Grabber70Mach 107 Report post Posted March 9, 2015 Mike you never disappoint when you decide to do something, it looks great like normal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indianfiremach 170 Report post Posted March 11, 2015 Great work on the rotisserie, are you going to powder coat the metal or just paint it? It would be so cool to see the convertible on there.. Of course at this point it would break in (at least) two! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted March 11, 2015 Great work on the rotisserie, are you going to powder coat the metal or just paint it? It would be so cool to see the convertible on there.. Of course at this point it would break in (at least) two! Going to see if the fellows at work will run it through the line. We use the powder that is caught in the filtration system to coat items that really don't matter what color they are, just rust protection. Depending on what colors they have been running, is what the "hopper" powder tint is. (usually a silver / grey speckled-ish) All this powder is screened for big chunks, but it 100% recycled and cheep for big jobs like this. If you want the '66 on it after the structure is secure, I'll certainly put it on there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indianfiremach 170 Report post Posted March 11, 2015 If you want the '66 on it after the structure is secure, I'll certainly put it on there. Mike, That would be really cool to see it on there. I've been trying to think of the best way to clean up the underside and engine bay once the new metal is in. I would like to get it media blasted but my sand blast guy would likely have a hard time getting underneath it. What are your thoughts here, dustless blasting? What have you done in the past? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted March 25, 2015 Been under the weather for the past week, had a case of pneumonia, no fun at all. Slowly getting my strength back, and feeling so much better. I was able to get a little done on the '66 and the rotisserie, nice to get back at it after sitting on the couch. I did work on this rotisserie project some before I got sick. I made the axle / plate attachment after drilling a 1.75" hole in my 3/8" plate. It got welded on both sides, with the front getting a little grinding to flush it up. With both of those all cooked up, I wanted to see how it looked semi assembled, and figure out how I wanted to construct the center adjuster. I had drilled and tapped a 1/2-13tpi hole in the axle, not wanting too big of a hole. If the 1/2" rod turns out to be too small, I can always increase the size without too much drama. The arm is very difficult to adjust, hope this helps, which I am sure it will. I used a piece of 1.5" tube for an insert piece, and welded a 3/8" thick piece of flat bar to the top of it. With a bolt running through everything to secure it, the adjuster works fairly smooth. It might be different with the weight of the car on it. I double nutted the threaded rod for now, might tack them in place later on. All that is left is to make the arms that join everything together. I used 1.5" x .120" wall tube for the arms, cut 20" long. They are on the thin side, but I have a fix for that. I was concerned with the tube crushing with bolts running through the tube. The front arms will bolt directly to the frame rails at the bumper attachment holes. I used some 5/8" 14ga steel tube for sleeves in my square tube. These will keep everything from crushing once all torqued down. The rear arms are similar, except I made some plates that pick up the factory tie down plate holes in the rear frame rail. I thought about going to the rear bumper holes, but why take the easy way out. I can always make more mounts if I need to. I have a few more details to attend to, then I might just see how it feels to move this '70 from it's spot for the first time in two years. 1 Grabber70Mach reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted March 26, 2015 Niiiice work! Did you consider using acme threads for more strength due to the weight of the car? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted March 27, 2015 Niiiice work! Did you consider using acme threads for more strength due to the weight of the car? Yes. I looked at the tensile strength of the grade 5 1/2"-13 rod (17,000 lbs) to be more than substantial. I am fairly certain I will never be putting a 3,000 lb car on this rotisserie. ACME thread would have a much greater tensile strength, as the thread is intended to move things, but I ran into two obstacles. Cost of just the rod is crazy, and finding nuts, or making all the components was going to be time consuming. I went cheep, and easy. The only fear I have with the 1/2" rod is it bending and kinking to the point where it will not thread. I can always modify it if it doesn't work nice. This might have been easier to just buy a rotisserie than to make it, still fun to attempt something I've never built before. