Those fishmouth's on the tube ends look pretty awesome. What are you using?
CK5
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‘82 GMC “Junkyard JIMMY” {Build bash Rebuild}
- Thread starter pblaze725
- Start date
That Santa Cruz sign is sweet!
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not a pro cage builder either but I think it's already in a triangular shape.
The upper tube connects the top of the B down to the floor plate in the bed, and the kicker supports it where it's bent so it can't crush downward without tearing out the other node points.
Thanks for noticing. I put a ton of effort into it.
I invested $40 on the harbor freight tube notcher and a 1.75" hole saw.
First I tweaked the notcher so the cuts were centered. Then cut a few sample pieces.
Before long I could notch 2 pieces at once!
Just kidding. That's a poser shot.
Most of the time I use the edge of the trailer to lay out where I want the notch.
I used a little sample piece and the magic blue sharpie to mark it out.
On a simple 90 degree notch I can rough cut it on the notcher but then use the soft disk grinder to clean it up.
Wow, props to the HF notcher!
Looks awesome dude!
A tip for notching, is cut the tube to the ends or even just in a little from your radius marks.
It wont give you as pretty of a notch, but it doesn't end with the thin little points that you weld and really dont get into the beef of the tube.
If you have flat spots instead of points, and the flat spots are the full thickness of the tube, it will get your weld to bite into the beef.
Doesnt look as nice when laying it all out. But once you weld it, you wont even notice. Plus you get a stronger joint. Oh and you wont need to notch through as much tubing, saving time, and hole saws, and notcher life.
A tip for notching, is cut the tube to the ends or even just in a little from your radius marks.
It wont give you as pretty of a notch, but it doesn't end with the thin little points that you weld and really dont get into the beef of the tube.
If you have flat spots instead of points, and the flat spots are the full thickness of the tube, it will get your weld to bite into the beef.
Doesnt look as nice when laying it all out. But once you weld it, you wont even notice. Plus you get a stronger joint. Oh and you wont need to notch through as much tubing, saving time, and hole saws, and notcher life.
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Go to the 3 min mark, and thats what I meant.
No problem.
Its so much better not having to peel out half the chunk because the saw is bottoming out early.
I've been putting in a few hours here and there and finally got to the point where I'm putting the cage back in for the last time.
I have the cage broke down into 2 pieces.
I will weld the final joints in place and after that it would take a sawzall to get it back out.
I had this idea for a kewl shot of the side view of the cage. I guess I should have lifted the rear end of the cage to make it all line up but I got excited about getting it installed.
Front view, I called Deuding and had him cut me some dimples for the windshield corners.
Back view
And then...
I pretty much muscled it this far, then I broke out the engine hoist and ram rodded it back in place.
Thunder and lightening and then a storm followed minutes later. I got it all back in the garage just in time.
Getting ready for Dunefest!!
I have the cage broke down into 2 pieces.
I will weld the final joints in place and after that it would take a sawzall to get it back out.
I had this idea for a kewl shot of the side view of the cage. I guess I should have lifted the rear end of the cage to make it all line up but I got excited about getting it installed. Front view, I called Deuding and had him cut me some dimples for the windshield corners.
Back view
And then...
I pretty much muscled it this far, then I broke out the engine hoist and ram rodded it back in place.
Thunder and lightening and then a storm followed minutes later. I got it all back in the garage just in time.
Getting ready for Dunefest!!
More pics....
Blue tape shows how I was planning the cab section of the cage.
I popped in a few tubes to make the roof section.
A few more for the windshield framing.
I decided I didn't want the big V in the windshield so I called Deuding.
Deuling Designs sent me dimpled triangles.
On the driver side top you can see the stamp.
Tube stuff.
Weld stuff.
I like it.
The bossman supervised as I installed the windshield.
Test fit. Car seat fits,. Plenty of headroom.
I wanted to triangulate the roof section a little more, so I used some leftover tubes to connect the nodes.
I added a few more tubes to support the kicker tube Bend to the C pillar.
The wife said I Had to make the lower door tube as low as possible. This is what I came up with.
The view from the back.
The bossman turned 9 months. He's awesome!
