Metcalf
Expedition Leader
.....but I like having ALL the airflow of the opening with it above the winch motor.
Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction
- Thread starter Metcalf
- Start date
.....but I like having ALL the airflow of the opening with it above the winch motor.
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
.....but I love cutting things up SOOOOO much
Making the front fenders still have a little 'cruiser flare to them was a challenge. Overall I am pretty happy with how that turned out.
Now, I am about sick and tired of the tall cowl/glass height on the FJ40...and CJ5+ jeep stuff too. On the next car I am just going to start with a clean sheet of paper and build it completely from scratch. The cowl and glass height will be low kinda like a Jeepster with the lower edge of the glass being very close to the upper crown of the hood. I think that makes for MUCH better visibility. I may even go back to having the wipers at the top of the glass to make this happen easier. The FJ40 is pretty tall that way for with the shape of its hood and windshield frame. Only so much you can do when working around stock parts.
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
Nice fab work, gonna hurt to crunch those
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That is why they are so small.....and don't drive by braille
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
That's the kind of nerdiness I'm talking about!
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
I just have to ruffle as many feathers as a can......upside down bezel, GM engine, automatic, Land Rover parts, dogs and cats living together!
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
Next mini-project.....fan shroud
I was able to transfer the rough outline of the fan to the chip board fin protector while it was in the vehicle.
The shroud is going to be 16 gauge steel I think. I have some of it laying around. It is a little overkill probably, but there really isn't going to be much material in this when it is all trimmed out.
Made the main ring of the shroud. I didn't have long enough material to make the full circumference, so I had to weld in another seam. Other than that it was pretty easy. I formed it around a round thing ( an igloo water cooler ), to get it close. Then welded up the last seam on both sides....
Last thing tonight was a few little angle brackets made for the top and bottom flange. I made these in my old press brake on the 20 ton HF press. These will have some weld nuts on the back to attach to the upper and lower flange on the radiator.
I should be able to hold the ring to the flanges with a cleco. Then I can double check the fit of the ring around the fan in the vehicle.
Once that is done I will make templates for the panels needed to close in the airflow to the core. Once I have those templates done, I will transfer them to metal and mark the ring for trimming. Then everything will get welded together.
I am also thinking about splitting the flange top to bottom with a set of angle flanges to allow taking it out in 2pc and/or access the fan clutch. Thoughts?
I was able to transfer the rough outline of the fan to the chip board fin protector while it was in the vehicle.
The shroud is going to be 16 gauge steel I think. I have some of it laying around. It is a little overkill probably, but there really isn't going to be much material in this when it is all trimmed out.
Made the main ring of the shroud. I didn't have long enough material to make the full circumference, so I had to weld in another seam. Other than that it was pretty easy. I formed it around a round thing ( an igloo water cooler ), to get it close. Then welded up the last seam on both sides....
Last thing tonight was a few little angle brackets made for the top and bottom flange. I made these in my old press brake on the 20 ton HF press. These will have some weld nuts on the back to attach to the upper and lower flange on the radiator.
I should be able to hold the ring to the flanges with a cleco. Then I can double check the fit of the ring around the fan in the vehicle.
Once that is done I will make templates for the panels needed to close in the airflow to the core. Once I have those templates done, I will transfer them to metal and mark the ring for trimming. Then everything will get welded together.
I am also thinking about splitting the flange top to bottom with a set of angle flanges to allow taking it out in 2pc and/or access the fan clutch. Thoughts?
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
Good progress tonight...
I was able to drill the radiator core flange for the adapter brackets, rough fab the flanges I needed, weld in nuts, trim the circle/ring, and assemble it all for mockup.
I had to sand down the weld nuts a bit to fit them in the flange. They are the same 6mm units I have been using through the build. When I am done, I should be able to remove the entire radiator assembly with a single tool.
This is how the transitions from the square to round shape will work generally. I will start on this after I test fit the ring placement around the fan in the vehicle.
Sadly I have to stop for a week while I travel for work. Boo!
I was able to drill the radiator core flange for the adapter brackets, rough fab the flanges I needed, weld in nuts, trim the circle/ring, and assemble it all for mockup.
I had to sand down the weld nuts a bit to fit them in the flange. They are the same 6mm units I have been using through the build. When I am done, I should be able to remove the entire radiator assembly with a single tool.
This is how the transitions from the square to round shape will work generally. I will start on this after I test fit the ring placement around the fan in the vehicle.
Sadly I have to stop for a week while I travel for work. Boo!
RunSupertrampRun
New member
Looking good as always, splitting the shroud seems like it'll make access down the road pretty simple.
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
Back home after a week abroad for work...
I test fit the shroud ring in the vehicle to double check the position. Everything looks pretty good. The ring might be a little long? I have about 1/3 of the fan sticking out of the shroud. It's easier to trim a little vs adding some I think.
The fit on the fan looks pretty good. I have about a finger width of clearance all the way around ( about 3/8-1/2" ). This should allow for some movement if needed, but be tight enough for good airflow.
Now for the hard part. I have to make the transition sections from the square core to the round ring. After that it done and welded I will trim the back side of the ring to the new shape.
I test fit the shroud ring in the vehicle to double check the position. Everything looks pretty good. The ring might be a little long? I have about 1/3 of the fan sticking out of the shroud. It's easier to trim a little vs adding some I think.
The fit on the fan looks pretty good. I have about a finger width of clearance all the way around ( about 3/8-1/2" ). This should allow for some movement if needed, but be tight enough for good airflow.
Now for the hard part. I have to make the transition sections from the square core to the round ring. After that it done and welded I will trim the back side of the ring to the new shape.
Stoffregen Motorsports
Explorer
Looks great. What fan is that? I thought all the fans were plastic now days.
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
Derale 17917 Heavy Duty Fan Blade Series 1000 17" Steel Clutch Fan Reverse Rotation
It fits the the GM clutch with only a few little mods.
Metcalf
Expedition Leader
Welp, get ready for round two of Photobucket destroying thousands more build threads. I was informed today that they will not renew any existing paid image hosting plans. I have been on on a paid plan for the better part of of a decade now. They are basically trying to make me upgrade to the $400yr plan as they did all the 'free' members a few months back. Any thoughts? I don't really want to fork over that much money, but I also don't want want to lose the thousands of posts of information I have typed out in my build threads.....