Project Irene

[sellitall]

I had a pretty productive day at the shop, but no bronco progress. I scored a 2(+)'x4'x1 1/2" steel plate for $60 on good 'ole Craigslist;D.

We had a fun time getting it into my Tacoma, and I had an even better time getting it out by myself. All my friends magically disappeared, and my cousin just had major neck surgery so he is out of comission for a couple more months. Anyway, after some figuring and configuring I got the mammoth hunk of steel out of the bed of my truck.

The cart I put it on wasn't my intial plan since I had some 2.5" schedule 80 pipe and 3"x3" angle iron I was going to use, but since it fit without looking too bad I decided to burn a little wire and mend them together. It's definitely way lower than I wanted, but I can make due with a toledo style stool. The main reason I decided to go with the cart is because it's really out of square. It's about 24 1/2" wide on one end and just over 26" on the other end. I wasn't about to square it up considering the thickness of the plate.

The first youtube vid is of me figuring out how I'm going to get it out. The second is of the table on the cart. Looks good to me;D. It will definitely do what it's intended for.
[youtube]M8JDEfNi6mg[/youtube]

 

[sellitall]

I was having a little bit of trouble laying down a good bead at first. I thought it was because I've only been doing sheetmetal these last few months, but I found out my dumb a#s had a pretty good cross wind coming in the shop rendering my shielding gas pretty much useless. Take a look at the gap in the back. Yikes!!
[youtube]cZhChgN03XU[/youtube]

 

[dave67fd]

That's one heck of a chunk of steel.

Hope you were wearing your steel toes.;D

 

[sellitall]

That's one heck of a chunk of steel.

Hope you were wearing your steel toes.;D

Ha Ha!!

Here's a couple pics of the ribs my buddy smoked for my son's 1st birthday party. He has one numerous competitions in the last few years. Enjoy.

 

[dave67fd]

NICE!!!

I'm drooling over here.
Nothing like smoked ribs.

 

[sellitall]

Well it's been almost a month since my last post. 'Tis the season for graduation parties/ BBQ's and the like, BUT got to sneak up to the shop today while my wife watched after the tike. I also went to Carlisle on Friday for the Ford Nationals to pick up my core support and 1/4 panel from broncitis. He picked the 1/4 panel from Mike D for me at SC. The core support was from Drew's personal stash. Thanks again Drew!!

I got the exterior section of the 1/4 panel chemically stripped today to see where I was in terms of rot/dents. Not bad at all;D!! I was pleasantly surprised, and got it down to bare metal in less than an hour despite the 3+ coats of paint it had on it. I saw a brown color after the first coat primer was wiped off, but it was only in certain spots???? I don't think it was primer??

I also got the inner part of the DS fender blasted, but ran out of coal slag and of course the hardware store was STILL out of sand. Baby steps migs. I promise you will see it mounted on a grille one day:-[.
[youtube]9bX14Z_ASac[/youtube]

 

[half cab]

Looking good man...I been looking...Gonna be hard to get past all them ribs on the page....

 

[Stutsmo]

Your making me feel guilty for scrapping my crappy front fenders and buying new ones!..... Keep at it so I know what to fix and what not to fix on my next Build LOL!
Great job man!

 

[sellitall]

Here's a few more pics of the 1/4 and core. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to the sheet metal I need. I still have a TON of bodywork ahead of me, but it's good to mentally scratch off big dollar items you no longer have to relentlessy look for in the classifieds/ebay/CL etc.

Here's a few more pics and a couple of vids. I need to order some more spot weld cutters. Whoo hoo!!!!
[youtube]Vxvx_DbS4X0[/youtube]

 

[sellitall]

.....and the final batch. I packed up about an hour earlier than I wanted, but it was (and currently is ) going to monsoon tonight. I JUST made it home in time.

I still have to go over it agoing to get all the old paint off before doing any bodywork or putting in primer. I am also going to send it off to the media blaster to do the inside and underneath before welding in any new metal.
[youtube]k7DWsnuQ9NM[/youtube]

 

[sellitall]

Looking good man...I been looking...Gonna be hard to get past all them ribs on the page....

I know. I might have to find an excuse to host a party so my buddy can bring his smoker back to the house. He definitely has a knack for BBQ.

Your making me feel guilty for scrapping my crappy front fenders and buying new ones!..... Keep at it so I know what to fix and what not to fix on my next Build LOL!
Great job man!

Yeah it's time consuming and sometimes feels like I'm going backwards, but when you have a limited budget with a decent set of tools at your disposal the tools obviously win out.

 

[dave67fd]

Nice to see you back on it.

 

[migs]

looking good!
I took a closer look at that piece on the core support and I think I can make something up. not sure when I'll get to it though as I have a lot on my plate right now, so if you do come across one in the meantime you might want to consider it. I do need one too to finish fixing my tub so at least there is some motivation to make it.;D

 

[sellitall]

looking good!
I took a closer look at that piece on the core support and I think I can make something up. not sure when I'll get to it though as I have a lot on my plate right now, so if you do come across one in the meantime you might want to consider it. I do need one too to finish fixing my tub so at least there is some motivation to make it.;D

Sounds good!!

 

[cake61]

any interest in a 78 corvette all redone I live in Brookhaven P.
tHANKS cHARLIE 610-333-7898

 

[cake61]

any interest in a TRADE for a 78 corvette all redone I live in Brookhaven PA
tHANKS cHARLIE 610-333-7898