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MJ on 42 Boggers continued

I've invested quite a bit into garage tools, lighting & equipment the past 6 months or so, defiantly way more than the wife would like. And I just got one tool that I've been wanting for quite a while. I just got the Swag 20 ton heavy duty finger brake kit and I am expecting the dimple dies to come in any day. And of course I don't have anything planned that requires it right now but I'm sure I'll come up with something.




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Went on a open run put on by Rockaholics last Sunday at Brookridge, its a NEA property in Winchendon, MA. This was in an area that I wheeled 30+ years ago and there really wasn't much there at the time so I was pleasantly surprised to see how many rock climbs and features they had.

The temp sucked! It started out at 6 degrees but finally warmed up to about 20. I don't have heat in the Comanche so the first hour was pretty tough but once the metal warmed up in the cab it was actually pretty comfortable. There was quite a few rigs there ranging from very mild to buggy. The guys running it did a good job and split everybody into 5 groups. There was about 6" or so of snow so it was just enough to make it a little more challenging. I had an absolute blast playing in the snow and can't wait to do it again.


Heres one video, hopefully it works. I'll try to post more later.
https://youtu.be/GUEeIKVw7Ao


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I noticed that I bent the passengers side rear fender flair in a little last Sunday, luckily the flairs are pretty rugged but the top section could use some help so I think I need to beef them up some more. The plan is to ad DOM to to each of the fender flairs and tie them into the frame & cage. I'm hoping that when I'm done I can put the full weight of the truck and then some on them. I have a habit of squeezing my way through things. I'm also contemplating adding some DOM around the roof and bed. I don't really want an EXO cage but I want to try and protect the body a little bit. I've got a few ideas in mind but will play around with trying to mock things up to see what I like the most.
 
I've haven't been able too do much to the Comanche in the last month or so, been dealing with house /garage stuff like frozen pipes, loss of power in garage, blown out compressor tank etc. I started working in the garage again last week using a generator & 2 gallon compressor.

I pulled the windshield out and repaired the pinch weld in the top passengers corner, this got bashed in pretty good when SkinnyRidge rolled it. I figure that I will probably do the same thing soon enough :roflmao:, so I'm going to be adding some DOM weight, aprox 130' +/-.


After the run I did in the 6 degree weather I realized that I need two things, windshield wipers and a defroster. I was able to cut out the section of tube going from the cab to engine bay and restructure it for the wiper mechanism to clear. I also figured out how to wire the wiper motor to run with toggle switches, what a pain in the ass that was, but I was able to get high, low and park working so it was worth it. As far as the defroster go, I plan to just add the vents before I put a windshield back in and deal with the heat and fan at a later date.



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I did some preliminary layout of what I think I want to add for tube to protect the cab, fender flairs and bed area to meet my typical OVERKILL style. So I figured I'd start with blue tape, but every time I added a piece of tape to the layout I would see a potential weak spot. So I would add to it and then see another spot and so on. So this is what I came up with, who knows what the end result will be but this is the starting plan.



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I was able to get started on this project today and get the base structure welded into the bed and tied into the frame. I also got the bed rail section started. My bender has a 6.5" CLR so I bought pre-bent sections for the bed rail from Wagner Companies.

https://shop.wagnercompanies.com/elbow-6908



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Here's my single stage 3 HP, 60 gallon Craftsman compressor that popped on me :explosion. I was lucky and it only blew out about a 3/8" hole and didn't rupture the whole tank. I was originally thinking that I would just weld a patch over the hole until I hit it with a ball-pean hammer and realized just how soft the bottom of the tank was. I guess I can't bitch too much, I bought this new in 1996 and have used it pretty consistently since then. Plus the fact that it's always been in a cold shed or garage (garage is only heated when I use it) so the condensation is pretty heavy and I wasn't very good about draining as often as I should. After finding this I decided to see if I could find a replacement tank and use the old compressor on it. I was even able to find a brand new 100 gallon tank for $100.00 from a buddy, but once I took a good look at the compressor I found that the rod bearings are pretty much gone and it would need a rebuild. Plus it's a single stage 13 or so CFM @ 90 psi unit that is probably producing 1/2 that, so I decided to replace it. I'll be upgrading from the old single stage 3 HP, 60 gallon to a DeWalt two stage, 5 HP, 80 gallon compressor with a 17.9 CFM @ 100 psi and 17.0 CFM @ 175 psi compressor :clap:. The new compressor was scheduled to be here last Friday but was a no show, hopefully it will come in by next weekend. For now I'm surviving with my Dad's 2 gallon Emglo compressor, not much air but for now it's better than nothing.



