Suzuki Club UK

That is starting to look really nice,i would never be able to do the bodywork/welding like you have done,how much have you got left before its totally finished ??

RickUK wrote:That is starting to look really nice,i would never be able to do the bodywork/welding like you have done,how much have you got left before its totally finished ??

Thanks for your compliment tbh it isn't up to any professional sort of standard, but it should be good enough to make a solid car at the end of the project, ive got a bit more left to do on the drivers side, I need to make some brackets for the plastic trim sill guards and then I need to paint it all, I will do it - days like today make me wish it was on the road!


And for today's SJ job, picking up my towbar and rear bumper, the towbar has been galvanised and powder coated and the bumper just powder coated,





I love getting stuff back from the powdercoaters!

So today I had a few hours in the garage, I needed some brackets to mount my sill trim covers on so that's what I started on,



I had to get some strip steel from wickes, it was expensive for what it was but it was the right width for what I needed, I cut it into 115mm lengths, I bent it and drilled and tapped it accordingly



Then I welded it in place, first on the lower edge then I plug welded the body





Once they were all welded I gave it a lick of Hammerite,




I still want to paint all of underneath with some sealant and I'd like to refit the petrol tank, any advice on paint to use on the tank?

Paint it as normal then underseal maybe?

Chassis black paint we use at work on everything ill send you the link on monday

Looking good Luke. Keep at it.

So another day and another hole (or x2) today's job was painting the underside of the truck so I can refit my fuel tank, the idea was to give the underside a quick lick with the wire brush attachment then a once over with some paint, it didn't look bad anyway..........

So looking closer there was a suspicious crack in the paint, and when touched with the wire brush





Not a bad hole considering it look solid at first glance, so old metal out and new metal in




And I painted the under side too, not much left to do before the tank can go back on and I can turn it around,

Petrol tank work today, firstly get the old dirt/paint off to give it a coat of paint, should be a quick job eh?

I attacked the tank with the rotary wire brush tool in my angle grinder,



I'd just about finished the top half when I noticed



I think that is the return from pump inlet to the tank, the dirt around the pipe looked damp and when I gave it a wiggle I realised it was unattached, so another quick job to weld it in place,

I filled the tank with water


And started welding, unfortunately the first attempt was really poor and still leaked, so I had to cut it off and start again, when I was cutting I managed to graze the tank with side of the cutting wheel so when I filled it with water we had x2 leaks, I then had an hour chasing the leaks with weld to try and cure the collinder like tank. I learned a few things welding this tank, firstly you can't weld underwater I thought leaving the water on whilst welding was the best bet, but it wasn't! Secondly, if you want to make sure your weld seals you need to turn the power up and get some good penetration, anyway all done now



And the top half painted



And that's the total of today's work,

Nice one. I cut and shut my power steering pipes. Took forever to get a weld without a pin hole leak!

What's involved once you turn it around? Front footwells?

Yeah basically more of the same, sill off and box welded in, and then patches in the arches as required, it shouldn't take me too long...... But it might do!