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  #121  
Old 11-04-2014, 08:19 PM
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Gojeep Gojeep is offline
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Back to posting an update. Just could not get the time to work on it last week but have had some time since. Was not sure if to show all of this or not, as might be seen as a failure by some, but I saw it as a good training exercise even if it ended up going in a different direction by the end of it.


I bought a 1947 CJ2a Willys tailgate in the US and got the centre cut out of it and sent over for me. My thought was to use the centre raised part with the Willys stamped into it to replace the old cowl vent. I wanted to keep some detail there rather than have it just plain if I filled it in.


Then I wondered what it would look like to try and replace the whole centre cowl panel with the tailgate piece. Would need quite a bit of shaping though as you can see. Made even harder by the fact it had those big ribs in it and it is 1.6 mm, or 16 gauge steel.


The cowl not only curves from top to bottom but also left to right creating a compound curve.


I started by hamming out the rib where it made a right angle turn along the bottom.


Straightened up the edge using a cold chisel.


Also used this wedge dolly to help round the end by hammering it using it as a chaser.


Clamped it upside down to the edge of the bench to straighten it from the inside too.


Come up fairly well.


Did the other side and they now match the factory middle one.


Didn't want the pressing that the tie down loops were on. Done one side already and used heat this time as wanted it to shrink at the same time.


Using a blocking hammer where I could over the beater bag and the curved wedge dolly along the side the ribs to try and curve it.


Can see that I am getting there but still needs more along the flatter part as well as the end.


End is looking pretty good now.


It is the middle I am having problem with because I can't bend the area where the Willys stamp is without risking damaging it.


This piece I am holding above it forms the lower part of the windscreen and needs to be welded to the top of it. I have no where near enough curve in the centre to match it.


Can see the problem here that without trying to curve the Willys stamping, it will never be right. Also starting to think the ribs are too much as well as they are much bigger than the ones on the rest of the body so will look out of place.


So going back to my original idea of just using the Willys stamp and the raised bit it sits on. Just hope I have not ruined the part now with all the beating it has already taken! I cut the outer ribs off and started to flatten out the one in the centre.


Using an old brickies bolster I dressed up the edge.


Brought up the dip it got in the middle as well using the bolster from underneath.


Flattened out the top rib as well and showing how I bring the edge and straighten it after clamping it along the edge of the table.


This it the underside of where the cowl vent sat and where the Willys piece will fill it in.


Cut the lip off and found rust so decided to make the cut out larger to get rid of it.


Used a holesaw in each corner as this reduces the distortion as the weld wont be concentrated to a sharp corner.


Hole cut out and the rust gone.


So now I have the final size of the cut out I can start shaping the piece to match the compound curves of the lower part of the cowl.


Dressed it out and it came out better than I thought after all that hammering!


This shows how much curve it has left to right along with front to rear. I even got the Willys part to curve as well to blend in better. I will strip the paint from the cowl and then make the final cut to this piece fit the hole.
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Last edited by Gojeep; 08-02-2017 at 01:17 AM.
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  #122  
Old 11-05-2014, 06:25 PM
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Been busy working on the house, garden and the Cherokee lately but have managed to still get a bit done here and there when I could. Also have stripped all the paint from the lower half of the cab and dipped it in the citric acid to remove the rust. Didn't think it was worth boring people with showing that as have already shown the process.


I placed the part of the CJ2a tailgate under the hole cut away from the old vent and marked where to cut. The WILLYS name was centred exactly over were the old vent was and then tacked it into place. Was about to fully mig weld it in but decided against it due to cracking problems when you hammer the weld to get rid of any distortion. So going to buy a AC/DC tig welder and learn how to use one. Always wanted to learn so this is a good time to do so. Been watching plenty of videos on it and reading on forums so wish me luck.


This is where the panel will sit. I left the reduced height at the top of the raised part that the stamped Willys is on as it looks more factory blending into the cowl as is rises.


