Big Blower.
CK5
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Mini-Vee: 1/3 scale Humvee, go kart and yard mule (now with 450HP diesel)
- Thread starter dremu
- Start date
beags86
Eastbound and Down
Leaf blower ducked taped to the carb.
The first three times, I read "Leaf blower duct tape to cab", like a Wile E Coyote rocket. Which is just as likely to make the thing go any quicker
-- A
Tesla P100D with a plywood Hummer body kit...8 second golf cart that is 'green'.
My parents visited, so my 70-something folks took a spin. Much hilarity ensued.
First, I took Dad for a spin with me driving
Then Dad took it Mom for a drive. Bit challenging to fit Dad on the driver side. Oddly Mom had an easier time
And then around they went ("watch out!") I don't think he even found the accelerator pedal though.
And the kid took it through the back 40.
"It came out better than I thought it would" was his analysis, which I hope is high praise for my engineering skill
First, I took Dad for a spin with me driving
Then Dad took it Mom for a drive. Bit challenging to fit Dad on the driver side. Oddly Mom had an easier time
And then around they went ("watch out!") I don't think he even found the accelerator pedal though.
And the kid took it through the back 40.
"It came out better than I thought it would" was his analysis, which I hope is high praise for my engineering skill
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More worklog to clear out the backlog. The sides and tailgate I did the layered thing, two sheets of 1/4" ply sandwiched. Areas of the outer layer are cut out for an embossed look. In this case, the tailgate:
Again with the Futurama, "heh heh, clamp!"
The AM General logo is 3D printed (in the correct Franklin Gothic Heavy font, gotta love them interwebs) and glued on.
Somebody here (Brian @bp71k5 maybe?) turned me on to these rubber guards for the vises, very handy when working with softer materials.
Hinges for both the trunk top and the tailgate, and it comes together
Then wood filler around the edge, and primer to hide some sins
And it looks kinda like a real one
The trunk area opens up both top and back
giving surprisingly good access to the motor and drivetrain for adjustment as required. The motor can come out the top, though you gotta twist it 90* as it comes out. Easier as a two-person job, I've found.
-- A
Again with the Futurama, "heh heh, clamp!"
The AM General logo is 3D printed (in the correct Franklin Gothic Heavy font, gotta love them interwebs) and glued on.
Somebody here (Brian @bp71k5 maybe?) turned me on to these rubber guards for the vises, very handy when working with softer materials.
Hinges for both the trunk top and the tailgate, and it comes together
Then wood filler around the edge, and primer to hide some sins
And it looks kinda like a real one
The trunk area opens up both top and back
giving surprisingly good access to the motor and drivetrain for adjustment as required. The motor can come out the top, though you gotta twist it 90* as it comes out. Easier as a two-person job, I've found.
-- A
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Last major fabrication was the rear bumper. Shackles again, and a 1.25" receiver hitch. Obviously real towing is out of the question, but pulls our garden trailer, drags the mini-backhoe's bucket, and even tugs the Blazer's dolly around empty. All of this saves my back; I just love receiver hitches. They're so modular, come in handy at the oddest times.
Long chunk of 1/4" bar and the various accoutrements:
and shaped and welded onto the frame rails
the shackle tab came out decent, I think, pretty sure the frame will tear apart before the tab comes off
Overkill? What overkill?
Long chunk of 1/4" bar and the various accoutrements:
and shaped and welded onto the frame rails
the shackle tab came out decent, I think, pretty sure the frame will tear apart before the tab comes off
Overkill? What overkill?
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The final big piece on the body is the windshield. Frame is mostly 2x2, aka 1.5" square lumber. I hate dimensional lumber where the numbers are less related to size than pipe, and pipe is cryptic at best.
The pillars (I'd say "A pillars, but they're the ONLY pillars
) go all the way to the floor, so are fairly triangulated. It still flexes more than I'd like and has cracked a little, so I stenciled these on top as a reminder that the windshield frame is nicht fer gefingerpoken.
The round corners were hard, since you can't put a wooden 2x2 in the bender. These are 3D printed, lap joints included, out of a "wood" filament that's akin to plastic wood putty. It sands and paints like wood, but comes out of the printer. And mostly glues like wood, but as above, takes a lot of clamping to align Just So.
With the windshield frame set, I unscrewed all the body panels, glued them together and rescrewed where possible. It took I think three days to get the wood glue out of parts of my body where wood glue should not be. My wife is very understanding of my hobby, but still, she should not be finding Elmer's in my skivvies, you know?
That's the tub glued, separated from the frame.
The pillars (I'd say "A pillars, but they're the ONLY pillars
) go all the way to the floor, so are fairly triangulated. It still flexes more than I'd like and has cracked a little, so I stenciled these on top as a reminder that the windshield frame is nicht fer gefingerpoken.
