Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[GR8-68]

They make tucking the bumpers look easy on Kindig and Overhaulin Keep at it though it will look great when you finish up

[Low Elco]

I was thinking about you last night, they were tucking the bumpers on an 80 El Camino on Fast n Loud.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

All that is looking squeaky clean Vic!

Thanks, John!

Originally Posted by AKC

Always a joy to see your work Vic.
Hope you dad is doing well and you're seeing good.

Yep, we're good on both counts.

Originally Posted by GR8-68

They make tucking the bumpers look easy on Kindig and Overhaulin Keep at it though it will look great when you finish up

That's the magic of TV! It just kills me when they tear something apart then skip nearly everything in between and go straight for the reveal.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

I was thinking about you last night, they were tucking the bumpers on an 80 El Camino on Fast n Loud.

Don't tell me how it ends... I have it on the DVR and haven't watched it yet.

We've had appointments every day this week except Friday for Dad or the dog which reduces the time available for beating on the bumper. I added a thin strip to the passenger side to close up the gap a bit and welded out some more splices. I've dialed the heat way back and started going much slower which has produced better results. Hole is starting to close up on the driver side.

I finally got in touch with the shop that does the spray on chrome and I'm weighing whether to go that route. They only guarantee the work if they do everything from the ground up. Bumpers start at $700 and $85/hr. for bodywork and prep. So I'd probably be looking at over a grand for just the front. I'm starting to think a high gloss silver next to the flat red oxide color on the truck might look pretty dang good.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks, John!

Yep, we're good on both counts.

That's the magic of TV! It just kills me when they tear something apart then skip nearly everything in between and go straight for the reveal.

Don't tell me how it ends... I have it on the DVR and haven't watched it yet.

We've had appointments every day this week except Friday for Dad or the dog which reduces the time available for beating on the bumper. I added a thin strip to the passenger side to close up the gap a bit and welded out some more splices. I've dialed the heat way back and started going much slower which has produced better results. Hole is starting to close up on the driver side.

I finally got in touch with the shop that does the spray on chrome and I'm weighing whether to go that route. They only guarantee the work if they do everything from the ground up. Bumpers start at $700 and $85/hr. for bodywork and prep. So I'd probably be looking at over a grand for just the front. I'm starting to think a high gloss silver next to the flat red oxide color on the truck might look pretty dang good.

That is looking great...

[69CST-V]

Nice work as always...

[Low Elco]

I am in the wrong business. That is all.

Looks good!

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
I gotta say, you have the utmost patience with this project....I'd have lost my mind by now.....just dealing with the little issues I'm having are driving me banana's

I'm trying to sort out this whole Holley carburetor problem I'm having, and I'm taking it step by step, but I'm finding myself reaching for that "Quadrajet" sitting on the shelf rather often, but I'm not one to give up on anything.....
Have a good one!
Ben

[Vic1947]

Thanks, everyone. I've been switching back and forth between working on CRLS and ripping a bunch of CD's that belong to Dad. When he moved in with us, we stashed a box full of them and I'm just now getting around to adding them to the music library. He wants to give an MP3 player to my uncle who's in assisted living and only has a radio with local stations. So, lots of trips up and down the stairs.

The metal work on the driver side is mostly finished. Next up are the filler panels that go between the bumper and the grille shell. You can see the pattern in one of the photos below. Not sure how well my box and pan brake is going to like bending that long of a piece... or if I have enough grunt to get the job done.

[Xeen]

The bumper mod has really cleaned up the front end of the pickup, much more refined than the original factory design. I can't wait to see it all welded in and finished up, this is good stuff.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

The bumper mod has really cleaned up the front end of the pickup, much more refined than the original factory design. I can't wait to see it all welded in and finished up, this is good stuff.

Thanks, Brian, me too!

I went ahead and used my box and pan brake to make the bends in the filler strips. The both of us creaked and groaned a lot, but we got 'er done. The profile was a bit more laid back than I'd planned, but it was necessary to make the filler strips flush with the bumper. I need the lip on the bottom because I plan to install these with panel adhesive. I've used it on the roof and the hood and it seems to work real well. We'll see if all that glue holds when we're going down the road doin' the shake and bake.

I put some small curves at the ends of the filler strips, but when I put the bumper back on after trimming it, I had too much gap with the strips in the initial location. Took the clecos out and let the strips slide forward and the gaps look way better. They also lay parallel to the bumper now. I'll have to massage the ends and the center a bit more, but I'm pretty happy with the overall look as it sits right now.

[sduckworth13]

Nice work Vic! That does look really nice!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Nice work Vic! That does look really nice!

Thanks, Scott... and thanks again for coming over and helping us get the hood off CRLS. Now I can pull the fenders and get the last of the welding done on them.

[sduckworth13]

Your welcome Vic. I'm always more than happy to help.

[Low Elco]

God help the moron that backs into this at Home depot. "cuz you know, it's gonna be there a lot, just pickin' up 2x4's, and mulch, and flowers and stuff.

Good lookin' work!

[tune_1]

Good work, like the changes you are making. Glad to hear that you and your Dad are doing good.

Dwight

[Bennett68C10]

Wow Vic, that bumper mod looks amazing. Awesome job!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

God help the moron that backs into this at Home depot. "cuz you know, it's gonna be there a lot, just pickin' up 2x4's, and mulch, and flowers and stuff. Good lookin' work!

