tips and tricks shared at the class, here is a table "extension" for a band saw to permit cutting of crowned panels SAFELY..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNjxTbD4VrQ


Charlie has been to our class three years in a row, and he is a pretty sharp cookie. Like some of us and getting older, he has the unfortunate issue of arthritis in his hands, and finds difficulty in using hand snips. In much the same fashion as the Beverly shears, Charlie modified a pair of right angle Midwest shears to use a handle for easier operation..








Action video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLr76hsdIxM


Material capacity stays the same, operation just becomes a bit easier, especially for those with arthritis conditions..

[MP&C]

We got the wagon parts pulled out of the booth this past weekend where we had them stored during the metalshaping class.





Getting back to tying up some loose ends.. Mike cuts out the driver side of the console..











All ready for thinning the bend lines..





.....while Jake and I worked on tipping the edge on the second seat bolster..

[Bomp]

Looking great as always.

[timmytimm3]

Awesome work! Thank you for sharing all the details

[Advanced Design]

Looks like you had another nice event. Pat was at MM in Oblong and has become very skilled over the years since he was the newbie.

[Hammered 77]

Like the work being done, always able to learn something from your posts. Does Pat sell the arbor press die kits?

Rick

[MP&C]

Rick, he does, contact info:


https://www.yellowpages.com/hastings...-rides-1027479

[MP&C]

Been in Florida the past couple weeks for the day job, got back in time for Saturday's shop day. Jake worked on the rear seat bolster, the top profile was traced from the one we made for the driver's side but this mark needs to be on the opposite side for us to tip the flange. Easy transfer is to use a punch on the line to transfer the mark's location through the panel and then trace..











....and then he used various round anvils for hammer forming the corners.








I got started on welding in the corners of the passenger console side...














This might work yet...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt8wdVuMI-I


While Jake was tipping flanges he needed some stretch in the crowned area. Looking at the too many pieces that came out of the Erco, it's possible that Jake has too much kick. We made some new spring plates out of 1/16 stainless sheet..








Back in business...

[MP&C]

This weekend's progress... Jake finishing up on the seat bolsters.





We don't always have the right tools to use, so on occasion we make them. This corner of the panel needed a sharper shape on the anvil











With both bolsters done and fitted to the rear seat, Jake media blasted both and hung them up in the booth where he applied some SPI Epoxy primer.


Meanwhile Mike and I worked on getting the driver's side of the console folded up..





We started by using the tipping die in the Lennox for thinning the bend lines. This both gives a sharper bend and also gives a "feel" for when the press brake's upper die is located in the proper bend location.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I87VWj-Qetc


Here's the highly technical back stop used to set the fold distance. We have a growing collection of these starting as the dimensional requirements change..





With two sides now, a spacer was made to clamp in the middle to hold our proper width..





Seats above are all the way forward, compare front location to next picture where they have been moved back to normal location, as well as mocking up the Chevelle shifter..





Next we'll get the radius pieces added and start on the internal structures of the console.

[oldman3]

Great update, and great work...Jim

[MP&C]

Thanks Jim!


Progress last night on the console, as I was welding the remaining bits in the drivers console side (sorry, no pics) Jake was using the GoKart slick in the Wheeling machine to add the correct contour to the rear panel for the console...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMFuDumaXo0


Matches up well.....





Then he made some practice side pieces so we could test the fitment to the rear panel after using the tank roll die in the Lennox. There's quite a bit of work in the console sides at this point, and we didn't want them to be the guinea pigs..








View of them clamped:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33LE8EXzt4E





We can use this rear panel on the console, and this weekend we'll use the tank roll die on the console sides and get them welded together..

[MP&C]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!


More progress today on the console, time to weld in the back section.. We had it clamped like so:







But on second thought, it should be clamped on the upper portion...







....and to keep the bottoms from sliding out from under, some spacers were made out of scrap wood....






Tacked and welded with the TIG....















Jake cut out some corners, tipped some flanges, and used the Vise Grip tucking tool to gather up some of the excess metal. A torch heats up the tucks for an easy flattening.















Trimmed and test fit...




















Inner corner finished in the same fashion...

[oldman3]

Just some beautiful work...Jim

[MP&C]

Thanks Jim!

Happy New Year to everybody!


Had a visit by the shop this week from cousin JB, who works at Interiors by Shannon in Alabama. He was up for the holidays. They have recently picked up a bead roller so we did some practice runs on pre-stretched and non-stretched beads, and then some beads using the Lennox Nibbler. Finished up with some shrinking on the MH-19. We ran out of time to punch louvers. Great to see him again, nice to spend time "playing" in the shop.










Progress on the console this weekend... Mike is still in California visiting family, so Jake and I have been texting pics to him of what he's missing haha..


Corner number two, we've already shown some shrinking, so no we'll show stretching the inside corner..











Placing the part on a suitable flat anvil, a barrel roll hammer is used to provide stretch the inner corner...







You get to a point where flat is no longer useful, so then we use another anvil, this one in the form of a square tube. Works well for what we're doing here...











Fitted and welded....



















Next, a pattern made of the rear hump for trimming the console.. we'll keep it snug for now for placing anchors and then trim later for carpet and sound deadening space.















Standoffs used for anchors, trimmed to fit angle of the hump... and welded in place. Crossmember made for inside the console and spot welded in.

[mongocanfly]

constantly amazed at the level of fab work yall do...very nice..

[MP&C]

Thanks!



More console progress today, started off using Rotacutter to put a hole in the transmission tunnel for the shifter cable. The bulkhead seal that came with the cable has some mounting holes, we'll use some AVK style rivet nuts for ease of installation/replacement.














More anchors welded to the floor, some "crossmembers" fabricated, and welded into the console.











To locate the holes in the crossmembers, some spotters are set in the anchors, console placed, and crossmember tapped from above to mark.











Next we need to close off the front of the storage cavity to give us an anchor point for the latch. So we started the fabrication but found some limitations in our acute dies for the press brake.







Not quite enough bend, so we opted for a piece of sharpened 12 ga cold rolled to give us a bit more....










Trimmed and welded in place...
















Video version:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiOet_0AwO0




.

[jmking9]

I love that you have the Kramer painting in the shop. "He is a loathsome, offensive brute, yet I can't look away"

[MP&C]

"We'll take the Kramer..."



We were originally going to hinge the console lid along the passenger side, but thought it would be better accessible from either front seat if it was hinged at the rear. We're using the same hinge as we used for the widened glove box door. In our attempt to add a torsion spring to keep the lid upright in the open position, we couldn't find the size to fit our 1/8" diameter hinge pin with enough torsion to hold the lid open. (Yes, even McMaster failed us) So we decided to wrap our own. Here's a fixture we made for the Aloris tool holder on the South Bend to act as a guide for the 1/16" music wire.







We also installed the older 3 jaw chuck, but not before adding a "wire catch"







Here's a video of us wrapping the spring... As my South Bend lacks slow enough speed for such a task, we opted for manual rotation..




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvJAIk1-Cs4




Here's the positioning and function of the hinge with torsion spring installed...




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPPY2dVOzmQ




With our hinge now positioned, we also found we needed to move the hinge closer to the rear edge for better lid clearance while open. Back up and punt you say?