The mutilation of my '91 thus far. :-D

[damarble]

You might beat me to the finish though, it's way down the priority list, I want my motor completely installed and running first so I can build around it.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Another teaser.

Well, after months of waiting I've finally got my grille. Got ready to fit and mount it today only to discover that my angle grinder gave up the ghost. I sitll couldn't resist snapping this picture. =D

That was the last part I was waiting on so now I should be able to get to finishing!!

~Rev

P.S. This pic makes it painfully obvious that I need to fab up a new bumper.

 

[dbush72]

i think i'd lose the bumper... and imo, you can NEVER go wrong with o.d.green and big 'ol flat fenders!!!
****, maybe i should've let you have at my ex...damn sure wouldnt have made it any worse!

 

[bcbid]

Different is good!

Different is good!! I'm waiting to see the end results.

 

[deamon3]

i think i'd lose the bumper... and imo, you can NEVER go wrong with o.d.green and big 'ol flat fenders!!!
****, maybe i should've let you have at my ex...damn sure wouldnt have made it any worse!

how the heck did that thing end up in such bad shape? it's not even like 10 years old

 

[dbush72]

See my profile/sig./photos...

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Update.

‎1 roll of duct tape, 4 busted knuckles, 12 hours, and an innumerable amount of swearing = all the electrical work finished on the 'sploder. Also got both front quarter block-out plates made (one of them formed and welded in), finished the doghouse sheet metal and made the fender templates. Running out of things to do and my hands are fairly clean after working on it... I must be close to finishing!

Picture update after I come out of the coma I'm about to fall into.

~Rev

 

[BigRondo]

Standing by for pics......

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Picture Update

Okay, got quite a bit done over this past weekend.

The first order of business was to make the doghouse skin all one piece. To do this I had to notch the inside of the front top corners.

After the notches were just right, I hammered the the top corners of the grille to match up with the sides.

Eventually I got the edges to match up and welded the seams and sprayed a little primer to keep the rust at bay.

I also welded the three tabs on either side of the grille.

The next step was to make the front quarter block-out plates.

Then the plate got welded and formed to fit the front quarter.

It's welded at the tabs and all the way down the edge so there's no gap.

I wasn't able to do the driver's side because I need to get a fender to cut down. (driver's side got bent up too badly in the wreck).

Next on the list was to sort out the electrics...

I was a bit overwhelmed with all the wires, but luckily my buddy was in town to help me out.

We dubbed the plug in the next picture an "electric circle jerk".

The carnage.

This rat's nest became the bane of our existence for the next 12 hours.

But we eventually won.

Now, there are no wires to plugs showing through the wheel openings (save for horn I think). Also, every wire is wrapped or loomed.

We started with this:

And ended with this:

hmm, apparently my camera decided to not save the finished wiring pictures. I'll edit this update later today and add them in.


The last thing I did tonight was secure the doghouse skin. To do this I chose to use carriage bolts. I started at the back since this is how the whole frame stays attached to the firewall. Considering I was ultimately drilling through a half inch of steel, these were the biggest PITA.

Eventually I got them all done and bolted in.

In the above picture you can see most of the reworked harness. The non-wrapped wires are only sitting there until I make the fenders. Then they'll be run to the turn signals.

And that's pretty much it for now.
Remaining To-Do:

• Make the fenders/install turn signals.
• Get another hood and left side fender.
• Cut said hood to size.
• Install left side block-out plate.
• Expanded steel behind grille.
• Hood Pins.
• Bumper.
• Paint.
• ...

I think that's it. Looks like I'm in the home stretch.

~Rev

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Mini Update

I went and bought a driver's side fender and a hood from a local u-pull place today. All that's left to gather now is some more 18g sheet to make the fenders, a couple hood pins and turn signals.

If all goes well, I should have the driver's side front quarter block-out formed and mounted and hopefully re-size/shape the hood and get her all bolted up. Weather permitting, I'll try to bring'er out of the garage to snap some good pictures of where I'm at.

~Rev

P.S. The salvage place I went to today is apparently also a titty bar! Paid to get in, walked through the building to get to the yard and had to have a major double-take at the stripper poles... The name of the establishment? U-Strip-it. Simply brilliant. haha

 

[deamon3]

The name of the establishment? U-Strip-it. Simply brilliant. haha

That has got to be the best idea ever.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Update.

Haven't gotten much done in the past week. My epiglottis seems to have decided to hate me. Just waiting to feel better.

