Thread: 55 Wagon Progress

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Originally Posted by MP&C

The bolt for the bottom of the pull handle needs to be an Allen bolt to match our kingpins, and we need one from each side to be symmetrical. A little late to thread any holes in the pivot piece, so we’ll go with docking hardware. A 1/2-13 bolt was turned down for 1/4-20 threads, and the opposite one drilled and tapped.

What a cool idea for the pull handle bolt! I can almost hear the guy at a show talking to his buddy, "Yeah, he put a threaded plug in the middle of the handle, spot welded it in place and sanded it smooth...." It would almost be worth carrying a pair of Allen wrenches to pop that bolt out once in a while just to see the reaction!

The work displayed in this thread never ceases to amaze me. Simply awesome craftsmanship. Carry on.

Gorgeous green paint, your thought process and machining are amazing. The little detail that makes it all so dam nice !

Absolutely amazing work! The wagon turned out sweet! Everything you do is though.

Thanks for the comments fellas!!!


Still block sanding the wagon tub.. Back to our stainless trim, we need to modify the upper door trim to hold our peep mirrors. We opted for the old school look of the peep mirrors but did not want to use the clamp on paint chippers. The front edge of the trim uses a machine screw through the door and into a nut plate. Our plans are to use a formed hole in the trim and use the hole in the door to attach the mirrors.








As we had used the tail stock of the South Bend before with success, we made some press dies to match the mirror's stepped end and provide a flange in the holes for added strength.





https://youtu.be/sFO7CYYbC9U

















Trial test of the mirror, yellow rag hung outside the rear window for a more visible reflection

Some more fabrication work for the day job, we had a door seal that was being abraded by a non-skid strip on the threshold, and wanted to drop it down some as well for better clearance. So a new threshold was made from 16 Gauge #4 brushed stainless. Where the old used countersunk holes for the #8 screws, we opted for the more correct version of dimpled holes. Provides more contact area for better seated hardware.











Dies were made for the dimpling process, they used a 1/4" shank just pushed into a drilled hole in some bar stock vs. welding together. This will allow quick changeout for other sizes/shapes of dies for use in the press brake.

















https://youtu.be/FafzVr8eTPM











Next, to gain a bit more clearance for the door seal, the new threshold was located and the protrusions of the rubber flooring were scored with a utility knife at the threshold edge. Next, we used a multi-tool to shave down these protrusions that would be beneath the threshold. This wasn't much, but better than what was there before.























Back on wagon duty, we've been continuing on stainless polishing. We had been doing some of the shorter sections by sanding on top of my 4 wheel shop stool as it has a nice flat top surface.











Once we got to the longer sections of trim, this became too cumbersome, so some 1/2" MDF was repurposed as a "holding fixture" while we refined the damaged scratches and dings. A Black Diamond longboard was used with 500 grit PSA paper to highlight any low spots, high spots, or other carnage. Then some LIGHT DUTY metal bumping to address the issues and a repeat of the highlighting sanding. Once all the defects were addressed, we then worked progressively through 600, 1200, 1500, 2000, and 2500 w/d paper. Then 3000 and 5000 Trizact, and finally on to the buffer.





https://youtu.be/THKxgvIdVZw





A modification of our "fixture" to hold the curved end of the trim...











https://youtu.be/N5cgoFXjCDk





https://youtube.com/shorts/tViITsStf_A?feature=share





https://youtube.com/shorts/zYWU_zc4q1w?feature=share





Jared helps out here to help stabilize the skinny trim and keep it from flopping around. Once quick mis-step at this point is about an hour minimum of recovery.





https://youtu.be/Q0h6FuKog44





Nice reflection of the door opener in the ceiling after buffing...











trim clips added...

















...and our driver's mirror added...

Fantastic solutions as usual!

I never used to start at a low grit and sand all the way up to 2k or 3-4k, but what a difference it makes when you do it. Great work and can I send mine to you?

Ryan, I can't finish what I've got now...



Friday night was paint night. We started with a coat of SPI epoxy thinned for sealing, then two coats of Galaxy gray shimrin basecoat, then 4 coats of Cobalt Blue Kandy, and two coats of SPI universal clear.








