Sorry Mike, I got wrapped up in another time consuming project on the car today, I’ll try and update soon.
BUILD THREAD “The Juggernaut”
- Thread starter Rktpwrd
- Start date
Sorry Mike, I got wrapped up in another time consuming project on the car today, I’ll try and update soon.
Just giving you grief, no explanation required. That line from Ted Knight is a classic from one of my favorite movies. Carry on…..🤣
On an even dumber note I was up at 5am in my driveway washing my red ‘14 Impala 2LT. After a nice 80mph blow dry on the highway I pulled it into the garage for a coat of wax before the winter gets here. Did I mention it was 64 degrees here in SE Massachusetts! Crazy weather this past week and for one more day before the temps drop on Tuesday. After that I tuned up my dad’s snow blower, I broke down and bought a new one this year so mine is ready to roll. Guaranteed no snow this winter since I finally caved and bought a new machine, here’s hoping anyhow! 🤞🏻
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Well, as you all know by now, the floor fabrication is finally done, and I couldn’t be happier. I promised, and it sounds like at least Mike (old80cs) wants to hear how we got here, so let’s delve in shall we?
(Disclaimer - it’s been since at least September that I began fabrication on the rear tailpipes, so bear with me as I try and remember how it all went according to the pictures)
I guess we’ll start with this picture, this would’ve been when the large floor piece was finished on the driver’s side:
From there, we’ll move onto quite possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever bought from Amazon. When I did the initial tailpipes, I found that I needed some sort of fixed spacer to keep the tailpipes centered in the pass-throughs. At the time, I had just used an old roll of junk 3” masking tape that didn’t stick to anything anyways, and it worked fairly well because the inside diameter was 3”, the same as the outside diameter of my pipes.
The only issue I had with it was that it only supported the pipe in a 3” section where the tape roll was. I needed something longer, preferably the full length of the pipes if possible. That got me to thinking, what was the widest masking tape that was available?
A quick search on the jungle website, and I found this: A 6” wide roll of the stuff.
Apparently graphics guys use it for some sort of decal transfer or something. Didn’t really care, it would work perfect for my needs. Exactly 3” ID:
Now it might seem like a waste to some, but keep in mind this was purpose bought for just this use. I peeled off all the tape until I got it down to just the right inside diameter of the pass-throughs (4”) and I had my spacer.
I knew the lengths of the old tailpipes were already out of whack and no longer cut square to the body, so I cut the straight sections off and put them through my new spacer:
Then came the fun part: trying to build new tailpipes in place from the outlet of the mufflers to the straight pieces inside my spacer. I tried reusing some of the bends from the old tailpipes, but absolutely nothing was lining up or working. So it was start from scratch again.
The driver’s side went really well in hindsight, it really wasn’t that terrible to do. I left the visible portion on the outside of the car long intentionally for now, cutting it to the proper length and angle could wait until the very end.
In these early pictures, you can see my alignment markings and numbered seams, this was to help me keep track of all the joints and their orientation.
The newly shaped passenger pipe compared beside the old first version driver’s side piece:
Time to repeat the process on the driver’s side. This is where things got a little ignorant, first of all I didn’t have enough bends left over in my scraps to make it. $60 and a trip to the local speed shop later, and away we went.
I don’t know what it was about the driver’s side that proved so difficult, but it just wasn’t having it. It fought me tooth and nail at every turn. Pardon the pun. I went through so many different iterations and attempts to get the shape I needed yet still maintain the minimum 1/2” gap from all the obstacles (mainly the rear floor crossmember), that it wasn’t even funny.
Finally, after several frustrating attempts, I finally managed to get something that would work. Here it is still in its Frankenstein stage, not pretty, but more importantly it fit:
Now those of you that actually looked at the previous 2 pictures somewhat closely will notice that the outside diameters of the individual pieces aren’t all the same, and don’t line up that great in places. That’s because, despite being 3” mandrel bent tubing, the metal has to stretch as it bends. So some areas are going to be a slightly smaller outside diameter than others.
So what to do, and how do we fix this? Can’t just weld it all together as-is, it would look terrible and unnatural. The sections that were a smaller diameter than the ones they butted up to had to be cut and expanded.
I won’t go into full detail on how it was done, but it’s basically a lot of using the cutoff wheel to open up gaps for welding, followed by tacking the pieces back together again immediately after the cut, then figuring out where they needed to be cut laterally and tacking those together too.
Lots of welding, then carefully dress it all down flush. Here’s one small area to show the process.
And so on, and so forth until all the seams were done. Then sand out the grinder marks until you have a finished product:
One down, lather rinse and repeat for the driver’s side. Once the welding and sanding processes were done, they got test fit and mocked up into place for proper orientation of the flanges to get tacked on, and then fully welded. So how’s the fitment and clearance? You be the judge:
Continued >>>>
(Disclaimer - it’s been since at least September that I began fabrication on the rear tailpipes, so bear with me as I try and remember how it all went according to the pictures)
I guess we’ll start with this picture, this would’ve been when the large floor piece was finished on the driver’s side:
From there, we’ll move onto quite possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever bought from Amazon. When I did the initial tailpipes, I found that I needed some sort of fixed spacer to keep the tailpipes centered in the pass-throughs. At the time, I had just used an old roll of junk 3” masking tape that didn’t stick to anything anyways, and it worked fairly well because the inside diameter was 3”, the same as the outside diameter of my pipes.
