Speed up a 969?

[kw573]

. . . some work I did a little while back . . .

The rear panel is about 5mm thick and has taken a few hits in its' time. So I spent fair bit of time getting it back into some sort of straightness (is that a real word?) . . .



. . replaced some rust . . .



. . . test fitted the replacement bottom edge . . .



. . fitted the new tool box floor . . .





. . . and welded it all together.



. . . so far, so good . . .

Sam.

[40 Chevy]

Sam;

Check the thickness of your toolbox floor, your replacement looks a little thick. Also there was a hump built into the floor, above the pintle hook to allow clearance.

John G

[kw573]

Hi John,

I used 1/8" mild steel sheet for the floor. It seemed about right.

Yes, that hump in the floor plate. Well spotted! It was only later that I noticed it on my other truck. I have since fixed it and it will show up in a post before too long.
I hope your 969 is still making progress. The cooler weather, and particularly the shorter days (about 3 hours less daylight each day) have really slowed me down. Bring back summer!!!

Have a nice day.
Sam.

[40 Chevy]

Sam;
Your latest parts acquistion showed up yesterday, very nice by the way. I will be starting a "Sam shelf" in the shop.

John G.

[kw573]

Thanks John,

There is more on the way.
Feel free to open and sticky-beak!!
The trick will be the right time to ship, not too early, but not dragging on either.

Did you receive an email about W45 pulley blocks a while back?

Have a nice day.

Sam.

[40 Chevy]

Sam;
I never got a response after I sent the picture inquiring as to which ones were needed.

John

[kw573]

Sorry about that, John.

I don't know what happened. Anyway, I have sent another email to you. Hopefully it works.

Sam.

[Stephen Davis]

Nice work Gi's, please keep it all coming. Very enjoyable to follow.
Stephen

[kw573]

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments, Stephen. Appreciated.

The cooler months really take it out of me, and it's not even really cold, 10 -12 deg C at nights!

Anyway, some time back I fitted a new toolbox floor to the wrecker body, only to later find that, as John pointed out, there should be a dome in the floor to clear the pintle hook when it spins around. So the hunt was on for a suitably shaped and adequate gauge steel dome to fit. There is a surprising variety of items that are in the running, eg. water pump pressure chambers, air compressor tank ends, sealed fridge motor chambers, etc.

I used a fridge motor chamber, just cut the end off with a grinder, cut a matching hole in the floor, and welded it in.




One more job done. Now, to the toolbox door.

Have a nice day.
Sam.

[wreckerman]

Hi group

I made my rear tool box door out of a m135/m211 tool box door. Sorry I don't have pictures of the way I did it. I don't know if you have any of those trucks down under.

Dan

[Shane Hodby]

Hey Sam
Was that vice any good that I have and showed you at the swap meet
Cheers
Shane

[kw573]

Hi Shane,

Hope all is well for you.

Yes, that vise is the most likely to be an original issue that I have found.

I posted pics and some discussion on the Heavy Wreckers thread if you want to have a look. viewtopic.php?f=26&t=159540&start=30#p1151411 And also further down the page.

PM sent.

Have a nice day.

Sam.

[kw573]

Hi all,
It has been a while, and not much is happening workshop-wise.

I have added an extra picture to a post in the previous page, it is headed "and the rust removed. . ", about 2/3 down the page.

It is very easy to get lost in many many pictures taken, have they been posted yet? Did I miss that pic altogether? Have I posted it twice? . . or more? I can see why many don't post many pictures.

Anyway, a while back, I set about making a Tool box door for the rear of the Wrecker Tray. As with much of the 969, it is 16g (1.6mm) mild steel, so I just copied one from my un-molested truck.

Firstly, measured it up, marked it out on flat sheet, cut it out with an angle grinder,



folded it up and welded the corners with a MIG welder.




Then I did the same for the catch, except it was 1/8" steel.




And did a "false" spot weld and a 1/4" wire rivet to hold it in place. The pic below shows the small part held in place prior to welding.


It was only then that I realized that I had goofed . . twice. Firstly, the lid is over an 1" deep, it should be 3/4" deep, it is going to stay that way. Secondly, I fitted the welded part of the catch lower on the lid than my original, thinking that the angle of it looked awkward. I now realize that it needs to be higher so that the padlock will lay flat in the lid. It is going to be moved to the right place.

Enjoy.
Sam.