Front Bulkhead Area Started

Started working on the front bulkhead area today, where the front of the floor pan will rest. I spent about 4 hours on it total, and only managed to weld in a small section. Most of the time was spent carefully removing metal, because there is a 4-layer sandwich up there: support "struts" at the front of the tunnel, followed by floor pan, followed by bulkhead, followed by diagonal bracing member which extends out to the torsion bar tubes.

Carefully dissecting this so as to leave the good parts of the bulkhead and tunnel struts in place took careful work with the cut-off wheel and plasma cutter. I managed to weld in the center section of the bulkhead, and I should be able to finish the repairs tomorrow. There is a little "lip" to the bulkhead sill that I had to hand fabricate out of 20 gauge stock. After that is done, I will move back to finishing the right side outer longitudinal, and then the floor pan, and then the replacement diagonal brace. Then, believe it or not, the frame is done. What remains after that:

• Nose panel repair
• Right side lockpost
• Very lower part of left lockpost
• Right side rear fender section, where it butts up against lockpost
• Both left and right front longitudinal closing panels
• Replacing rocker panels
• Grinding out bondo on rear panel beneath license plate and seeing what I find

I.e., there is plenty of work left. That said, it feels good to be coming to the end of the frame/undercarriage work!

I start my MBA program on the 30th of August, but there is more and more things I need to get done to prepare leading up to that. Add in the time I am spending with the family, and I need to try and accomplish as much as I can in the next two months as humanly possible.

Pictures and more details tomorrow or as soon as I can get to them.

Posted by pbrown at June 21, 2004 09:49 PM