Roll-Cage, Simple Body Panels & Camo
Paint Job -
Part 3 ...
Feb 2010
Part #2 saw the frame stretched
to form a Mini-Truck bed and a location for the Battery Tray.
The original roll-cage was
re-installed and welded along with the bolt fixtures that held it in place.
I printed this image with 2
others, and spent hours just staring at them, trying to envision how I was going
to widen the roof area and enclose the rear area that would hold the UPS &
Electronics...
The first step was to knock
together a rack type frame for the UPS...
This is 3/4" Angle Iron
1/8th" thickness.
Like so many of the projects on
theworkshop.ca, it may not be pretty, but it is functional.
By the most fortuitous stroke of
luck, a neighbour stopped up for a visit, took one look at what I'd done and
what I wanted to do and immediately set me up with the Home-made Pipe Bender
pictured to the right...
It has a 20 ton ram, various
dies to accommodate a variety of tubing, and a foot control that powers the
hydraulics via an air supply line from the compressor.
After watching a number of
u-tube video's on how to set angles and translate them to tubing, the roll-cage
extension took minutes to form.
A sincere "Thank-You"
to T. Prince !!! I was at a loss on how I wanted to proceed before
this machine showed up...
The images above are the fruits
of the pipe-bender's labour, I couldn't be happier as most of my 1st attempts at
a new procedure generally don't turn out so well.
The bends made in the tubing had
2 simple angles along the same plane (at the rear), while the 3rd angle that tilts into
what will be a wind-screen kants inward at just under 20 degrees (I think?),
regardless it's done and is 100% better than just strapping out an area with
1/8th" plate and angle iron.
With the majority of the heavy
welding done, I opted to break from the metal work to seal-up the frame and any
exposed steel.
The frame with extended
roll-cage is definitely heavier than I can wrestle about, so I used a come-along
tied into a rafter to lift the front, while I flipped it from the back.
One drawback of tube type
framing is that it is tedious work to prep for paint...
Especially when you have to do
it twice. The images above are 3 coats of Evercoat Dura-Build Acrylic primer.
Big fuckin' deal, but the reason I mention this is that Arcylic primers (or Dura-Build
for sure) HAVE to be thinned with Laquer thinner, NOT Acetone...
The 1st coat went on fine as I
worked my way around the frame. As I came back to the point I started from, the
now dried Acetone thinned primer was blowing off in large flakes as the 2nd coat
started to be applied...
So a second full day of sanding
and wiping down the entire chassis to apply the primer per the manufactures
directions (Which to EverCoat's credit are clearly written in large type right
on the front of the can for any one that cares to actually read the label).
This is going to be the roof
panel, replacing the cloth sun screen that was absolutely useless even for
keeping the sun off of either the driver or the passenger. (forget about keeping
any sort of rain out.)
The roof is made from 1/4"
3-ply wood, 1" wide 1/4" thick strapping and fiberglass.
I would discourage folks from
walking on the roof, but it should at least provide a bit of shade.
The back panel is the same
plywood but just sealed with epoxy resin (no fiberglass Mat)... The panel is
mounted to a piano hinge that runs the width of the panel.
The panel is positioned to cover
the UPS/Charger and drive electronics when installed.
Disregard the 1st layer of
Ultra-flat Camo paint applied above, as my daughter & I were just trying
some sample spots to get an idea of how to paint this and have it look semi-passable.
I wanted the same lettering
stencil-work as was used on the Suzuk-E "Danger High Voltage",
"Experimental" and of course "theworkshop.ca"...
So I just ran the Suzuk-E
lettering G-Code that was still in the mill...
Also some maple leaf, twigs and
grass stencils for the camo.
Their shown in the Video below
being applied.
The end result looks much better
in daylight than it does off my 6 or 7 year old 3 Meg Pixel still image
camera...
You don't have to look too
closely to see that none of the lettering stencils are placed straight relative
to anything, including each other... This is because the first test passes I
made with the spray-bombs started the plastic stencils to curl due to some
chemical reaction and I had to move fast or cut more stencils.
The same thing happened to the
Maple Leaf, twigs etc stencils...
The reason for the diversion to
bodywork & paint was so that I could install the front-end (just once) and
establish the relative position of the rear shock mounts.
And this is the beauty of Camo
paint, if minor welding of additional fixtures or fasteners is applied, it is
a simple matter of cracking open the nearest can of paint and the new parts will
blend right in as though they were always there.
Once spring is here and we have
a good selection of native foliage to pick from, I can see touching-up the camo
again with the indigenous stock for templates.
So Part # 4 should have the
entire front-end (steering, brakes, wheels and seats) installed, the swing-arm
braced and the drivetrain (Motor Mount, Gear-box or jack-shaft etc) figured
out...
The video below is the last few
weeks of work trimmed down to 3 minutes and 30 some seconds...
