Projects 28 RPU "problem child" build thread "first try at a hotrod"

Great job, I'm watching.

 

Was able to get a fair amount of stuff done since I got back home from the cavalcade of customs show in Cincinnati

Pics of show here ---- http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...om-2015-cavalcade-of-customs-so-far...958656/

Anyway had the spring re arched to get the height up and shackles in a little..




Still point down a bit more then I like but it will work for now..

Had to oval the cab holes a little since it moved out when I put the middle crossmember in



Back in business



Made up a shim to take up the extra room for the skinner column





Cut it in half so it would clamp down on the column

 

Dropped the mount about 3/4" also and angled it a bit to help clear the motor.

Worked one side shock mount up and going to finish the other today



Figured mount it on the back of the bars for a clean look instead of having 10,000 brackets. Made a two pieces to fit inside the bars



Welded them in..



Drilled and tapped



And now need to do the other side and the top

 

Those shock mounts, like everything else you've done here, are very slick. Nice work.

 

Thanks!! Glad you like it so far, like to be able to drive it in the early summer

 

Forgot to add that I swapped out the old spring plate I hacked together for one that Mike Wagner from cornfield customs cut out.

If ya need parts cut on a plasma table he does a great job on his baileigh industrial table.. Had them cut same day I sent him the drawing of them.. And best part was they were cheap!



Also turned out two mounts for the upper shock mount. Tapped and welded them into the front of the rear crossmember

 

That's some pretty welding man!

 

love this build! Keep it up!

 

great workmanship and a very nice garage your building love the heated floor

 

Thanks man! Following welders on Instagram is a good and bad.. Makes me feel bad about my welding but on the other side makes me want to learn how they do it..

Thanks!! I take that as a high compliment after seeing what you have done!!

Thanks!! Makes it nice that it's attached to the house. To be honest I have fell asleep because of and on the heated floor haha

 

Okay so been working on a few little things..

Had to shave about .010 off of the model A steering shaft to get it to fit in the later column.. Got that fit and turning and made a temp bushing out of plastic to hold the shaft in the middle..





Running through my head what I want to do for headers so I moved on to the shifter..

Turned out and milled a piece to go into the shifter that was cut off.. I bored and threaded it awhile back..







After working on the shifter itself I am going to change the mount around a bit so the shifter fits down in it instead of on the side of it..

Onto the shifter.. Beware might be to streetrod-ish but I wanted to make it and do something different. Not 100% done with it..

Bought two old clamps at an Amish auction last weekend.. Same clamps but one bar is steel and other aluminum.. Like the steel on the clamp and not the aluminum.. So hacked it apart and sacrificed it for hotrod parts.



Drew out a template of what I wanted on wood (cut one out on the bandsaw to make sure it was right size and tall enough first)... I don't have much tooling for the mill I have yet, so I figured I could put a pen in the collet to track and center the path of the bit.


Hacked it out of the old clamp and started milling the edges off. Found it pretty hard to cut 3/4" aluminum with the portable band saw. But ruffed it in with a grinder and the bandsaw then milled it where I wanted it..


Drew my lines out with a straight edge then used the pen again with the rotary table to make sure I was going straight.


End result.. Milled out 1/8" on each side which leaves me 1/2" for my next idea.. Might press some inserts in it, instead of just drilling holes in it. It would look to lokar-ish if I left them open.


Calling it quits for tonight see if I can't mess it up tomorrow..

 

Drilled the holes today.. But made some vinyl stickers for the layout and to simulate brass inserts before drilling.



Drilled the holes in it


And I guy made a good suggestion since i am planning on painting the truck satin black make black inserts instead of brass..

Made some out of some spare plastic..
Calling it quits for tonight

 

Well been working on various things on the rpu..

Added some fish plates on the step


And made some extra bed mounts for support out of some scrap square tube




Cut out some bigger gussets for the spring hangers


Made a new mount for shifter


Made an insert for the model A steering shaft since I turned it down to fit the steering u joint. Plug welded the end and also drilled hammered a pin through and welded it in to make sure it wouldn't move




Put a recess and chamfer on it for the weld to go into


Then after pinned and welded faced it off in the lathe and milled a flat spot for the set screw


NOW the issue I have is when I steer the one way the end is contacting the oil pan..


The pitman arm isn't straight when the box is centered.. Due to I have the rod ends in the middle of their threads.


My thought is extend/lengthen the steering bar so the pitman arm is straight forward.. Maybe give me enough room to clear.. Probably post the question in another thread to get more response..

