94 Cobra #3815

[SublimeRT]

Well with the help of my Dad, we got all the rest of the pieces trimmed up and prepped today, except for three of the diagonals which still need to be cut out. For not ever having touched any of the necessary tools, he's done good. Last weekend he cut two of the diagonals to size and coped the ends and today he used the flap disc and angle grinder to grind off the mill scale in preparation for welding. Then we got it laid out, squared, and leveled. Tomorrow I will tack it up, double check everything, raise it up some more, double check everything, and level it again and get the legs tacked on.

[95riosnake]

Looks like I've missed some cool stuff! I really love that pedal box/bracket

 

The band saw mount is pretty creative and I think using the air tank was a great idea. Should be pretty trick once the door is cut out and shelves are added. That one really has the unique factor covered.

[RideTech_Ryan]

still looking great.  Thanks for the fix.

[SublimeRT]

Looks like I've missed some cool stuff! I really love that pedal box/bracket

 

The band saw mount is pretty creative and I think using the air tank was a great idea. Should be pretty trick once the door is cut out and shelves are added. That one really has the unique factor covered.

 

Thanks, Dan.  I was actually planning on hauling that old compressor off to the scrap yard someday, because for the longest time I didn't know what I could use it for.  But, I'm glad I didn't get around to hauling it off now.

 

 

still looking great.  Thanks for the fix.

 

Thanks!  Anytime (that I actually have something to post), haha.  

[RideTech_Ryan]

This doesn't mean that your off the hook for posting more stuff more frequently.  

[SublimeRT]

Haha, I'll keep that in mind.

[Sleeperstang1994]

man im glad I got back in here! had a solid two pages of reading material... and im going to go read it again!

[SublimeRT]

So in my last post I said, "I'll get the legs tacked up tomorrow."  Well I did some practicing on some scrap with the small air cooled torch and just didn't feel like it could get the job done.  So I had to get the cooler for the TIG all ready to go so I could hook up the water cooled torch.  I originally just wanted to open it up, clean out the tank, and flush the system.  The old coolant was in there for who knows how long and was pretty nasty.  I didn't set out to fully redo the thing at this time, but one thing led to another and I ended up doing a quick little job on it.  

 

 

What I started with.

 

 

All disassembled.

 

 

I cleaned up and repainted the motor.  Cleaned up the radiator as best as I could, the fins are very fragile so I couldn't get crazy with it but I got a cooling fin comb (always wanted one, worked really well) and straightened them all out, and I also didn't want to paint it and reduce its effectiveness.  I polished the base, unfortunately I couldn't polish the whole thing, just didn't have the tools on hand.  Only had my small buffer I posted a while back.  It turned out okay, still a few deep scratches and some cloudy spots.  Polishing it even that much was pretty difficult with the small buffer.  Shoulda painted it.  I wanted to polish the whole fan too, but I couldn't reach it all, so I polished the tips and painted it red.  I actually kinda like it better that way.  Cleaned up the fittings and got new hoses, clamps, and hardware as well.

 

 

I painted the case with some Rustoleum gloss black that I've had forever and hadn't even opened.  Thinned it with acetone as directed and sprayed it.  First time I've tried that, but it worked alright.  Cleaned up the pump with the wire wheel on the buffer.  

 

 

The fan is pretty hidden.  Can only see it if you get real close with a light.  Ah well.

 

 

On the cart and all hooked up.  No leaks and works good.  The cart is seriously in need of some finishing, paint, and new casters, but I think I'm going to cut it up and modify it a bit first.  I also really need a cable cover.  

 

 

Got all the bases for the legs welded up and the nuts for the legs welded on.

 

 

Raised it up, leveled it back out, and got the legs tacked on.

 

 

Finally got all the diagonals cut out, coped, and tacked up.  Was really kind of a pain to cope all these tubes.  In hindsight I should have used 3x3.  Would have been easier, cheaper, and probably not have lost much strength.  I like how it came out though.  

 

 

Decided to add some 3x3s between the legs.  Also made some gussets for the outside of the corner legs out of 1/4" plate.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would kind of like some brace front to back down low like the 3x3s going across, I think it would really help the 4x4 sections between the legs/gussets in bending vertically, but I really don't want to make it hard for me to get under the table.  So maybe a 3x3 front to back down the center.  That'll be it though.  Aside from that, final welding, casters, and paint and it'll be done.  

