Gt-12

[gwaii]

Brian thomas' seats from his straight eight pakard rat rod.

i really like the ww2 aircraft look on this one.i'd like to do something along these lines at some point,but not on this project.

 

[gwaii]

Just love the fancy blueprints, they look like the ones I make. The red marker's a nice touch, I usually use a carpenters pencil.

i've found pencils don't work on metal too well,so everything gets done with a sharpie.
even woodwork.

 

[ChrisR1S]

A little off-topic, but Gwaii, what type/brand of flaring tool do you use for brakelines? I've tried everything short of snapon and matco with less than pitiful results... maybe its the cheap $25 roll of brakeline I purchased?

 

[gwaii]

A little off-topic, but Gwaii, what type/brand of flaring tool do you use for brakelines? I've tried everything short of snapon and matco with less than pitiful results... maybe its the cheap $25 roll of brakeline I purchased?

i'm not even sure what brand this one is,the label's been gone from the box for about 15 years now....but i can tell you it was not an expensive one.i think it may be KD.

i remember it took a while to get the knack for forming good double flares,and several of the people i tought to do it had similar troubles at first,but once you get it down pat,it's like riding a bike.

if people are interested i can go through the steps with the things to watch out for on this thread.it's an important skill for any builder to have,and one that is not as simple as some would think....for such a simple thing.

 

[TheTopher]

I for one would love to read it mate. This thread is great. Its like college, but cheaper

 

[BlackBII]

Love it man. Great work.

Can I make a suggestion? I think it'd look pretty slick if you were to make some rear fender flares and space the rear wheels out some...like a porsche.

 

[ChrisR1S]

That'd be pretty awesome Gwaii

Im pretty sure some of my problem is "user error", but then again I have to first find a tool where the little "dies" will quit bending

 

[MountainMike]

the idea of needing a pan heater still kinda scares me,though.i see your temps on the news every day and wonder how you do it.brrrr.

It's not so bad, below -25*C everything feels the same. It's all just cold


My truck has battery blanket, block heater, pan heater, the coolant set down to -45 and synthetic gear oil in the diffs. It really helps a lot in these conditions, which according to Ford fall under the "extreme" category. I still need to swap out my P/S fluid for synthetic. When I put in my new steering box I will.

 

[gwaii]

It's not so bad, below -25*C everything feels the same. It's all just cold


My truck has battery blanket, block heater, pan heater, the coolant set down to -45 and synthetic gear oil in the diffs. It really helps a lot in these conditions, which according to Ford fall under the "extreme" category. I still need to swap out my P/S fluid for synthetic. When I put in my new steering box I will.

extreme is right.getting that cold for a little while is nasty....months at a time would take some getting used to.

Love it man. Great work.

Can I make a suggestion? I think it'd look pretty slick if you were to make some rear fender flares and space the rear wheels out some...like a porsche.

i really like that look too,but on this car i want to keep the lines as close to stock as i can manage with what's being done on this car.some future build will get that treatment,though

I for one would love to read it mate. This thread is great. Its like college, but cheaper

That'd be pretty awesome Gwaii

Im pretty sure some of my problem is "user error", but then again I have to first find a tool where the little "dies" will quit bending

stay tuned

 

[gwaii]

Double Flare 101.

the first important step is getting a perfectly square cut.always use a tubing cutter,hacksaws and zipcuts will not do.the bigger one in the foreground is a very handy tool,the smaller one in the back is for tight spaces,like when you have to do a brakeline on the vehicle(not a nice way to do it,i don't recommend it unless theres no other way)

the cutter has this reamer in the handle to open out the cut end.

the pin on the upper die should slide easilly into the tube and sit square.if it's tight,more reaming is needed.

now,slide on the fitting.i don't know how many times i've forgotten this step and had to cut off a freshly formed flare to put it on.

whenever possible,use a vice to hold the clamp.this will make life a lot easier.

the dies have this little step on them....it's not there just for looks,it's to measure exactly how far the tube needs to project from the clamp.not approximately-exactly.

make sure the clamp is tight-both ends.set the die in place,and the press on top.twist the press frame clockwise on the clamp so it can't move when turned.look close at the die to make sure it's perfectly parallel to the clamp face.if it's not,slide the press to correct it.

tighten the press down SLOWLY,watching the die to make sure it's going straight.also,make sure the tube is not sliding in the clamp.tighten down completely.

remove the press and die...you should have something like this.

reposition the press(without the die)and turn clockwise as before.press down the flare.don't get too carried away with how tight it is-you don't want to squash it out too much-just press it down.

remove the press,it should look like this.

now undo the clamp....ta-da!

one perfect double flare.

don't worry about how long it takes at this point,it will get quicker with practice.and a line that took a little while to make properly is less likely to make you dead than a quick and sloppy job.

 

[ChrisR1S]

Thanks Gwaii, biggest difference I see in your process and the way I've attempted to do it is using the vice and the way you rotated the press to keep it from moving around...oh and not squashing the flare in the last step I'll be giving it another try Wed now Hopefully I can figure it out because I'm redoing the whole system on my ranger while its apart and I'm not accepting anything less than perfect...this could take some time

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

a drop of oil on the screw and on the die helps too.

 

[gwaii]

a drop of oil on the screw and on the die helps too.

that it does....but you need to be carefull not to get oil on the fittings or in the tube,as it will contaminate the brake fluid.

 

[cargs]

do you have any details on that atv trailer you painted a few pages ago?

did you build it or just paint it?

thanks

 

[gwaii]

Thanks Gwaii, biggest difference I see in your process and the way I've attempted to do it is using the vice and the way you rotated the press to keep it from moving around...

i thought this may be the case when i read this.....

I have to first find a tool where the little "dies" will quit bending

as bending(or breaking)the pin on the die was an ongoing problem i had untill i realized what was causing it.

there are several things that will cause this to happen;
cut not straight on tube,
end of tube not reamed well enough(pin too tight),
press moving while turning,
press not lined up correctly to start with.

if this first stage can be done correctly,the rest is usually pretty easy.

oh,and the reason for not squashing the flare down too much is that it gets it's final squeeze when the fittings are screwed together.this allows it to conform to the seat properly,giving it a good seal.