This past weekend, the weather was gorgeous in Texas, so I got to work on the pans once again. I finally got the scraps off, and got the pans fitted. Now comes the welding…
I used a modified version of the BugMe video pan replacement, so this will look familiar to some. I first of all I ground all the temp paint off the new pans AND around the lip of the chassis so the weld would have something to “stick” to. The pans were fitted into place, and I did have to trim off a little in places to get the pans to fit just right. Also had to hammer down some areas to get it to sit flush. Speaking of sitting flush, the best tool to get those pans down on that lip tight are “clecos”, sometimes called temp rivets. I got a bag of 20 off ebay for less than $20. Simple to use, and very effective. You drill a small hole through the pan and the chassis lip, then press it into the hole with a hand tool. Then release the handle and the cleco draws the two pieces of metal together. Cool stuff.
As you can see, I spot welded the pan in place on the outer edge. I had also drilled small holes in the pan before it was layed on the lip and did spot welds along the lip as well. I had actually started with the holes in the pans, spot welding along, but found that the welds were not sticking well, or burning through the sheetmetal, so I went with the outer edge spotwelds also…
To each his own, whatever will stay the best and last, you choose.
Ok, once the clecos were removed, I ground all the slag off, and put some Masterseries Silver along the bare metal to keep the rust at bay. I also made sure it got in the cleco holes and as much as possible in the seam.
I realized I needed to do the underside as well, so I removed the whole front end (four bolts in front, removed brake lines). This allowed me to prop up the front so I could get under it to paint…
Don’t laugh. It looks a lot scarier than it was. The E-brake was on, wheels chocked, not to mention the thing wasn’t that heavy. Heck I picked it up with one hand.
So, I got the top and bottom all painted up, and I will add some seam sealer as soon as the MasterSeries is dry. Once that is done, I will take off the backend and take the pan to the blasters. I want to get that temp paint off cause.. well, it’s junk. I want these pans to last, so once they are clean, I am going to master series the whole thing, then go from there!
What did I learn during this?
1. Take your time on the fitting, if the pans not good and snug, you’re inviting rust!
2. Be sure to cover the bare metal, otherwise you will start out with a rust bucket!
3. MasterSeries Paint is not for the faint of heart. Use gloves. I didn’t and I will be wearing it for a week. I tried several solvents and nothing worked except a long soak in the dish water. This stuff is pretty good. I am going to do two coats when the pan is all ready.
Oh, one last thing. I DID try to remove the backend already, but got stuck on an axle nut. I broke my breaker bar right off, AND a ratchet, so I gave up until I can get the right tools.
As always, feel free to drop me a note. I will be glad to answer any questions. I encourage feedback, so gimme a buzz..
