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19
Dec 04 - Foot boxes |
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We removed the
angled square tube from the driver's foot box and replaced
it with a piece of flat bar stock, this will give a little
more room for the driver's left foot. |
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We also added
a couple of stiffening bars to the front end and re-welded
the angle tube in front of the foot box. POR Gloss Black
is a close match for the original powder coating from FFR
- not! |
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24 Dec 04 -
Battery Box
We decided to
add a couple of braces to support the battery and to make
the battery box removable
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Here the box
is partially fastened to the frame. |
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2 Jan 05 - Bell housing
hits frame!
We test fit
the engine and transmission in preparation for enlarging
the foot boxes; we found that the housing hit the frame
on the passenger side.
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We finally got
the engine positioned so it did not hit the frame, and after
we removed it, we ground the bell housing a bit to give
a little more clearance. |
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We also cut
a notch in the brace and will weld a patch in place. We
thought that this might be better than moving the brace. |
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Here's the completed
notch ready for final finishing.
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31 Jan 05 -
Sandblasting!
I've decided
to repaint the frame since it does not look very good from
all of the welding and touch up. To remove the powder coat,
we baked the parts in the shop oven at 550 degrees until
they stopped smoking and the glossy finish dulled -- several
hours. Then we hit them with a wire wheel mounted on an
angle grinder, which easily removed most of the powder coating.
Finally we sandblasted the parts to get down in the nooks
and crannies that the wire wheel could not reach.
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These parts
will be refinished with a chrome look-alike powder coating.
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6 Feb 05 - More
Powder Coating!
Here the suspension
parts have been coated with Eastwood's Reflective Chrome
powder # 10285. Next step is a clear coat.
There are
no local chroming shops and the out of state shops we spoke
to had a long backorder wait. So we decided to go with powder
coating. The blue test panel shows the new frame color.
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We pretty much
followed the same process as before to remove the powder
coat. Char the coating with an oxy-acy torch - wire
wheel, and finally sandblast. Followed by reusing the sand
by running it through a screen. |
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19 Feb 05 - More Sandblasting!
Sandblasting
continues, here the top is finished, so we flipped the frame
on its side to start the bottom. The old powder coat has
been charred with the torch in this picture.
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Rust Shield
2000 is the reason there is no rust on the frame even though
it sits outside covered only by a trap. Biodegradable,
paintable, water based, pretty much non toxic unless you
drink it, and cheap to boot! Ten bucks a gallon at MSC.
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19 Mar 05 Frame work
Sandblasting
is finally done. Here we have welded on some additional
stiffening braces to the IRS cage. We welded 4 flat
plates to the IRS X-member and 2 square tubes on the frame
cross members just in front of the differential area. We've
also added the brackets for the driveshaft loop and rear
tie down points.
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We also
covered the large rectangular down tube openings
with thin flat stock, note the drain holes. |
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10 Apr 05 Frame Paint |
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Metal-Ready
treatment. It leaves a phosphate coating on the metal, but
most of that is rust. It rained immediately after we finished
with the Metal-Ready |
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Two coats of
Gray POR 15. The frame must be completely dry for this stuff
to stick properly. |
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One coat of
Tie-Coat Primer. Note that this really needs to cure for
at least 3 days not, two as POR recommends. It also does
need to be sanded before applying the topcoat. |
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Finally, after
4 months, the frame is done. It has 3 Coats of POR Dark
Blue Hard Nose paint on it. |
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Our spray booth.
Boatport, turned carport, turned spray booth, soon to be
enclosed in. Note the fan, it blows fresh air in, not out.
When its running, the sides puff out nicely. A NIOSH approved
respirator for organic vapor and particles. |
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The bottom line
-- never ever again. If the next one (the
next ooneee?!?)
comes
painted or powder coated I'm going to refuse the shipment
and make Stewart Transport take it back FFR. |
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30 Apr 05 Assembly
Before the frame
was painted, I welded in some steel plate around the clutch
area. The plate, and an SFI approved blanket will provide
more than enough protection for the feet.
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We started reassembling
the frame and running gear.
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I also added
a top brace to keep the front of the foot box from flexing
when the clutch is depressed.
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