Well, since a couple of you asked, here is another long and wordy update for you. It'll go over a few basic points that have been explained in other threads in the past, but just in case some of you haven't read them, or don't have basic sheet metal skills, some of the info may helpful for learning. I don't pretend to be a sheet metal guru by any means, especially on this forum, where there are far more experienced people on board. However, I do know which end of the rivet gun to hold, so I thought it might be nice to pass along what little bit of info I know about this on to those of you who may be curious about some of the basics of pounding rivets into two pieces of metal.......
I had tinkered with the firewall some more since the last update, so now it was time to go ahead and shoot the big pieces together. One of the tricky things about this particular job, however, is that the center piece of the firewall is made out of soft aluminum, while the outer sections are steel. If care is not used, the soft piece will "pillow" or dent up badly while shooting the rivets, as the aluminum will give, while the steel will not.
So the first little trick that I use in cases like this is to place a piece of heavy tape (good ol' Gorilla brand duct tape) on the tip of the rivet set. This makes a pad, of sorts, to help keep the rivet set from marring up the soft aluminum, should I not be straight on the rivet while shooting it. There's no real rocket science to this process, as it is just putting tape on a piece of metal. Right?
But apparently, even though it's not rocket science, it requires a higher level of brain power than I have. I figured that out when I wasn't able to get the stinkin' rivet set through the spring that holds it to the gun. &%*$#@#!!!
Soooooo, I got to attempt that rather complex and difficult taping process again, only this time AFTER I placed the spring on the rivet set.........
While installing some of the little side pieces on the firewall (items I didn't take pictures of during their fabrication & installation), I had primed in between the areas that were sandwiched together. So, even though a suggestion had been made earlier for me to leave the firewall natural metal finish, I decided to go ahead and just prime the entire outside of each section of firewall, which just happens to be the same color that it will end up being when completed. (Sorry Chad)
Of course, you can't do a project like this without having your clecos handy....
For those of you who don't know just what a cleco is, or does, here's a basic explanation. A cleco is a temporary fastener that is primarily used to hold two (or more) sheets of metal together prior to, or while, riveting. They have different colors for different size rivets. Silver is for a -3 rivet, copper for a -4, black for a -5, and so on. Obviously, the ones I'm using are for a -4 rivet (1/8").
The most popular style of cleco requires the use of a special set of pliers made for them. It was surely a Super-Geeeeenious who named them.......cleco pliers. The cleco is made to simply sit in the bottom section of the pliers, while the upper section is made to push down on the plunger. Here is a cleco in the pliers, in the relaxed position.......
And here is the cleco when the pliers are compressed. Notice how the outer prongs extend past the center piece, allowing them to get closer together to each other........
Perhaps showing a cleco in action with a piece of sheet metal will better explain how it works. Here it is with the pliers compressed.........
And now, relaxed. You can see how the outer prongs of the cleco have now retracted, forcing them to move apart from one another, thus allowing the cleco to have a firm grip onto the aluminum sheet....
Okay, now that you know what those little "spikey-lookin' thingys" are, here they at work holding junk together.......
Next, the right rivet has to be chosen. I'll just give a short, basic description here, as there are as many different types of rivets out there as there are sheets of toilet paper on a roll. (That reminds me.....time to change the roll in the bathroom.
)
The rivets I'm using are what I would call the "typical" rivet for today's use. It's an AN470. The 470 is a button head rivet, while the AN426 is a flush, or countersunk, style rivet. I'm using 1/8" rivets, which are a -4. The length of the rivet should be one and a half times the diameter of the hole. And the dash numbers, I believe, are done in 1/16" incraments. So, for my situation, while shooting just two sheets together it works out for me to use a -4 length, while a -5 length will be used for when I have to shoot three sheets together. So for my primary rivet used, the nomenclature is an AN470-4-4 rivet.
Confused yet?
Me too.
Here's more pictures.......
Button head rivet...
Length of unshot rivet is roughly 1.5 times the diameter of the hole......
Next, it's time to start shooting rivets. Just get your rivet gun and whatever bucking bar works best for the piece you're shooting, and start banging. Now, it's pretty difficult for me to shoot rivets AND take pictures all at the same time, so you'll just have to use your imagination here......
And again, a basic thought of what you're looking for on the tail of the rivet when shot is for it to now be 1.5 times the diameter of the hole. So, you go from the length of the rivet being 1.5 times the diameter of the unshot rivet, to the diameter of the rivet being 1.5 times it's original diameter.
Confused yet?
Me too.
Here's more pictures........
As you can see here, the aluminum is trying to "pillow" on me a little. This means that I'm probably using too much pressure on my rivet gun. However, in my defense, one has to be careful not to use too little pressure, as it will only work-harden the rivet, making it even more difficult to drive. So, with this soft aluminum being on top of that steel sheet, I just decided to live with the pressure I was using, in an effort not to make things worse. Of course, a little final touch up with a body hammer and a dolly will get much of the pillowing out of the picture before it's all over with.
And here it is all shot together and then clecoed back onto the cab of the truck, as an assembly. There are still a few details to address here, but that pretty much takes care of the bulk of the firewall fabrication........
So now, a bit of "bonus footage" for y'all. In a rare burst of energy yesterday, I started tinkering with the seat installation for this beast. So while continuing with the "aircraft cockpit" theme here, I wanted to utilize some old Bamboo Bomber seats I had laying around (again, sorry Chad...I know you wanted them
).
One of the seats still retained the framework that it mounted to the airplane with, while the other one was missing it. So after some basic cutting and fitting, I was able to get the driver's seat in a comfortable position.........
So with the basic framework for the seat mounts worked out, I just needed to duplicate that for the passenger's seat. The problem is that I needed some some 3/4" chromoly steel tubing. So where in the world can a little short, fat guy, in Midland-freakin'-Texas, get two 20" pieces of chromoly tubing on a Saturday???
Welllllllll...you just go out to the yard and "acquire" some from the helicopter you have sitting out there, of course.
........
I did a poor job of picture takin' during the fabrication of the new seat rails, but once they were done, I tack welded both the driver's and passenger's rails in place. Final installation will be done later, but the seats are more or less done being fitted. Obviously, recovering and general reconditioning of the seats will be accomplished prior to completion of the truck........
And just because I was bored to tears, I went ahead and installed the new steering column in the cab of the truck. Again, only the basic assembly was done here, as there are a few little detail items that are yet to be addressed, but here's the basic idea. (Oh, and the airplane control yoke is just on there as an idea I'm tossing around. I'm not so sure I'm going to go that route when it's all said and done)..................
So, there you have it. One long and drawn out update for an old truck that probably only a small handful of people will like when it's done. But, it tends to keep my mind occupied, so I reckon it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Hopefully this has been helpful to some of y'all and not too painful for others.
Gary
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