Volvo 745 Pickup + 4.8l V8 conversion

[lookforjoe]

Another busy day, before the rains come in

got the valance lower edge welded & seam sealed, except for two section either side of center that will need a filler section

slapped some paint on the inside lower areas, just to cover up the primer. I'm going to work on more cleanup on the upper areas before painting.

Switched to a different brand of seam sealer on the inside of the valance, and it is anything BUT fast drying .

Then I worked on the right side C pillar skin - got it figured out & welded in place

weld tucked into recess - happy with that. Step in base of pillar should align nicely with modified stock belt molding.

slight issue on the bottom - once the upper was welded, the panel lifted somewhat, so now I have a gap to fill

Molding for 1/4 glass is definitely going to work as planned

 

[lookforjoe]

Rainy day, so I worked on the bed rail caps. I had made inserts to both make the rails more rigid, and to compensate for the fact I made them in two parts. Figured out a better way to work with the Spot welder, it weighs too much for me to use it as a hand held for more than just a couple of tacks.

Test fit leading edge protrudes more than I had projected - no way I can leave it like that, definitely a hazard

Should be OK, and give me an edge to tie into the pillar vertical for rigidity

 

[kmead]

I like the radius. A simple chamfer would also have been appropriate given it is a Volvo

I would cap the front of the L where the radius dies into. I would hold the entire unit back from your C pillar to have a gap like you see from below in image 3.

You might want to add some welded in triangular brackets in the underside of your channel to keep it from peeling open when you use it to strap to etc. Capping the front will reinforce the front of the channel similarly, I would also do the same at what very back by the tail gate.

Our shop spot welder is fixed on a table and has a feed table for the parts to lead in at the right height for the bottom electrode.

 

[lookforjoe]

I like the radius. A simple chamfer would also have been appropriate given it is a Volvo

I would cap the front of the L where the radius dies into. I would hold the entire unit back from your C pillar to have a gap like you see from below in image 3.

You might want to add some welded in triangular brackets in the underside of your channel to keep it from peeling open when you use it to strap to etc. Capping the front will reinforce the front of the channel similarly, I would also do the same at what very back by the tail gate.

Our shop spot welder is fixed on a table and has a feed table for the parts to lead in at the right height for the bottom electrode.

Many thanks for the input Karl!

So, cap the L, but don't weld the outer vertical or top horizontal to the C pillar - I need to weld some of the inner vertical to the C pillar for rigidity, I think. I could cut it back so only the l;ower half is welded, something like this...

Adding triangular supports for the bed rail makes sense - I could make short ones that only tie to the new material, or deeper ones that overlap the fender pinch weld. Longer would presumably be stronger, since it would straddle the supporting base material. The longer ones would mean notching the outer molding for fitment, which could be a PITA

 

[kmead]

Many thanks for the input Karl!

So, cap the L, but don't weld the outer vertical or top horizontal to the C pillar - I need to weld some of the inner vertical to the C pillar for rigidity, I think. I could cut it back so only the l;ower half is welded, something like this...

View attachment 60321

Adding triangular supports for the bed rail makes sense - I could make short ones that only tie to the new material, or deeper ones that overlap the fender pinch weld. Longer would presumably be stronger, since it would straddle the supporting base material. The longer ones would mean notching the outer molding for fitment, which could be a PITA

View attachment 60322

Attaching things to the rest of the car is really a function of how you want to manage water and more specifically water which will get into an area and then freeze. Leaving a reasonable gap is important if you think it will trap water. The other issue of course is the different thicknesses and welding them appropriately.

In regards to the supports it is also a function of how you intend to load it. I would go with the taller ones given how you have it structured. The joint you have there is a bit concerning.

 

[lookforjoe]

Attaching things to the rest of the car is really a function of how you want to manage water and more specifically water which will get into an area and then freeze. Leaving a reasonable gap is important if you think it will trap water. The other issue of course is the different thicknesses and welding them appropriately.

In regards to the supports it is also a function of how you intend to load it. I would go with the taller ones given how you have it structured. The joint you have there is a bit concerning.