The only issue I had with it was that it only supported the pipe in a 3” section where the tape roll was. I needed something longer, preferably the full length of the pipes if possible. That got me to thinking, what was the widest masking tape that was available?
A quick search on the jungle website, and I found this: A 6” wide roll of the stuff.
Apparently graphics guys use it for some sort of decal transfer or something. Didn’t really care, it would work perfect for my needs. Exactly 3” ID:
Now it might seem like a waste to some, but keep in mind this was purpose bought for just this use. I peeled off all the tape until I got it down to just the right inside diameter of the pass-throughs (4”) and I had my spacer.
I knew the lengths of the old tailpipes were already out of whack and no longer cut square to the body, so I cut the straight sections off and put them through my new spacer:
Then came the fun part: trying to build new tailpipes in place from the outlet of the mufflers to the straight pieces inside my spacer. I tried reusing some of the bends from the old tailpipes, but absolutely nothing was lining up or working. So it was start from scratch again.
The driver’s side went really well in hindsight, it really wasn’t that terrible to do. I left the visible portion on the outside of the car long intentionally for now, cutting it to the proper length and angle could wait until the very end.
In these early pictures, you can see my alignment markings and numbered seams, this was to help me keep track of all the joints and their orientation.
The newly shaped passenger pipe compared beside the old first version driver’s side piece:
Time to repeat the process on the driver’s side. This is where things got a little ignorant, first of all I didn’t have enough bends left over in my scraps to make it. $60 and a trip to the local speed shop later, and away we went.
I don’t know what it was about the driver’s side that proved so difficult, but it just wasn’t having it. It fought me tooth and nail at every turn. Pardon the pun. I went through so many different iterations and attempts to get the shape I needed yet still maintain the minimum 1/2” gap from all the obstacles (mainly the rear floor crossmember), that it wasn’t even funny.
Finally, after several frustrating attempts, I finally managed to get something that would work. Here it is still in its Frankenstein stage, not pretty, but more importantly it fit:
Now those of you that actually looked at the previous 2 pictures somewhat closely will notice that the outside diameters of the individual pieces aren’t all the same, and don’t line up that great in places. That’s because, despite being 3” mandrel bent tubing, the metal has to stretch as it bends. So some areas are going to be a slightly smaller outside diameter than others.
So what to do, and how do we fix this? Can’t just weld it all together as-is, it would look terrible and unnatural. The sections that were a smaller diameter than the ones they butted up to had to be cut and expanded.
I won’t go into full detail on how it was done, but it’s basically a lot of using the cutoff wheel to open up gaps for welding, followed by tacking the pieces back together again immediately after the cut, then figuring out where they needed to be cut laterally and tacking those together too.
Lots of welding, then carefully dress it all down flush. Here’s one small area to show the process.
And so on, and so forth until all the seams were done. Then sand out the grinder marks until you have a finished product:
One down, lather rinse and repeat for the driver’s side. Once the welding and sanding processes were done, they got test fit and mocked up into place for proper orientation of the flanges to get tacked on, and then fully welded. So how’s the fitment and clearance? You be the judge:
Continued >>>>
Last thing for the tailpipes was to square up and trim the excess from the tips. Careful marking around the outsides, then pull them out and mark the cut lines with 1/4” fineline tape to make it easier to see:
Not much had to come off, but I felt this was what needed to be removed to look the way I wanted.
Edges cleaned up, filed and deburred. This is what almost everybody is going to see, so it was important to try and have them look as good as possible:
Finished product installed in the car? Here ya go.
At this point I thought I was about done with the exhaust. Both sides were done, the flanges welded on, and the tips trimmed and looking good. Until I very nearly split my forehead open on one of the cutout dump tips on the creeper one day.
After evaluating the cutout tips, I realized the more I looked at them, the less I liked them. They were too long, a strange shape, and visible beneath the frame, the only part that was. So, time for a little nip and tuck:
It would appear, strangely enough, that I don’t actually have any pictures of the trimmed cutout tips reinstalled. Apologies, but suffice to say they look a lot better now.
And that pretty much brings us up to date. As soon as I had finished trimming the cutout tips I immediately jumped straight into building the last sections of the floor with Mike that you’ve all already seen. About the only other thing I should maybe cover, is how I finished off the original bead roll ends that ended abruptly at the floor kickups.
After a little consultation with Mike, we came to the agreement that the best way to weld in the ends was to do both on each side as one piece. Mike primarily handled most of the measuring and layout, once he had the first patch piece made, I put in the bead rolls. This was the passenger’s side, which we actually did second:
Driver’s side:
Once I had it fitting well and was happy with the alignment of the beads, I tacked it in place, and then proceeded with my usual metal finishing magic.
