Manky's Pop.

[Manky Monkey]

Lots of jobs to do around the back end of the Pop, so time we pushed on with them.
Another long, lousy day, trudging the streets delivering the mail in the rain today. Didn't get to the workshop till gone 4pm, by which time it was dark. I took a look at the Reliant fuel tank we're going to fit under the back of the chassis.
First I had to remove the original filler neck from the side as we're going to weld a new one in the top. Then I cut a disc of 2mm steel to blank the resulting hole. I also removed the original mounts & cut out a rust patch. Loony & PD have borrowed a TIG welder from a mate, so now they've got something to practice on!   

[Manky Monkey]

As the tank's going to be slung under the back of the chassis, it needs some straps to hang in. I didn't have any flat steel strap though, so went with a few off-cuts of the 1 inch square box section I used for the pick-up framework. After carefully cutting & clamping the pieces together at 90 degrees, ready for welding, Loony pointed out that the tank tapers, so my supports need to follow it. The first bits tacked together. These mounts will eventually bolt to the underside of the chassis.

[Manky Monkey]

Mr Lunatic has fired up the TIG & welded in the filler hole blanking plate & started on the rust hole patch. He's only got a couple of hours of TIG experience but seems to have managed a fuel proof job. Well done mate. And I've welded up the tank straps. Next job is to cut them to length & weld flat tabs on the ends to bolt to the chassis.
Anyone fancy machining me some threaded mounts? 4 of 'em. Mild steel, 80mm long by 16mm diameter & bored & tapped to M8 -please. 

[Manky Monkey]

Meanwhile Loony & PD are still plugging away at the Mudster roll cage. Should be finished this weekend.

[ByzMax]

Andy it's not the corners that have distorted the tailgate it's the hinge mounts. As they have cooled post welding they have pulled the top rail down through shrinkage.


Looks cracking though! Nice bit of work!

[Manky Monkey]

Makes sense Byz. Fixable though.
Another long, long day at work today, so only a short workshop visit this evening. So I used it to tie the 2 straps together to form a cradle for the tank to sit in. We'd talked of welding them direct to the tank, but I think vibration might fracture the thin tank base, so I'll add a couple of locating tabs & line the cradle with rubber & bolt the tank into it.
Having checked it would all fit in the chassis, next job is to weld some flat mounting tabs to the framework to fix it to the underside of the chassis. Following suggestions elsewhere on the forum, I'll weld a nut into the end of a tube to form the chassis mounts.

[Manky Monkey]

The Suzuki Vitara's almost done. Just some final welding of the tubes & shaping of the ends of the rock sliders to do, but as it's being done outside, rain's stopped play for the time being.

[SteveRedd]

that looks like fun...I had one of them for 2 years and was amazed how well it went off road...on serious landy based events too

[Manky Monkey]

Still plugging away at the Pop, an hour or two every day after work before I go home if I can.
Today I welded the mouting tabs to the tank cradle & drilled them for the mouning bolts. The back ones will bolt up into the underside of the rear chassis cross member, while the front ones wrap around the chassis & bolt into the front face of it. This is because the cradle's slightly too wide for all 4 feet to mount to the underside of the chassis. Got to be that width for the tank to fit in it. 

[Manky Monkey]

My beautiful photogaphic assistant, Mr Lunatic, demonstrates how it fits.
Should all be hidden inside the pick-up side panels when they're done.

[Manky Monkey]

The tank'll sit in the cradle like this. Enough room between the bed floor cross member & the tank for a strip of rubber. The tank will locate on a couple of tabs welded to the cradle. Eventually this'll all be hidden under the floor.

[peanut]

Some phenomenally long hours being worked at the sorting office this week - just be careful operating all them sharp spinning and hot melty things at home when you're tired, Manky: Don't want you hurting yourself! As a mere Christmas Casual I appreciate the effort that's going in at the moment in Royal Mail, even if nobody in the outside world seems to. I've become something of a fan, but one that's despairing of an organisation that does so much right and yet doesn't let anybody know!

[Manky Monkey]

Coo, some positive praise at last!
Welcome to the wonderful world of the Post Office Mr P!

[Manky Monkey]

My day off today, but I had a phone call this morning from AfghanMan. He lives in French Franceland but is over here for a week or two & asked to come see us. Nice chap. Very nice to meet you Paul.
He brought us a pressie. Two door latches from genuine French house doors. I'd planned on using the plainer, chunkier looking one on the Pop, but we've decided to go with the more ornate one instead.
Turning the handle moves the rods in & out. Normally this would be fixed vertically to a door, but we're going to mount it horizontally with the bars exposed & locking into either side of the pick-up framework.
I was concerned it might look too fussy & girly for a pick-up truck but it's grown on me. It's quirky & different & has that all important little bit of history behind it. I like recycling stuff, rather than just buying something new. Loony suggested chrome plating it, (can you chrome cast iron?). Failing that, maybe that chrome effect powder-coat, or even just gloss black, the same as the rest of the bodywork?  Thanks Paul. 

[Manky Monkey]

The pick-up bed's never really going to be used for serious parts hauling, so a handle protruding into it won't matter. Having travelled over to the workshop, I used the time there to cut a couple of pieces of 3mm plate to mount the lock on. Then we nipped over to the local tool shop for some M4 countersunk stainless allen bolts to fix it with & some nuts to weld to the back of the plate.