Thread: Bad Ast Astro Van Build

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And you thought some one would have worked on it while you weren't. HA HA I have things out in my other shop too but can't find the guy to work on them.... Good to see you back at it.

Originally Posted by cffisher

And you thought some one would have worked on it while you weren't. HA HA I have things out in my other shop too but can't find the guy to work on them.... Good to see you back at it.

Yea, that would be nice wouldn't it? Although they probably wouldn't do it for free...
Here are some pics of what I accomplished yesterday. Mostly getting the bracket designed and fabbed.
After removing the original Prop Valve I had this nice bracket to work with.
http://images54.fotki.com/v1642/phot...MVC001F-vi.jpg
Getting my bearings by holding the new Prop Valve in place.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1637/phot...MVC004F-vi.jpg
I did a lot thinking on the placement. The bottom has two outlets for the front brakes. I could use either one or both. In order to mount the valve where I wanted it the rear "front" outlet will be covered. I will use the forward outlet and plumb a "T" into the line on the frame. This is what I came up with for a bracket design.
http://images52.fotki.com/v1639/phot...MVC005F-vi.jpg
I cut the shape out of a piece of heavy cardstock and "made" the bracket so I could check the fit of the valve.
http://images16.fotki.com/v378/photo...MVC009F-vi.jpg
Bent up and mounted. The top bolt for the master cylinder and the slot in the bottom of the original bracket are plenty to get this attached.
http://images51.fotki.com/v1638/phot...MVC010F-vi.jpg
I used the paper template and laid the design onto a piece of .090 scrap aluminum. I cut out the shape with the stomp shear and my scroll saw.
http://images12.fotki.com/v1641/phot...MVC014F-vi.jpg
I sweetened up the profile with the angle grinder and drilled the holes. The dashed lines are the bend points.
http://images54.fotki.com/v1642/phot...MVC017F-vi.jpg
I used a pair of seaming pliers to do the bends. .090 is fairly hard to do by hand so I clamped the bracket in the vise so I could get more leverage.
http://images52.fotki.com/v1639/phot...MVC018F-vi.jpg
All bent up and bolted in place. I'm happy with it. It will be hidden behind the valve anyway.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1637/phot...MVC020F-vi.jpg
With the valve bolted on. Clear access to both of the outlets on the bottom of the valve and it's not going anywhere. Once the lines are made and bolted in it will be pretty solid.
http://images51.fotki.com/v1638/phot...MVC021F-vi.jpg
Mark

Got out today and got the lines plumbed. This was a bit of an adventure getting the tight bends that were needed to run the lines.
I ended up making a little bending fixture to get it done. This will be pretty handy for doing the rest of the van.
http://images34.fotki.com/v1633/phot...MVC023F-vi.jpg
I made the clamp block on the mill. Both ends have their uses and I used both getting the bends into the lines.
http://images41.fotki.com/v1634/phot...MVC016F-vi.jpg
http://images52.fotki.com/v1639/phot...MVC017F-vi.jpg
The line for the rear brakes is in.
http://images52.fotki.com/v1639/phot...MVC020F-vi.jpg
And here is the line for the front brakes.
http://images51.fotki.com/v1638/phot...MVC006F-vi.jpg
This is one of the double flares I do with my CPP Flaring tool.
http://images34.fotki.com/v1633/phot...MVC003F-vi.jpg
Got a lot done today and I am pretty pleased with the bending fixture.
Mark