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  #51  
Old 10-15-2014, 08:02 PM
Dave Deyton Dave Deyton is offline
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I like the engineering you've done. This is a very well thought out project
and a very interesting build. Those are some nice welds.
Looks like your making great progress.

Thanks for posting.

Dave
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  #52  
Old 10-16-2014, 02:49 AM
mildsteel 2002 mildsteel 2002 is offline
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Hi Marcus
Great work on the jeep. If you need a spacer machined send me a P.M.
Regards Dennis
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  #53  
Old 10-16-2014, 07:29 PM
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I weighed up different places to put a tank like behind the rear axle to over the drive shaft. For safety and and better handling decided in front of the axle was the best and will go with the donor tank. It just uses the space so well as you can see how it is moulded to go around the control arms mounts etc. So glad now that I went to the trouble of putting the threaded inserts inside the frame for the straps.


Checking to see that at full drop in the suspension travel that it still clears the upper control arm. Every bit of space is used with this setup. Also due to the greater depth of the rails, I was able to lift it up so that it sat flush with the bottom of them before the kick up.


As the frame is not as wide as the donors, and mine kicks up earlier, will have to modify them to bolt onto the underside.


Can see in the background how the middle strap turned out after I brought the bend in tighter around the tank and bent the end to suit the angle of the frame. Made a little saddle for the end strap off the side of the control arm mount.


With one end of the straps all in place, have to design a way to support the strap in the middle of the frame. This is why I held off making the rest of cross members here until I had decided where the tank was going to go. You will noticed I have also the wiring loom in place to make sure I have enough clearance for where it will need to run later on.


I have positioned the cross member to be over the top support pads that hold the tank down. You will notice I have continued it over the top of the rail and down the outside of it like it is done on late model Dodge pickups etc. This is because I don't have enough weld area on the inside only and want the cross member to add structural stiffness to the whole chassis as well. The weld area now adds up to more than it would have been had it joined fully on the inside.


Laying it all out ready to be cut out. I am using 50x100x3mm, (2"x4"x1/8") RHS tubing. The original cross member in this position was of the same size but only channel. There was too many compromises modifying the original in this case, so started with new steel keeping the same 30 degree angle of the bends at each end that the original had, just further apart to clear the tank.


I have a technique I use to get the bend in the tubing looking more factory than the usual way of just butting the join together with sharp angles . I not only don't cut all the way through, but I cut slots in the top face as well. These slots are 50mm/2" long each side of the bending point for a total length of 100mm/4".


Cutting is done with a 9" grinder with a cutting disc. The one in the middle will be done with my 5" grinder with a worn disc in it.


Here you can see the top slots where the bend will be just inside the wall on each side.


I also had to take into account that the depth of the part sitting over the frame is at different heights to compensate for the angle of the frame rail.


To get the bend to curve evenly, I just used a cold chisel and hammered at different spots right along the area between the slots. Just worked back and forth until the wedge closed up and couldn't use the chisel any more. Then just pulled it closed the rest of the way and tacked it.


Now you can see how the slots allow a nice flowing bend rather than a sharp one. The joint is also bevelled to allow full welding penetration.


The end result.


Fit over the frame.


Now to work out where to start the cutting for the other end, I just laid the template the correct distance from the finished end.


Will make a bracket off it to go over the end of the tank strap.


Resting on the pads on top of the tank. I also had to notch a bit to clear the fuel and vent lines.
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Last edited by Gojeep; 08-01-2017 at 03:40 AM.
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  #54  
Old 10-16-2014, 08:44 PM
skintkarter skintkarter is offline
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Very nice Marcus - you can never take the boilermaker out of the boy!
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  #55  
Old 10-17-2014, 03:02 AM
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Gojeep Gojeep is offline
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Originally Posted by skintkarter View Post
Very nice Marcus - you can never take the boilermaker out of the boy!
Nope. Was my second trade after being a blacksmith/farrier.
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  #56  
Old 10-17-2014, 10:40 AM
weldtoride weldtoride is offline
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Marcus, this is a real keeper, thanks for sharing it with us. This variation and the previous "V" slice and bend method you shared earlier are very nice ways to get some shape into a what would otherwise be a mundane fabrication join.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Gojeep View Post
.........I have a technique I use to get the bend in the tubing looking more factory than the usual way of just butting the join together with sharp angles . I not only don't cut all the way through, but I cut slots in the top face as well. These slots are 50mm/2" long each side of the bending point for a total length of 100mm/4".........


The end result.........
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  #57  
Old 10-17-2014, 11:25 AM
invision invision is offline
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Fantastic job on your build Marcus! With your attention to details such as the bend contours, you're achieving that 'factory' look. Thanks for sharing!
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  #58  
Old 10-17-2014, 04:57 PM
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Nashty Nashty is offline
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Very impressive project .
It makes me want to go back out to the shed to do some work!!!
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  #59  
Old 10-18-2014, 04:50 AM
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Gojeep Gojeep is offline
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Worked out well that the next cross member also supports the upper control arm bracket and will stop any twisting of the rail from the lower arms as well.


The brackets to support the rear and centre tank straps have been added. The front tank strap will bolt up under the floor into the original mount as I will be using that and the firewall from the donor.


Doesn't look like it, but made the closest new cross member sit level with the rear part of the frame so it will support the bed floor as well. Next photo shows it better.


Extended the cross member all the way down to the bottom of the frame rail. Improves its appearance and and adds further strength and weld area. I checked before welding across the top of the frame and found several frames like the Holden Rodeo, Dodge 1500 etc, which have the same cross member arrangement sitting on top of the chassis, where they had fully welded it the same as shown. Not always recommended to do this, especially if you have a frame with flex in it, so do your own research first.


Can see how the original cross members look very similar. They are the same dimensionally and have the same bend angle and radius. The bends are just closer together on the originals which meant they wouldn't clear the tank.


The new ones are stronger being fully boxed rather than channel and are rust free. Poured some lanolin oil down inside and rotated them to coat all the sides before welding them in to prevent rusting.


Only one more cross member to add now which is the very front one. It goes under the grille and radiator area so can't add that until I know the exact placement of those.


The frame has ended up remarkably similar to the new 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 frame which even has an option of the same 5.7 HEMI.
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Last edited by Gojeep; 08-01-2017 at 04:17 AM.
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  #60  
Old 10-18-2014, 04:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by invision View Post
Fantastic job on your build Marcus! With your attention to details such as the bend contours, you're achieving that 'factory' look. Thanks for sharing!
Why thank you very much. Been learning a lot from your builds.
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