Ol'fogasaurus black buggy

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Thanks Steve, the TIG bit has been moved to back burner for now. When I got my welders I immediately got gas shielding and forgot that you could shoot flux core through the same welder by changing polarity (see my beam build for that discussion). I didn’t plan on welding AL as much as having more precise control of the welds (besides getting to look at a string of purdy puddles).

Like Leather was for a while, I am burnt out on this plus I have the house rebuild to work on (the roofers are already started doing their job). I am also waiting for the weather to get warm enough so that I can work in the garage in temperatures of over 50°.

I am currently working on a though bulkhead insert that allows me to run the through bulkhead hydraulic connectors for the clutch and brake system. TIG would make the welding so much easier but maybe some Flux Core welding with no nozzle in the way of making the tight corner welds may work out OK.

Lee

[Leatherneck]

Dang Lee I thought you were back in the garage.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

My back and my butt are but they are closely following the rest of me on the way out of the garage!

Actually, in making this post earlier today I got on line looking for something and may have found an answer to a long time problem I have been trying to solve having to do with thru bulkhead fittings. The ones I have are too short in depth, only up to 3/4 inch (and that is stretching it farther than it should be); the ones I found today are another style of bulkhead fitting (pricy) but they will cover the bigger depth needed so I don't have to make a doo-hicky adapter in the front bulkhead needed to mount the two fittings. I can now use the other fittings in the rear bulkhead which will solve another probem I was working on.

Maybe soon it will be time to get back fiber glassing the ailments of the body.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Got to spend about an hour in the garage and started to clean it up a bit. The pan has ended up being a work/storage bench for the beam build so I got a bunch of stuff put where it belongs, moved the wood the wife had stored under the pan (the main reason I was not doing any welding in the area). As the weather was sunny I hauled the pan and rotisserie outside and turning the pan around so I could work on the passenger side some. I had to stop the work in the garage a couple of times to help the wife with the flower beds but I did get interested in working on the build again; burnout with all the seemingly back marking on it.

I went out to the garage again tonight again and now that the passenger side is in the work area side again I was able to recheck the floor pan welds to the tunnel again. They are not popping loose like the driver's side did and are tight all except for one plug weld. I am going to go ahead and re-weld the seam on this side like I did the other side just in case. Whatever chemical is in the metal on the lower part of the tunnel and the join lip is not as bad and down tight on this side as it is now on the driver’s side. The seam weld I did on the driver’s side, although not the best looking, is now holding so that makes me feel better.

Lee

[Leatherneck]

Lee, glad you were able to get back into your black buggy. I hope to see this thing running with you behind the wheel one day. Surprised no pics Lee.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

It really hasn't changed that much other than there is a lot of air tools and stuff stored on it. I have not been using my time well plus all the other stuff that had to be done between sessions in the garage. Like a lot of others, I got burned out by all the moving forward a step or two then having other stuff go wrong or not being able to figure out ways around things I had previously done. This has been a too long in the making build and I have to force myself to get on with it.

My old Sony Mavica that I have been using to document things is giving up the ghost so I bought a replacement and am still figuring it out. I don't have a protective filters for either of the lenses it yet so it is not going out into the garage until I have one for each lense. The Mavica has served me well and still takes good pix; I just can't down load them as well without finalizing the discs (I records on mini DVD discs) which wastes a lot of space on them. Besides, other than a couple people I don’t think anyone wants pictures of me beating my head against a brick wall (except maybe Herbie would if I was beating it against a brick $-house wall… if you know what I mean).

Lee

[Leatherneck]

Oh heck no, lets see that vid of you beating your head against a brick wall. Want to see if your technique is any different from mine.

[BAJA-IT]

That's why there are no brick walls in my garage!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Have they all been beaten down already?

I have a post in my garage that is required when you have gas SPAM’ (e.g., furnace, water heater), it is a 6" dia plastic post filled w/concrete and rebar. It is bent and there is not a car in that stall... does that say anything!

I started out to work in the garage and it was such a nice day out that the wifie-poo wanted me to start removing the stump of a post where the rear fence blew down. I started digging it out and it is now maybe an hour away from coming out; it took 3 hours to get it this far. Glad there are air tools and long hoses to get them to the back yard. My compressor had it tongue sticking out when I came in to disconnect the air lines.

