VALLEYSBOY
Hero Member
Karma: 24
Posts: 1965
sheep shagger
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« Reply #1560 on: October 26, 2009, 01:56:53 PM » |
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i love it  back end just looks soooo right mucka brill idea using the vw bus stuff |
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More metal than skin
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1561 on: October 26, 2009, 11:47:49 PM » |
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Messrs PD & Lunatic aren't convinced by the VW back end -too much like a cut-down camper van. They'd prefer something more traditionally square cut. I'm a magnanimous Monkey though & I'm happy to be proved wrong. I'll wait until we've got the side panels hung from the framework & see how it looks.
Back to the plot.
Had a call at work this morning from Bernie the sheet metal worker. He'd finished the front indicator housings. So I trundled over to Berkshire when I finished my shift & picked 'em up. I'm very happy with them. May not look it, but there's an awful lot of work in those little cones. The white frosted lenses hide orange indicator bulbs. I think they're quirky & interesting. Details make all the difference. I could have bought something boring off the shelf, but why finish a one off, hand built vehicle with something mass produced.
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« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 09:26:28 AM by Manky Monkey »
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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TwistedPatience
Hero Member
Karma: 195
Posts: 3166
Teetering on the edge of insanity
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« Reply #1562 on: October 26, 2009, 11:51:14 PM » |
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Those indicators are really nice, I mean REALLY NICE. |
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"It's time to raise the Finger,
That middle digit takes your point and drives it home"
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1563 on: October 26, 2009, 11:53:31 PM » |
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Why thank you Doc. Not my handiwork, just my idea.
The guards & their lights will be gloss black when they're finished.
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1564 on: October 26, 2009, 11:57:23 PM » |
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Flash, flash, flash.
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« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 09:33:41 AM by Manky Monkey »
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1565 on: October 28, 2009, 09:33:24 AM » |
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Bought a length of 15mm bore ERW tube yesterday so will have a play with the bender, (!), & see if I can produce 90 degree bends in it without crushing it. If so, I'll bend a couple & start looking at using them to mount the guards. The front ones will need to mount on the back of the hubs, so they turn with the wheels, but will need spacing out to clear the brakes & stuff.
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1566 on: October 28, 2009, 09:50:19 AM » |
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I slapped a coat of black smooth Hammerite on the rear axle hubs & drums, then fitted the off-side driveshaft & drum. The paint's still wet so couldn't push the drum all the way on, but looks tidy. We'll have to roll the car forward on the trolley jack before I can fit the near-side brake.
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1567 on: October 28, 2009, 09:52:48 AM » |
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Then I started cutting the box section for the pick-up bed. The vehicle registration rules say that to qualify as a commercial vehicle & pass the basic SVA test, the internal length of the bed must be longer than the internal length of the cab. A shorter bed looks much sportier, but won't pass, so we'll have to compromise a bit. There's nothing to stop us modifying it once it's been tested, but I don't think I'll want to start cutting it up again. Can't imagine anyone pulling us over & demanding to measure the truck, but with my luck they would, so better to keep to the regs I think.
The cab measures roughly 54 inches, from the footwell to the rear panel. So I cut a couple of lengths of box to 56. We'll start off with a basic flat rectangle that we can lay on the chassis & build up from there. The 56 inches is on the inside of the rectangle, so hopefully, even when we've added a sheet steel skin to the inside face, it'll still be an inch or so longer than the cab. The back wall of the cab might well get fitted with an internal skin to hide the framework underneath, which would knock a couple of inches off the cab measurement too.
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« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 10:57:42 AM by Manky Monkey »
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1568 on: October 28, 2009, 10:13:11 AM » |
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The framework overhangs the end of the chassis by about 6 inches & is about 3 inches wider either side. Internal bed measurements are 56 by 38 inches. When we originally laid out the chassis rails, we could only guess at the bed length. With 2 more bracing tubes running front to back, it should be plenty strong enough to support it's own weight -& hopefully that of a lardy Monkey sat on the tailgate. The front end needs to support the weight of the Pop fuel tank too.
With the rails laid in place, the bed suddenly looks enormous -we've been used to looking at the chassis & thinking that's the end of the vehicle. Final length will be about 4 inches longer than those VW side panels. Can't be any shorter so whatever we do. it has to stay at 56 inches. Curving the rear corners around to the tailgate would disguise the length a bit. With the back wheel propped in place, the distance from the front of the tyre to the front of the bed is roughly the same as from the back of the tyre to the back of the bed, so it looks in proportion. The front of the VW side panels will be extended down to meet the bottom of the cab, but we might cut the back a bit higher as I think it'll look sportier.
We know the chassis is perfectly flat, so next job is to clamp the rails to it & tack weld them into a nice flat frame to build up from.
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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poprodder
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« Reply #1569 on: October 28, 2009, 05:47:18 PM » |
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excellent progress, and shiny paint!!!
is that a cedric in back ground?
cheers chris.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1570 on: October 28, 2009, 06:13:38 PM » |
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Cedric? Crashy's Australian Mazda 1000.
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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Manky Monkey
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« Reply #1571 on: October 29, 2009, 04:45:20 PM » |
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A small brainwave from Loony's Dad, who has an annoying habit of chipping in with brilliantly simple solutions to the problems we've been wrestling with for hours. Rather than worrying that the 25mm box section won't support the weight of the back end of the bed over-hanging the chassis, why not just extend the chassis another 6 inches. We've got offcuts of the chassis box section & can sleeve the joints to extend it out to the end of the bed. Simples.
No chance to do any more today, but will have a look at it tomorrow.
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On the last freedom moped out of Nowhere City.
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renegade53
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« Reply #1572 on: October 29, 2009, 05:29:04 PM » |
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looks like you're further along than panther
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panthershaun
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« Reply #1573 on: October 29, 2009, 07:43:36 PM » |
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you ain't it, till you've "Bobbed" a Brit!!!
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poprodder
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« Reply #1574 on: October 29, 2009, 08:30:49 PM » |
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