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71K5 - BP71K5's Just for fun build

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Update: 01/22/12- Rocker cover repair.

This rocker was crunched more seriously that I initially thought. Note backside of the welds from my initial floor repair are rusty. I'll definately need to clean all that up and protect it. Also, the inner flat wall is crunched almost 90% of the way up.

windshield002.jpg



Some careful hammering, and tweaking with a masonry hammer which turned out to be pretty useful in reaching back there to push the metal back out. Still not 100%, but it's close enough for now.

windshield009.jpg


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Then it was on to address the door gaps.
Here's the passenger side. It's actually pretty good. I guess the rocker crash bent the body up a bit some and close the gap.
windshield005.jpg


Here's the drivers. Note the top of the vent window is crashing into the windshield.
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By my estimation with how the hardtop needing about 1/2" more room to fit correctly, I determined that the top of the windshield needs to move 1/2" forward. I had to use very complicated math to come up with that figure. :haha: I marked the existing location of the windshield with my trusty plumb bob.
windshield012.jpg


And I created this door hinge spreader that can adapt to my porta power tool. I just welded some square tube to an old door hinge along with a fat washer on the other end with a hol big enough for the end the hydraulic tool. I was worried that the windshield would be really difficult to move, but it was not a problem at all, the thing tilted foward 1/2" with not much resistance at all.
windshield014.jpg


And here's the shot it moved forward 1/2". When I released the pressure, it even stays about 1/4" forward of where it started. Now I just need to figure out how to brace it there when I take the jack out to do the other side.:thinking:
windshield011.jpg
 
Brian,

Check out VTBlazer's cowl solution if you haven't already... He used a simple kicker tube off the a-pillar that wedged into the footwell crease of the cowl area. It triangulated and stiffened the cowl substantially and prevented it from tilting back like your is trying to do.

-G
 
Actually, I meant that I need to find a way to temporarily brace it without the hydraulics so I move the jack to the other side and then fabricate the actual bracing brackets. Similar to VT's but coming from the engine bay side of the firewall instead.


-Brian
 
Update 01/26/12 - parts have arrived

Have to do some chores first, but I hope to have a few minutes to cut some spot welds off and maybe even prep some of this new metal. I have no specific use for all the angled tabs yet, but they are so inexpensive that I got some to have on hand rather than spending precious time cutting my own.

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That's some 2x4x.120 wall tube, some 3/16" plate, some staked cage plates, and various angle gussets.

-Brian
 
First order of business was cutting the factory pinch weld on the rocker off. Its really fragile and gets in the way of my slider plans.

DSC_0044.jpg


Cut the support at the back of the rocker and the front body mount to make room for some nice 3/16" plate steel that will accept some weldnuts and allow me to tie in some structural elements to it. It will need to be clearanced at the top so it tucks up flush with the bottom of where the pinch weld was.

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-Brian
 
Update: 02/12/2012

Did a final test fit on the 3/16" plate I'm using to attach the new sliders to and stitched it in just a bit to hold it in place. It'll get a full perimiter weld before it's all done to prevent anything getting behind the plate. You might be able to see how I'm replacing the thin metal fender attachment near the four bolts area. The thin sheetmetal was already cracked in one spot even though the new metal is only a couple years old now.
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This plate has a couple weld-nuts that are inside and has some holes at both ends that will allow me to bolt the slider-rocker-cage reinforcement assembly to it.
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Very simple cage plate up on the firewall...nothing fancy.
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In the picture above, you can see the end of some 1.75" DOM tube that will attach to that plate.

The other end of that tube is here. I need to massage the air vent behind the dash so this tube will run parallel to the winddhield frame about 1/2" away, but as you can see it's hitting up at the top right now. It's looking like a tube bender would be useful right now. I should have just bought one earlier.
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Did some cardboard bracket concepts and settled on this one. Cut it out of some 5" wide x .250" steel plate. It's about 14" long.
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And finally a clamped together test fitting on what the plan is so far. The 2x4 tube will perform double-duty as a slider and tie back into the cage through the plates on the firewall. I am essentially trading a big thin-walled rocker box for a smaller thicker-wall rocker that should hold the windshield frame in place better than the stock rocker as well as tie-ing into the cage.
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That's about it for a week or two.
 