Inpulled the cage so I could weld the hard to reach spots.
Then came the Ryoken Green.
My shop was stuffed to the gills. It's been raining everyday so I decided to drop some tarp and start spraying the rear section.
I can't wait to get this done so I can get my shop cleaned up!
Blue tape shows how I was planning the cab section of the cage.
I popped in a few tubes to make the roof section.
A few more for the windshield framing.
I decided I didn't want the big V in the windshield so I called Deuding.
Deuling Designs sent me dimpled triangles.
On the driver side top you can see the stamp.
Tube stuff.
Weld stuff.
I like it.
The bossman supervised as I installed the windshield.
Test fit. Car seat fits,. Plenty of headroom.
I wanted to triangulate the roof section a little more, so I used some leftover tubes to connect the nodes. I added a few more tubes to support the kicker tube Bend to the C pillar.
The wife said I Had to make the lower door tube as low as possible. This is what I came up with.
The view from the back.
The bossman turned 9 months. He's awesome!
Inpulled the cage so I could weld the hard to reach spots.
Then came the Ryoken Green.
My shop was stuffed to the gills. It's been raining everyday so I decided to drop some tarp and start spraying the rear section.
I can't wait to get this done so I can get my shop cleaned up!
Looks good dude!
Man, that looks real good!
Awesome job Paul, looks great. Glad to see the Bossman approves as well.
Great looking cage!
Do you have any more pics of where the "A" pillar legs go thru the dash? Some pics show the dash shell still there bu it looks like you might have cut away the ends for leg clearance - yes / no? If yes, do you plan to weld those pieces back in or will it survive without them? Did you cut only what's covered by the dash trim or all the way thru the cosmetic lower parts?
I'm really struggling with a good / easily accessible way to tie those legs to the side cowl panels but the dash shell is all in the way.
Do you have any more pics of where the "A" pillar legs go thru the dash? Some pics show the dash shell still there bu it looks like you might have cut away the ends for leg clearance - yes / no? If yes, do you plan to weld those pieces back in or will it survive without them? Did you cut only what's covered by the dash trim or all the way thru the cosmetic lower parts?
I'm really struggling with a good / easily accessible way to tie those legs to the side cowl panels but the dash shell is all in the way.
I will take more pics as the dash work progresses.
The dash shell has bolts on the sides. I cut the smallest amount possible to remove it so it would take very little metal magic to get it back in place.
I got the cage plates all bolted down, lined up the points and burned it.
The dash view from the back. The main dash shell is still in place I only cut out a minimal amount.
I managed to keep the parking brake. And spent a little time cleaning up the shitty wiring.
The dash shell bolts to the sidewall. You can see where I left the bolt in place for when I put it back.
Top windshield bar landed above the rear view mirror
4 connections at the B pillar make this more of a perminate commitment.
I got some fancy LED's for the dash lights.
On the passenger side I didn't have room for the vacuum actuator for the vent door, so I used a bucket handle to convert it to manual.
This side too has the bolt in place waiting for the dash shell to be installed.
Then I enjoyed one of my all grain Homebrew stouts.
The dash view from the back. The main dash shell is still in place I only cut out a minimal amount.
I managed to keep the parking brake. And spent a little time cleaning up the shitty wiring.
The dash shell bolts to the sidewall. You can see where I left the bolt in place for when I put it back.
Top windshield bar landed above the rear view mirror
4 connections at the B pillar make this more of a perminate commitment.
I got some fancy LED's for the dash lights.
On the passenger side I didn't have room for the vacuum actuator for the vent door, so I used a bucket handle to convert it to manual.
This side too has the bolt in place waiting for the dash shell to be installed.
Then I enjoyed one of my all grain Homebrew stouts.
That stout looks good!
Oh , and the cage too...
Oh , and the cage too...
Thanks. It is really good.I have 21lbs of grain in a 5 gallon batch. It's a hybrid Marris otter/ US 2 row.
I hopped it with cluster, centennial, and horizon.
Pitched with London Ale & backed up with US05
OG 1.070
FG 1.011
ABV 7.74%
That sounds delicious.
