2017 F15A Starting over

[Mike K]

If you need some tips on how to hot rivet the replacement cross member in, ask aj.lec ( Andrew) he is a wizz on the riveting

[sth65pac]

Been busy with a myriad of life items so progress has slowed a little.

My engine mounts arrived and some other parts,=. But we're in the crossmember so here goes.

I spent a bit of time straightening the reinforcing plates in my press. A fair bit of work and about an hour each. The results speak for themselves.

[sth65pac]

Well I arrived around 10:00 and Ron showed me his 'small' drill press and the smaller version out of picture.
After a quick brief Ron leaped out to his Alvis not to be seen again for some time. I was left to my own devices and after drilling all of the pilot holes I set to task.

The results are just brilliant and I had to check all my lines about five times in disbelief I was making a reproduction part for my truck that was exact. (error by manufacturer and all ).

It look great and thanks Ron for the use of the drill.

More on riveting soon.

Cheers,

Ian

[sth65pac]

Well at the end of a very cold week, I managed to trial fit the new piece.

Very happy so far, just wondering how much the chassis will spread when I take off the RHS welded to the top.

[sth65pac]

Well it got the 'bucket' today so I will endeavor to get all of the photos resized and back up.

cheers,

Ian

[sth65pac]

Well Some more progress over the last few weeks. As I had a run in with photobucket I deleted my account.

I did some sandblasting and prepped a lot of small hardware. Trouble is, the more you do, the more you find.

I removed the temporary brace and the 1/4" rivet misalignment has become about 1/16" ordered additional rivets but they are too small so I'll have to make up some with steel rod.

I bought a 'toy' oxy propane kit which is pretty useless. If it doesnt heat the rivets hot enough I will have to get a proper Oxy Acetelene kit for riveting.

For the eagle eyed- yes there are two Jeep body parts on the table.

Cheers,

Ian

[Ron King]

I have a spare oxy/acet at home.....May be be even another spare one at work with gas in the bottles.
I also have a spare high power burner to match.
A mechanic's round and large pry bars should sort out alignment and maybe tapered reamers.
Got that too.
Come to think of It I have plenty of Oxy/ acet gear because I have gone to Oxy/LPG as it saves costs and bottle rental.........Rarely use the Oxy much these days because of plasma cutter etc........Just borrow my normal gear from work.
You know where I am and can be bribed with beer.

[sth65pac]

Its been about 18C for about 10 minutes here each day. I need to paint my cab so I can free up the garage. Today I bit the bullet and started but alas, some runs and horrible horrible silicone fish eyes in the paint. My own fault as I forgot I had used silicone to undo the cab bolts (on the threads) so I'll have to clean and sand it all down again. All in all a 7/10 type of day.

[Jacques Reed]

Originally Posted by sth65pac

I removed the temporary brace and the 1/4" rivet misalignment has become about 1/16" ordered additional rivets but they are too small so I'll have to make up some with steel rod.

Cheers,

Ian

Hi Ian,

Will look forward to reading how you form the rivet heads for your project.
My same rear crossmember has some wastage on it and a long term project is to someday replace that with a good donor crossmember I salvaged.

I saved one of the original donor crossmember rivets as a sample as per attached photo.
The dimension may be out a bit due to deformation as the rivet is driven but that was the diameter (inches) of the shank of the rivet as miked after removing all rust.

If you, or anyone else, ever find a supplier of the correct round head rivets please let me know.

Cheers,

[aj.lec]

Originally Posted by sth65pac

I removed the temporary brace and the 1/4" rivet misalignment has become about 1/16" ordered additional rivets but they are too small so I'll have to make up some with steel rod.

I bought a 'toy' oxy propane kit which is pretty useless. If it doesnt heat the rivets hot enough I will have to get a proper Oxy Acetelene kit for riveting.

Cheers,

Ian

The chassis do spring when you take the brace out . usually have to jack or tie them back in to location . Usually easier to bolt in and tighten first with tight fitting bolts and remove as you progress along

I use a LPG oxy kit but just use the cutting head instead of heating tips to get it hot enough . Not as quick as acetylene but don't have to pay dead rent on the acetylene bottle as well as oxy tank

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by sth65pac

Well it got the 'bucket' today so I will endeavor to get all of the photos resized and back up.

Ian, sorry to hear that Photobucket surprised you as well as millions of other users. If you still have the pics you can edit your posts and re-attach them. The forum software resizes photos to a certain extent, but if your pictures are too large you will get a message your "token has expired" or somesuch. Then resize your picture and try again.

HTH,
Hanno

[sth65pac]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Ian, sorry to hear that Photobucket surprised you as well as millions of other users. If you still have the pics you can edit your posts and re-attach them. The forum software resizes photos to a certain extent, but if your pictures are too large you will get a message your "token has expired" or somesuch. Then resize your picture and try again.

Yes, Hanno I have the photos, but I am slowly going through all of my back ups on CD's and also replacing them on a few sites.

Having 12,000 odd photos extorted by a company left me no choice than to close the account. Sadly its many people's loss, but Photobucket is the biggest loser.

Cheers,

Ian