3k-One Year-30's Ford-Rat Rod Build Thread

[Toolman]

it'll feel better when it stops hurting.

Been following the build for a while now. Quite inspiring.

[pastor bubba]

I finally had time to sit and read this and enjoyed it very much. You have given me some ideas on what I want to do with my cab. As far as the toes go, I broke my big toe 15 or so years ago and can now tell when we have a nice winter storm coming in. Since you live in WI, I hope you are not blessed with that.

[Rickomatic]

I hope the doctor's bill is not part of the three grand total.

[Wolfco]

Ok, .....the toe is now throbbing so i took a .078" bit and manually drilled a small hole in the toenail to relieve pressure. The Doctor gave me a velcro bootie since i cant wear shoes.....my sock is exposed so the welding is getting more exciting!...need to keep my feet back and watch for sparks.

Yesterday and today i finished all the frame welding. The frame will be the airtank for the airbags so must be airtight. I welded all the seams and tried to do a good job so it will hold air.

I also welded on 3/8" thick wear pads on the bottom of the frame, so when i drop and drag i cant throw sparks and not grind through the frame tubing. I suppose i can keep adding to the pads as needed....

[Wolfco]

I need a frame drain system for water etc...so i drilled and tapped each frame rail (near the rear of the frame) with 6mm threads....using a bolt for a plug...this will allow me to drain water from the frame. I also welded on a pc of steel to protect the bolt so when i drag frame it wont peel the bolt head off the frame!

I am going to seal the frame from the inside using paint. I discoved this on my Suzuki Samurai off road buggy....i made a rear bumper as an air tank...
Here is what i did. Welded frame completely sealed. It is near impossible to get a fully sealed vessel (frame in this case) using only weld...and if you grind welds it only makes for more leaks....I use OIL base rustoleum paint. I had a quart of white and a quart of "off white""'heck ...the color doesnt matter!!! it was old paint and I just added some thinner so it would flow nicely...I poured 1 quart into each frame rail.. and then rotated the frame around to coat the inside of the frame. see next post.

[Wolfco]

I poured 1 quart into each frame rail...adding the paint to the welded in 3/8 pipe bung that will be the feed port for the airbag valve asm. This is at a high point on the frame and will help keep crap/debris out of the valves and airbags....i might run a filter too...

The frame leaked everywhere...i sprayed windex (it was handy) on the welds and found many, many leaks..small ones...I fixed a couple large ones with the welder....After the paint was pouring into the frame i screwed on the air coupling and added 120PSI air pressure. The air forces the paint INTO each pinhole and seals it instantly!!! This is a fantastic way to seal a pressure vessel. I used the chain hoist to lift on end so the paint would ooze to the downward side...listening to hisssssssssss.....then silence. Every hole sealed!

The last pic...I then pulled the drain plugs-reattached the airhose to blow any excess paint out....and maybe got 8 oz of paint out.....i think the inside of the frame is pretty well coated with oil base rustoleum.
I hope to spray the outside of the frame with Red Oxide Rustoleum tommorrow before heading to Minneapolis for Christmas with by brother...
Merry Christmas to all the Hot Rodders out there!

[oldrodder43]

Hey Wolfco, that toe brings back a lot of memories for me! Many years ago a Friend and I were trying to load a motor block onto the back of a rack body truck by sliding it up a plank. In short, he lifted and pushed and I didn't----
Motor fell off the plank from about three feet in the air and hit right on my right big toe!! I think I just felt that again..............
What a devil of a time I had with that, for several months. I managed to hit it with everything, bump it on everything, dropped a phone on it! ouch. I had to have that one drilled, Doctor used a paper clip, heated on a bunson (sp) burner and melted it thru----------Man, when that went through I nearly went into orbit. I might have called him a name or two. I sincerely feel for you. Ain't NO FUN. The nail finally came off, then the new nail grew in where it wanted to, had an awful time getting it right. Merry Christmas and a HEALTHY New Year. Perley

[OFT]

I too feel on the toe. Hurt mine back packing years ago. Took a added two days to get out of the wilderness area. One of the reasons you should not go alone.

Like your paint seal idea, paint the inside and air presure. Need to give that a try!!

Have a great Chritsmas!!!!!!!!!!!

Earl

[Wolfco]

Hey, thanks for the toe comments.....i am sure many of you readers have smashed a toe....Perley-it sounds like that engine block really smashed yours!!
I am still working on the car, just being careful so i dont stub that toe.
I painted the frame but the pics are all taken with high resolution....i forgot that i left the camera setting on high res. for Christmas pics and they are too large of files to upload. I will downsize and post later today.

[Wolfco]

I prepped the frame paint-final welding on frame, cab and other parts.
I did some grinding, wire wheeling, d/a sander on the frame rails to get them ready for paint. Man that can burn time....i spend 6 hours prepping this rat rod for primer. Kinda glad I'm not making a show car
I also used some bathroom silicone for seam sealer on the bottom of the body so water doesnt creep into the crevices and rot the new steel....i like a rusty cab, but i wanted to paint all the NEW steel.

[Wolfco]

I used a can of OIL based Rustoleum RED oxide paint, $8.99 from Menards Home Center. I thinned it a bit (10%) and sprayed it with the el-cheapo Harbor Freight spray gun....painted the frame, suspension parts, under cab, inside cab (floor)and firewall....

[Wolfco]

I primed the suspension parts and then painted them with flat black...i thought the car would look too odd if the entire car is brown/red oxide...I plan to shoot the firewall in flat black, but ran out of paint....need to get some more flat black paint and then the reassembly can begin. Man, it will be sweet to work on clean, painted parts vs rusty junk. (yeah, the cab is still a rust heap, but the rest is decent now!)
Jeff

[Wolfco]

sorry about those last pics...large file size...i reset the camera to 640x480 so they will be smaller and easier to view.
Jeff

[roddguy]

Hey man, ya just gotta love a guy that can get away with working on his rat on the 25th of Dec.

Btw, you don't need to reset your camera, you can resize your pics using paint on your computer.

Right click the photo on your computer

on the menu click:
OPEN WITH-

PAINT

In PAINT... there is an upper tool bar - CLICK :

IMAGE

In the drop down menu... click STRETCH / SKEW

You'll get and option to STRETCH ... Horizontal & Verticle

You can change it from 100 to 90 in both directions....

You can keep doing this in 10% increments until the pic is about 3/4 of the viewing screen.

However I've found that if I change them both to 36% it comes out to a good size.

[ClassicCrimeINC]

ya might want to resize them and repost them so we can see what they actually are