1990 short bed resto; TDi, 3-link, coilovers, doubler, JK axles

[A-man930]

 

 

[A-man930]

Starting the swap at this time was not really my intent, but the drivetrain really needed to come out for the rust repairs... I let the excitement get to me. 

 

 

 

 

[A-man930]

Picked up some power '97up doors.  Not sure at this point how I'm going to use them... parts donors for the 1-piece glass, regulator, and trim?  Or will I change out the striker and put the late doors on the truck?  One thing I'm unsure of is if the early interior panels can be mounted onto the late door...?

 

[A-man930]

Found some more rust under the battery support tray:  

 

 

 

 

[A-man930]

On 2/13/2020 at 9:31 PM, Pete M said:

just make sure you paint both sides of all patches.  

 

Like so? 

 

 

 

 

 

[A-man930]

 

 

 

[A-man930]

 

[A-man930]

On to the floor pans!

 

 

 

The Raybuck XJ pans need a fair amount of modification to fit properly:

 

 

 

 

[A-man930]

I have decided to avoid lap joints wherever possible and instead,  butt-weld everything.  It's a pain, but I'll feel better :)

 

 

[A-man930]

 

 

 

[A-man930]

Well, I'm committed now.

 

 

 

To be honest, I'm almost a tiny bit sad... I won't be able to say "six in a row makes it go!" anymore 

[A-man930]

Moar goodies 

 

[SiXJaK]

2 hours ago, A-man930 said:

Moar goodies 

 

Nice.

[A-man930]

Finally getting back into the MJ game!

 

I couldn't bring myself to close up the frame without doing some kind of reinforcement/bracing.  So here it is; should add quite a bit of strength without a bunch of extra weight and moisture-trapping:  

 

 

 

[Pete M]

that is an interesting idea.  sure looks like it would add some beef.  

[Ghostman]

Awesome build so far!


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[A-man930]

 

 

 

[Minuit]

I really like what you're doing here. I can definitely see the reluctance to avoid lap joints - sandwiched panels are a big part of what makes this such a pain in the @$$ to repair.

 

If you have to make a lap joint (For example, where the sheet metal floor pan fits over the uniframe rail flange), what is your plan for coating the mating surfaces? I plan to do an "OEM style" repair on my 89, and that's my biggest sticking point.

[MiNi Beast]

looks like way more then i would want to do.....not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing. 

 

looks very detailed and your patience and work will be worth it over the longevity of it. keep it up i enjoy your creativity.  

[A-man930]

15 hours ago, Minuit said:

I really like what you're doing here. I can definitely see the reluctance to avoid lap joints - sandwiched panels are a big part of what makes this such a pain in the @$$ to repair.

 

If you have to make a lap joint (For example, where the sheet metal floor pan fits over the uniframe rail flange), what is your plan for coating the mating surfaces? I plan to do an "OEM style" repair on my 89, and that's my biggest sticking point.

On 3/18/2020 at 1:37 AM, A-man930 said:

 

 

 

 

This is the best I can come up with.  I bought a bunch of small round stickers and I mask off the weld holes already drilled in the part.  I'll be using some kind of aerosol with a diffuser wand/nozzle on the areas I reach after welding; ideally a 2k epoxy like in the above picture, but I'm not sure the wand I have is compatible with those cans.  Otherwise I'm probably just going to rely on a cavity wax like Fluid Film reapplied periodically.   

What I'm not sure of is if applying a weld-through primer onto these surfaces is beneficial, ineffective, or actually harmful.  I was digging around on I-CAR's website the other day and noticed that some OEMs have semi-recently advised against using weld-through primers due to concerns regarding weld puddle contamination compromising the integrity of the weld.  I'll see if I can find the article again.

 

[A-man930]

14 hours ago, MiNi Beast said:

looks like way more then i would want to do.....not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing. 

 

looks very detailed and your patience and work will be worth it over the longevity of it. keep it up i enjoy your creativity.  

 

Thank you for the kind words.  I hope to get a solid 25 more years out of this thing.  

[A-man930]

22 hours ago, Minuit said:

If you have to make a lap joint (For example, where the sheet metal floor pan fits over the uniframe rail flange), what is your plan for coating the mating surfaces? I plan to do an "OEM style" repair on my 89, and that's my biggest sticking point.

 

Here's another place I did the sticker thing:

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by A-man930
picture problems

[A-man930]

Success with the diffuser nozzle tube thingey!

 

 

This can seemed to empty itself quite rapidly compared to the last one with the regular nozzle.  

 

This is where the wand came from; I've just been clearing it out with some brake clean and re-using it wherever it'll fit 

[Minuit]

So I see you've read the same articles I have. It seems like FCA's objection to weld-thru primer is concern about weld contamination, based on some of the reading I've done. Right now I'm not sure of a better option though. The rust jacking between flanges is a severe problem on my truck, and I'd really like for it to not happen again. I'm not a body guy though.

 

My plan as of right now is weld-thru primer on the flanges, 2K epoxy primer+ body color paint anywhere I can reach that isn't a weld area (including the underside of the frame braces), and once it's all done a coat of Fluid Film everywhere I can get to.

[A-man930]

2 hours ago, Minuit said:

So I see you've read the same articles I have. It seems like FCA's objection to weld-thru primer is concern about weld contamination, based on some of the reading I've done. Right now I'm not sure of a better option though. The rust jacking between flanges is a severe problem on my truck, and I'd really like for it to not happen again. I'm not a body guy though.

 

My plan as of right now is weld-thru primer on the flanges, 2K epoxy primer+ body color paint anywhere I can reach that isn't a weld area (including the underside of the frame braces), and once it's all done a coat of Fluid Film everywhere I can get to.

 

So, you're planning on only weld-thorough primer on the entire flange surface?  I would recommend looking into weld-through primer's adhesion properties (or lack thereof).  What I have read indicates that what makes the stuff "weld-through" also greatly diminishes how well the stuff protects from corrosion on the long term.  This is what led me to mask off for a tiny heat-affected-zone around each plug weld area and apply the good stuff to the remaining surface.  What I am unsure of is whether to spray the weld through on these masked off areas right before welding.  But I've not seen much to indicate that the weld itself gains any corrosion resistance from the primer.  

I need to read up on this topic again.