I did tack on the expanded steel on the backside of the grille and got started on the hood. I got the sheet metal for my fenders yesterday. As soon as I can take a deep breath without hacking up a lung, I'll be going full speed to the finish.

~Rev

 

[BigRondo]

P.S. The salvage place I went to today is apparently also a titty bar! Paid to get in, walked through the building to get to the yard and had to have a major double-take at the stripper poles... The name of the establishment? U-Strip-it. Simply brilliant. haha

^^^^^^^^^^^ Brilliant!

Reverend, it's coming along nice.............

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Picture Update

I'm still getting my butt whooped by this devil of a cold so no real progress yet, but I thought I'd share the latest pictures to bring the thread up to date.

These first two pictures show the little bracket I had to make to link the front quarter block-out to the doghouse. The fenders will also add to this union.

That got welded to the front quarter block-out and the tab got drilled and a nut welded to it.

I got the expanded steel welded onto the inside of the grille.

I also got started on cutting the hood.

Before:

After:

So now I just have to finish the hood and left quarter block-out, fab the fenders, install hood pins and turn signals and paint.

And that's pretty much it for now. I'm hoping that I'll feel better this weekend and be able to finish it up.

~Rev

 

[BigRondo]

A labor of love!! Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Slower progress than anticipated...

Well, I beat the cold, but am now having sciatic nerve issues. If only I could fix my back with duct tape and a hammer...

I have gotten some things done though. The hood is fully formed, Left quarter block-out panel is tacked on, started on shortening the bumper, picked up a set of hood pins, and I got the right fender nearly finished.

So now the to-do is;

• Install hood pins
• Finish bumper
• Connect power to radiator fan (wire got disconnected while re-working the harness)
• Finish forming the turn signal bezels
• And fab up the left fender.

I'm really happy with how the fender turned out. I had a few different designs that I was thinking about, but just decided to start cutting.

I seem to have misplaced my digital camera. I'll try to dig it up so I can post some pictures of where I'm at. Worst case , I'll just use my phone camera.

~Rev

 

[BigRondo]

Standing by...............

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Picture Update

Sorry it took so long to get these up. Been all medicated for my back so I haven't really had the wherewithal to upload.


After rough cutting the hood, I had to remove the understructure from the skin. The first thing was to take care of the foamy stuff that's between the two. For this, I just used a scraper.

Then I needed to pry up the pinch seam at the rear of the hood.

The screwdriver worked for the first 5 inches or so, then I had to get creative.

Once the understructure was removed I started on folding and pinching the edges. I accomplished this by using vise grips to hold a piece of angle iron to the underside of the skin and hammered it down to a 90

Once I got the edge where it needed to be, I pounded it flat to make a pinch seam and hammered the channel things up to make the edge flush all around.

After that, it was just a matter of putting the understructure back in place and re-pinching the rear seam. I also drilled a hole in all the points of the understructure that made contact with the skin and welded the two together.

This was the end result.

On a side note, it really sucks when this happens, sending the outter edge at what I assessed to be mach speeds right into your nads...

Next up was the right side fender. I started by laying up the pattern on the sheet and making all necessary cuts and marking where my bends would be.

To bend the lip I used the same angle iron/vise grips technique that I did with the hood. this next picture shows it clamped in place.

Next I needed to fab the turn signal bezel. I made a template by holding the plastic stock bezel against the sheet and tracing the hole while rocking it to the side to follow the opening around the corner. Once cut out, I just hammered the tabs in a vise and formed it by hand to match the light's contour.

Once it was formed I needed to cut the leading edge of the fender. I just sat the bezel in place and traced where the cut would be.

After the cut was made, I tacked the bezel in place.

Here's a photo of it all mocked up.

I may end up moving the headlights up a few inches. Not sure though.

And that brings the thread up to date. I still need to make the mounting brackets for the turn signal and cut the bottom of the bezel so I can pull the bottom edge in a bit (the turn signal tapers inward at the bottom).

The current to-do list;

• Turn signal brackets
• Finish weld the bezel
• Make left fender
• Finish weld the left side quarter block-out
• Install hood pins
• Bumper
• Paint

~Rev

 

[Mountaineer1113]

Um...

On a side note, it really sucks when this happens, sending the outter edge at what I assessed to be mach speeds right into your nads...

I'm sorry bro...



















but I couldn't help but laugh. :bsnicker:

Awesome progress!

 

[BigRondo]

It's really coming along nicely!