I'm more of a Lowe's kinda guy, Chip, but I get your drift. Even if you park out in the middle of the lot with no one around, when you come out of the store there'll be a clapped out halftrack parked so close you can barely get in. I'll have to remember to take a "Quik Trip" photo with my first load.

Originally Posted by tune_1

Good work, like the changes you are making. Glad to hear that you and your Dad are doing good. Dwight

Thanks, Dwight!

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Wow Vic, that bumper mod looks amazing. Awesome job!

Thanks, Keith... now the nitpicky stuff starts.

The filler panel that forms the step across the bottom of the grille is glued in. The adhesive has only about a 10 minute work window, so you gotta hustle when it comes out of the applicator. It's solid as a rock now. Before I removed the fender to do the final welding, I welded some tabs to the bumper to add some stability to the ends. They will connect to tabs welded to the fenders. Right now, they're just mocked up, and I'll finalize their location when the fenders go back on. The problem with all this is that every time you remove components, they never seem to want to go back on in the exact same spot.

[Elliot949]

This is really starting to come together... Looks great Vic...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

This is really starting to come together... Looks great Vic...

Thanks, Dan, it's slowly but surely getting there. I finally have both fenders welded, ground and ready for self etch primer and filler. Felt a bit like Dr. Frankenstein looking at his creation once the welding was complete. Looks like the outboard tabs should sturdy enough to keep the ends of the bumper from vibrating. The last thing I'll do is scribe the lines on the bumper to set the gaps to 1/4" everywhere. But there's a lot of bondo work before that can happen. More later.

[hotrod1]

Victor

Why did you use bronze instead of a ER70s-2 or -6? Grindability? What about strength?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Victor

Why did you use bronze instead of a ER70s-2 or -6? Grindability? What about strength?

According to posts on WeldingWeb...
Min UTS and YS of SiBr filler is ~ 50ksi and 25ksi, respectively. ER70S-2/6 wires, on the other hand, have a Min UTS and YS of 80ksi and 70ksi, respectively. Brazing is strong given proper joint prep and application. Its all about the design of the joint. Brazing in general won't stand up to any kind of heat above 200-300 degrees, but in a properly designed joint, I have read it can have a tensile strength up to 70KSI which is about equal to ordinary hot rolled steel. Sockets and laps work well with brazing. If you're not loading it near the fatigue limits of steel, bronze makes a plenty strong joint for almost all situations. It's great for tool making when dealing with high carbon steels that are not normally weldable.

I've used SiBr for many years in non structural applications. I wouldn't recommend it on a roll cage for instance, but on sheet metal it works pretty well. It welds at a lower temperature (unless you get in a hurry ) and if you take your time using a low amperage setting, it shrinks a lot less than the ER70S. It grinds much faster than EZ Grind wire or equivalent TiG filler rod. It has it's downsides, such as not playing well with gaps, which is why the joint prep is so important. It also has a tendency to be sooty at higher temps.

The bumper material is about .100" (12-13ga) and welds fine at around 40-50 amps with my Miller Dynasty DX inverter TiG. If I dial it up to 85-90, it goes a lot faster but it puts too much heat in the material and it warps. I'd have problems running ER70S-6 at the lower heat setting so the SiBr was my filler of choice.

[hotrod1]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

According to posts on WeldingWeb...
Min UTS and YS of SiBr filler is ~ 50ksi and 25ksi, respectively. ER70S-2/6 wires, on the other hand, have a Min UTS and YS of 80ksi and 70ksi, respectively. Brazing is strong given proper joint prep and application. Its all about the design of the joint. Brazing in general won't stand up to any kind of heat above 200-300 degrees, but in a properly designed joint, I have read it can have a tensile strength up to 70KSI which is about equal to ordinary hot rolled steel. Sockets and laps work well with brazing. If you're not loading it near the fatigue limits of steel, bronze makes a plenty strong joint for almost all situations. It's great for tool making when dealing with high carbon steels that are not normally weldable.

I've used SiBr for many years in non structural applications. I wouldn't recommend it on a roll cage for instance, but on sheet metal it works pretty well. It welds at a lower temperature (unless you get in a hurry ) and if you take your time using a low amperage setting, it shrinks a lot less than the ER70S. It grinds much faster than EZ Grind wire or equivalent TiG filler rod. It has it's downsides, such as not playing well with gaps, which is why the joint prep is so important. It also has a tendency to be sooty at higher temps.

The bumper material is about .100" (12-13ga) and welds fine at around 40-50 amps with my Miller Dynasty DX inverter TiG. If I dial it up to 85-90, it goes a lot faster but it puts too much heat in the material and it warps. I'd have problems running ER70S-6 at the lower heat setting so the SiBr was my filler of choice.

Thanks for the great explanation. I think I will try it. Any other settings on the Dynasty? Have you ever pulsed it with SiBr.

[jlsanborn]

That is coming together buddy! Not that I had any doubt you'd get there but I was sure clenching once you got into all that cutting. I can only imagine the mess I'd have on my hands at this point!

[Xeen]

It came out beautiful Vic, Impressive work!

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
What? No paint ? You're slackin' seriously, outstanding work! I've just about have the engine buttoned up from the cam change. Hope to crank it up tonight or tomorrow evening.next project will be the power steering gear box, it seems my pitman arm seal is leaking pretty good, and its soaking the bump stop rubber bumper and every time I turn right it would spit out the rubber bumper....$10 a shot. Time to get it done. Have a good one!
Ben