This also gives you an idea of how I plan to join the old cowl to the new firewall. The old part of the Willys firewall will be replaced with a single piece that will take in the whole width of the firewall and the three parts of the cowl. It will also have a bottom flange turned up so it can be plug welded along the existing seam there. Will most likely make a hammer form as both top and bottom flanges are curved.


Spent a bit of time smoothing out that dent further that I had worked on earlier. Used a file to highlight the highs and lows and then worked it with the slapping file and shrink disc.


Just about got it now.


Got this rotted out corner to repair. I have melted out the factory lead to see just how much needs to be done.


Can see the door sill has a hole right through it as well as poor alignment of the joint too.


Traced the end of the sill to get a profile so I can make a patch panel for it.


It is important when laying out a lot of folds like this that the thickness of the metal is deducted for each fold. This is 1.2 mm sheet and if I did not take the thickness into account, I would be out 7.2 mm by the end.

[
The sill is not flat between the folds so it is easier to get the profile in before folding. As I don't have an english wheel, I just used a convex slapper/flipper on the beater bag to get the shape.

Continuing on.


Put a bit of a radius on the edge on my table and clamped down the piece. Then used a flipper to knock in the fold as leaves no marks like a hammer would. A soft blow hammer or rubber mallet works well too.


Used a bolster with the closer folds.


Just needs a slight adjustment and be ready to weld in.


A little trick too is if you have a folder that is not adjustable, you can soften the fold by folding a piece of scrap first and then placing the next piece under it.


Welded in and ready to be trimmed to fit.


Looks better than the factory join above it.


Before fitting the sill back I need to repair the rusted out piece just above where it will go.


Welded in and will give it a final trim once I start fitting the sill back in. The raised part is the end of the lower sill.


Important to keep it nice and straight as the back of the door edge will be running along side of it.
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The more brains you use, the less materials you need.

Last edited by Gojeep; 08-02-2017 at 01:26 AM.
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  #123  
Old 11-06-2014, 06:05 PM
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Had a few photos left on the memory card so thought I would put them up before we leave for holidays on Friday.


Welded the sill back into the panel. I welded it from the inside as hard to smooth out the weld on the inside corners otherwise. Had to take into account the angle of the sill that is for the same as before to not only match the door, but also that it pointed towards the A pillar.


The sill is made from 1.2 mm/18G and the panel from 0.9 mm/20G. The join from the factory was in line with the edge of the B pillar but I extended the sill into the end of the original panel pressing instead. Be stronger this way.


The other side was not as bad but was very thin and could not easily tack a few pin holes. Want to clean up that factory join anyway so did the same to this side as well.


Both sides done now.


This is the stock cowl and door together and feel things can be improved for them to better match each other. The cowl looks rather plain stock next to all the detail in the door.


Firstly will extend the door sill pressing all the way to the end and then thinking of adding this Willys pressing to line up with the middle of the three ribs at the bottom of the door. Similar to what you find on a CJ5 etc where they have Jeep instead.


Also have to add an intake for the A/C so fresh air can be sucked into the cabin. Got a pair of louvers sent to me before the scrapper took the rest of the FJ Landcruiser tub. Thanks to Twisty and his friend for organizing that for me.


Beat out the folds it had and cleaned it up. I will be adding one to the other side as well as will be needed to make up the volume I need. Will be a bit more than required so thinking of removing one louver to leave 6. That matches better with the two lots of three ribs on the door as well. The bottom louver will line up with the top of the guard/bottom of the bonnet/hood. The cowl seam will be welded up as well as does not line up with anything at all.


Got a fair bit of work to do to repair the rust here at the bottom of the cowl on both sides. Will be able to get rid of most when extending the door sill pressing to the end and will cut away the factory joint which is all twisted and full of lead. There is also a patch that has to be cut out where the original mirror I think was ripped out leaving a big hole. That was later fixed by them backing it with some 1/4" plate and arc welding it to the panel steel! Caused a lot of distortion and fatigue cracking.
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Marcus
aka. Gojeep
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Invention is a combination of brains and materials.
The more brains you use, the less materials you need.