 

If by "steering bar" your referencing the drag length, yes it appears too short. Pitman arm goes straight forward, (wheel's same) then measure length between pitman arm hole and steering arm hole, for overall length with tie rod ends.

Earl

 

Yeah I was meaning the drag link. I am going to pull the pitman arm back off and point in forward and measure as ya stated to do.. The box should be centered but will check again just to me sure.

 

Success on the steering arm.. The tires hit before the arm does now..





Now the drag link was left over from a previous front end kit that I bought for my 28 Tudor I had before this.. Well the drag link is 1.250 to short..

Grabbed a piece of scrap to fix that.


Did an OT truck one time and had trouble turning the bar and tore up the paint to turn it.. So I figure this would fix that issue as well as the other..

Milled the 4 flats on it first then turned it in the lathe to fit inside the bar and a 1.250" space to match the OD of the bar.. Welded and sanded down


It's midnight I quit..

 

Little more progress tonight..

Made up a piece to tie the two ends of the frame together behind the spring crossmember..

Tacked the center and removed the clamp for a torch guide.


Pretty straight forward cut it out then put a piece of flat to cover it back up.



Welded it in and set the bed back on again

 

Nice fab work!

Earl

 

Great build, I'm lovin' it!

 

Thanks guys! Been fighting the floor boards and trans cover for the past week or so plus been busy with other things.. But close enough for under the mat..

3/4" plywood I mitered the top part and ran it up on the firewall to help clear part of the bell. And bent up some angles for where they meet



This project kinda sucked.. I have no shaping machines so I only messed up 3 pieces to get one haha.. Made the curve then welded the flange on it.


Did the same thing for the top part.. Practiced tig welding it on the bottom where nobody will see it.. Gas welded some of the bottom.


And the end of that one thank god

 

Managed to get a pedal cover made up last night and screwed the pieces in.. Still need to make a clamp for the bottom of the column but that should be quick and easy.

Picked this up from watching a video from a user on here (user name is mindover) simple way to make panels with simple tools.



Piece of flat aluminum under it and hammer it down over it.

Had to hold it to drill with with a hole saw


Ruffed in


Added a zeus faster to tie the missile together, drilled all the holes and out most of the screws in..


Hoping the bends for the headers will be here by the weekend so I can get started on them.

 

Managed to get a set of headers mocked up.. Hope to get the passages cut and fully weld them up this week.

 

Tossed the fends and stuff on to see what it looked like.. Needs smaller tires or the front needs to come up a bit

 

Enjoying the build so far!

I have a few questions regarding the rear spring. I see in the shot you posted with the bed back on that the shackles are close to vertical. I am assuming the spring is not yet supporting full vehicle weight. My point is that at laden weight siting on the springs, the shackles should be at approx. 45*, with room to move with suspension travel. It looks like your spring is currently too long.

I don't know if you have done the final welding of the hangers, but if you haven't you could move them out a bit each side to get the shackles at a better position.

Please ignore me if I am see this all wrong!

BTW I like your headers. I made some similar a few years back, except I had to deal with the steering box and starter on the same side.

 

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Great work!

 

no ignoring in this thread haha.. in post 92 i think with the bed back on it, it has the almost full weight on it. motor and trans is in only thing missing is the fenders and driver. i would like that have them in a little bit more but i think they will work this way. going to see if the go down any more after driving it for awhile.

hangers are welded on now, so be easier to shorten spring..

thanks for the subscription.. sorry i dont have any fancy fold out posters or centerfolds to go along with your subscription

 

Ok, carry on.

 

Ok been a little busy with other things and working on my OT truck... Anyway here are a few things I have been able to get done lately..

Had taken off the 600x16s and went to a 500/525 and it was just to small i thought..


For fun (and practice) I attempted to make a shifter knob.. Had some round aluminum that we had left over from a solid honda three wheeler fork we had made a long time ago.. And on the left is what I ended up with..


Cut the stem I used to hold it in the lathe off and will use it for a locknut... Not really "traditional" but it's better the. Buying a lokar I think..


Wanted a little more room to get my feet in so I figured I would round the edges of the seat pan



And why not drill some holes in it while it's out


Moved it into the house part of the garage so I can get the f1 out easier and still have room to work on it in this spot..


That's all for now..

 

have no idea why its not showing the one picture in the thread like its supposed to but here is a pic of the 550s on the front.. i think i will run these

 

This is looking just great, keep up the excellent work.