The plan is to add some stitch welds to the under seam where it abuts the pinch weld, and on the bed side. I think with the ends tied to the C pillar & D cap, along with some triangle supports it should be OK, I hope

Added a junction on the right to unite the pinch weld with the C pillar. still much cleanup to do on the lower vertical welds, I'll get to that later

prepped the weld surfaces, applied the epoxy bond & spot welded the seam

royal PITA to get the welder jaws positioned correctly, and move the clamps to keep the panels tight as I welded. I didn't weld the triangle supports in yet - thank goodness as I realized the pinch weld is angled inwards & the whole rail cap is tilted upwards slightly. I'll fix that.

set just over 3" from the fender molding line

left a gap at the front. I'm going to weld at least the lower half of the inner vertical to the C pillar

 

[lookforjoe]

Another busy day, in-between the rain/hail showers

happy with the way it's looking so far

stock molding will fill the gap nicely

welded & sealed in the fillers for the upper portion of the inner fender

spent some time cleaning up the rear door vertical/sill weld seam

Inner vertical tied to C pillar

figured out the left rail - I bent the pinch weld to be more straight upward

After that I welded the left C pillar

tacked in

tack, grind, tack, grind

thin coat of UPol filler for the irregularities

This I have to figure out - have to come up with a good way to unify the whole thing

Probably going to re-shape the D pillar, since it has a inward taper that doesn't make sense anymore

 

[kmead]

One could create an integrated solution which ties the top of the corner structure to the rail. I am assuming you are using a black trapezoidal rubber Volvo trim under the rail.

One could treat the top of the corner structure as a separate element which I tend to prefer. Inducing an intentional body cut line between these elements would allow the forms to be what they need to be and reduce the need to resolve a large surface and align things that may not want to align.

Just a thought.

 

[lookforjoe]

One could create an integrated solution which ties the top of the corner structure to the rail. I am assuming you are using a black trapezoidal rubber Volvo trim under the rail.

One could treat the top of the corner structure as a separate element which I tend to prefer. Inducing an intentional body cut line between these elements would allow the forms to be what they need to be and reduce the need to resolve a large surface and align things that may not want to align.

Just a thought.

Thanks again for you input, Karl. I appreciate it.

The Volvo moldings are aluminum, retained by clips along the 1/4, with a inner lip that would normally seat against the glass. That will conceal the pinch weld junction.

I'm leaning more toward the second notion - since I maintained a cut at the leading edge, I think it would be more in harmony if the rear were the same. Since I'm adding webbing to the underside, the additional structural support of the horizontal & outer vertical tie in to the end cap shouldn't be so bad, I hope. I may have to wait until I have the tailgate cap in place to figure out the flow of the D post caps. They don't have to be as bulky as they are currently, I can reshape the inner curvature as I see fit. The main issue with the outer surface is the inward lean when viewed from the rear. I think I will have to taper the rail caps, since the body line tucks in at the D pillar.

I'm also thinking I can simply the support by using 1/8" rod, with a upward vertical bend that is welded to the inside of the outer lip, runs diagonally down the the pinch weld, then a downward vertical bend that will be welded to the pinch weld. The triangle I was making only ties to the horizontal of the cap, and the inner vertical, which is probably fine, however harder to construct as none of the rail cap is actually 90º, and with the inner cap skin will be harder to weld.

 

[kmead]

 

[lookforjoe]

Happy with the C pillars

Lines look good, minimal distortion from the welds. Still need to weld the lower outer C pillar junction to fender

setup, epoxy-bonded & welded the left side rail

needed another go around with filler on the C pillar leading edge, also still have to make fillers for the bottom of the C pillar into the pinch weld on both sides

Looking pretty good overall

Checking moldings on the left

The moldings should also work once finshed. When I cut the replacements, the rear section will overlap the short section of the C pillar

Welded the left door

lower part sticks out, no way to get it flush before welding

used a mix of 1/16" & 3/32" filler rod to make up the difference

took awhile to fill as a result

got some filler on it, going to be out of town until Saturday, can't leave it to rust. Taped the 1/4 Lexan in place to keep it dry

also put some filler in the inner areas

 

[kmead]

Are you leaving the bottom of the door open to allow water to leave the space? I would question that all the seams etc will be perfect and allowing an easy way for gravity to help you lose trapped water seems reasonable.

 

[lookforjoe]

Are you leaving the bottom of the door open to allow water to leave the space? I would question that all the seams etc will be perfect and allowing an easy way for gravity to help you lose trapped water seems reasonable.

