My Flip-Pac resto

[FlatBlak]

Hello all, new to forum today!:sombrero:

I picked up an old flip-pac from an Exp Portal member Bill, the one posted for sale in Corpus Christi TX. I got it back to my shop and cleaned it up a little bit as it had sat outside for 3 years or so.

It has the double rear doors and needs a lot of work but nothing I can't handle. Speaking of handle, I have to buy one along with some other parts from Flip-pac. I sent them an email...do they answer emails or respond best to phone calls?

Anyways this will be going on a 99 Frontier. I already have AAL and may add air bags later on. The short Summit AAL's give a lot of rear stiffness and it should ride pretty good with just the top. Eventually I'm sure I will have to add bags though as my "Farkles" (accessories) are accumulated.

The pass side hinge is in need of replacement as seen in the pics. Can someone elaborate on the best way to tackle this issue? I can't even figure out if the top should be open or if I can get to it from the bottom with the top closed. Also the torsion bar, will it need any preload to help lift the top from the closed position? A repair manual would be nice but I don't think they exist. Any help would be appreciated.

Everyone likes pics! :wings:

 

[haven]

Welcome to ExPo, Flatblak! Let me guess the color you'll paint the repaired camper! Nice truck, BTW.

Speaking of repairs, can you speculate about the causes of the damage to
the fiberglass top? Is there internal damage, too?

 

[MotoDave]

red87 is working on a similar project, he might have had the same issues with the main hinge:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34459

 

[bucketosudz]

Welcome!!! X2 on the truck, got any other photo's?

 

[DaveInDenver]

That's some serious rot. :-/ It'll be worth it in the end, though!

 

[BlackX]

I'll enjoy watching this restoration. Great looking Fronty BTW :Wow1:

 

[FlatBlak]

Thanks for the warm welcome!:victory:

The P.O. redid the top with some type of marine core foam/plastic and did an excellent job on it. It's super stiff and in excellent shape.

I believe the hinge or the sleeve it attaches to on the pass side rusted and eventually broke through. In the 2nd picture from the top you can see the front where it broke the fiberglass, the 4th pic down you can barely see the break. It is broken completely through and will need completely redone. I have extensive fiberglass experience so this will be a fairly easy fix. Probably just a couple hundred to do it right and 300% stronger than original. I plan to redo the original design a little bit and gain some strength from the rest of the shell vs. just the front 6-8 inches.

I was able to get the top open....by myself. It wasn't pretty but worked like a charm. Picture 2 tie downs, a 100 ft rope, a 10 ft ladder and an old pallet. lol I already started tearing into it and it's not as bad as I had expected once I got it all cleaned up and evicted the previous rodent tenant that used it as his winter condo.

The tent really needs replaced but I'm not sure I can swing the cost yet. Anyone know where to get a parts list and prices? Does FRP have this available?

The truck is basically stock believe it or not. 3" body, torsion crank, AAL, Calmini steering, 35" Xterrains, 01+ fiberglass front end, Calmini winch bumper, 01+ CC rear flares modified for full size bed and a Navarra TD hood. I'll get some more pics as soon as I can but here are a couple old ones.

When I bought it....lol

 

[Dave Bennett]

Welcome to ExPo!

Great project, truck looks good too for a Nissan :elkgrin: J/K

 

[mcm4090]

I have seen that truck on NOR. Impressive.

 

[FlatBlak]

Thanks! Not all of us have Toyota money...lol. I prefer toy's but Nissans have been very good to me. Their front end is weak but other than that they are very tough trucks. The Calmini steering bushings are shot, like everyone elses, but I plan to replace with bearings soon. Once that is sorted and new tie rod ends, BJ's I'll be ready for another 150k mi.:smiley_drive:

I have been lurking for quite some time, love your build TacoDoc as well as Red87's. His build is what sparked my purchase....along with lacking 4k for a new top.

 

[FlatBlak]

I have seen that truck on NOR. Impressive.

I remember you on there. It's been a few years, your truck is coming along very nicely! I saw Houdini's a little while ago...:Wow1:

I sold the Frontier to my friend and built a VH45 powered 300ZX. Then moved to FL and then to TX. Need a/c and the TX roads were killing the Z so we traded. Feels good to have a truck again!