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted March 29, 2015 I couldn't resist myself with the final part of my rotisserie build, I had to see if it would work. I got the front arms attached to the front supports, made the connector tube with some 2" square aluminum tube, and a rather long piece of 2.5" tube. A few holes drilled in the 2.5" piece, and nuts welded in place help secure everything. Using my 1/2" rod, I was able to pick the car up off of the jack stands and get it rolled over to the lift. The casters make moving this around so easy. Once positioned, I picked up the car with the main support bolts (3/4" grade 8) removed in order to get it to the second from the top hole. It was weird seeing this thing somewhere new, I like it. I adjusted the car to what I thought would be close to the centerline of the rotational axis, which would make it easy to position. The adjustments were fairly simple with the four bolts loose, just move the arm to where I thought it needed to go, then tighten the clamp bolts back snug. The car being supported by the lift kept it level, and makes for very easy adjustments. Jacks for the centering process would be slow, and a pain with having to go back and forth. The lift is a much better option. The first time tipping the car over was a little bit on the unnerving side. It didn't crash, but was no where near centered. Several more attempts got it close enough for now. It takes a little effort, but sits still without having to snug the lock bolts down. I moved everything back to it's place to see how it looks on it's new support structure. One of the neighbors was driving by and saw me moving this thing around. Guess it scared them and they slammed on brakes when they saw it rolling over. Looks like I have my work cut out for me, lots to clean up under here. 1 Ridge Runner reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indianfiremach 170 Report post Posted March 29, 2015 Very cool! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cornerstone 15 Report post Posted March 29, 2015 I'm betting that was a day of reward and relief... congratulations! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted March 31, 2015 You're just cheating with all your fancy equipment :) Imagine how much easier those inner rockers would've been with that spinner thingy. Did you laugh when the neighbor hit the skids? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted March 31, 2015 You're just cheating with all your fancy equipment :) Imagine how much easier those inner rockers would've been with that spinner thingy. Did you laugh when the neighbor hit the skids? I don't know if I would have attempted the inner rockers on the rotisserie, just something weird about welding structure parts on while not level. Yea, it was funny to see and hear them slam on brakes. Guess they thought the car was flipping off of the lift. I bet they have never seen anything like that, still funny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted March 31, 2015 I don't know if I would have attempted the inner rockers on the rotisserie, just something weird about welding structure parts on while not level. I fully agree. I only welded about half of the gazillion rosettes while on the rotisserie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted April 11, 2015 Mike, holy crap, I just went thru your photobucket pics. I think because you continue to amaze me with your skills, your prior projects have skipped my mind. I might have started following your build around the time you had to cut and redo your convertible inner rockers. Has anything been easy on your build? From all the panels you replaced, the tapered front inner fenders, the crazy amount of work on the cowl, the narrowed Watts linkage, the pro level roll cage build and install, those bitchin wheels and intake manifold! I know I left out some things, but I just wanted to congratulate you on the amazing level and scope of work you've done. Kudos buddy. Now where are the updates to cure my addiction??? :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted April 11, 2015 Bob, Thank you so much for the head expanding amount of recognition, it has been an eventful journey and worth every minute spent. I'm wide open getting stuff done to the '66 convertible, having to do some modifications to parts on it as well The '70 is sitting on the rotisserie patiently waiting. I want to get back on it, but it will be a little while longer. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,112 Report post Posted April 12, 2015 I have done a few inner convert rockers ,the car has to be on the ground and level .If it was done on the rotisserie it would probably sag in the middle . Looks like you notched the rocker ? the new ones don't have the notch ..Nice job ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indianfiremach 170 Report post Posted April 12, 2015 Everywhere I look there's pictures of the excellent progress you're making on the '66. Loving it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mustangstofear 608 Report post Posted April 12, 2015 Mike, I just got a shipment of 69-70 fastback headliners in that are damaged, but they are the overhead console ones. I thought I was going to luck out and send you a FREE one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted April 13, 2015 Mike, I just got a shipment of 69-70 fastback headliners in that are damaged, but they are the overhead console ones. I thought I was going to luck out and send you