 

 

Also, one thing about the table is how do you get a car on it.  Like a lot of things, more than one way, gantry crane, forklift, 2 post lift, even something like a rotisserie could do it, but I decided on an adjustable body cart.  I had drawn up something pretty simple, and similar to the final design, but with a trailer jack on each corner to raise and lower it.  But I've seen someone use trailer jacks on a chassis table and they were all cambered in a little, like they're caving under the weight.  So I did some looking around at body carts online and found this guys stuff

 

http://redwingsteelworksplans.com/category/body-lift-roller-plans/

 

I liked the ideas he has and borrowed the adjustable leg idea and made a few changes and will be using bigger material. 3x3x3/16"  It is adjustable in height and length.  It will go low enough to be able to jack a car up, attach the crossmembers, then assemble the rest of it under the car; it bolts together.  Then simply turn the screws on each corner leg and raise it up high enough to roll the table under it, or it over the table, then lower it down, attach the car to the table, disassemble the cart.  

 

 

 

 

I am going to change the plate gussets at each corner to 3.5" 3/16" square, with a small gusset under them, but that's just for easier/faster construction and maybe a little cheaper than all that plate.  The cart will also be good to keep a car on that doesn't yet have suspension and doesn't need to be on the table.  

 

Thanks for looking.  And if you guys want me to start a new thread for all this tool and equipment stuff so this stops getting bumped with no progress on the car itself, just lemme know.  

 

 

[Psychorugby]

You do some incredible work!  The next time I decide to booger-weld something together in my garage, I might have to consider flying you in haha.

[Tabres]

 

 

Outstanding work.  Love seeing everything you do!

[95riosnake]

Holy balls, I never thought I would be so jealous of a water cooled torch setup! You sir get a pack of gold star stickers from me for that job, holy crap I love the OCD level being shown here.

[SublimeRT]

You do some incredible work!  The next time I decide to booger-weld something together in my garage, I might have to consider flying you in haha.

 

Thanks man!  I'm working on it, but I've got a long way to go with this TIG welding stuff.  It is really incredible what some people do with it.  And you are getting better and better, just keep at it.  Practice, practice, practice.  I could take a little vacation to Florida though...haha.  

 

 

 

 

Outstanding work.  Love seeing everything you do!

 

Haha, I like that little GIF there.  Thanks, man!

 

 

Holy balls, I never thought I would be so jealous of a water cooled torch setup! You sir get a pack of gold star stickers from me for that job, holy crap I love the OCD level being shown here.

 

Haha, thanks!  I was worried that after all the work of redoing it, that it would crap out in the first five minutes of operation, but so far so good.  I plugged it in beforehand and ran a lot of water through it to flush it out, so i knew it worked, but still....

[Psychorugby]

Thanks man!  I'm working on it, but I've got a long way to go with this TIG welding stuff.  It is really incredible what some people do with it.  And you are getting better and better, just keep at it.  Practice, practice, practice.  I could take a little vacation to Florida though...haha.  

 

I do have a spare bedroom... at least for a few more months!

[RedTwilight]

Sooooo...

When are you gonna build the rest of us some chassis tables? LOL

[SublimeRT]

I'd be willing to build more if anyone wanted one. Could make custom sizes, features, colors, etc. Though if I were to do something like that I'd want to have the design analyzed by someone smarter than myself, and/or in some FEA software. Not that I think it's weak, but just for some more piece of mind in regards to strength/rigidity and to maximize the cost and efficiency of it.

[95opal]

x2 let us know a price

[SublimeRT]

I'll get to work on it and let you know.

[SublimeRT]

More tool stuff for now.  One reason I'm posting this up is for @95riosnake to see since he told me about this kit and was interested in it for himself.  By the way I'm glad you told me about these guys, not only for this but because they have a pretty kick ass tubing bender and notcher that I plan to buy.  I counted 256 holes to drill for the cart and it's all 3/16" and 1/4" steel so I figured it would be a good time to pick one of these up.  This is the Rogue Fabrication 4:1 drill press reduction kit and is $149 shipped.  The factory RPM for this Porter Cable drill press is 300-3100, and with this kit the new range will be from 75-775.  I tried to piece together a kit myself through McMaster and Grainger (the pillow block bearings were about half the cost at Grainger) and save some money, and I even already have some plate to make the mounting bracket, but the total was only about $10 cheaper, and that was without shipping.  

 

This is the kit as it arrives.

 

I dressed it up a bit before installing it.  Painted the pillow block bearings red, painted the mounting plate flat black to match the drill press, cleaned up the casting flash on the big wheel, polished the rim, and painted the spokes semi-gloss black, polished the shaft, and polished the original cone pulley from the drill press motor.  

 

Here's the drill press before.

 

And after.  The kit went together well.  I had to install the pulley assembly on the front side of the plate vs the back because things just lined up and fit better that way; this is normal depending on your application.  It took quite a bit of time to get everything adjusted just right, but I expected that.  If the mounting plate weren't so universal with all the different slots, things would go faster, but it's ridiculous to expect him to make a specific plate for every drill press out there.  