 

[FlatBlak]

I was able to get quite a bit done over the past coulple days. It's still very structually sound with the exception of the steel tubes that run the length of the cap. These could be replaced with enough time and effort but I do not have as much time as I would like.

I was given a replacement hinge by the P.O. for the lower passenger side and had to take out quite a bit to get it in. The original tubing was in the way so I had to take a chunk of glass out to gain access.


Once it was in place I lubed the bolts up with anti-seize and tightened enough to hold the sleeve and existing fiberglass in place. You can barely make out the peice of the old tubing that I was able to leave in place to attach to the inside of the new tubing. It will give me a little more strength. The gap between the new tubing and the exterior panel was filled with resin after the outer layer was put in place. After this hardened I couldn't move the new sleeve no matter how hard I tried so I hope it's in it's proper place.

The front was sagging so I used my imported custom made incrementally adjustable support structure to hold it up in place.

I spend about 2 hours trying to find a local fiberglass supplier in Houston and finally gave up. There is West Marine but at 38 bucks a quart I settled on a gallon of Bondo resin from Auto Zone. I hate this resin but then again it's a friggin camper shell, my life really won't be in danger if it fails. Plus I can lay a ton of resin on it because a gallon is less than 40 bucks. I used mat but anything can be used. The rear flares on the truck have some t-shirts in them. lol Fleece works very well too because it holds a lot of resin and is super strong when set. I like to use the proper materials but I'll make do with what I have.

The drivers side had broken through where the tent poles attach so the first layer was layed. I will definately need a few more though.

 

[billith]

Flip Pac

Hey Ben, nice to see the old Flip Pac again. When I had this, in the beggining I had to replace the other hinge. The channel of steel that houses the hinge rusted out, and the pressure from the torsion bar caused it to twist and rip through the rusted metal and fiberglass. I replaced the channel and fiberglassed it in and through bolted the hinge in through the fiberglass in through the steel on the drivers side with stainless steel bolts. I finished the repair, painted the Flip Pac, and used it for about 6 months when the otherside did the same thing with the hinge, but never got around to fixing it. The hand crank I had, had the splines wear out, so I tried to get a welder to just weld the hand crank on the torsion bar, but it wouldn't hold. That is why there is weld splatter on the end. I'm pretty sure with a little finess you can grind of the splatter so a new hand crank will fit. The torsion bar is still good to use. Yes , Flip Pac does sell the tents separately. I wrote to them last year and you can buy any part they have. I have been a fiberglass tech for 23 yrs. So if you have anymore questions feel free to ask Bill. P.S. you might have to keep on the Flip Pac people, because it took me 2 times emailing them and weeks in between untill they answered me.

 

[FlatBlak]

I was wondering what that was on the splines! I thought it was an old rusty cotter pin until I couldn't break it loose. lol

Not much progress due to rain so I started on the doors. Old rotten wood and styrofoam is being replaced by foam core and fiberglass skin. Turning out ok, it'll look fine with carpet on it but it turned wavy from lack of heat to cure it. Oh well, I just have to keep reminding myself that it's a camper shell and not a masterpiece. I do like to do things right but time is a mf.

On a side note the winds in S Texas were horrendous the past couple days. Yup, the whole flip pac fell off the sawhorses it was sitting on. I couldn't find any damage to it so that's good. Appears it's stronger than I thought when I initially unloaded from the truck by myself by dragging it on the sawhorses. I got about 90% unloaded and gravity did the rest. This is not a one man job, but I'm used to working alone so...:smiley_drive:

 

[FlatBlak]

The past few days I have been finalizing the doors, erasing old rivet holes and smoothing them down. They should be done in a few more days.

I was able to get a couple more layers on the inside layed down and it's nice and strong now. Put the carpet back up and am working on the mounts.



I also erased what appears to be an old spare tire access cutout in the lower door section. Here it is in it's new location. I was hoping I could keep the tailgate for a porch when I wanted to but it doesn't look like I can without major modification to this peice. I may look into it after everythings mounted but maybe I'll just ditch it.






I also found a great use for my old bedliner. Strong and lightweight sand ladders! hehehe