The Dutchmans winter rail rebuild

[thedirtydutchman]

Figured id create a thread here instead of updating in the off road section. Ill be starting on the rail this weekend so ill keep everyone updated on the progress if anyone cares to see it that is! Heres what it started out as. Lets see where it goes from here.

[vanapplebomb]

I am looking forward to seeing what you will do with this machine! It is a really good starting point. What are you planning to upgrade or change?

[thedirtydutchman]

I am putting dual carbs on the 1679, new exhaust(thinking about a tri mill sidewinder, i like the low exit point), new tires all the way around, maybe new rims in the back if i find a good deal on narrow ones, re wire the entire car WITH FUSES(novel concept I know), new shocks all the way around, paint the engine and trans and tins, paint the wheels, new shifter, seat belt harness, possably plating a bunch of stuff(rear arms etc), I might cut the windsheild frame and make it have less rake back so I dont hit my hands on it when Im driving. Plus I like the look of a more upright windsheild. Im sure there is more Im planning on doing but I cant remember right now. I have a giant list on my phone. I think ill have enough to stay busy till the snow goes away in the spring!

[vanapplebomb]

Awesome. I will be tuned in to your thread.

[81pumagtc]

Careful with the windshield frame...your windshield frame is mounted to your actual frame. Lots of companies do that so they don't have to engineer a physical mount for a frame...it's a great deal easier to do.

If you want to have a more upright windshield, It's a great deal of work, and you will end up with a huge blind spot due to the frame, in addition to the windshield frame.

You also have to have a base to mount it to, or struts to hold the frame.

Just saying...


Dave Riedle

[vanapplebomb]

Huge blind spot? It's just tubing. Most mass production passenger cars probably have worse blind spots...just saying.

[thedirtydutchman]

Well, the more I look at it im going to have to change waaaay to much stuff to move the windshield anyway. I will have to basically re do the whole top of the thing. So that's out. Oh well. But....I made some good progress tonight. Took the glass body off (will it warp or anything if I just lay it on the floor over the winter?). Took all the old, rusty, half seized up shocks off and now my suspension actually moves! Weeeee new shocks coming soon. Pulled the motor out to get it cleaned up and painted. Any advice on painting the block? Found out it had a neat old Stuart warner mechanical speedo mounted on the floor. It works but the lens is kinda gross. Also, I want to plate the rear arms or at least build shock mounts for them to run longer shocks. However my brake calipers are in the way. Can I just move the mounts so they are in a different spot? Heres a pic......

[MadMike]

Flat Black paint on the block,, I don't paint them holds in the heat

[Southpaw]

Heres a maybe add a block spacer to drop mount area at dash lowing steering wheel , maybe an 1"-1 1/2" block.

[thedirtydutchman]

I thought about dropping the steering wheel but I think it will be to low. Im 6'2 and im a bit big for this thing. Lol. I think ill just deal with it for now. On the paint thing, should I not paint the trans either? What can I do to clean them up and make them look better?

[81pumagtc]

Vanapplebomb:

You have a relatively large frame tube in front of you, and then another smaller windshield frame tube in front of that. Since you have a restricted sight line between them, especially when considering where you are sitting, and the distance between your two eyes, it causes an area that is effectively a large blind spot.

It makes turning and maneuvering in tight corners more difficult due to the lack of clear vision.

Probably not very good for off-road driving...

There are guidelines for designing roll cages for off-road and road-racing cars dealing with vision, and this would not be good...drag-racing, maybe. You are really looking straight ahead.

Thats why when you look at some cars with thick windshield pillars, such as the Pontiac Solstice, or Saturn Sky, the pillars are almost triangular inside to help reduce the apparent width of the A-pillar. Still very hard to hit an apex with either car consistently, especially in traffic.

I do a fair amount of this...and drive, too.


Dave Riedle

[vanapplebomb]

Oct 3, 2014 19:18:08 GMT -5 thedirtydutchman said:

Also, I want to plate the rear arms or at least build shock mounts for them to run longer shocks.

Only tools/supplies needed:
-Scissors and scrap cardboard
-4.5 inch Angle grinder with 1/16in cut off wheels
-A welder (my 115Volt, 140A Hobart worked just fine)
-Scrap bar stock (I used 3x1/8in and 4x1/4in. Dirt cheap if you go to Harbor Steel on the north side of town)

Step 1) Take an angle grinder to the shock mount and hack it off.




Step 2) Make cardboard templates.




Step 3) Trace them out onto your scrap steel and cut them out with an angle grinder.

Step 4) Tack up the parts and weld them together.











If you have a little patients and some time it can be done for next to nothing. If you have an angle grinder and a welder, or a friend with a welder, you should be golden. My welder is a 140A, 115V Hobart. It worked just fine for what I had to do. Although mine can run a gas bottle, all the welds in the above pictures were done on flux-core wire. Nothing fancy. It is a good learning experience. If you haven't learn to make basic welds, learn! I HIGHLY recommend it. It is pretty easy to pick up with a little bit of practice. I had a guy from my church who owns a sheet metal fab shop on BlueStar highway give me a crash-course. He let me practice on scraps for three hours. Then I scraped up some cash and waltzed over to TSC and picked up a Hobart Handler 140, and a month later I beefed up these trailing arms. I'm by no means a pro, but welding has been one of the most useful things I have learned to do. Again, I highly recommend you learn if you haven't already done so.

Enjoy!

[thedirtydutchman]

Thats my plan, just gotta get a welder! I still think my calipers will be in the way of the shocks though. Im going to take some measurments and see what kind of room I have. I might try moving the calipers down so they are at the rear of the rotors. Oh and by the way, I have most of the photos you posted saved on my phone for something like a month now for a guideline of how to do the rear arms, lol.

[thedirtydutchman]

Not a lot of progress tonight. Got the carb, intake and tins off the motor. Found out there is a hole in the alternator that came with the buggy. Im guessing the PO ground it down to clear the single carb. So that gets added to my list of parts I need I got some neat net things from my boss to mount on the interior so I have a place to keep things (smokes, phone, soda etc) getting tired of not having a place to keep stuff! Im looking foward to hopefully getting some parts at the bug run

[vanapplebomb]

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about that hole unless the alternator was worn out and didn't have a lot of life left in it. If it is still working good, that hole really isn't going to hurt anything.