I gotta give HF kudos for their air chisel; this is the fourth post that it has helped me get out of the ground. The guy who put up the fence did not seem to know that you pour the footing for the fence but before it dries you form the concrete to flow the water away from the post not allow it to puddle around the post. A drop of oil in the chisel and off to the races.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I have been doing some work on the black buggy pan for the last couple of days, mostly re-welding the floors in. I used plug welds to weld the pan halves to the tunnel but I think the hole must have been too small and if you remember that I have been having some troubles with some kind of chemical that was put on the floor to glue the indoor/outdoor carpet in or something like that when it was a Baja and it is still giving me fits. I can weld an inch or so and get a good weld bead then all of a sudden the tip of the wire melts/disappears and there is no weld there or the attempted weld spits and it looks like the shielding gas was not on. Using a drift pin, a dull cold chisel and using a light weight hammer I drove the floor edges flat against the tunnel’s flange as the floor had popped loose and has buckled in places. I finally got is welded in but it isn’t pretty. Both sides are now done so I have some minor dressing to do (globs) and I can prime, paint the seams then put seam sealer/Dum Dum on both the top seams and under side seams of the pan.

I think I have figured out a way to put a support in the front of the body mount tunnel tube I added. I accidently discovered a pre-built piece (that I have since lost the URL for) that had a plate added to the tube that went up to the pair of slots in the front of the underside of the pan. I will try to duplicate them and when done that part of the job will be finished.

I still have to weld the seams on the transaxle mount (pickle forks) which, after what I have been though on the BJ front beam build and the shock tower seams, should be something I can do in my sleep! I have to check to see if I have another BJ front beam and if I do the pan should be ready to be assembled and put on the floor within the next several years. I think the pan has been on the rotisserie for over 10 years now.

Lee

[CentralWAbaja]

I have a couple of BJ beams that I have been trying to give away for a couple years if you want one let me know

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Thank you very much for the offer. I have to go out to the shed and see what, if anything is in there. Once I get it to a certain point it is going to be sold; I've been working on it too long so it has become a labor and a dread. I have a hang-up that I won't sell it to anyone I know as I don't want to hear about it or see it again. I’ve seen former cars in terrible condition after I sold them in good condition and I have had people come back at me bitchin’ over nothing or things I had told them about.

Lee

I just checked and I do not have another spare. I won't need one for a while yet but I will remember. Gives me a chance to see you and your family again.

Lee

[RyanB]

Going back over this thread after Lee referenced it in mine. you have certainly had a slew of issues arise from it my friend. With so much work put into it, I don't know that I would get rid of it but we have all been there, getting rid of something that drained us.

btw, I also have a couple of complete drum to drum ball joint beams should you still need one.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Thanks Ryan, we'll see about the beams; right now everything is on hold.

Some of the problems were mine as I was doing the newbie stuff but part of it was than &%$*'n seam in the center of the long side. It took me a while to figure that it wasn't all me and my crappy welding. I have since talked to the guy who gets me my tubing and he said it comes from the supplier/source either way. Ask for the seam on the bottom or top is my opinion based on working with both.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Its been a while since I have worked on this. I had to figure out how I wanted to mount the gas pedal as it had to be tipped at an angle to fit the room that was left for it and still pick up the throttle cable tube in the tunnel. With it having to be tipped to miss the after market pedal assembly if I tried to bolt the pedal down onto a block then the bolt head and nut would be deflected which is not good. I may have been able to make some tapered fasteners or a wedge shaped spacer which may have worked. I think I need to lift the pedal a bit so a formed block sounds like it is going to be the way to go.

I went out and ordered a "nutsert" (one of many names for a pull/pop rivet type of threaded fastener/insert) kit today. The max thickness they will work on is 1/4" and they are made from AL. The threaded insert should be more than strong enough to handle a throttle pedal and tubing clamps to the tunnel. Another fun toy and fun thing to make.

The throttle pedal problem has to be finalized and in before I can attack hydraulic brake and clutch lines through the firewall and down the tunnel.

Lee