Last edited by Gojeep; 08-02-2017 at 01:32 AM.
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  #124  
Old 11-06-2014, 08:59 PM
toreadorxlt toreadorxlt is offline
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very very very clean work. awesome!
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  #125  
Old 11-07-2014, 04:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smidje View Post
nice work there

just wondering about the rust removal part.... what to do with the bath tub full of acid after you`re done...?
It is not a problem to get rid of I would think as basically just lemon juice! Speaking of which, I just returned from Morocco and they were polishing the bronze gates to the palace just using lemons cut in half.




The lemons were still green. Don't know if that made a difference. Thought they were limes at first but asked the guys and they were lemons.


After cleaning the tarnish off with only lemons. Was not even rinsed.
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Invention is a combination of brains and materials.
The more brains you use, the less materials you need.

Last edited by Gojeep; 11-08-2014 at 03:11 AM.
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  #126  
Old 11-07-2014, 04:59 AM
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Haven't had as much time of late and a lot of little stuff that needs to be done is not worth showing like repairing the hinge pockets and welding in little patches here and there etc. Just thought I would put up a bit to show some thing is happening anyway.


This ugly repair needs to be cut out as the heat warped the whole panel and cracking around it from fatigue has occurred.


I reduced the amount of louvers by one and now laying it out and the Willys pressing to be square with the door edge.


This is what the back of the nasty repair looked like.


I want to do a better job of this junction too.


I welded the whole cowl seam just with the mig and then cut the flange off the back so I could planish it flat. Also made a patch for the repair spot after shaping the piece with a mallet on the beater bag.


Fully welded and the louver is just sitting there as will leave that until last so it does not get damaged when the rest of the repairs get done.


I started with the worse side of the cowl first so I had something to reference back too. The other side showed this to be flat but this was already bowed before starting any repairs, most likely from the arc welded patch at the top.


Using mainly the shrinking disc on the 9" grinder, and then cooling straight away with compressed air, I was able to get it quite flat again. As more repairs get done it will have to be repeated again a number of times no doubt.
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Invention is a combination of brains and materials.
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Last edited by Gojeep; 08-02-2017 at 01:35 AM.
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  #127  
Old 11-07-2014, 09:05 AM
galooph galooph is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gojeep View Post
It is not a problem to get rid of I would think as basically just lemon juice! Speaking of which, I just returned from Morocco and they were polishing the bronze gates to the place just using lemons cut in half.
When life gives you lemons...

They certainly worked well on those gates though!
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  #128  
Old 11-08-2014, 03:12 AM
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Gojeep Gojeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by galooph View Post
When life gives you lemons...

They certainly worked well on those gates though!
Ha ha, well said.
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  #129  
Old 11-08-2014, 03:16 AM
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Melted the lead out of the sill join and was not pretty. Will cut it all away and remake the whole bottom section.


Tacked in the Willys pressing ready for tig welding once I get one.


Folded up a replacement for the bottom of the cowl with the extended sill all the way to the end this time.


Used the rounded flipper to create the curve by hamming down on it with the mallet. Was easier than trying to hammer down under the lip with the flipper alone.


Ready for welding.


Dressed and ready to fit.


The inner panel needed repairs as well.


Replaced the bottom section and thought the pitted area above it looked bad by comparison now so cut it out.


So that has been fixed now ready for service once again.


To make sure I got the holes for the running board in the right place in the new piece of the bottom of the cowl, I clamped it together with the guard. Gave me an idea of how it will look together now too. Can see how I lined up the bottom of the louvers with the top of the guard as well.
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Marcus
aka. Gojeep
Victoria, Australia
http://willyshotrod.com

Invention is a combination of brains and materials.
The more brains you use, the less materials you need.

Last edited by Gojeep; 08-02-2017 at 01:37 AM.
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  #130  
Old 11-08-2014, 04:20 AM
Dave Deyton Dave Deyton is offline
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That is cool. Really looking good. I love to see a project with changes that look factory but with a better flow of the lines. Great progress. I'm enjoying following this post.

Dave
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