BXProject

[Vanny]

threaded bar, probably not what you want. It also comes in 16' lengths which is a PITA.

[Vanny]

I made a new towing eye;

Thisthread on Retro Rides is the greatest thread EVER!!!

If only because it gave me the encouragement i needed to replace the towing eye on the BX.

First up the remains of the towing eye, and what i need to duplicate (apologies for the pic being on the piss);



It's not meant to have that sodding great big hole in the spreader! This is the only part unique to the BX 16valve, from what i can tell it was welded onto the car in a rush shortly before lunch break in the factory in Rene's. Its a pretty heavy bit of metal not quite 2mm thick!



This is the 'new metal' cut to size. It's 2mm plate. This is the bit that the thread really helped with, understanding the radiusing in corners etc. I can't show it pre cut because i marked up in pencil (ran out of chalk) so the pictures didn't come out. Its cut out with a 1mm cutting disc.


I'm reusing the 10mm bar that makes up the towing 'loop' mostly because i'm tight. So cutting it off with the cutting disc and a carefully shaped flat cold chisel (as suggested by this thread).



sandy flappy disc put to good use;



And the three pieces. Using the hints and tips here i realised i could bent this up in my vice quite easily if i gave the folding order some thought. I also gently adjusted/fettled the new steel into shape;



And finally the (almost) finished article. Its part welded, part tacked. When i bought the car the loop was out of alignment and regular brake downs haven't helped so i will weld it up fully once i can get the bumper on and make sure of the alignment.



Ah, done. All in, it probably took less than an hour, mostly because i've got a small garage so everything is to hand!

My tips would be the following.
1) Tape measures SUCK! If i'd had a steel rule, a set of calipers and square I'd have saved a LOT of time.

2) Pencil is grey, steel is grey (unless you have fancy Zintec), this is NOT a helpful combination. I have 144 sticks of chalk in the post for the next project (and rest of my life no doubt!).

3) Don't be afraid of cocking it up if your working on a 'new' part on the bench, you can always weigh it in and start again.

4) Metal sheet on your workbench, hook it to the 'earth' of the welder and now you don't need to do the earth lead shuffle/balancing act when your welding!

Thanks for your help Tony

[Vanny]

And the towing eye was only HALF of this evening fun, which included some stuff going on fire and an emergency trip to ScrewFix for clamps.

FINALLY the slam panel is back in;



And to prove it, here are some of the wleds for your critique;








Not the greatest welding i know. But i'll tidy up what needs tidying and the rest can just live like it is. It fucking solid, pardon my french, i really didn't realise how much strength had been cut out, and i really regret driving it the way it was. All fixed now though. Just need to get it all painted for the weekend!

[Vanny]

The reason for the sudden mass hysteria to get it finished;



Should arrive Friday afternoon and i would like to get them on ASAP, get them back to the supplier and get the real ones made up!

[mat_the_cat]

Not the greatest welding i know.

Looks pretty good to me!

I'm just following your link now, I may be gone some time...I need the inspiration too for a certain project I haven't touched for about a year

[Philhod]

Well done Vanners, all looks fine from here. Not sure why you remade all the eye bitz?

Unless there was a problem not visible from here I would have just made a new btm plate
(where the hole was) and fully welded it in. Apart from that it looks like it will pull plenty more...err.... breakdowns...again

Seriously though, if you have any fabrication techniques you need help with feel free etc.

calipers are of little use really, as you say, a steel folding 2ft and a 6" (sorry 150mm) straight rule are best. The most useful tool is a combination square set.

I'm still using chalk from when I was last building stuff at work!! Which must be all of 20 years ago

[Vanny]

Its only one piece of the tow eye that is replaced, other two bits are the same. I've replaced it to give a bit more spread on the plate it is attached to, its a little bit bigger than the original where the eye plate meets the car.

In this case calipers would have helped getting the distances between the flaps right, i like calipers, unfortunately i only have a set of shitty knackered plastic ones. Will await the next time they have them in at ALDI.

Technique wise, the Retro Rides thread really helped putting things in the right order. I've been helping my uncle nick fab things up from years and nearly always he looks at the job and starts scribing very quickly followed by the finished article, thats experience for you! So now i've linked some bits together i'm much happier playing, and curse using that huge fat piece of glav plate to seal up the hole!

[Bx Bandit]

Mate that's awesome. Welding looks shit hot to me.

I take your point about less fabrication Phil, but if Vanny is anything like me, the point of making a complete one from scratch is to build the experience database up! With your experience, you don't need to, cos you know you can do it, but making up pieces carefully and engineeringly is part of the challenge to me!

Vanny, get thee arse to a tool auction or some such! Also, I prefer a scriber, very fine marking if you keep it sharp. I shall look at your linky in finer detail very soon!

[Philhod]

Point taken Bandit. You get to the stage of looking at how little you can get away with after a bit.
On smooth plate / sheet a scriber is best as you keep the line to the end of the job. If you are using rough, french chalk is best rubbed to a sharp edge.

Yes those die cast ones don't last long. You can pick up Rabone Chesterman gear at auctions or 2nd hand tool markets, very cheap and they'll last you forever.
A combination set with sliding square, centre square and protractor, are probably the most useful tools for any fabrication work. A folding 2ft rule is handy for setting angles too, especially if you get one with a line of chords on it.

The sequence of opps never changes really. Measure up, make a sketch with dims, mark out, cut, form, assemble, weld......, and err that's it.

[Vanny]

pretty!

[Philhod]

Good !

[smiffy]

I wish I could weld... my car needs a new floor really urgently, before I fall through it!

[Vanny]

lay off the pies and you could buy years of extra time. Why would you fall through it through? how often do you actual put weight on the floor pan?

[mat_the_cat]

I wish I could weld

Practice! None of us were born with the ability to weld so we've all started out from the same point. I was dead nervous the first time I tried it (bit like sex!) but it gets better with practice and is very satisfying once you finished, but can be hard work if it takes a long time with the preparation.
Seriously, once you have the skill then life with an old car becomes so much easier - the work that is not economically viable using a garage becomes possible.

[smiffy]

Why would you fall through it through? how often do you actual put weight on the floor pan?

The floor has failed on both sides, just forward of the B pillar. Though I like the car a lot, I have a feeling it will not survive beyond the summer... MOT in september!

[Philhod]

Yeah what he said. You've no excuse anyway. I can't see Doc turning you down if you asked him for some lessons.
Failing that, a week on the sick and a visit to your relatives up here, could get you a weeks tuition from me

[Bx Bandit]

C'mon you fat pie eating barstard!

[mat_the_cat]

I spent rather an enjoyable Saturday doing a spot of welding...


All the rust cut out, quite a lot of thin stuff that would be no good to weld to.


Nice new metal in place!


It was not exactly the best weather for welding, here's a shot of an unusually cloudless sky for Wales. Scorchio!


A good day for a barbecue though, and I almost had an impromptu one in the back of the Disco - the carpet I had wedged back came loose while I was welding in the wheelarch. Next thing I knew the carpet had caught fire and that in turn had set alight to the seatbelt. Bugger. No pictures of this though, I was busy flapping at it.

[Vanny]

but you have spare carpet right?

[Philhod]

Bleeding amateurs !! I posted before about this. Always, when you're welding, have a bucket of water and some wet rags in it, at the side of you.

It also helps if you remove combustibles from behind where you are welding