Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction

[Metcalf]

They don't on my '07 Duramax classic. That might have changed with later models. The Tow/Haul lights up an icon on the dash. The tap shift is a notch down from the normal drive position, then the area where your PRND section of the dash becomes "M" and displays the individual gears and highlights which one you have selected as the highest gear it will shift to. It will still downshift, if you chose "3", but won't shift into "4".
.
Jack

Well darn, if they don't light up it isn't a big deal really. They are easy to find by touch without looking so far...

Yes. The tap shift thing is a bit interesting. There are a TON of things you can do with programming, but I think the stock control will be fine. There is suppose to be a 2nd gear start function ( maybe only in low? ) on my 2013 truck also. With low range and tow-haul options there are tons of options for different 'tables' you program how you want if you have the right software.

 

[Riley]

Seems like this is taking forever but....

Its almost been two years.......from cheap seats where we watch with awe, the fab skills of some of you, wondering if we could ever even develop a hundredth of your talents, its looking pretty good to me.

Though I have not commented I have been following with great interest the last couple of years. I sincerely think the efforts taken to share your build with us deficient in fabrication to the extreme, is simply great!

Thanks!

 

[Metcalf]

Its almost been two years.......from cheap seats where we watch with awe, the fab skills of some of you, wondering if we could ever even develop a hundredth of your talents, its looking pretty good to me.

Though I have not commented I have been following with great interest the last couple of years. I sincerely think the efforts taken to share your build with us deficient in fabrication to the extreme, is simply great!

Thanks!

Thank you for watching!

 

[RPhil]

Its almost been two years.......from cheap seats where we watch with awe, the fab skills of some of you, wondering if we could ever even develop a hundredth of your talents, its looking pretty good to me.

Though I have not commented I have been following with great interest the last couple of years. I sincerely think the efforts taken to share your build with us deficient in fabrication to the extreme, is simply great!

Thanks!

Your thoughts are echo'ed here as well.


Exciting to see this vehicle starting to morph closer into the shape of something road worthy. The lines are beautiful. Keep it up.

 

[Metcalf]

More big holes...





I was able to get the inner 'tongue' panel for the doors cut out for the matching window panel on both sides and do a test fit.

Now I need to figure out this panel adhesive thing and stick them together. Once that is done I can transfer the pin locations and work on making the mechanism that will hold them together. And a few more details....

Overall I am really digging how this door concept is coming together.

 

[locrwln]

Well darn, if they don't light up it isn't a big deal really. They are easy to find by touch without looking so far...

Yes. The tap shift thing is a bit interesting. There are a TON of things you can do with programming, but I think the stock control will be fine. There is suppose to be a 2nd gear start function ( maybe only in low? ) on my 2013 truck also. With low range and tow-haul options there are tons of options for different 'tables' you program how you want if you have the right software.

The tap shift is pretty useful with a load or offroad, but otherwise, I don't seem to use it much. I bet there are as far as programming. I haven't noticed a 2nd/low function in mine, but it was early in the feature so it may have been added in later models. I prefer it over the shifting in my '04 4Runner, that shifter is not intuitive; whereas, I find the GM one to be a natural.
.
Jack

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I have used panel bond with mixed results. I am confident that it is great for bonding panels, but the failures I've had are most likely from me not knowing what I am doing. I think the failures have been from not scratching the surface properly, but OEM's use it on new metal, so ???

Another mistake I've made is not using enough of it. That was because I didn't want it oozing out of the seam and making a mess, but I learned a trick for that: use masking tape to outline the seam and if it oozes out, smooth it with your (gloved) finger, and then peel the tape off before it flashes. It is sand-able though so if you get it everywhere, it can be removed or shaped that way.

Do you have any body shop friends? Ask them how they do it?

 

[Metcalf]

Slacking a little on updates....





I got the MAF bung welded in the intake tube.

I also started gluing the upper door panels together with some 3M panel adhesive. I ran a few tests. I was pretty happy with how the panel to panel lap joints performed. I think this stuff works great for that.

My test for bonding the tapered head fastener into a panel didn't go as well. That popped out very easily in my opinion. I just don't think there is enough surface area. I am going to plan B for that. I think I will tap the door panel directly for a shallow 3/8-16 thread and red loctite the crap out of a button head fastener. Aesthetically, that will leave a few pumps on the outside, but I don't think it will be a huge deal on this build. It may actually blend in a little better with the rear window panels I need to make.

 

[teleturns]

Rough intake layout on the #LX45 is done. Now to make some brackets to hold up everything.....without attaching anything to the fender. I still need to drill and weld in the MAF mount, but it hasn't shown up yet. Eventually I will make a duct from the cowl vent to the front of the donaldson filter. Might have to play with some fiberglass or 3d printing for that!

Can you give some more details on the filter assembly?

 

[Metcalf]

Can you give some more details on the filter assembly?

The filter is a Volant Powercore unit built by Donaldson.

http://www.volant.com/filters/powercore.aspx

I've run one on my flat fender for a few years now. Love it.

 

[Metcalf]

This is how the door works. Overall, I am pretty happy with how it functions. The stumble that I ran into is that I basically wanted a pin in the door for the knobs. I originally thought I could glue a tapered head fastener in place using panel adhesive, but that didn't work. I ended up tapping the door panel directly and threading in a fastener from the outside. When I final assemble things I will red loctite it also. The pins don't really take any load except clamping forces, but they can get banged when installing the upper door.

I may refine the details in the future, but overall I really like the concept. It only takes a few seconds to pull the upper door off. I think it will be really nice to have a 2pc hard lockable door with a glass window.

 

[Metcalf]

Looks good.
Hope with the glass assembly fitted that windowframe wont be too flexy, rattle & drive you nuts. !

Me too!

So far so good. This is all 3/16" aluminum, the same thickness you see generally on a skid-plate. It isn't really that flexible. The upper frame is double thick (3/8" total) around the window frame area. The perimeter of the door will have a D-shape bulb seal to isolate it from the body....but also give a soft reaction point just like any door.

We don't learn anything new trying the same old thing....

 

[Metcalf]

Updates....



Passenger side upper door that holds itself together now.









I needed to add something to the top of the door seal to push against on the body side. I will finish welding/brazing the seams after I blow things apart. Details. The list is getting shorter...

 

[Metcalf]

Been slacking a bit....



I finally got the bed sides mounted to the bed frame. This involved a lot of drilling and tapping. That drill/tap/contersink bit for the 1/4" impact really speeds things up when doing multiple holes.

Shop tip...





I found that you can use cheap set screws ( about 8 cents each by the bag ) as a hole transfer device. They also make pointed versions for a bit more. I use cup point and they seem to work fine for me with a sharp center punch. I used these to transfer the pattern off the bed frame to the body panel. The same idea should work for the bed floor pattern in the near future....

 

[Metcalf]

Little stuff.....



Made some diagonal gas tank straps on the bed frame and tig welded them into the frame on the top. The tank will get some closed cell foam under the straps after tear down

I also spent a lot of time under the car looking a few things....





I think these big bulky electric actuators need to be swapped out for some compact air cylinders....