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RANT time: So new compressor was a no show today too :flamemad:. I ordered this thing from Lowe's and I'm not too happy with their communication skills so far. They have now given me two scheduled delivery times and three confirmation phone calls. Both times it didn't show. I blew off work today because I received delivery confirmation for todays delivery last night. When it still wasn't here an hour after it was promised I called the shipping company, they said Lowe's canceled the delivery. I called Lowe's and eventually spoke to the delivery manager. After a bunch of bullshit I found out that they will have it Monday and she will call me to schedule delivery. Any more delays with this thing and I'm canceling the order and ordering it somewhere else. Ok end of rant.

On another note, I was finally able to get the Co-op to get an Electrician here to look at the electric service to the garage, looks like it will be a simple fix, they just need to replace the circuit breaker box below the meter ($500) but I will still have to wait for the Co-op to get it fixed and pay for it. In the meantime I'll continue to power the garage with the generator which I've been doing since the 1st week of January. The only downfall to that are the cost of gas to run the generator and not having enough current to run the plasma cutter which is kind of a bummer. I guess I've been spoiled, I've had access to a plasma cutter for the past 20 years. So now I'm back to cutting with saws and grinders, oh well, at least its temporary.
 
I got a little more work done today. I completed the bracing on the s.side rear fender flair so it's now tied into the cage securely. I also did a little more work on the bed cage. I welded the rear 90 degree end sections and fabricated and welded in the base plates for the rear support legs. I'll be using 1.5" x 0.120" DOM for most of the cage and 3/16" plate for all my body mounting points, I'll weld directly to the frame where I can.

I'm hoping that the mini compressor will have enough omph to power the bender, my guess is that it will be slow but should work just fine. I'll try to get the bed cage finished tomorrow and start on the actual cage/XO cage project :clap:.
 
I made up the rear connector tubes for the bed cage, i started making the 3/16" mounting plates for the bed cage and decided that it's just not worth doing until I get power back in the garage and I can use the plasma cutter. Due to the multiple angles and shapes of what I'm trying to make I figure that it will probably take about 30 minutes or so to cut out what should normally take about 5 minutes. I was able to get the the cab bars & A pillar bars made for both sides. I have a very steep notch on a bend that I need to make on the cab bars, probably around 70 degrees or so, that I didn't do yet because I bought a new notcher that should be coming in tomorrow. It should be capable of doing this. I will certainly try to see what its limits are.




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I ordered a new tubing notcher and it came in today, I wanted one that would be a little more accurate, work on a curve and do very high angle notches so I went with a Medford Tools SYNC180-Jr. I didn't have much time to try it out but I had to do at least one high angle notch to see how it worked. The notch was mating to a curved section so I still had to grind it out a bit to fit, but I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it works, there was no chatter whatsoever on this cut. The adjustability is awesome. The 1" shaft riding on roller bearings is way better the smaller shaft with bushings. And the adjustable shaft guide helps too.

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Made a little more progress this past weekend and got some more tubing bent up and installed. The roof bars sucked to make. I finally figured out how to get them to fit but only after I screwed one up. I'm hoping to add as much strength as possible so I tied them into the original cage at every point they crossed. So much for the idea of keeping this low profile.

Once I can use the plasma cutter again I'll make the base plates for the bed bars and then work on tying the sections together.


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I used up some of my screwed up bends and drops to add a little more to the roof section. I also made a couple of gusset tubes that I'm considering adding around the top of the windshield frame but forgot to get pictures of them.

I also got sick and tired of waiting for the co-op to fix the power in my garage so I made a trip to Lowe's for some supplies. I installed a 50 amp outlet near the circuit breaker panel in the house and made a 130' extension cord to go from the garage to the outlet. A little bit of gorilla tape where the cable comes in the window, can we say hack job! But hey, at least I can use the compressor and plasma cutter now.

I was able to get the base plates made for the front bed rail supports and I'm hoping to be able to get the bed rail welded in tomorrow. Then i can tie it into the new cage sections. With a little luck I might actually be able to finish this cage this month (or so).


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Made a lot of progress this weekend, I got the base plates for the bed cage made up and installed. I finished the bed cage and got it welded in. I think I'll be adding some bracing mid way on it though, thats a long span without any support. I added the corner gussets at the A pillar which will make installing the windshield a little challenging. I was finally able to add the leg behind the cab tying the cages together.