Yes, the door interior drains are intact, and the bottom seam is not welded shut. When I looked at some of the domestic builds, they welded the bottom seam - which seems crazy , as there is no way water won't get in somewhere, and with no drain, it's just a matter of time. The Swedish build someone on TB shared the video from, they left the bottom seam open, and welded the inner sill seam instead.

 

[kmead]

 

[lookforjoe]

Jet lagged today - back from Las Vegas 7am this morning.

Around noon or so, I futzed around the wagon, trying to figure out a couple things. Not much energy today. I did make a start on the tailgate pivots. Using the tie plate for the seat belt mount removed from the C pillar

Some back & forth, getting the pivot as far back & recessed as possible

cutout for the captive nut

need to make sure they are parallel before I weld the backside

right side looks a little crooked to me

Got them level

The backside will be tied into the post to prevent flex

I'll be using the 1" sq tube to make the cross plate between the sliders

 

[lookforjoe]

View attachment 60519

I think I'll follow the curve from the front

 

[lookforjoe]

Another busy day - got the sliders figured out, I welded a large washer to the backside, drilled & tapped for 3/8" NPT, used 3/8" NPT brass bushings for the bolts to pivot on. Got the gate frame fabricated, and the gate skin bonded to the frame.

leveled the sliders, welded the tie plates enough to secure the offset

cut the lower frame (49", 1" sq tube) & vertical sections (12.75") all fitting OK

cut a section out of the (aluminum) lower gate & upper corners to allow the frame to sit into the gate, added a center bridge, clamped the two together. Operates as I hoped. No reason it wouldn't, I copied the design from Mike on TurboBricks, however I flipped the slider to allow the frame to be welded further back, to reduce the overall depth of the gate.

Cut off the wiper pivot bracket, and the pockets for the tailgate trim along the inside of the pinch weld, to allow the cross brace to fit snugly against the pinch weld for bonding.

cut a upper cross brace to fit to the contour of the pinch weld, bent the pinch weld to be vertical, as opposed to angled inward as it was to accommodate the glass.

The gate top rail that ties into the bed rails will be welded to the inside of the contoured frame

I'll add limiter straps to keep the gate from sitting on the bumper

removed the whole thing, welded the rest of the frame, primed it & ground back the mating surfaces

Bonded with Fusor 208B, clamped (many clamps)

I have to start thinking about how to address the bed cover. Thinking of stripping the wood flooring & epoxy sealing it for starters.

 

[lookforjoe]

Worked more on the gate today, wanted to get it all figured out, so I can move on the cab roof beam, after which I can fit the 1/4 windows.

test fitting the gate rail. Stripped the late model emblems from the gate & removed as much butyl as possible from the trim ledge

checking that the gate rail is level with the 1/4's

folded a 45º to the backside of the gate rail, spot welded the insert, plug welded the rail cap to the square tube crossmember

Realized I hadn't thought about the inner covering, so I decided to go with a simple sheet that has a hem/folded edge at the bottom, and a taper at the top that will go over/under the gate rail & be secured with either bolts or plastic rivets. It needs to be removable in the even the outer handle (which houses the lic plate lamps, or the license plate bracket need to be accessed. I cut a piece out of the roof, as it needs to be 49" wide, and all the sheet metal I've bought is only 48" max dimension

notched the sides so the cover fits flush against the end frames, I have to cut a curve to the cover panel top lip, so it will push in in the middle to align with the contour of the top rail

rail cross section

put the glass trim (belt molding) back on the gate, just to make it look tidier

without

with

now I can start thinking about the flow from side rails into D post & gate

This is the roof beam area that has to be resolved, then an inner skin goes on top

right side

left

another move forward, bed is getting closer to being resolved

 

[lookforjoe]

Had a short time to work on it today, so I got the right inner pillar tie pieces sorted out

small section to unite the outer plates of the roof beam and C pillar

Need a small tie plate here

inner plate, that I previously cut from the D pillar beam

ground back the welds somewhat & primed - we are still having sporadic rain most days

once that's all done, I need to cut the drip rail, and insert a tie plate to unite the B pillar cover with the roof

Sketch over pic for rail ends. bed cover & side pocket in 1/4 panel

 

[autox19]

Just want you to know how much I enjoy watching you go through your builds. Fait, Volvo, house, doesnt matter very entertaining to me

Odie