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'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build
- Thread starter Greg72
- Start date
This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
K20Chevrolet
1/2 ton status
2014.11.24 - UPDATE! - HEAVY METAL MADNESS....!!!!
I tried.
Over the last few days I tried to come up with a design for my tapered rockslider mounts that would allow me to reuse the 2" x .500" wall material that I already own, but every time I drew up a design the taper was too shallow, or too thin at one end, and the massive center hole was going to require me to use ridiculously large (and expensive) bolts to clamp them to the underbody structure.
I decided to just bite the bullet (I'll save money in the build somewhere else!
) and just buy the correct materials for the job.
2" SOLID ROUND BAR, and 1-3/4" SOLID ROUND BAR...
It all seems funny, until you try to lift them....or put them in a small "loaner car" from the dealership, or cut them into smaller, more useable chunks with a regular 4-1/2" cutoff wheel.
I guess I'll save THAT project for another day.
In the meantime, I wanted to get back to the white wheel / hubcap project anyway.....
You will recall that the trip to the CNC machine was pretty successful except for the flanged areas of the pressed center. There were a LOT of pockmarks and I just wasn't satisfied with the quality of the finished product. So I spent about an hour carefully tack welding all the little craters and then dressing them down again with a flapwheel until a had a much smoother and nicer end-product....
The flapwheel (NOT flapdisc) did a really nice job of smoothing the surface in a uniform way, and also helped with all the transitions from the flange into those tight radiused areas on either side. Less obvious is the fact that when you build up the flanges, you also need to create a new front curve transition, since the area that "tucks" gently into the outer wheel rim, now has an obvious welded step on it. By working that area carefully, the new curve was revealed and it looks totally factory!
I gently pressed the two halves together and stood back to take a look...
No visible shim stock anymore....no visible welds, no clues that I'd ever messed with those centers at all......NICE.
The first wheel was a huge learning experience, and the strategy of simply tack-welding the flanges to build up the height ended up being a very poor idea. Live and learn.
For the remaining 4 wheels, I decided to use a more conventional strategy... cut out small strips of 1/8" metal for each flange, and drill a bunch of holes in them (for rosettes) and with a combination of clamping, hammering and bending the plates should fit up REALLY tight and give me plenty of material to work with and machine-down to the final dimension that is needed.
There is a significant amount of prep work that goes into getting the wheel centers ready for this next step.
1. Clean the center bore of all rust / paint.
2. Drill out the 12 old rivet holes oversized to remove all traces of rust
3. Flapwheel the flange areas and adjacent areas of paint
4. Clean the inside flange areas in preparation for welding
With all that prep work complete, it was time to cut out some 1/8" strips and spend some quality time standing in front of the drill press!
Here's a shot of the plate design that I ended up with.
This gives me ample areas to clamp the steel down tightly and good areas for plug-welds to lock it in place and work my way across the part. A little bit of hammering as I work along the part helps to remove any daylight between the two parts, and once those top-side plug welds are complete the center is flipped over and the three large rivet holes are puddled-in as well.... as a final touch, the part is completely perimeter welded so that all the end seams are sealed up and melted together.
Here's just a sample of the work in progress...
If I'm being honest... it's a LOT more hours than I honestly thought I'd be spending on a custom wheel. By the end of last night, I only had two centers completed of the four. So I guess I know what I'll be working on this evening.
-G
I tried.
Over the last few days I tried to come up with a design for my tapered rockslider mounts that would allow me to reuse the 2" x .500" wall material that I already own, but every time I drew up a design the taper was too shallow, or too thin at one end, and the massive center hole was going to require me to use ridiculously large (and expensive) bolts to clamp them to the underbody structure.
I decided to just bite the bullet (I'll save money in the build somewhere else!
) and just buy the correct materials for the job.2" SOLID ROUND BAR, and 1-3/4" SOLID ROUND BAR...
It all seems funny, until you try to lift them....or put them in a small "loaner car" from the dealership, or cut them into smaller, more useable chunks with a regular 4-1/2" cutoff wheel.
I guess I'll save THAT project for another day.
In the meantime, I wanted to get back to the white wheel / hubcap project anyway.....
You will recall that the trip to the CNC machine was pretty successful except for the flanged areas of the pressed center. There were a LOT of pockmarks and I just wasn't satisfied with the quality of the finished product. So I spent about an hour carefully tack welding all the little craters and then dressing them down again with a flapwheel until a had a much smoother and nicer end-product....
The flapwheel (NOT flapdisc) did a really nice job of smoothing the surface in a uniform way, and also helped with all the transitions from the flange into those tight radiused areas on either side. Less obvious is the fact that when you build up the flanges, you also need to create a new front curve transition, since the area that "tucks" gently into the outer wheel rim, now has an obvious welded step on it. By working that area carefully, the new curve was revealed and it looks totally factory!
I gently pressed the two halves together and stood back to take a look...
No visible shim stock anymore....no visible welds, no clues that I'd ever messed with those centers at all......NICE.
