A wolf in Jeeps clothing - Goatbuilt 1200 LJ/TJ Chassis build

[Wisconsinite]

Not a lot of progess lately, unfortunetly. Decided to run the filter in the engine bay, not in the cab, thanks for the input fellas. I also bought a set of half doors, I am pretty stoked! And it's fitting they are a different color than every other panel on the jeep.

Half doors

Full doors

Totally off topic, my buddy came down last weekend and we built a tent rack/ storage area for his car hauler. When I ordered material for him, I added a sheet of .080 for my inner fenders. I think that is the next project, once complete, I will have a better picture of how my engine bay can be laid out.

 

[Wisconsinite]

Spent way too much time making a few inner fender pieces this weekend. Material is .080" 5052. I used cardboard for templates, transferred to the aluminum, and then cut it out on the table saw. I used a 2" flap wheel and some files to clean everything up. I am pretty happy with how those two panels came out, but I am kinda stumped on how to close in the top rear most opening.

How would you close this in? Form a piece and weld it to the other panel?

 

[WaterH]

First, you really should be using 6061 for this. Way stronger and more corrosion protection. I would be going with .063” or less. But maybe that’s what you have on hand. In any case, to answer your question, I would form it and bead roll a overlap on the end. (You could rivet it or not) 5052 is supposed to be easy to weld, but I still think you would have warping that wouldn’t look good on your beautiful machine.

 

[Jeffh555]

I was always told that 6061 is more likely to crack when bent, and you should use 5052 for parts that need to be bent, and I’ve seen 6061 that has hairline cracks the bend. That being said, I’ve made parts from bent 6061, and if the bend has a larger radius, it’s fine.

 

[Wuz-A-zuk]

I was always told that 6061 is more likely to crack when bent, and you should use 5052 for parts that need to be bent, and I’ve seen 6061 that has hairline cracks the bend. That being said, I’ve made parts from bent 6061, and if the bend has a larger radius, it’s fine.

This! That slight bend may have not cracked because the angle is small or by using a larger radius upper. Annealing would help as well but then it's not longer 6061 anyhow so going a thicker 50 series was spot on IMO.

As far as doing that corner, good luck!

Can you just go under that steel panel section and mount the aluminum panel to the tube below and around it. And the possibly do something different with the steal panel from inside the bay area.

 

[WaterH]

I was always told that 6061 is more likely to crack when bent, and you should use 5052 for parts that need to be bent, and I’ve seen 6061 that has hairline cracks the bend. That being said, I’ve made parts from bent 6061, and if the bend has a larger radius, it’s fine.

Yes, it’s more likly to crack, but not much. If your trying to bend a 90 degree bend sharp, yes.

Everything you see on this truck is 6061. (No annealling)

The fenders are .063” and you can stand on them.

 

[Wisconsinite]

First, you really should be using 6061 for this. Way stronger and more corrosion protection. I would be going with .063” or less. But maybe that’s what you have on hand. In any case, to answer your question, I would form it and bead roll a overlap on the end. (You could rivet it or not) 5052 is supposed to be easy to weld, but I still think you would have warping that wouldn’t look good on your beautiful machine.

Thanks for the input. In a high impact area, you would rather have a higher strenght but thinner material? I chose 5052 as that is the material we make all our interior/exterior panels from. I agree on the warping issue.

I was always told that 6061 is more likely to crack when bent, and you should use 5052 for parts that need to be bent, and I’ve seen 6061 that has hairline cracks the bend. That being said, I’ve made parts from bent 6061, and if the bend has a larger radius, it’s fine.

We use 5052 on all our panels at GB, and it seems to work well. I haven't had good luck bending 6061 with a tight bend radius.

This! That slight bend may have not cracked because the angle is small or by using a larger radius upper. Annealing would help as well but then it's not longer 6061 anyhow so going a thicker 50 series was spot on IMO.

As far as doing that corner, good luck!

Can you just go under that steel panel section and mount the aluminum panel to the tube below and around it. And the possibly do something different with the steal panel from inside the bay area.