a FREE one. Rich, I wouldn't expect you to do that, but I wouldn't turn it down either. That would be sweet! Thank you so much Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 I've been having some withdraws from working on my stuff. Looking at the car from the bottom (while it is on the rotisserie) for several weeks while it is collecting dust, I couldn't take any more. Several weeks ago I wanted to make some roll bar to roof tie ins with the help of my new tool. I wanted to use the new dimpling dies I purchased (way back when) on something so I got started with the windshield to halo attachment. I made a template and slowly trimmed it to fit, where I thought it might work well when transferred to sheet metal. I have learned along my journey to "keep it simple stupid", or at least somewhat simple. Once the template was fairly well fitted I transferred the shape to some 16a CRS, a happy medium of strength and easy to work with. Marking the shape and cutting it out, just a little bit big, I laid out the pattern for the dimpled "lightning" holes. A little center punching, some pilot hole drilling, then the Blair hole cutters were put to some good use. I mainly used a 1 1/2" hole, stepping down to a 1", then a 3/4" closest to the A pillar. The Blair bits make really nice, smooth holes which take very little deburring to get ready for the dimpling portion. The holes need to be as smooth as possible or during the pressing operation the new flanges could crack. I used my press to form the dimples. It didn't take long to have it looking good. A little bit of tweaking, some minor adjusting and this panel is all but ready for some primer. I will want to tack this temporarily in place as there is no good way to clamp or screw it to the car. I will make the templates for the A pillar parts next, whenever I get back to this. For just a few hours, I feel so much better making this part, I am looking forward to being back on this soon! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,112 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 Mike ,that is really looking good . I bought the smaller set of Blair cutters ,3/4 inch down .These cutters cut smoother than a punch . This reminds me of building my 66 Ford F100 pre runner ,that was a lot of fun to build . I bought the Pro tools tubing bender with 1 5/8 and 1 3/4 mandrels ,it is hand operated now but i will go hydraulic soon. I also bought a tubing notcher ,it makes the sweetest fish mouth joints . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted May 14, 2015 More car p0rn! That is really slick Mike. Not that I think you'll need it, but "they" say tying the cage into the roof adds mucho strength. I'll have to look into the Blair hole saws, never heard of them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Fixing to get the '66 up on the rotisserie in a few weeks for some dustless blasting. I had to take my car off of it and do a few finishing touches. I added some braces to help steady it a little. I will be taking it to work with me on Monday to get some powder baked on it. Ill show some pics as it gets treated. It looks kinda small laying in the back of the truck, but that is everything except for the casters and bolts. It ought to store away nicely when not needed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,112 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Make sure you cover up those bushings first ,it would not be fun trying to clean the powder out of them once baked . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted June 9, 2015 Got my stuff to the shop today and was able to get it on the conveyor fairly early. After some degreasing, the all important masking of the bushing area (green tape) the parts were heading for the booth to get some plastic beads sprayed on them. The powder that was applied to my parts was the powder reclaimed out of the filter area. It is a bunch of colors all mixed together, so you really don't know what color you will end up with once it is sprayed. The box that was used on my stuff had a bunch of silver, extremely bright orange, black and some textured paint in the mix. As this rotisserie will be used in ways that will mess up the finish, this was the way to go as the finish really didn't matter what color. Mainly for rust protection and much cheaper than buying 10lbs of powder. My phone had a hard time taking action shots as the parts were being sprayed, but you get the idea. Once the powder was applied, the parts rounded the corner they were off to the oven to wind though a nice 450 degree trip for about 15 minutes. After the parts ran through the cool off section, they were loaded back onto my truck, ready to head back home once I got off work. Powder is really neat as the parts are ready to use once they are cooled off. Unlike wet spray where you have to worry about a longer cure time. I started reassembling my parts once I got home. The powder has a tanish candy appearance due to the orange specks all over it. Kinda neat, but functional. I need to get a few more bolts to connect my new braces to the lower portion of the frame. It will be ready for which ever car is next on the list to go upside down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