 

Little closer view.  I used some Greenlee punches to make the holes for the rounded corners in the pulley cover then just 'connected the dots' with a cut off wheel, deburred the edges, and cut some small hose to put over the edge.  I also had to remove the factory knobs for the press for clearance, but no biggie as I was going to replace them anyways.

 

View of the backside with the cover open.

 

Quick little video of it at the slowest speed.  I can't figure out how to embed it, but you should be able to see by clicking on it.

http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h381/SublimeRT/Mobile%20Uploads/th_20151028_022601_zpskzwb2p1n.mp4

[95riosnake]

That's great stuff Blaise! I was just looking at my bench top smaller Walker Turner the other day thinking I should order that slow speed kit for it. I have a short list of more pressing purchases to make for the garage (mainly LED fixtures, a bunch of them lol) but once I get the big stuff handled I think that kit is in my future. Looks like the 4:1 is perfect. I can't imagine who would need the even slower kits they offer. Kudos on your customizing of the kit, I really need to get my older Craftsman 8" grinder back together and in service so I can convert my late model Craftsman grinder into a buffer. I need to get on your level with all this polishing madness

[SublimeRT]

That's great stuff Blaise! I was just looking at my bench top smaller Walker Turner the other day thinking I should order that slow speed kit for it. I have a short list of more pressing purchases to make for the garage (mainly LED fixtures, a bunch of them lol) but once I get the big stuff handled I think that kit is in my future. Looks like the 4:1 is perfect. I can't imagine who would need the even slower kits they offer. Kudos on your customizing of the kit, I really need to get my older Craftsman 8" grinder back together and in service so I can convert my late model Craftsman grinder into a buffer. I need to get on your level with all this polishing madness

 

Thanks, Dan.  I'm sure once you get back up and running you'll be churning out some great stuff.  I'd be interested in seeing what kind of lights you get.  I bought one of http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-4-ft-LED-Linkable-White-Shop-Light-54103161/205331022 those a while ago to hang over my little work bench and I really like it.  I was thinking about buying more since up to 9 of them can be linked together.  It just plugs into the wall though; I'm guessing you'll actually be wiring your lights into the home electric.  I just don't know a thing about that stuff so I'm afraid to mess with it.  I was looking into more of them though mainly to light up the paint booth.  With them not being permanent I can take them down with the rest of the booth when I take it apart to store it and with being able to link them together I won't need to plug in a hundred lights and create an electrical hazard.

 

Those old Craftsman block buffers are awesome.  I witnessed one in action a while ago and it was super quiet and spun forever after it was shut off.  Not to mention they look sweet.  I'm curious, when you say convert the grinder into a buffer, are you talking about changing the shaft to a longer one?  Do people do that?  I'd sure like to get the buffing wheels away from the motor of mine.  

 

 

Can someone explain to me why you would want to turn it that slow?!?!

I don't own a drill press so I've never got to play with the different speeds and would love to be educated on this before I ever buy one.

This message courtesy of crapatalk!

 

I am still learning, but with my little experience with drilling steel, slower is generally better, unless you're working with very small bits.  You can use a calculator to determine drilling RPM for your bit size and material.  http://www.custompartnet.com/calculator/drilling-speed-and-feed  A quick and dirty I've read is 4/bit diameter x 100.  The recommended SFM for mild steel, which is Surface Feet/Minute is the speed of the outer edge of the bit relative to the work surface, is 80-110.  So say you're drilling a .500 hole in mild steel with a SFM of 95, the drilling RPM would be 726.  The quick and dirty using 95 instead of 100(this is SFM) comes to 760 which isn't too far off.  That's within the capabilities of my drill press in stock configuration, but with my own experimentation, slower just works better.  I am not sure why it works better, perhaps my bits are garbage.  It's possible as I've never sharpened them.  I'm going to make a little jig for my bench grinder soon and have a bit sharpening party.  But beyond drilling, I used some countersinks in it a while ago to chamfer some holes in 1/4" and 1/8" steel and at the slowest factory speed of 300, it was way too fast and chattered badly even with plenty of cutting fluid.  I ended up turning the machine off and spinning the pulleys by hand, and also tried using my hand held drill just barely pulling the trigger, making it crawl along.  This worked much better.  Also I would like to get a power tapping attachment for the drill press which requires much slower speeds.  Also any kind of large boring bits/hole cutters and even large drill bits will go better at a slower speed especially with thick steel.  For example I'm planning on making a new clutch pedal arm for the Mustang to match the MM brake pedal arm and IIRC it is 3/8" steel with 1" lightening holes in it.  Some links for you:

