The Wanderers build

[superbuickguy]

now with the bend correct for the truck....

tack

then weld using a backing plate

make a channel to repair the rocker

now that it's welded, time to fill the last hole

last piece

and driver's side done

and, of course, there's still the other side
map out the cut... think I'll do this in sections - should be less welding

opened it up and it's ugly

but still, could be worse - the supports could be gone

 

[superbuickguy]

so I'm doing 2 things to the FJ40
this one

one, hydroassist steering and second an on-board welder.

If there is interest, I'll make a few posts about those things.... I've thought seriously about doing that with this, but I have room to have a generator and a real welder. I plan on installing my viair compressors on this one - mostly because the engine compartment doesn't have a lot of room for much else (planning on house batteries being under the hood)...

so yay or nay?

 

[NevadaLover]

so I'm doing 2 things to the FJ40
this one

one, hydroassist steering and second an on-board welder.

If there is interest, I'll make a few posts about those things.... I've thought seriously about doing that with this, but I have room to have a generator and a real welder. I plan on installing my viair compressors on this one - mostly because the engine compartment doesn't have a lot of room for much else (planning on house batteries being under the hood)...

so yay or nay?

Absolutely yay!

 

[superbuickguy]

onward
chop out a too large piece to start the process

funny when you think you cut out a huge part then wonder if it was big enough when you offer it up

and it's ugly

now removed

more rusty panel removing

going to simply build a new section

removed

still pretty easy to build - though I'm now questioning the how it happened... whether it was from water thrown forward from the wheel or leaked down. I'm starting to think the leak down isn't possible due to how the toe kick is made...

thinking I may just section in a few pieces... the only problem with this part is the skin, everything under it is fine - which means it's a lot less work to just do the top

rather then section this in, just section in the upper part and do a bit of bodywork

 

[superbuickguy]

parts built, the process

the slightly lightened part

and another one

and a hole for the nut - the one that holds the nut in place in the seat... aka seat belt bolt.

some more pictures of the process for the support

install new metal where the braces were rusted

as it was left tonight

still deciding how I'm going to meld the rocker together...

 

[superbuickguy]

Part 1 of the welder series
as you know, I had the parts for a 200 amp CS130 alternator

this didn't look terrible except the stator was cooked - brushes looked new

the rotor looks new too

the new stator

to get the stator out, simply head the housing with a torch to at least 220

when you reassemble, use the rear housing as the 'press' the other reason to do this is so your field wires go through the case.

it's at this point that you need to think where you want those wires to exit (you can rotate the stator)
for mine, I want it to come out about where the rectifier/regulator plug exits

got a boatload of parts of the last several days. I'm still missing the coolers, transient voltage suppressor, and the voltage regulator... no big deal, I'm also trying to find some parallel connectors and I still need to build a box to house all of this... the next installment will be that.

 

[superbuickguy]

coming soon

 

[superbuickguy]

continuing... fitting

welding

painting

next layer
weld on seat belt nut and backing plate

after an hour of fitting

and I got here... i had to rebend the rail so it fit...

oh china

 

[Mekcanix]

YOWZA you have the patience of a saint!!!! I would have so lost my marbles by now. I rebuilt the floor in a jeep xj and number of years ago it looked like a patchwork quilt, not my best work and i was hating the jeep by the end of it. Nice job

 

[superbuickguy]

weekly update
[VIDEO]
first, make it fit.... and I didn't cut enough - so there were some 'strength' patches

a couple spots to weld left on this side

trim a patch, install a patch

and the only rust on the inside (that you could see) is now patched up

 

[superbuickguy]

Onward
finish a couple welds

last metal fab for the front

the hole

easy enough to make

time to scope out the back.... how these managed to rust.. I dunno but the body mounts themselves are fine - just the sheet metal on top of the brace is messed up....

the not easy part

what I think is the 'easy' part

this... fought hard

another part I'm not sure how it managed to get this way

not sure what the fix is... the flare is supposed to have a notch for the fuel door... it's not there and apparently doesn't exist

we take time for a commercial break - cleco'd the flares on to get them out of my way and relatively safe

I like the front... the back, not convince

 

[superbuickguy]

I think it's time to start thinking about built-in systems. Things like diesel heater, pneumatic lead dispenser storage, air compressor, converters, built in water tank (I never expected how useful those could be) and extra batteries. This is coming up because I'm chopping the floor up to fix the rust and now is a great time to start building stuff in.
the fun part of all of this is it will make the eventual removable portion of the camper a lot lighter...

 

[superbuickguy]

Side project number two Hydro assist
start with a nice box from Summit racing (with a 10% coupon, of course)
from Trailgear.... 8" ram, 2" diameter

eyeball the fit using a stabilizer mount I put on the axle awhile ago

drill and tap the bar clamp to a 5/8-11 hole

remove the box from the FJ40 (or whatever saginaw-box truck you have)

watch the bleeping jeep episode how-to
keep in mind that the Jeep box is inside the frame, so if your system is on a GM truck - or my case a Scout 2 box on a fj40 frame - the hole process is mirrored
I didn't fully disassemble because 1) the box is basically new, and 2) I could clear the shavings without removing the rear cap and piston

if you hear nothing else, disassemble your steering box in a tub so that you do not lose ball bearings.

Also, you do not need to do the gyrations BJ did - once you pull the piston under the input out, you can take the cross over off then you can upend the box over your tub and the shaft with the bearings on it will fall out bringing the bearings with it.

then it's a matter of drilling and tapping the two spots on the box as detailed in the video

the trailgear kit comes with caps. USE THEM and SAVE THEM. if you ever tear a line or develop a leak - you can put these caps over the outputs and drive home normally

reinstall the box, bolt it all together, run the lines in the safest place possible (not quite finished with that but close)

 

[superbuickguy]

drove it, that was interesting
[VIDEO]I knew the travel on the cross shaft was 6" but, according to the trailgear website, dana 44 needed 8" travel. It trumped my thought....

nope, needed the 6" one. With that said, I may have just decided to put this ram on my Blazer so it's a no harm no foul (and was what got me to order the 8" one)
ah well, the new one will be here next week I'm sure... by then I should be deep in the welder

 

[superbuickguy]

picked up a bed floor... mostly for the rear cross member but I'll chop this into small pieces by the time it's all done

round 1

one of those times when the crane comes in so handy

chopped

still haven't decided how I'm going to work the cover

finished the last patch on the front

as I'm finally to the back, time to remove the rear gate

and gone

hopefully tomorrow I'll get a good start (maybe even finish) on the rear lip

if so, then seam seal, grind the welds, decide how I'm sound proofing and the level of protection/waterproofing.... seriously considering rolling the lift outside and pressure washing the complete underside then undercoat/seal. Then on the top ceramic sound proofing and raptor liner (like I did with the FJ40 - which has stood up well for 7 years and counting).