Thanks for the wish of good luck. I am going to need it. Ha!

 

[Wisconsinite]

Yes, it’s more likly to crack, but not much. If your trying to bend a 90 degree bend sharp, yes.

Everything you see on this truck is 6061. (No annealling)

The fenders are .063” and you can stand on them.

NOW this thread has some real fabrication pron Your rig is so sick.

 

[WaterH]

Thanks for the input. In a high impact area, you would rather have a higher strenght but thinner material? I chose 5052 as that is the material we make all our interior/exterior panels from. I agree on the warping issue.

I could be wrong, but I would be willing to bet .063” 6061 will take a rock (off a tire) better than .080” 5052. I should mention I use T-6. Not sure what the 5052 is. (Maybe T-3) They make 6061 T-0 and you can bend it easy, but of course a rock would dent it easy. If you have it around, go with it, but I wouldn’t buy it for that application.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[gt1guy]

Just mount that little filler piece on the bar holding the top of the second smaller section. Trim it to fit flush with the fender on top of it and form the end to fit around the rounded corner of the bigger section. You can also add a tab to the rounded corner side to fit behind the larger section and use that mounting point.

No idea if this makes any sense at all, it made sense to me when I typed it

I wouldn't be so worried about getting any mounting points along the top of it where it follows the fender. From the pictures it looks like the filler piece would be leaning forward, so anything hitting it will just make it push harder against the fender.


Any plans for a way for hot air to get out through the inner fenders?

 

[Wisconsinite]

I could be wrong, but I would be willing to bet .063” 6061 will take a rock (off a tire) better than .080” 5052. I should mention I use T-6. Not sure what the 5052 is. (Maybe T-3) They make 6061 T-0 and you can bend it easy, but of course a rock would dent it easy. If you have it around, go with it, but I wouldn’t buy it for that application.

Thanks for the comments.

Huh, well, too late now. Haha. SHEET ALUM 5052-H32, that is the material I used.

Just mount that little filler piece on the bar holding the top of the second smaller section. Trim it to fit flush with the fender on top of it and form the end to fit around the rounded corner of the bigger section. You can also add a tab to the rounded corner side to fit behind the larger section and use that mounting point.

No idea if this makes any sense at all, it made sense to me when I typed it

I wouldn't be so worried about getting any mounting points along the top of it where it follows the fender. From the pictures it looks like the filler piece would be leaning forward, so anything hitting it will just make it push harder against the fender.


Any plans for a way for hot air to get out through the inner fenders?

That kinda makes sense, but not sure I totally follow.

The hot air should be able to vent through the cowl panel. I may add some holes later if it builds too much heat in the engine bay.

 

[gt1guy]

Maybe this helps...............or doesn't

 

[gt1guy]

The pictures make it hard to tell how the top of the piece need to be

 

[Im4yotas]

Maybe this helps...............or doesn't

Something more like this would work nicely.

 

[Wisconsinite]

Both the options listed above would work well, and I attempted to make the part last night. Needless to say, it didn't turn out the best. Right now, I have see two options.

Option 1) Continue messing around trying to form a piece to fill that void.


Attempt No. 1

Attempt No. 2

Option 2) There is really no reason I can think of that this panel needs to be removeable. I could make two filler pieces out of steel, and weld them in, and then have a small bolt on aluminum triangle. Or, make all three pieces out of steel and weld them all in.

Vertical of material in postion. Would trim to fit contour of curve and the current fender top.

Small little filler piece.

The triangle piece would then be EZPZ to either make out of aluminum and bolt it, or make it out of steel and weld it in.

I think I may go for the weld in steel panels, as my aluminum forming skills are lacking.

 

[Wuz-A-zuk]

How about using this one as your guide. Add that 1/2" onto said template and repeat the process you did on attempt 2. You're so close, looks like you cut to a 90° when you a slight angle..add the 1/2" onto panel and try again, 3rd times the charm right? Haha

 

[Bebop]

You could even weld another piece to the attempt 2 and grind/blend it the weld in.