 

http://www.micro-machine-shop.com/

 

http://www.custompartnet.com/wu/hole-making

 

https://www.roguefab.com/drillpressreduction.php

[Psychorugby]

I just don't know a thing about that stuff so I'm afraid to mess with it.  I was looking into more of them though mainly to light up the paint booth.  With them not being permanent I can take them down with the rest of the booth when I take it apart to store it and with being able to link them together I won't need to plug in a hundred lights and create an electrical hazard.https://www.roguefab.com/drillpressreduction.php

 

Get these fixtures, wire them into your existing lighting receptacles (super simple - take out the bulb, unscrew the socket, black to black, white to white, voila!)... get 10 of them and they are $14.50 each.

 

Put these bulbs in them... total for 20 bulbs and 10 fixtures is $364.80, or $36.48 per fixture.  You can't beat that anywhere.

[SublimeRT]

That sounds like a pretty good deal. The booth though is just a 22'x16'x8' room I framed up out of 2x4s and lined with plastic sheet. There are currently no lights in it. Just light that shines through from the fluorescent fixtures in the ceiling of the shop. It was enough light to do the epoxy, but when it comes time to shoot base and clear I'd like some more light.

[Sleeperstang1994]

metal working gets me all hot and bothered. Sean and i just picked up a band saw and a new drill press. Seeing this i cant wait to get mine set up!!

[SublimeRT]

Haha, yeah, metal working is awesome. Congrats on the new tools. New tools rock. Post up when you get them up and running.

[Blackmage]

 

I cleaned up and repainted the motor.  Cleaned up the radiator as best as I could, the fins are very fragile so I couldn't get crazy with it but I got a cooling fin comb (always wanted one, worked really well) and straightened them all out, and I also didn't want to paint it and reduce its effectiveness.  

Thought you might enjoy this video, not sure how much truth it has in it, but thought of it when you mentioned painting the radiator!

 

[RassCar]

Thought you might enjoy this video, not sure how much truth it has in it, but thought of it when you mentioned painting the radiator!

This never did seem right to me and this video sort of explains why

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Blackmage]

lmao he basically states in his video that the mighty car mod guys are chimpanzee's.  What a dick.

[SublimeRT]

That's pretty interesting. Thanks for posting it. Yeah, I've always heard the opposite, that it will reduce effectiveness. Now that I think about it though, a lot of OEM radiators and radiators I see on equipment are painted. Maybe they know what these guys found out.

[SublimeRT]

Well shoot that guy shot down my statement about OEM radiators being painted black. In my defense I was thinking of old Mopars and other muscle cars which are all painted black and the radiator on my air compressor which is painted. If I think about late model cars, they aren't painted. And radiators I see on home AC units aren't painted and things like that.

Bah, screw it. I'll paint (or not paint) radiators if I want.

[95riosnake]

I think that was one of the most satisfying videos I've watched in a long time, the rebuttal of the bogus claim about painting them black that is. Sucks when science hands people their ass doesn't it? lol. Internet high five to that guy.

[SublimeRT]

Good stuff. Ya know, we aren't building F1 cars here where parts are engineered at the absolute limit in the name of weight, space, and aerodynamics and something like reduced radiator efficiency due to something like paint could be a serious issue (and you can bet they'll factor in the weight of the paint too).

I think with street cars there is probably some cushion built in. And especially in the aftermarket and hobbyist world. I'm sure many people, myself included, can be shopping for an intercooler and think, well this size is good, this bigger one must be better, but in reality the HP gains are not really worth the extra size and weight. I saw something the other day that said "under-engineered = overbuilt". Probably not always true, but it made me think.

Anyways this radiator info is good to know and should be kept in mind, but I think for most of us we can get away with some paint if we want.

[RassCar]

Not to drag this on as I think each person already has their own opinion on the matter, but -- I've noticed between the pics posted on here and vehicles here in the shop that all or most radiator components in front are black while those out of sight are left bare. ^A 2008 F250

^A radiator assembly out of a 2010 F150. So as far as mild OEM application goes, I'd say it's all down to appearance. Not groundbreaking stuff but I had never taken a moment to think about it before.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sho Amo]

I cant stand the guy from engineering explained, he always over complicates everything to look good. This is difficult for me not to write a whole paragraph about but I'll try,

 

What he was trying to say was that the intercooler/radiator is supposed to work with airflow. What the mighty car mods guys found out is that they greatly increased the efficiency of the unit without airflow, but lost efficiency with airflow. Im pretty sure everyone saw this coming right from the start anyways.

