francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 21, 2014 Yea I might check them out, cos I only have like 6 disks left Will be running all the new wiring tomorrow to get things ready for the rear tray pieces to be put in Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aja540i 1896 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 Looking good so far, btw those windows are double glazed! Probably pretty rare for a wagon. Keep up the good work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 shithouse ... Am looking to get into tig and all of the research Ive done suggests to go with a known brand auto darkening mask. Which pretty much puts the mask at a similar/same price as the welding inverter. Which ultimately has been stopping me buying one $$$ Most auto darkening helmets dont work with tig, but a $20 manual one with the right lens works sweet!! Thats all i use for tig, use the auto helmet for everything else. NEVER WELD WITH OUT A HELMET! Picked up the boot floor on Sat from you, is the purple t2 yours as well? $150 auto darkening helmets are all you need and work fine with tig Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 Yea I picked one up from bunnings for $180, works amazing. Got a couple more cross bars to weld in and then attempt to start getting the fabricated sheet metal in. Ps, keen to come have a look at your v12 setup when I head down to Hamilton next month Troy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 Looking good so far, btw those windows are double glazed! Probably pretty rare for a wagon. Keep up the good work. Not sure what that means haha but thanks, looking at 4-6 weeks for body completion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 Managed to get approx 95% of the rear tray frame done. There are 3 more tubes to weld in and then I can start laying in the floor. Will spend the next few days removing all the odd ball sheet metal pieces that help all the random sensors, fuses and braces etc then I can start the templates for the walls... NOW I need to start planning the suspension and rear view window style that I want....Any suggestions? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3568 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 Make a window that slides up and down. Yeahhhh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tima 5 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 Anything further? Im looking to do something similar with an E30 touring and M50B25 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 22, 2014 No update since yesterday, except that Home just called and said that 4 decent sixe boxes have just arrived, im hoping its the new brake disks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30-323ti 66 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 So what sort of structural reinforcement are you going to be making to the chassis?? Have you also spoken to the LVVTA yet (assuming it will be road legal that is)? I know westy got in to a spot of bother with some kind of *engineering workplan* that he needed to have submitted and approved before doing the work.*isn't the right terminology, but was some BS like that* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 Good question. I haven't really touched the "chassis" in terms of modification, and structure reinforcement will be done by the cross member tubing that has been welded in place. I do have an "engineering work plan" that I should probably send to the LVVTA at some point, as I have emailed them previously for some advise and am still waiting on a response from them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 Application for 'Design Approval'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30-323ti 66 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 Ummm, I think the C & D Pillars and Roof are part of the chassis & significant structural members.... Unless there are some more sizeable members than the small SHS's we can see in the pics, it'll need a fair bit more 'grunt' in there. Not ragging on the progress at all, just make sure you get all the ducks in a row, and keep the updates coming. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 Yea, thanks for the advise. I'll have a word to my auto body panel beater, see what we can do about extra reinforcement.... This is why I'm part of the forum, good advise and welcoming feedback :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30-323ti 66 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 Glad you are finding the feedback & forum useful. As with all online forums, you will need to filter plenty of BS and douche-baggery, but the guys here are a pretty good (knowledgeable) bunch. I would be going straight to the LVVTA (the horses mouth), as this kind of 'engineering' design/decision making is well outside the skill-set of a general panel-beater. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 This is true, I've actually sent them the application forms today, both the 4A and 4B, along with the general design sheet. Hopefully they get back to me soonish Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 I'm thinking something along the lines of ye auld 'chassis connectors' front to back minimum. Will be a bit tricky with the tank where it is... Also thinking you'd better find a Certer and contact him now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 23, 2014 I'm thinking something along the lines of ye auld 'chassis connectors' front to back minimum. Will be a bit tricky with the tank where it is... Also thinking you'd better find a Certer and contact him now. Thanks. The rear doors are actually going to be locked and and welded closed. So will work around that. Ps, do you have any Certers that you'd recommend? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 24, 2014 Okay so I've just had a promising chat with Mark Stokes from LVV and he is going to pop around for 5 minutes this week or next to give me some pointers and guidelines to follow. Turns out that as long as the car passes their 'chassis stress twist' test, it should be okay being a ute and no passenger issues in the rear happy days 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted June 24, 2014 Was gunna say Mark Stokes or Lance Walsh. but I forgot... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted June 24, 2014 Was gunna say Mark Stokes or Lance Walsh. but I forgot... Hahah all good. Lance will be a back up if Mark isn't available. I'll be emailing them both the designs anyways... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted June 24, 2014 Mark stokes is the man Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted July 8, 2014 Received my E46 adjustable springs today. Hoping to get them fitted with the adjustable shocks in the next few days Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted July 8, 2014 One would have thought the SLS would have been quite useful in a ute... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoisv 466 Report post Posted July 8, 2014 One would have thought the SLS would have been quite useful in a ute... Yea but the weight of the entire SLS is substantially high, I'll still be keeping the system, in case the adjustable set up doesn't work. And not sure how well SLS would handle around a track etc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
