"ugly jeep reabuild" part one

[welchct]

Some of you guys asked in a another post to see what I have been up to on my "UGLY" jeep so I took the liberty to post a few pix of what I have done so far.

sorry for the poor picture quality.:(

I have cut just about every thing but the main cage section off. and am going to cut it off too so that I can raise it 4 inches.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8754/im000747a6mp.jpg
here you can see the front is gone and body narrowed, also the trany cooler and radiator hoses are just temporary so i can safely move it around
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8118/im0007466zb.jpg
boat sides to come! also where the cage is tied to the frame.
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/5097/im0007473jm.jpg
and a few pix of the new dash. I think it is coming well. I am going to paint it cause the brushed aluminum is way to bright out in the sun. I also made it into four panels so that I can just take out the one I need too. they are all zused for coolness
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/1571/im0007486on.jpg
top
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/5323/im0007408cr.jpg
I have a set of phantom gages going in (not pictured)
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/387/im000739a0jd.jpg


enjoy and please give me only Constructive criticism, no flaming.;)

[Elkchaser1973wag]

Like the Dash very cool. Keep the pics coming and good luck with the project.

[rustywagoneers_com]

you should probably add some gussets, or triangulation to the slider supports, to keep them from 'trapezoiding' back as you drag them over stuff... also, the material (assuming decent wall thickness) should be fine, but you will want more weld area, and maybe turn the heat up a bit more, the welds look a little cold... or maybe you are double/ triple passing? anyway, more weld area...
you will also want to triangulate the 'B' hoop, from the spreader / shoulder bar down... (up too wouldnt hurt none)
peace
Dave
(btw, that is a better attitude for starting a thread)

[Bama Burden]

I like the dash too, think I'm going to do something similar with mine --- plain unbrushed aluminum. When you say "boat sides" are you saying that you will be welding plate over the sliders?

[welchct]

I plan in putting an x between the top of the B pillar and a V between the A pillars

and bracing the sliders back is a good idea... good call, I was thinking of using 1/4" for the boat sides is that thick enough?

Oh the welds are double pass, thats why they look crappy

[Stuka]

1/4" wall should be plenty. I have seen people go with thicker, but IMHO its just adding extra weight. 1/4 may show some of the dents and creases from hitting things, but I dont see it not holding up over all. You could go with 3/8" if you wanted a bit more. The dash looks pretty nice. I am not a welding expert by any means so I cant comment on that.

[Bama Burden]

In another thread Desert Beast says he used 3/16 but he had more bracing behind his than what I see on yours. I think 1/4 would be fine.

[Tad]

About 10 lbs per sqft for 1/4" plate.
Which I think is overkill, 3/16" is more than enough.
But if that's what you have laying around I'd use it as opposed to buying a new full sheet.

http://www.onlinemetals.com/calculator.cfm

[Sambo]

man nice work so far!;)

[78oj]

Those sliders look pretty beefy. If you're going to add 1/4" sheet to boatside it, I don't think you would need any additional bracing. As long as it's all welded properly, the sheet should give you all the lateral support you need.

[welchct]

well too late I already braced it with 1.25 chromeally. also got the rear cross member braced and the shocks mounted.

while I was testing for rub when mounting my shocks I also measured the rear suspension articulating and found I have 18" of rear travel!

[Slick Willie]

Yeah, this is a much better thread. The boat sides should be ok with 1/4", depending on the spacing of your braces. If they're spaced more than ~18", I'd say put more braces or thicker metal. We both know how hard the rocks are at Katemcy, I bent my 3/8" thick bumper on rocks out there. I guess that much force won't be transmitted to the sides, but still, bending big dents back out would not be easy. But I'm more of a better safe than sorry kinda guy.

[Bama Burden]

I would probably space more in the 12"-16" range....but that could be overkill

[krek]

We did an aluminum dash in a Mustang track car two years ago and had it powdercoated in wrinkle finish flat black... absolutely no glare at all. Going to use the same for the Wuggy and the J10 mud truck.

[welchct]

here are some more pix. my camera is crapping out and half some how deleted them selfs so I will get some more tomorrow.

any way shocks are mounted, windshield V is started and frame/x-members gusseted, also got all the frame braces done around the boat sides.




http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/6516/im0007577lx.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/981/im0007585xz.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/4328/im0007593yu.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1446/im0007566kc.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/5435/im000756b0ds.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1796/im000757a7ws.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/1934/im000758a8sw.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2798/im000759a7fl.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/55/im0007558uq.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4395/im000754a3aa.jpg

[Stuka]

You should really add some bracing above that rear shackle mount, not good to have it hanging out like that.