End result:
Driver’s side went fairly well without much drama, but the passenger’s side decided to give me grief and fight to the bitter end. I got to this point in tacking in Mike’s patch (and I let him roll the beads in this piece), when I realized his patch was missing material in the most crucial place: The transition area where all the different angles originate.
Baaaaad place to try and figure out.
I ended up having to make this little boomerang shaped piece, and tried to fit it on the correct plane. Which was tricky because it was neither flat as the floor, nor angled as the kickup. It was in the transition area between the two.
I fought with this little piece for the better part of an hour, before I had a mini epiphany: it would be much simpler to do in two separate pieces. Once I cut the boomerang in half, the pieces all literally started to fall into place.
I started fully welding in the patch on this side with the boomerang piece, and once I had that aced, I knew I was away to the races.
And that’s it. Moving forward, I’m immersed in the next little project already but still in the midst of it, so the update on that will have to wait a bit until I have something to actually show. Suffice to say, it’s going to be about correcting a little bit of past work, and “DIRTT”.
Doing It Right This Time.
Thanks for your continued support and following along on this journey with me gents.
Much appreciated.
D.
Not much had to come off, but I felt this was what needed to be removed to look the way I wanted.
Edges cleaned up, filed and deburred. This is what almost everybody is going to see, so it was important to try and have them look as good as possible:
Finished product installed in the car? Here ya go.
At this point I thought I was about done with the exhaust. Both sides were done, the flanges welded on, and the tips trimmed and looking good. Until I very nearly split my forehead open on one of the cutout dump tips on the creeper one day.
After evaluating the cutout tips, I realized the more I looked at them, the less I liked them. They were too long, a strange shape, and visible beneath the frame, the only part that was. So, time for a little nip and tuck:
It would appear, strangely enough, that I don’t actually have any pictures of the trimmed cutout tips reinstalled. Apologies, but suffice to say they look a lot better now.
And that pretty much brings us up to date. As soon as I had finished trimming the cutout tips I immediately jumped straight into building the last sections of the floor with Mike that you’ve all already seen. About the only other thing I should maybe cover, is how I finished off the original bead roll ends that ended abruptly at the floor kickups.
After a little consultation with Mike, we came to the agreement that the best way to weld in the ends was to do both on each side as one piece. Mike primarily handled most of the measuring and layout, once he had the first patch piece made, I put in the bead rolls. This was the passenger’s side, which we actually did second:
Driver’s side:
Once I had it fitting well and was happy with the alignment of the beads, I tacked it in place, and then proceeded with my usual metal finishing magic.
End result:
Driver’s side went fairly well without much drama, but the passenger’s side decided to give me grief and fight to the bitter end. I got to this point in tacking in Mike’s patch (and I let him roll the beads in this piece), when I realized his patch was missing material in the most crucial place: The transition area where all the different angles originate.
Baaaaad place to try and figure out.
I ended up having to make this little boomerang shaped piece, and tried to fit it on the correct plane. Which was tricky because it was neither flat as the floor, nor angled as the kickup. It was in the transition area between the two.
I fought with this little piece for the better part of an hour, before I had a mini epiphany: it would be much simpler to do in two separate pieces. Once I cut the boomerang in half, the pieces all literally started to fall into place.
I started fully welding in the patch on this side with the boomerang piece, and once I had that aced, I knew I was away to the races.
And that’s it. Moving forward, I’m immersed in the next little project already but still in the midst of it, so the update on that will have to wait a bit until I have something to actually show. Suffice to say, it’s going to be about correcting a little bit of past work, and “DIRTT”.
Doing It Right This Time.
Thanks for your continued support and following along on this journey with me gents.
Much appreciated.
D.
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Really nice work, Donovan, it all looks great! Is the exhaust pipe stainless steel?
I just started building the exhaust for my car last night and appreciate seeing how you made the pipes fit proper by opening up the pipe and filling in the gaps with more metal.
I just started building the exhaust for my car last night and appreciate seeing how you made the pipes fit proper by opening up the pipe and filling in the gaps with more metal.
Now that's what I call an update 👏
An astounding amount of fabrication and attention to detail.
And I'm sure you mentioned before, but I cannot remember with so many details given... are you going to have the exhaust coated ? Ceramic, etc.. ???
An astounding amount of fabrication and attention to detail.
And I'm sure you mentioned before, but I cannot remember with so many details given... are you going to have the exhaust coated ? Ceramic, etc.. ???
Your a freeking wizard man ! WOW I'm at a loss for words. Your work reminds me of Arlen Ness!
You are an animal dude.
Actually, you are much more advanced than an animal.
You are a galaxy traveling alien dude.
Kinda cool to see the work that goes on behind the scenes of a really full custom car and makes me appreciate metalwork on say a GNRS/Riddler quality 55-88 type build a lot more than a early hotrod because there are SO many more parts and pieces and complexity to the floors than a basic 30's hotrod.
Actually, you are much more advanced than an animal.
You are a galaxy traveling alien dude.
Kinda cool to see the work that goes on behind the scenes of a really full custom car and makes me appreciate metalwork on say a GNRS/Riddler quality 55-88 type build a lot more than a early hotrod because there are SO many more parts and pieces and complexity to the floors than a basic 30's hotrod.