The round corners were hard, since you can't put a wooden 2x2 in the bender. These are 3D printed, lap joints included, out of a "wood" filament that's akin to plastic wood putty. It sands and paints like wood, but comes out of the printer. And mostly glues like wood, but as above, takes a lot of clamping to align Just So.
With the windshield frame set, I unscrewed all the body panels, glued them together and rescrewed where possible. It took I think three days to get the wood glue out of parts of my body where wood glue should not be. My wife is very understanding of my hobby, but still, she should not be finding Elmer's in my skivvies, you know?
That's the tub glued, separated from the frame.
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Speaking of the very understanding wife, she ventured into the shop and helped me move the frame to the welding table, so I could finish weld and paint it
then drop the thing back down again and start reassembling it
It's actually smaller than it looks, even next to the Blazer
then drop the thing back down again and start reassembling it
It's actually smaller than it looks, even next to the Blazer
Then it's paint booth time. Sooooo much paint. The accessories get done, that's easy, they're all small
Brush guard and steering column and brackets
door and tailgate hardware, left; seat mounts, middle, and motor and pedal mounts, right.
But the tub is surprisingly big. Underneath was brush primered for better coverage
and then prime and single-color the bottom and the inside, for dirt and rot protection. Because, you know, wood.
Nice warm day, wore a short sleeve shirt, and got so much rattlecan propellant on my arms that the hair felt like it had been hairsprayed. With shellac.
Next time, wear a longsleeve and bake, dammit!
My lovely wife set foot in the shop again (likely a record, as she rarely gets near it) and we set the body back on the frame, so I could then mask off and paint
Brush guard and steering column and brackets
door and tailgate hardware, left; seat mounts, middle, and motor and pedal mounts, right.
But the tub is surprisingly big. Underneath was brush primered for better coverage
and then prime and single-color the bottom and the inside, for dirt and rot protection. Because, you know, wood.
Nice warm day, wore a short sleeve shirt, and got so much rattlecan propellant on my arms that the hair felt like it had been hairsprayed. With shellac.
Next time, wear a longsleeve and bake, dammit!My lovely wife set foot in the shop again (likely a record, as she rarely gets near it) and we set the body back on the frame, so I could then mask off and paint
It's easy to go crazy with the 3D printer, but it is handy to make detail bits and fabrication pieces. I know that bridge plates aren't generally necessary on a truck as small as a HMMWV, but it's even funnier when you put them on a vehicle this small, so I made one
printed the pieces in black, primer/painted them, and finally sanded off the paint on the surface of the digits
or for a more family-friendly version,
More usefully, made some misalignment spacers for the rod ends in the steering (black bits):
I'm sure that somebody somewhere makes them and I could get them on Ebay or whatever, but this way I can make them exactly to my specification, and can get them late on a Saturday afternoon
printed the pieces in black, primer/painted them, and finally sanded off the paint on the surface of the digits
or for a more family-friendly version,
More usefully, made some misalignment spacers for the rod ends in the steering (black bits):
I'm sure that somebody somewhere makes them and I could get them on Ebay or whatever, but this way I can make them exactly to my specification, and can get them late on a Saturday afternoon
A quick trip to the fantastic plastic place (Bay Area locals will know the jingle) and I have a windshield. Rubber washers under the screws should keep it from cracking.
Hard to see, but the dash has the switch panel (motor on, push start, three accessory switches), then an hour meter with a battery charge indicator, and a lever for the choke.
Still gotta do lighting and accessories, but the thing drives and with the paint, looks less weird, I hope...
Hard to see, but the dash has the switch panel (motor on, push start, three accessory switches), then an hour meter with a battery charge indicator, and a lever for the choke.
Still gotta do lighting and accessories, but the thing drives and with the paint, looks less weird, I hope...
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runamok151
1 ton status
Loving this build! My only suggestion would be to cover all the wood w/ bedliner, at least everything underneath that could get splashed. You could even get a couple qts of different colors and keep the camo pattern on the top, too.
Thanks!
My concern there would be the texture. The paint is gloss, so it's easy to clean crap off, worst case just the garden hose, vs bedliner I'd have to break out the pressure washer or something. We'll see how it fares over time. I keep threatening to do it in sparkly pink, Barbie-style, much to the annoyance of the teenager
-- A
My concern there would be the texture. The paint is gloss, so it's easy to clean crap off, worst case just the garden hose, vs bedliner I'd have to break out the pressure washer or something. We'll see how it fares over time. I keep threatening to do it in sparkly pink, Barbie-style, much to the annoyance of the teenager
-- A
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Don't remember doing so, but it was good advice either way. I should get some...enjoying the build.
