General Tech What did you work on Today?

[Magerdgr]

Today I finally got around to swapping out the tired but sweet velour rear seat cover in the ‘68 and replacing it with a new factory style cover that I scored a couple months ago.

When this car was restored back in the ‘90s by the P.P.0 they converted the interior to this beautiful fabric that a buddy deemed “like a whorehouse”.
By the time I took possession of her the front seats had been recovered in OE style black vinyl but the rear retained the pleasure package.

Once I removed the lovin’ layers, I found the original Ivy Gold seat Covers under them, a little worse for the wear. I’d actually prefer the Ivy Gold to its current Raven Black, but that’s what I had so we ran with it. Once I finally get around to painting the car I’ll probably go with Parchment interior simply for the not cooking me factor, plus I think it’ll look good with the Highland Green Metallic it will return to.

Done, and way better! Thanks @spaggyroe for the use of the hog ring pliers. 👍🏻

 

[Kiel]

All in favor of the pleasure package velvet, like this post!

 

[Magerdgr]

All in favor of the pleasure package velvet, like this post!

My daughter wants to keep it to make a chair for her room. 😂😂😂

Pretty sure my wife will put the kibosh on that.

 

[XJEEPER]

No father ever wants to hear his daughter utter the words "pleasure package"..........

 

[XJEEPER]

After toying with several rear bumper designs for my XJ, I finally decided to just go with a JCR DIY bumper that I could modify to suit my goals of a bumper that matches the XJ body lines and the removal of the stock receiver hitch, which hangs down about 4" below bumper height and incorporating a tow-worthy receiver into the bumper.

This unit is well thought out and CNC cut out of 3/16' T steel.



I made the appropriate folds per instructions and then proceeded to tack the parts together. I made sure to tack on some temporary bracing to prevent warping, as I welded the center section.




Next step was to join the end-caps to the center section and then bust out the flap wheel, as copious amounts of grind-age is required to contour the angles of bumper face, which if done correctly, ends up looking like this.



With the bumper test-fitted to the mounts, I noticed that the lower outside corners looked like they would be prone to snag on rocks upon ledge departure and lacking proper tie-in, would likely bend.



Time to break out the Cardboard Aided Design tools to remedy this design flaw.



I broke out my new favorite fab tool and produced two filler panels from some 3/16" scrap that I had on-hand.



Burn and blend completed

 

[zmotorsports]

Great job on the bumper. That turned out fantastic.

Mike

 

[XJEEPER]

With the bottom side beefed up, I welded on the tail-light fillers and shackle tabs, which tie into the bumper mounts, which then tie into the receiver mounting points on the uniframe.




I chopped the center tube out of my stock receiver hitch and replaced the cross tube with a section of 2" x 2" x .250 wall tube, which is relocated higher on the brackets so that it will be recessed behind my new bumper, instead of hanging below and dragging on tall ledges.

I trimmed up the mounting brackets a bit before welding this assembly together.



I then fabbed up an angle bracket which will be welded to the center of the new hitch tube and provide a solid attachment point for the receiver that I will weld into the bumper. I drilled a couple of 5/8" holes in this bracket and the mating plate that will weld to the bumper, so that the bumper receiver can be unbolted from the hidden hitch frame.

 

[zmotorsports]

Very nice workmanship and nice welds.

Mike

 

[XJEEPER]

Very nice workmanship and nice welds.

Mike

Thanks, Mike!

 

[kmboren]

With the bottom side beefed up, I welded on the tail-light fillers and shackle tabs, which tie into the bumper mounts, which then tie into the receiver mounting points on the uniframe.

View attachment 127793View attachment 127794
View attachment 127795

I chopped the center tube out of my stock receiver hitch and replaced the cross tube with a section of 2" x 2" x .250 wall tube, which is relocated higher on the brackets so that it will be recessed behind my new bumper, instead of hanging below and dragging on tall ledges.

I trimmed up the mounting brackets a bit before welding this assembly together.

View attachment 127796View attachment 127797View attachment 127798

I then fabbed up an angle bracket which will be welded to the center of the new hitch tube and provide a solid attachment point for the receiver that I will weld into the bumper. I drilled a couple of 5/8" holes in this bracket and the mating plate that will weld to the bumper, so that the bumper receiver can be unbolted from the hidden hitch frame.

View attachment 127799View attachment 127800

Looks Awesome. I am a little surprised you didn't cut out the the opening and slide in 2x4 metal into the Unibody. That's what I did and incorporated the hitch into the bumper and welded nuts so you could still attach bumper with the hitch would bolt.

 

[glockman]

I would love to be able to flap disc anything that perfectly straight and smooth. Goals!! The bumper looks much better than if JCR had welded it together for you.