It looks really good actually, you're super close.

 

[Wisconsinite]

^ You are proabably right. I will try a third panel before I go the weld in steel route. I made a ghetto metal folder ( not nice enough to call a brake), and while it works, it is kinda a pita.

 

[gt1guy]

That looks good.

 

[WaterH]

Don’t think I would weld them in. Might be something that is easy to get at behind one. I just had a power steering leak. I could get at the pump with removing anything, but when I took the fender off, it was a piece of cake vs PITA.

 

[Im4yotas]

my aluminum forming skills are lacking.

This here is reason enough to keep trying, IMO. Looks good, considering. Keep going!

 

[Wisconsinite]

I tinkered in the shop last night with a little hose routing. I drew these up in solidworks and had my little brother 3D print them out of polycarbonate filament. They are cool little pieces that are surprisingly strong.

The little notch is for a 3/16 hardline for the front brakes. A hose clamp and a little heat shrink tubing and boom, hoses routed from the ram to the orbital!

 

[Bebop]

 

[WaterH]

Very nice! Can that stuff be printed in different colors? I guess it’s like hard plastic? How hot can it get before getting soft?

 

[Wisconsinite]

Very nice! Can that stuff be printed in different colors? I guess it’s like hard plastic? How hot can it get before getting soft?

It can be printed in a wide array of colors. The material I used is a polycarbonate blend, and its pretty tough stuff. For reference, I am 220lbs, I was able to stand on one of these and bounce on it with out any damage. It wasn't until I was bouncing on it AND twisting at the same time before I heard a slight crack. One of the layers seperated, but was only slightly damaged, the part was still very much useable.

From what I can see, it won't start to have heat deflection until 113°C (235°F). For this application, I hope they last. If not, then I will print more. I ordered two spools @2.1 lbs each, and it was $110.00 shipped. I think my Brother said I can get ~80 per spool of filament.

HERE is where I ordered the filament from. These were printed from Urban Grey PC blend, it was all they had in stock at the time.

 

[Wisconsinite]

Messed around with the inner fenders some more this weekend. I tried a few more iterations of the formed aluminum panel, and just couldn't get something I was happy with. I had some 16ga sheet metal, and made a weld in panel to close of the last section. I don't forsee it causing any access issues in the future (Waterhorse, get ready to say "I told you so" ).

Once the top panel was fit and welded, I bolted everything up and decided to take the time to fix the fitment of the cowl panel to fender tube. I used a feeler gauge set and a height gauge to get the gap even. Since I had this panel off, I decided to fit some aluminum perf sheet to the back side and tack it on. I added something I think is pretty neat, yet highly unnecessary....

Before:

After:

And the unnecessary part:

And the final result!

 

[WaterH]

I bet that is going to look really cool at night. Not sure if those small holes will let much heat out. Could get something with bigger holes.

 

[Wisconsinite]

I bet that is going to look really cool at night. Not sure if those small holes will let much heat out. Could get something with bigger holes.

Thanks! The holes are 3/16, I think if it poses a problem, I could use a step bit and open them all to 1/4. Time will tell.

I have a question for any wiring gurus. I would like to have the KC cyclones function as a turn signal AND rock light. Will I need to wire in a diode in one of the circuits to stop backfeeding the other?

 

[gt1guy]

That's a really neat touch with the light. Looks cool...................................or like your exhaust is glowing

 

[Bebop]

I have a question for any wiring gurus. I would like to have the KC cyclones function as a turn signal AND rock light. Will I need to wire in a diode in one of the circuits to stop backfeeding the other?

Depending on how you wire them, yes. but you don't have to.

If you make a dedicated circuit for these lights, you could chose how you trigger them, either rock lights or turn signals and even make turn signals a priority over the rock lights so you could still use them as turn signals even with the rock lights on.

It's easily doable with one extra relay, or you can be a little more modern, get a PDM and program it to do so on its own.