Love it man! You are sure getting some mileage out of that 3d printer too. ...someday I'd love to pick one up myself.
Like the futurama references too. (way underrated show imo)
Like the futurama references too. (way underrated show imo)
Did a fluid change on the gearbox. This was not difficult; remove the box, and place it over the drain pan
On the days when I'm too worn out or the weather doesn't cooperate, I get happy with the 3D printer. This would be a license plate frame
For the license plate I had custom made
Shifter knob for the gearbox (I switched the shift pattern so it's like a regular car, reverse in front instead of in back)
and fake CTIS inserts for the wheels. They look more like the inserts for the M35A3's than the HMMWVs', but this project isn't so much about accuracy. It's kinda like the TV show "Archer"... what year does it take place? "All the good ones", says the creator.
I also did it as a test project for the printer and for me to brush up on my OpenSCAD skills.
On the days when I'm too worn out or the weather doesn't cooperate, I get happy with the 3D printer. This would be a license plate frame
For the license plate I had custom made
Shifter knob for the gearbox (I switched the shift pattern so it's like a regular car, reverse in front instead of in back)
and fake CTIS inserts for the wheels. They look more like the inserts for the M35A3's than the HMMWVs', but this project isn't so much about accuracy. It's kinda like the TV show "Archer"... what year does it take place? "All the good ones", says the creator.
I also did it as a test project for the printer and for me to brush up on my OpenSCAD skills.
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The house came with an 8x12' chicken coop, bloody great thing, 4x4 posts set in concrete, totally overengineered. The neighbor wants it (I'm not so much a chicken guy), so we're in the middle of detaching it and rolling it next door. This means prodigious application of the sawzall and the Hi-Lift, which in turns means dragging various tools including the Hi-Lifts around the property. Those bloody things are surprisingly heavy and unwieldy to boot. However, it occurred to me that I have this little motorized thing which can pull the garden cart with the shovels and sawzalls and whatnot, and then has a nice metal bar on the back suitable for mounting the Hi-Lift.
Also, it has to have a Hi-Lift on the light bar, because Hummer It's damn near a Jeep thing, I tell ya!
Found a box of these things in the shed
which you can tell came from Ikea because they have a stůpid näme (well, that and they say "Ikea" on them.) Turns out they are a perfect fit for 1.5" tube, as used on the lightbar. Since I'm not set up to weld aluminum, I passed them by the fab table
cut off the tab from one and a little bit of angle iron, weld some threaded rod to it, and that's a Hi-Lift mount for the light bar, adjustable to any position. Can't believe they get like sixty bucks for those. (Later painted the steel with aluminum paint, actually came out fairly well.)
However, it occurred to me that I have this little motorized thing which can pull the garden cart with the shovels and sawzalls and whatnot, and then has a nice metal bar on the back suitable for mounting the Hi-Lift.Also, it has to have a Hi-Lift on the light bar, because Hummer
It's damn near a Jeep thing, I tell ya!Found a box of these things in the shed
which you can tell came from Ikea because they have a stůpid näme (well, that and they say "Ikea" on them.) Turns out they are a perfect fit for 1.5" tube, as used on the lightbar. Since I'm not set up to weld aluminum, I passed them by the fab table
cut off the tab from one and a little bit of angle iron, weld some threaded rod to it, and that's a Hi-Lift mount for the light bar, adjustable to any position. Can't believe they get like sixty bucks for those. (Later painted the steel with aluminum paint, actually came out fairly well.)
Finally, was time to wire up all the accessories. Put some stops on the brushguard so it doesn't drag in the gravel, and installed the headlights and markers
and then tail lights and side markers in back
they're not actually brake lights; all the lights just run off a dash switch. The tail lights are just single-circuit, no high/low, and trying to get a switch on the brake pedal seemed like a ton of work for no reason.
The "headlights" are really trailer lights with white LED's in them, not real bright, but the light bar makes up for them.
It's just a Fleabay cheapo, cost me twenty-some bucks, impressively blinding.
The headlights don't really let you see much
but again, the light bar makes up for it
and for the "lockers before lightbars" crowd, remember that this thing has no differential, so the rear axle is very solidly locked -- it's one piece
-- A
and then tail lights and side markers in back
they're not actually brake lights; all the lights just run off a dash switch. The tail lights are just single-circuit, no high/low, and trying to get a switch on the brake pedal seemed like a ton of work for no reason.
The "headlights" are really trailer lights with white LED's in them, not real bright, but the light bar makes up for them.
It's just a Fleabay cheapo, cost me twenty-some bucks, impressively blinding.
The headlights don't really let you see much
but again, the light bar makes up for it
and for the "lockers before lightbars" crowd, remember that this thing has no differential, so the rear axle is very solidly locked -- it's one piece
-- A
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