[welchct]

ok I'll work on that tomarow

[welchct]

got the track bar built and shackle mounts beefed up.

here is the traction bar, I think it came out very nice
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/3473/im000764a9hd.jpg
5/8 hardened steel heim, and 1" .120 wall 4130 chromo! bling bling;)
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/9342/im000766a4ba.jpg

http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/4594/im0007652jl.jpg
axle mounts are also 1" .120 wall 4130 with 3/4" grade 8 bolts
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/9537/im000763a9ty.jpg
and here are the lateral supports I put in. 1.25" 4130.
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2705/im000764b4ih.jpg
I burned a hole in this one and had to patch it back up with bugger welds.:(
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/8094/im000763b1xi.jpg
and here are the braces for the shackle mounts
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/5809/im0007642af.jpg
heres another.
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/8483/im0007631fc.jpg

I also managed to get all that done this weekend with a broken finger.
I was grinding the mounts for my hiem and the bench grinder sucked the peace in with my finger attached, spit the bracket out along with my finger nail, ripped the skin up and fractured my finger tip. all i can say is use vice grips when grinding small objects... oh and oouuuch!:eek:

[Stuka]

The track bar you have would be fine for drag racing, but it will not allow the axle to articulate with the way the front mount is. It needs to be on a shackle so that it can move forward and back as the axle goes through its motions. You will find now that if you try to jackup that half of the axle, that it will bind up.

[Desert Beast]

might want to do some research on track bar design before you run that.

and please atleast tell me that track bar is made out of more than .120 wall.

[Merc69]

Refere to what Stuka and DB said about the trac-bar design...there will be no flex with that design.

Also you need to work on your welding. All your welds look cold. On 1/4" steel you need at least 175 to 250 amps depending on wire, joint design and other factors.

On your knotched crossmember you gussetted the corners of the cut out but should have not made sharp corner cuts...think curves...they don't crack like hard corners.

What type of bender are you using...there appears to be some crushing of the bends.

Keep working on it and remember to research what others have learned and what others have found to work the best.

[Stuka]

As another side note, you should consider wire wheeling any area that you instead on welding too. If there is rust, dirt, or paint where you instend to weld, there is a chance the weld wont penetrate the metal like it should. Its also good to grind the edges of the metal you intent to weld when dealing with thick material so that the weld will have more surface area to grab onto.

[tkiller13]

I 2nd what merc69 said. What kind of welder and wire are you using. It looks like most of the welds are sitting on not pentrating. You dont wanna go to "hot" and take away metal/wall. Read the chart on your welder and then fine tune from there. Ive seen plenty of people use little machines for 1/4 and thicker, if they would read the chart it shows the welder wont even weld metal that thick...:rolleyes:. I think it is cool that you are making mods like this on your own, just need to tune your settings or get a bigger welder......As stuka said clean metal is a welders friend.

[welchct]

I have a lincon 135 and it is rated up to 1/4". I am using .30 wire and 75/25 argon. and yes i know I should grind the surfaces down. one of my biggest problems is welding thin metal to thick metal like the braces for my slider, I burned through the tube but it does not look like it penetrated that well. i know its not going any where but non the less looks bad.

also I went back and rebuilt the traction bar with shackle at the end so as not to bind. while I was at it i threaded a peace of 3/4 x .95 wall 4130 tubing into it for good measure.

I got so much f-ing small diameter 4130 it's not even funny, I wish I had some bigger stuff!

[Stuka]

Are you sure you ment to put .95 wall? Thats 31/32's of an inch thick, which is thicker than the 3/4" diameter.

[welchct]

no sorry .095

oh also forgot, I have a JD 2 model 2 or 3 don't remember, the model but its an older one.

[Desert Beast]

Are you sure you ment to put .95 wall? Thats 31/32's of an inch thick, which is thicker than the 3/4" diameter.

its magical tubing, the wall is thicker than the dia. its retardedly strong. all the race guys are using it. :D

much like some of that design must be magical, cuz it'll have to pull some David Blane **** to hold up.

[Merc69]

While the Lincoln 135 is a great little welder I would never rely on it for a proper weld on 1/4". Just not enough penetration.

"I burned through the tube but it does not look like it penetrated that well. i know its not going any where but non the less looks bad."

If you are burning through then you need to work on technique. Also if you are working on structural areas and burnng through with a 135 your fabrication is going to bend the first time you wheel this thing. You have to do more research on your materials and fabrication for this project.

As a side note...please take the time to use capital letters and punctuation where needed in your posts. This will make it easier for others to read. As for spelling do the best you can...I have a hard time spelling $hiTT with out using two t's :p

Good luck on your project

[tkiller13]

I have a lincon 135 and it is rated up to 1/4". I am using .30 wire and 75/25 argon. and yes i know I should grind the surfaces down. one of my biggest problems is welding thin metal to thick metal like the braces for my slider, I burned through the tube but it does not look like it penetrated that well. i know its not going any where but non the less looks bad.

Its been awhile since I used a 135...I dont remember it being rated for 1/4 let alone with .30 wire. My work sent my to school at the lincoln factory/ welding school and they said that machine(135) is not enough for 1/4... and no they were not trying to sell us welders or big machines. In fact when the topic miller vs lincoln did come up the teacher said if comparing same size machines get what ever you get the better price on. From my experiance welding thin to thick is weird. You have to really fine tune the machine...otherwise you burn through or you dont get good penetration on the thick metal. Now that also depends on what thicknes's you are trying to weld.... again just trying to help you out. Using a wire machine is easy to weld but it takes some knowledge to properly weld with one. There is more to it than point and shoot, tuning the machine and reading info is the hard part. I would suggest getting a good welding book and read...Keep up the work :)