The first wheel was a huge learning experience, and the strategy of simply tack-welding the flanges to build up the height ended up being a very poor idea. Live and learn.
For the remaining 4 wheels, I decided to use a more conventional strategy... cut out small strips of 1/8" metal for each flange, and drill a bunch of holes in them (for rosettes) and with a combination of clamping, hammering and bending the plates should fit up REALLY tight and give me plenty of material to work with and machine-down to the final dimension that is needed.
There is a significant amount of prep work that goes into getting the wheel centers ready for this next step.
1. Clean the center bore of all rust / paint.
2. Drill out the 12 old rivet holes oversized to remove all traces of rust
3. Flapwheel the flange areas and adjacent areas of paint
4. Clean the inside flange areas in preparation for welding
With all that prep work complete, it was time to cut out some 1/8" strips and spend some quality time standing in front of the drill press!
Here's a shot of the plate design that I ended up with.
This gives me ample areas to clamp the steel down tightly and good areas for plug-welds to lock it in place and work my way across the part. A little bit of hammering as I work along the part helps to remove any daylight between the two parts, and once those top-side plug welds are complete the center is flipped over and the three large rivet holes are puddled-in as well.... as a final touch, the part is completely perimeter welded so that all the end seams are sealed up and melted together.
Here's just a sample of the work in progress...
If I'm being honest... it's a LOT more hours than I honestly thought I'd be spending on a custom wheel. By the end of last night, I only had two centers completed of the four. So I guess I know what I'll be working on this evening.
-G
They will look a lot more stock than they are!
How much does one wheel weigh when done?
How much does one wheel weigh when done?
Your commitment to fawesome truly knows no bounds!
Thanks Sean,
It's not easy taking everything to "near-retarded levels of awesome".... The hours involved get a bit discouraging at times. I've probably got 15 hours in this wheel project already and at least 30 more before they are completed.
Visually though, this wheel swap is going to make a huge difference and will really be transform the look of this whole project. It will give it the more "retro" look that I really want to achieve.
-G
For sure! I'm just impressed you're sticking with your plan and not cutting any corners along the way. It's going to be an incredible rig when you're done! (already is obviously)
2014.11.24 - UPDATE! - HEAVY METAL MADNESS....!!!!
I tried.
Over the last few days I tried to come up with a design for my tapered rockslider mounts that would allow me to reuse the 2" x .500" wall material that I already own, but every time I drew up a design the taper was too shallow, or too thin at one end, and the massive center hole was going to require me to use ridiculously large (and expensive) bolts to clamp them to the underbody structure.
I decided to just bite the bullet (I'll save money in the build somewhere else!
2" SOLID ROUND BAR, and 1-3/4" SOLID ROUND BAR...
It all seems funny, until you try to lift them....or put them in a small "loaner car" from the dealership, or cut them into smaller, more useable chunks with a regular 4-1/2" cutoff wheel.
I guess I'll save THAT project for another day.
-G
small horizontal bandsaw man!.. set it and walk away for 1hour, come back and it will be cut nice and straight.. i know your tight on space, but i absolutely dread thinking about you cutting that,, we did that once, never again.
didn't want to say anything..
my saw would eat that up, while I sat in my chair with a neer...
my saw would eat that up, while I sat in my chair with a neer...
didn't want to say anything..
my saw would eat that up, while I sat in my chair with a neer...
Lol
I bought a special Sawzall blade yesterday.... It will have to do.
Ain't no way I'm buying a horizontal bandsaw this late in the game.
-G
Lol
I bought a special Sawzall blade yesterday.... It will have to do.
Ain't no way I'm buying a horizontal bandsaw this late in the game.
-G
This late??
You still have three years left....
This late??
You still have three years left....
Dood, you know that I finished this project 6 years ago...and I've just been sandbagging my status and photos!
-G
Oh yeah, I fergot.. Sorry
You never did get back to me.... Did Charlie make the high school varsity bball team, or not?
You never did get back to me.... Did Charlie make the high school varsity bball team, or not?
Because everything about this blazer just screams "retro" so far ha ha ha.
Laugh all you want SuperDave....
When this truck is painted, and sitting on white steelies & hubcaps, MOST of the really "trick" stuff is going to be subtle and hidden to 99% of the people who look at it.
The massive skid plate underneath is going to completely hide almost everything going on underneath as well.
Stay tuned, you'll see I'm right about this.
-G
So ............ your adding more weight with a skid plate ?
They do use that cutting board stuff ya know
They do use that cutting board stuff ya know
So ............ your adding more weight with a skid plate ?
They do use that cutting board stuff ya know
I'll probably just buy a 4'x8' sheet of titanium to save weight.
-G
funny as that sounds it would not shock me at all
Shouldn't cost you more than say...the purchase price of the blazer and current money invested so far, so how much is that again?
Shouldn't cost you more than say...the purchase price of the blazer and current money invested so far, so how much is that again?
Less than 6-figures....
-G