Lookin good man! Are you just using the one piece of 1/4" or are you doing another one on the outside? That would be hella-strong, not that the single side won't be...
 
Z71paramedic said:
Lookin good man! Are you just using the one piece of 1/4" or are you doing another one on the outside? That would be hella-strong, not that the single side won't be...
Click to expand...

It's getting another one on the other side as well as something to tie them both together. The plan is also to leave a spot for a future engine cage or shock hoops once the current setup gets boring or I find an LS motor for an appropriate price.
 
Update: 02/18/2012

I realized that before I got too crazy with cutting a bunch of metal, I should actually check my door fitment to make sure it was ok.

So I bolted down the big 2x4 to the rocker "plate" I stitched in earlier. Then I welded up the bracket to see if the firewall would be able to resist the urge to sag back into position once I took the door brace off.
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I welded up the perimeter of the joint as well as used a few plug welds for good measure.
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Then I released the door brace and watched the firewall slowly creep back just a bit and settle right here. The windshield frame is now sitting about 3/8" forward of where I started.
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I think I can get it to sit a bit farther forward if needed but this photo seems to confirm that's not necessary. The door gap is just about right. I did need to shim the door catch forward just a bit to clear the door latche's now 3/8" more forward position. The factory assembly manual shows the use of shims here so I have to assume it's ok.
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Up next is to tie the other end of that 2x4 into the body and the underside of the B-pillar cage plates.


-Brian
 
Update 02/23/12:

Went ahead and started to duplicate the previous mods on the passenger side. I've been sick with the flu for a couple days so I wasn't able to work on it full speed. I decided rather than try to bend that inner wall flat again that I'd cut out the crushed part, flatten the piece with a hammer and then use it as a template for a new flat section to weld back in.

90% of it had to come out
rockers009.jpg


Here's the piece set back up there after it was hammered flat. Notice the 3/8" gap in the middle where it's not lining up as expected. I was stumped on that for a while.

rockers010.jpg


It turns out the outer rocker was pushed up about that much during my collision with the boulder. Since all the structure was removed in there, all it took was a few good hits with a straight 2x4 and a sledge to straighten it out.

And here's the first pass after welding and surface grinding. I patched it using three separate pieces so I could use my little sheet-metal welding clamps on the outer two and still get the little backer bar out, then just laid the center piece in by hand.
rockers019.jpg






-Brian
 
Semi-update: I took my kids over to the truck and jeep fest today...it was free and a good excuse to take the train up to San Mateo since the kids love the train.

I was presented with a pretty good deal on some 37" tires that I couldn't resist. I had been looking for some in a 17" size and these were 18" so I figured...it's only an inch bigger so how hard can it be to find wheels, it's not like they're 20's right!

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/images/products/baja_atz_trad.jpg

My problem is that lots of the 18" wheels are the "rockstar" goofy wheels that are $200/each. Can anyone recommend an 18" 8-lug wheel that's a basic round wheel without fake beadlocks or spider web emblems machined into them? I kinda like the Mickey Thompson classic wheel style but those stop at 17" it seems.
 
The M/T classic II's are available in 18x9 and the Classic Locks are available in 18x10. Eagle makes there 164 series in an 18x9 also. I believe all are under $200.00
 
Those procomps are decent enough. That'll probably be the option I go with. The extreme classics don't seem to be listed anywhere in an 18. Do you have a link?
 
There are places that will make you a steel wheel in any size/width you want.

Not thinking Stockton Wheel (too many complaints from what I've seen) but there is at least one other company that does the same type of work. I always thought a set of stock-looking white steelies with factory hubcaps would look killer with larger, modern tires. :waytogo:

-G
 
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