 

What you have to figure out is what's more important? -3% at 'max airflow,' or +49% at no airflow.

 

For a road course car this would be terrible, but a street car it might not be so bad. Also, you can expect that 3% to increase in the real world with good ducting.

[Blackmage]

I think that was one of the most satisfying videos I've watched in a long time, the rebuttal of the bogus claim about painting them black that is. Sucks when science hands people their ass doesn't it? lol. Internet high five to that guy.

Yea, an "engineer" slamming a couple guys who work out of a garage. cool, i guess?

[95riosnake]

Yea, an "engineer" slamming a couple guys who work out of a garage. cool, i guess?

 

I enjoy Mighty Car Mods as much as anybody, and I think they're good guys that put out some good videos, but misinformation is misinformation, which the internet has too much of already. Doesn't matter if it's a multi million dollar company or a "couple guys in a garage." He also didn't slam them, he pointed out that he also loves their channel but couldn't let the errors slide. It doesn't matter what their budget is, how likeable they are, or how entertaining they are... you can't change physics.

[RideTech_Ryan]

Wasnt there a wide body cobra being built along with some other cool stuff?

 

Just making sure haven't heard anything in a while

[SublimeRT]

I have actually started working on something that has to do with the bodywork. A while ago I bought a 4x8 sheet of insulation foam. Yesterday I started cutting it up into smaller pieces. They'll all be stacked and glued together into a large block the size of the quarter panel. With the wire frame buck I built a while ago, there is a wire, or station, every 3 inches down the length of the car. I will make some 3/4" or so wide strips of 18 gauge and use the shrinker/stretcher to make each strip match the curvature of each station. These gauges will be used to check the contour of the foam as it is shaped. Once the final shape of the foam is completed it will get some fiberglass, bondo, and paint. Hopefully I'll catch any highs, lows, curves, and lines that are off in the process of smoothing things out prior to paint, but if not the gloss of the paint will show them. If I'm happy with things though, then I will make a flexible shape pattern off of the final panel and some more gauges and metal shaping can begin, once I get an English wheel.

A guy in a small town nearby has just closed down his restoration shop. I was told he has an English wheel, but that's all I know. I will go check it out soon and see what else he has while I'm there. So, might get an English wheel soon. Though, I'd still like to build my own. Maybe I'll just pick it up for the anvils. We'll see.

Aside from that I've just been doing tool/equipment things. I will wait to post pics this time until I have them completed though. And I'll also post pics of the foam buck as I make some progress on it. Right now it's literally just a pile of cut foam which isn't too exciting.

[95riosnake]

Either way, the english wheel is an exciting thing. I'd love to see what you'd build if you built your own though!

[Tony]

i've tinkered around with slapping some resin on different types of foams before and all i've ever discovered is that it melts the shit out of it lol. is there a certain kind of foam that does not do that. 

 

or will there be something between the foam and the outer shell? i ask because i'm trying to figure out what i could do to replace the rear seat headrest that fits like straight ass lol. 

[RideTech_Ryan]

I have actually started working on something that has to do with the bodywork. A while ago I bought a 4x8 sheet of insulation foam. Yesterday I started cutting it up into smaller pieces. They'll all be stacked and glued together into a large block the size of the quarter panel. With the wire frame buck I built a while ago, there is a wire, or station, every 3 inches down the length of the car. I will make some 3/4" or so wide strips of 18 gauge and use the shrinker/stretcher to make each strip match the curvature of each station. These gauges will be used to check the contour of the foam as it is shaped. Once the final shape of the foam is completed it will get some fiberglass, bondo, and paint. Hopefully I'll catch any highs, lows, curves, and lines that are off in the process of smoothing things out prior to paint, but if not the gloss of the paint will show them. If I'm happy with things though, then I will make a flexible shape pattern off of the final panel and some more gauges and metal shaping can begin, once I get an English wheel.

A guy in a small town nearby has just closed down his restoration shop. I was told he has an English wheel, but that's all I know. I will go check it out soon and see what else he has while I'm there. So, might get an English wheel soon. Though, I'd still like to build my own. Maybe I'll just pick it up for the anvils. We'll see.

Aside from that I've just been doing tool/equipment things. I will wait to post pics this time until I have them completed though. And I'll also post pics of the foam buck as I make some progress on it. Right now it's literally just a pile of cut foam which isn't too exciting.

 

 

A good English wheel would be one hell of a find.  

 

If you can shape expand-a-foam or it will work for your situation, it stands up to fiberglass but I don't mix mine too hot either.  If I am a little to light with the hardener I have a small spray bottle with extra hardener in it to mist on if need be.  It has always worked well for me.