Idle hands: assorted projects

[UnderControl]

Ok, I'm done with frame rail repairs, until I get the axle back in.

 

 

I going to put down some actual paint on the primed areas before putting the axle in the way.

 

Needed a better way of putting a bead in 1.5" aluminum tube than jamming a couple of washers on the end of the bead roller. I happen to have a bunch of 2" long cutoffs of some unknown 1.5" steel round bar, so I made a smaller male die.

 

 

The shoulder acts as an ok back stop, but the steep angle from the smaller die did make it want to bite onto the end of the tube. I might try making a larger diameter female die to see if that works better.

 

 

[UnderControl]

Now with 2 coats of satin enamel.

 

 

Holiday weekend means it'll have a couple of days to cure before I put the springs back in and play with pinion angles. I'll also need to make some new j hooks for the fuel tank straps.

[UnderControl]

Decided to go ahead and break out the chemistry set to zinc plate the two suspension bolts I'm reusing.

 

 

Apparently I forgot to take after photos, but the bolts are now mostly black. One bolt plated well, the other is good enough. Did a pretty half-ass prep on them so any result a win. Also made up a new sleeve for one of the spring bushings since the old sleeve is now one with the bolt. Plated that as well, and the outside got a nice even finish, but very little got to the inside.

[UnderControl]

The after oic of the plated parts.

 

 

100% gud enuff. The key to keeping rust belt xj bolts serviceable is a healthy application of never seize which all of the suspension bolts got before going in.

 

 

Everything is torqued up and pinion angle looks much better with the 2° shims.

[UnderControl]

Got the other spot on the driver's frame rail patched up, so I'm calling that part of this project done.

 

 

Next up will be to get the shock mounts attached.

 

 

 

 

[datsunfreak]

Any consideration given to some kind of undercoating/stone guard? 

[UnderControl]

I have. I might put a rubberized under coat in the wheel wells to add some texture on the new spots. The rest will be as it is. I had used the rattle can bed liner previously, it did not last well.

 

Got the shock mounts burned in and new tank strap j bolts made up.

 

 

Despite looking crusty the socks don't actually have very many miles on them and my highly calibrated shock dyno says they've got plenty of life in them. I don't paint things red, so couldn't return them to original condition. I do, for no particular reason, have a can of Ford tractor blue. 

 

 

[datsunfreak]

7 hours ago, UnderControl said:

I had used the rattle can bed liner previously, it did not last well.

 

Yeah, I've tried a few different aerosol versions, and none worked great. 

 

FWIW, the "good stuff" can be just brushed on if you aren't too picky about how the surface texture looks. 

 

[UnderControl]

Bed liner seems to have been falling out of favor as an undercoating more recently, especially on vehicles that will see all weather abuse. What I've picked up is basically that it's so hard that when it inevitably chips moister can get trapped in behind it. This xj doesn't need any help rusting. 

 

I've had good luck with enamels holding up well on axles and suspension components, so hoping it will fair reasonably here.

[UnderControl]

Officially a runner again. Got the shoes and e brake cables adjusted. Just a brake flush and rehanging the exhaust away from being a driver.

 

 

Still have plenty of little things to wrap up, but I may move this out of the way for a few days since I've also found that the 05 mustang is due for front hubs.

[UnderControl]

I may have forgotten how close the exhaust sat to the shock before deciding to move the upper mount inward an inch and a half.

 

 

I'll do something about that later, for now I just cut my tail pipe into a turndown.

 

 

Redneck exhaust hanger is good enough for moving around the lot and a trip around the neighborhood. Yep, still drives like an xj. Did some cleaning up and swapped the 05 into its place. Should have hubs in a couple of days, but may as well give it a once over while it's there.

[Rustbin]

Many of my vehicles have had those exhaust hangers, some even lasted for years.

[UnderControl]

If the wire were holding the muffler in a more optimal position it might have stuck around longer than it will, but it hangs closer to the driveshaft than I'd like for anything more than light street driving. That's a problem for another day though.

 

The other day while doing a once over on the 05 mustang ahead of this past weekend's autocross I did a test fit of the brembos, only to find that the spokes of my wheels foul on the caliper. I thought a 6mm spacer might be enough to clear. One print job later I have a mock up spacer.

 

 

It technically clears everything.

 

 

However, from what I've found the absolute minimum clearance to the barrel should be 2mm, and I have about 0.1mm. So no brembos with these wheels.

 

Hubs won't be here until tomorrow, so I'm finding little things to do while I have the car in the work space. One thing that's been annoying me is that the old plating has long been worn, and subsequently blasted off of the hood pins. Enter the chemistry set again for some more playing practice.

 

 

Now I just need to replace or replate the linchpins and that'll be good for a bit. I may also get around to mounting the other exhaust tip in the bumper cutout for aesthetic purposes.

Edited July 14 by UnderControl

[datsunfreak]

6 hours ago, UnderControl said:

It technically clears everything.

 

However, from what I've found the absolute minimum clearance to the barrel should be 2mm, and I have about 0.1mm. So no brembos with these wheels.

 

FYI, it is suprising how much some wheels flex on hard cornering. 😁

 

Thicker spacer won't get it done? 

[UnderControl]

Between that and thermal expansion of the caliper under hard braking .1mm isn't gonna cut it.

 

Much more spacer and I'll start poking out of the wheel arches. I may print another 6mm spacer just to see, but I'm thinking it'd need a lot more spacer to clear.

[UnderControl]

Fancy hubs are on.

 

 

The hubs themselves are actually just oem units, but they got those snazzy studs. I must say the packaging from frpp is fantastic.

 

 

Faux exhaust is done. 

 

 

That shit took forever to get lined up right.