First coat of Kandy:





It was loosely assembled Saturday morning and carried into the sunlight for pictures. The low morning sun was not enough to wake up the metallic in the basecoat, and this looks jet black.





A bit later, it’s starting to wake up the blue….


https://youtu.be/SeT3ykEg_wA


After wagon assembly and photo op, we did some more Stainless scratch refinement... Two long pieces left to go. and one on order. Dana had taken one somewhere for straightening, and the results left us with a wrinkle and a crack forming. So that one's replacement is on the way from The Stainless Shoppe.








Jared putting the eagle eye on the remaining stainless to find any defects...





Reassembling the steering column after painting...


some heat shrink was added to the harness to help prevent abrading against the steering shaft. Our steering wheel puller kit did not have the needed parts for compressing the spring for the ts cam/horn ring, so we made a push ring and modified some 5/16 bolts for the cause. Much cheaper than grinding on the snap on parts.

















Sunday morning we loaded up the wagon for it's maiden voyage, a shakedown run at Eddie's Brunch and Car Show, located at Bailey's Olde Breton Inn. This isn't a real large show (although it grows every year) but it's one of those must attends, and all the proceeds benefit our local Hospice.

Some takeaways on the wagon design, the pull handle length that was designed for a small child inside the wagon was too short for a 6' tall fella with a long stride. Felt like yap dogs at my heels… And I think the frame design may need air bags, where it did well on the pavement, there was quite a bit of drag (rolling resistance) with the grass up in the frame.




















*Car show pictures borrowed from FB

The wagon is GREAT! Looking forward to the details of the trailer for the compressor setup for the air bags, and the telescoping pull handle!!

Those wheels just don't cut it on that slammed wagon, it at least needs some baby moons. Maybe machine some up with some stainless and polish them?

Everything is looking great! Will they even want to put anything in the wagon? I wouldn't want to. It's too sweet!

Jesse Harris, a metalshaper local to me, did a recent video on using the TIG for performing spot welds. He was kind enough to send me the video so we could share it with others...


https://youtu.be/JRBcLeRjN3Q


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Originally Posted by MP&C

Jesse Harris, a metalshaper local to me, did a recent video on using the TIG for performing spot welds. He was kind enough to send me the video so we could share it with others...


https://youtu.be/JRBcLeRjN3Q


.

Thanks for posting that video it will be most valuable to me and many others i'm sure.

More installing stainless trim. The screw holes for the beltline trim that wraps into the tailgate opening had been filled when we shaved the lead seams. So we used some tape to protect the paint as we aligned the side trim to the lift gate trim before drilling the holes.














One piece to go on the left side, awaiting the trip from WI.





Next, we attempted to install our vent windows in the "reconditioned" frames the owner had bought. Only we noticed they weren't so ready for installation...





and bent...





Well, since we're on a roll, lets check the stainless trim that divides the vent and side windows. This had been "reconditioned" and included with the bent and cracked vent frame. Looks like they just polished up the dents and scratches. Not going to meet our standards.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToR2iF0sNeQ


So we media blasted the original frames, which had no damage, and dropped them off at the Shop at Shorty's for a Cerakote finish.





Inspecting the stainless trim, we found the originals to be less beat up than the reconditioned stuff, so we opted to straighten out the originals. Here's a comparison of the trim, the two on the left are the reconditioned that had been polished right over the defects. The two on the right are the originals, the left of the two has had any dings/dents pushed from the back in prep for our refinement process. (except the one up top I missed) The right one has gone through our w/d 360, 600, 1200, 1500, 2000, and 2500, all done wet. There are some minor scratches still, so we'll go through this process once more prior to buffing to make sure we have a flawless finish.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQcvWRF9nU


And a helpful hint for those who dabble in polishing stainless. We've all had occasion where the stainless slips off the buffing wheel, bouncing off the buffer shaft, causing another 2-3 hours to correct. We added a rubber grommet to cover the nut and a plastic end cap to cover the threads. Less chance of damage from those mis-steps.








We did get some more chrome on the front. Look, no bolts!!