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I finally got back to bracing the fender flairs too. The rears were pretty basic, I just added tubes tying them into the cross tubes in the bed. The drivers front was a bitch though. I wanted to tie it into the engine bay cage like i did on the other side but didn't want to deal with relocating the power steering tank and filter. So I added a 3/16" frame stiffener plate to the drivers side frame connecting to the existing plates. The frame has a multi angle bend at this section so I got to use the press brake for something a little more precise this time. I started measuring for the first piece of tube and realized that it was going to be pretty tight getting around the hydraulic tank. I was able to do a funky double bend to get it to clear but it looks kinda stupid. I ended up doing the same thing on the rear brace too. I made up some blocks to tie the A pillar braces into the base structures that I built at eat bottom of the fenders. Those would have been way easier if I planned for them earlier.

I finished welding in the drivers side rear frame tie in point and then realized that I'm going to have to remove the exhaust and maybe the rear drive shaft to finish welding the passengers side rear, good point to call it a night. With any luck I'll finish all the tube work next week and then I can start the fun process of cleaning it all up and painting it, defiantly not looking forward to that.



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I finally finished the tube work, and of course about an hour or so after I finish doesn't the Co-op electrician knock on my door to tell me that he repaired the disconnect at the pole and I now have power to the garage. WTF, where was he 2 months ago.

I was concerned with the long span on that bed side tube figuring that the first time I rub up against something they will just bend. So I added one more brace to each side. This will probably be the last of my tube work for a little while. I still have some gusseting and plating to do and then I get the joy of priming and painting it, yay :gag:

I still have a bunch of other things that I'd like to get done for Spring so theres still plenty to do.


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Slooooow going lately, haven't had too much time or energy to really make much progress but I made some. I was able to finish the tube door latches. Mounted one of the original front LED lights in the rear just below the new CB antenna mount. And made the brackets for the new front LED light bar. I also cut the holes for the defroster vents, the heater unit will have to wait until later, just don't have the time right now. I still want to add some bracing to the bottom attachment points or the inside roll cage, and maybe mount the other 14" LED behind the grill, but that is not a priority. The big challenge will be painting the truck and cage. I've got the equipment, now I just need to sand EVERYTHING, plastic off the whole garage and get the paint. Oh ya, and learn how to paint a vehicle :wow:, Ive never painted so I've been doing some research, YouTube has been helpful but I guess we will see just how much very soon. And I've got a feeling that I will probably be going out without a windshield for the first few runs too.



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A little more progress today, I finished the engine cage connector brace, there is absolutely zero space under the hood so I will have to cut a hole in the hood for it to stick up through. I didn't get a chance to get that part done today.





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The front light bar mount is done and I made a mount to install the other 12" LED behind the grill. Since I smashed off one of my front rock lights on the December snow run, I figured I'd replace them with something a little more low profile. I got some LEDMIRCY LED Rock Lights on Amazon, I'm not sold on the quality or light output so I installed them with zip ties for now until I figure out how they do.



I originally liked most the features of the LED light bar but thought the green light feature was kind of gay, but the idea of it has grown on me and gay or not, I'll defiantly be wiring it to work. I think it will go great with the new color.

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I tore the rest of the stuff out of the cab to prep for paint. In the process I figured that I would add Deutsch connectors to the stuff I removed which added some time for sure. All I really have left is to cut the hole in the hood, and probably weld something back in to re-support it. Then a ton of paint prep.

I also need to figure out how the hell I'm going to paint this thing in my 1 1/2 bay garage with all my shit in there. My guess is that I'll cover the walls and everything with plastic which should be a major chore. As well as figure out how to create some kind of air exchange system, or maybe I'll just spray the primer with the place closed up and see how it turns out. Still a lot of shit to figure out right now. I'm starting to get pretty excited about getting it painted and making it even more mine! Skinnyridge built a pretty respectable rig but I gotta say, I'm getting sick of hearing " Hey Jesse's here" lol. I guess that's part of the process when you buy a rig that was built by someone fairly local.



:NAXJA:
 
Made some more progress, I weld up the engine bar and cut out the hood to clear. I also cleaned up the floor of the cab and treated it with some POR-15. I've got the entire cab sanded and ready for primer so today I spent the day organizing the garage and covered everything with plastic. In the process of hanging the plastic I ended up stepping on the thermostat and breaking it so I'll have to get one tomorrow morning. Next is set it on jack stands, remove the wheels, and tape off everything not getting painted. I'm hoping to actually get it in primer by the end of tomorrow but it might have to wait until next weekend.



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Been a long day but I was able to get it in primer party1:. Next weekend I'll try my hand at spraying paint, should be fun. Oh ya, I also changed my mind after seeing the wet primer vs dry flat finish. A glossy paint is going to exaggerate the damage way too much for my taste so I think I'll try and see if I can get some satin finish paint this week. If I can't get it in time then I may just go with the gloss paint anyway.



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