 

[zmotorsports]

I stopped off to my buddies shop on the way home from work last night and charged my A/C system. He’s pretty good about letting me use his machine in exchange for the occasional welding or machining job.

I pulled the system into a vacuum and let it sit for about 20-minutes and it held great so went ahead and charged the system.

Upon arriving home I cleaned up the shop from the last couple of nights of work and stumbled across a few signs/placards from my old shop and thought I’d hang them.

Then while checking batteries and fluids in the coach I noticed the rear engine bay door wouldn’t latch on the street side. I instantly noticed my lower latching pawl was missing, do I copied the curb side.

Curb side still attached.

New one being cut out of some 3/16” mild steel.

Used the press brake to put a slight jog in it to match the other.

Installed, adjusted and painted.

All in all a quick little 15-minute detour from the night’s tasks to be completed.


Thanks for looking.

Mike

 

[Herzog]

@zmotorsports Ok now I need to know - do you have any more info on your lower swag dies? Those are awesome!

 

[Herzog]

I had to rip down some steel plate I purchased so I could store it better for future projects... the first one I plasma cut which is OK but annoying and still requires cleanup. In the past I borrowed a metal skill saw which was freaking awesome so I started looking online for one but instead I came across this blade for normal skill saws. I figured I'd give it a try.

I was NOT disappointed! I ripped through a sheet of 3/16 and 1/8 like butter and the blade edges still look new. I have no affiliation with this company, I'm just impressed with the blade. Could make a good option for those of us who don't have giant sheers or plasma tables.

Now, the blade is rated for up to 1/4" plate but the batteries did get pretty warm on each cut of 3/16. I rotated two batteries out between each cut. But after these long cuts it's just gonna be smaller cuts for projects anyways. Might be good to use a corded saw for longer cuts.

 

[zmotorsports]

@zmotorsports Ok now I need to know - do you have any more info on your lower swag dies? Those are awesome!

They are just a standard 4-way press die. I bought them slightly used off of ebay a couple of months ago and just last week cut the angle iron from my SWAG brake and installed the 4-way die. I bought two 12" sections and cut one down to 7 inches for a total of 19". I still need to drill and tap the front and rear of the base to install a shim/locking apparatus in order to shift them to keep them centered under the fingers but haven't had time yet and just threw them in the brake to try last night out on this little project.

Mike

 

[Herzog]

They are just a standard 4-way press die. I bought them slightly used off of ebay a couple of months ago and just last week cut the angle iron from my SWAG brake and installed the 4-way die. I bought two 12" sections and cut one down to 7 inches for a total of 19". I still need to drill and tap the front and rear of the base to install a shim/locking apparatus in order to shift them to keep them centered under the fingers but haven't had time yet and just threw them in the brake to try last night out on this little project.

Mike

Thank you! I love the flexibility you have with those. Very cool.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thank you! I love the flexibility you have with those. Very cool.

Thank you. I just haven't been impressed with the receiving side of the SWAG press brake. For small pieces the bend radius is dictated by that large angle iron and not conducive to a nice tight bend.

I originally had smaller and smaller pieces of angle iron that I would place inside of the large angle iron in the base and that would help to close up the bend radius a little but still not tight enough for my liking and I knew these 4-way dies were the industry standard in large press brakes so I thought I'd give it a try. Time will tell but so far I like it.

Mike

 

[Pile of parts]

I had to rip down some steel plate I purchased so I could store it better for future projects... the first one I plasma cut which is OK but annoying and still requires cleanup. In the past I borrowed a metal skill saw which was freaking awesome so I started looking online for one but instead I came across this blade for normal skill saws. I figured I'd give it a try.

I was NOT disappointed! I ripped through a sheet of 3/16 and 1/8 like butter and the blade edges still look new. I have no affiliation with this company, I'm just impressed with the blade. Could make a good option for those of us who don't have giant sheers or plasma tables.

Now, the blade is rated for up to 1/4" plate but the batteries did get pretty warm on each cut of 3/16. I rotated two batteries out between each cut. But after these long cuts it's just gonna be smaller cuts for projects anyways. Might be good to use a corded saw for longer cuts.

View attachment 127819

View attachment 127820

I had to do the same earlier this year on some 1/4". I used a skill saw with a cord and an abrasive blade. It worked but I bet yours worked better. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Herzog]

I had to do the same earlier this year on some 1/4". I used a skill saw with a cord and an abrasive blade. It worked but I bet yours worked better. Thanks for the tip!

I think I was just more suprised that the blade lasted through that many long cuts and was still sharp! A corded saw is much preferable for this haha

 

[BCGPER]

While all you city folks are burning everything, I finished the box.

It’s getting pretty full in there, but my garage is getting pretty empty. I’d call that a win!