Fat Fabrications c303 body restoration.

[Andre]

Owner said he wants to see some vertical supports that tie into the tube cross member on his cage and I agree.

[geckoadventure]

Any progress pics?

[Andre]

taking hard measurements.

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Been making progress if you count uncovering more rust to repair.

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After closer inspection, I found other repairs that were done with thicker material than original. The original will continue to deteriorate due to it's salt air exposure. So to stop the problem from continuing, the owner and I opted to re-skin the bed with 18ga. Galvanized steel.

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[Andre]

cut out floor rust. many channels were FULL of debris.

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new mating surface made with thicker material.

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After dissecting the old skin from the support channels, they get ground flush and treated with Por-15.

prepped for new skin

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I am replacing the skins one section at a time to ensure the lines stay true to each other.

new metal is layed out and tested for fit prior to cutting out the old metal.

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[roobar_and_custard]

Wow - that is a huge amount of work! Wouldn't it be easier (and cheaper) to buy a AluZinc one?

[Andre]

Had to press the rear door pillar back to square first

[Andre]

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I removed the rear panel to make it easier to replace the floor.

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I also made sure to modify the rear for a proper filler neck and cap.

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[Andre]

here's the cab, re skinned and sealed with POR-15 to preserve it until it goes to paint.

[Doccers]

On the one hand, I'm so impressed my jaw is on the floor.

On the other hand, I'm sobbing openly because I know that's whats awaiting me when I do the frame-off on my 304.

Thats really interesting how you mounted the cage using the existing rub rail spots. I hadn't considered that. Is it strong enough to survive a flop onto the side?

[Andre]

The points that weren't supported by channels, were reinforced from the inside with thicker metal that was supported vertically. I built the cage to be self supporting and I mounted it to the front and rear bumpers(frame supported). Where it mounts to the body just helps minimize flex lengthwise.

[TechMOGogy]

We need more pics!!

[roobar_and_custard]

I'm not sure I like the idea of mounting the cage to the chassis as well as the body. The Volvo has the body mounted through Nylon spacers to the chassis, which is a slightly weak attempt at isolating the cabin from the chassis vibrations.

On my TGB13, I plan to replace these with proper body isolators in an attempt to reduce the in-cabin noise level. I think this is important in an expedition truck that will spend many hours on the road.

Mounting the cage to the chassis helps transmit all these vibrations directly to the body.

Wouldn't it be better to mount the cage only to the body?

Just my thoughts...
Ian.

[Andre]

The rear of the body was hard mounted to the chassis with 2 through bolts to the frame(in rear threshold). Can't get any more solid mounted than that. The rubber pads were hard and seemed to be there more for frame flex than vibration dampening.

What I learned with machinery is the heavier the tool holder, the less vibration is felt.

By mounting in multiple points,(front bumper, center body, roof top, rear top, rear bumper, and sides) it absorbs the minor harmonics caused by road vibration. Like adding the weight of Dyna-mat but also having the added protection of a Roll cage/cargo rack.

I would also like to add, my first design was to only mount the to the frame, to protect the body. But the art of cage work is to get the force of impact Distributed over a greater area to preserve the over all shape and usability.

[pinzinator]

Andre, you are nothing short of amazing! It's like having a Professor Pinz here in the USA.

[M Wehrman]

I tend to be a bit forgetful... I still have the door lock parts for this truck, just have to find out where the Wife put them...She is totally awesome in every respect except where she puts my $h*t. Apparently it sat on the counter too long.. I have a feeling I'm not the only one with this blessing! Then again, considering the pics, locks are not a priority! Awesome work!