Kyle got the welds finished up on the frame plates... Frame is ready to send to get media blasted... And the rear was busted apart for some media blasting as well
We've been waiting for an opening at the machine shop's blasting booth, we're going to get the frame done first. They have some large platform in there now for the US Navy, so it looks like another couple weeks.. So in the meantime, Kyle has been prepping some front end components for paint.. ......and we should have this showing up tomorrow, need to get some metal cut out of the side and new replacement made up...
A buddy of mine has a fleet of about 20 buses, actually we've had a nice dry spell. Worst case was 3 in one year. On this one, his son-in-law was driving.
The OT vehicle work this week.... http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5323465&postcount=1537 .
Yeah, may be a little tense at Christmas dinner.... Some metalwork from this evening... http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5329314&postcount=1544
Took delivery yesterday of a Blocking Hammer from Peter Tommasini. To give you an idea of the size of this beast, the stump is 24" in diameter.. This should come in handy in making the 16 ga repair panels for the front fenders on John's Beiderman truck..
^^^WOW!!!^^^ Doesn't look like a Mack .... but then again ... what the hell do I know about those anyway ? Those big trucks are so cool. Good to see one like that sir !
The cab on the Beiderman is actually made by Federal, IIRC. Finished up the metalwork on the bus, link here... http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5338115&postcount=1549
Finally finished up Big Yellow.... http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5361210&postcount=1585 ....so we can get back on the wagon again. Should be dropping off the frame for media blasting Monday morning. One step closer....
Dropped it off before work, picked it up afterward. After about an hour in the driveway with an air hose, the flow of trapped media is scarce, but I'm sure there's still some there. We'll get some SPI epoxy sprayed tomorrow night...
Great work Kyle and Robert. I like the frame mods, very nice. If I may offer my 2c. I have a 9" and 2.5 exhaust on my 57. The emergency brake cable would ride on the top or bottom of the tailpipe. I ended up moving my cable bracket that attaches to the frame near the rear axle to stop the rub.
Thanks for the comments guys. Do you have any pics of your brake cable routing? 55 parts everywhere.... Two coats of SPI epoxy.... Had some left in the paint gun so a couple of extra pieces were moved in... Oh yeah....the "new" trailer wheels were all blasted and ready to go, so they got a couple coats on the back side...
It's been a little while since I have checked this thread. You guys are doing a great job. That lace is going to look perfect.
The frame had some slight pitting so the sides were hit with the DA to flatten things out a bit, and some Evercoat 416 used to address some of our plug weld grinding marks on the frame plates... Here's the "winter" heating method for spraying in cold temps. 170,000 BTU aimed at the air return, and the air handler fan turned on constant to circulate the heat. Open window for air intake.. After three coats of primer, the sides of the frame are looking much better than before... Also got some more primer on these parts as well, should be ready for blocking in a few days.
The other day when we primed the frame a second time we also did the front side of the trailer wheels.. and today I mixed up some Centari that has been sitting on the shelf a few years.. It sprayed pretty decent... And more blocking.....
Made another trip to the car wash tonight. Tire soak, high pressure soap, and a rinse... While Kyle was media blasting, I used the 36" AFS to block the tail gate. This had been blocked a couple times before and never seemed to come out right. Of course, I was using a shorter block as well. The 36 really did the trick in getting things nice and flat... .....and getting things ready for another epoxy session... Moved these out of the way, closer to the door so we can get tires on this weekend. Order trim rings today, now for some baby moons that fit... I swear they get brighter every time I look at them..
Picked up some 400 grit PSA paper yesterday, used it this evening to get the tail gate finished to 400 grit, next week we'll wet sand to 600 grit. Nephew Chris came over and helped Kyle and I get the frame off the rotisserie and back on the floor.. With the rotisserie freed up, we now have a new paint fixture... Parts prepped for epoxy primer tomorrow... While I was getting these parts taped off, Kyle started blowing apart the rear end for media blasting..
Today Kyle worked on getting the axle pads welded on.... .....while I was spraying some SPI epoxy.... .....and while I had some epoxy mixed, we poured some inside the tailgate to seal the inner and outer skins .. Axle pads done, then heated the opposite side to counter the weld shrinking... It's real close, just a little more straightening to do... other parts from the booth today.... ....and then sprayed some silver metallic Imron on the A-arms..
No problems painting the rubbing surface of the rotor hats? Sure would save me a lot of taping time if that doesn't cause problems.
The paint wasn't concentrated on that surface, we got it cleaned up today using a 120 grit 3" sanding pad... Getting the front end put together... ....and more blocking and hanging parts in prep for the next round of epoxy... The doors are getting real close to needing wet sanding..
Here's a video taken yesterday using the 36" AFS sander. Note how the sander is grasped and the fact that this promotes letting the sandpaper do the work without "leaning" on it. Applying downward force through your palm to get the job done more quickly runs the risk of deflecting the sander downward at that point, causing low spots...
Well Kyle was mostly on his own tonight as I had some repairs to do on the wife's vehicle.. New U-bolts came in yesterday, they have a pretty good selection on their web site if anyone needs some.... Threads taped off and all the parts media blasted... Then Kyle got the rear torn down for media blasting as well. Blast cabinet just the right size..
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