Mr. G. Brettin's Slow Motion Leg Hump

gbrettin · 08-08-2020, 07:13 AM

These pictures happened over the last few days so I'll attempt to give context.
Wed:
While the crash bar was tacked up I tried to bend one side up. In doing so I broke the tacks and everything fell down. The welder was not turned up to lava to penetrate the steel properly. I pretty much got pistoff/frustrated and threw in the towel that night. Prior to making the crash bar fall apart I made gussets. I used the angle grinder and sanding disk to make them from scrap. Gussets will add significant strength to the bar. The bar is angled upwards a tad. I did that because I wanted to be able to get the bolts on/off easy. Downside with that is that it would be weak(er) if it were raised up higher in the middle. I have ideas that could be way better... but that's falling down a new rabbit hole. No thanks.

Thur
Fast forward to the next day. I came out to the shop, mentally refreshed, to retack and set the gussets up but find out someone took the shop extension cord for the welder. This isn't some regular extension cord either. It's 8 gauge for 220. All the hardware stores are closed because it took me a while to get out to the shop. Defeated again!

Fri
New CSF radiator arrives mid day, renewed ambition. Head out to the shop and do a test fit. <-- Bung to Bung --> the radiator fits perfectly! The higher bung must go on the driverside. If the radiator is flipped the other way the bung will be right in the area of the hot side; not immediately but, the -16 would 100% be impossible to route. Look at the dimensional picture in the previous post to see how the bungs are set up. ... Rough test fit ... Check.

I located a different 8 gauge cord. The ends are missing and I want to weld; so, I head off to Lowes and Home Depot to get supplies. Why two stores? because one store never has all the stuff I need. That's the way of life and I've come to accept it, especially with plumbing.

The new ends are put on cord and voila, the welder has life! Now I get started with the crash bar, take 2. I turned the welder up to lava melt and increased the line feed. It's clear this is burning into the metal now and laying thick beads. I got excited and rip welds everywhere I could, in a short amount of time... it's Friday and I'm not trying to be at the shop all night while my wife sits at home. Anyway, I was able to fill in some gaps and get the metal grinded back.

I guess this is a long winded way of saying stuff doesn't go smoothly doing custom stuff. Not for me anyway.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Racing in Slow Motion IV	MightyBobo	The Lounge (Off Topic)	4	03-12-2013 08:12 PM
Racing In Slow Motion IV	Robert_K	The Lounge (Off Topic)	1	07-13-2012 11:01 AM
Slow shipping slow response slow everything	thispecialk	Nissan 370Z General Discussions	15	11-01-2010 08:23 PM
Racing in Slow Motion	MightyBobo	The Lounge (Off Topic)	2	12-17-2009 03:27 PM
IIHS Small Car Test: Three Gruesome Slow-Motion Crash Videos	AK370Z	Other Vehicles	13	04-15-2009 09:42 AM

08-08-2020, 07:13 AM	#11 (permalink)
gbrettin A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Portage, MI Posts: 2,304 Drives: Tricycle Rep Power: 589452	These pictures happened over the last few days so I'll attempt to give context. Wed: While the crash bar was tacked up I tried to bend one side up. In doing so I broke the tacks and everything fell down. The welder was not turned up to lava to penetrate the steel properly. I pretty much got pistoff/frustrated and threw in the towel that night. Prior to making the crash bar fall apart I made gussets. I used the angle grinder and sanding disk to make them from scrap. Gussets will add significant strength to the bar. The bar is angled upwards a tad. I did that because I wanted to be able to get the bolts on/off easy. Downside with that is that it would be weak(er) if it were raised up higher in the middle. I have ideas that could be way better... but that's falling down a new rabbit hole. No thanks. Thur Fast forward to the next day. I came out to the shop, mentally refreshed, to retack and set the gussets up but find out someone took the shop extension cord for the welder. This isn't some regular extension cord either. It's 8 gauge for 220. All the hardware stores are closed because it took me a while to get out to the shop. Defeated again! Fri New CSF radiator arrives mid day, renewed ambition. Head out to the shop and do a test fit. <-- Bung to Bung --> the radiator fits perfectly! The higher bung must go on the driverside. If the radiator is flipped the other way the bung will be right in the area of the hot side; not immediately but, the -16 would 100% be impossible to route. Look at the dimensional picture in the previous post to see how the bungs are set up. ... Rough test fit ... Check. I located a different 8 gauge cord. The ends are missing and I want to weld; so, I head off to Lowes and Home Depot to get supplies. Why two stores? because one store never has all the stuff I need. That's the way of life and I've come to accept it, especially with plumbing. The new ends are put on cord and voila, the welder has life! Now I get started with the crash bar, take 2. I turned the welder up to lava melt and increased the line feed. It's clear this is burning into the metal now and laying thick beads. I got excited and rip welds everywhere I could, in a short amount of time... it's Friday and I'm not trying to be at the shop all night while my wife sits at home. Anyway, I was able to fill in some gaps and get the metal grinded back. I guess this is a long winded way of saying stuff doesn't go smoothly doing custom stuff. Not for me anyway.