1995 Range Rover P38 4.6 HSE - Cool Running

[georgeb]

Apr 10, 2018 11:18:25 GMT @grumpynorthener said:

George - From experience you need 2mm - if you are going to undertake the project at home you are going to struggle to work 3mm without heavy workshop kit - folders / press brake etc but you could always find a fabrication shop that will sell you the steel - cut it to length & fold it for it for you - just leaving it for you to glue together & fit - hence you could at this point use 3mm which will have less flex & more structural strength - Chris

My ideal is to find somewhere that can do as you say. Hence the huge cardboard box I pinched today. As you point out, if I can find such a place, then thickness becomes less of an issue.

I'm still determined to follow the original line as much as possible, so I'll go with whatever solution allows me to do that.

We are trying to replicate what is there as much as possible. Without the holes and cracks, of course! 😊

[Smiler]

You could use some corrugated tin for the full 'A-Team' effect.

[norniron]

Apr 10, 2018 8:34:14 GMT georgeb said:

Imagine therefore my delight today, when I noticed we were having some huge seven foot tall document cabinets delivered – not sure how our 4’9” document controller’s going to manage, but hey-ho.

That's easy George... simply use the bottom half of said cabinets, and order twice as many

[georgeb]

Apr 10, 2018 12:15:33 GMT Smiler said:

You could use some corrugated tin for the full 'A-Team' effect.

Yours is a diesel, so if your bumpers look like an outhouse roof, no-one will comment. Mine however...

Apr 10, 2018 14:48:09 GMT norniron said:

Apr 10, 2018 8:34:14 GMT georgeb said:

Imagine therefore my delight today, when I noticed we were having some huge seven foot tall document cabinets delivered – not sure how our 4’9” document controller’s going to manage, but hey-ho.

That's easy George... simply use the bottom half of said cabinets, and order twice as many

Good point and looking at the thickness of the metal, I could shape them over Tania's knee!

Meantime, having a huge NFI at work today, I've spent my productive time looking at welders online. To go back to the arc v MIG argument, I can get an 200A inverter stick set + auto darkening mask + 5kg of 3016 rods and gloves etc., for around a hundred quid delivered, COD. MIGs are 3-4 times that without wire, gas, helmet and so on. MIG is just a technology that hasn't arrived here yet in force, so consumables are a pain to find as well. Rods, I can get around the corner. So I'm figuring that for a one off job, on mild steel plate, then it's a no-brainer.

In my past, I've built and repaired horse trailers and boxes using stick, so I'll stay with what I know.

Serious shopping tomorrow, the railway may be delayed.

But then, it needs no help from me!

[Phil H]

If making from 2mm or thicker steel, then a stick should be OK. Fresh, clean steel and new, dry sticks make all the difference. Old, damp ones are only any use for stirring paint.


I have a lot of paint stirring rods after a slight damp issue in the previous garage..

[Smiler]

Apr 11, 2018 12:42:26 GMT georgeb said:

Yours is a diesel, so if your bumpers look like an outhouse roof, no-one will comment. Mine however...

Oooh! That was below the belt! Carry that on and I'll start posting photos of my immaculate interior plastics and bumpers!

[vitesseefi]

Apr 15, 2018 10:12:56 GMT Smiler said:

Apr 11, 2018 12:42:26 GMT georgeb said:

Yours is a diesel, so if your bumpers look like an outhouse roof, no-one will comment. Mine however...

Oooh! That was below the belt! Carry that on and I'll start posting photos of my immaculate interior plastics and bumpers!

Fight.... Fight.... Nice return.....

Nick

[georgeb]

Apr 11, 2018 16:38:05 GMT Phil H said:

If making from 2mm or thicker steel, then a stick should be OK. Fresh, clean steel and new, dry sticks make all the difference. Old, damp ones are only any use for stirring paint.


I have a lot of paint stirring rods after a slight damp issue in the previous garage..

Used to keep them in the airing cupboard in the UK. Here? Just above the flood line!

Apr 15, 2018 10:12:56 GMT Smiler said:

Apr 11, 2018 12:42:26 GMT georgeb said:

Yours is a diesel, so if your bumpers look like an outhouse roof, no-one will comment. Mine however...

Oooh! That was below the belt! Carry that on and I'll start posting photos of my immaculate interior plastics and bumpers!

Okay, okay, you win.

Shame you've not got a V8 though...

Apr 15, 2018 10:37:17 GMT vitesseefi said:

Apr 15, 2018 10:12:56 GMT Smiler said:

Oooh! That was below the belt! Carry that on and I'll start posting photos of my immaculate interior plastics and bumpers!

Fight.... Fight.... Nice return.....

Nick

Round 1 to him. But I'm claiming the immoral high ground.

Tomorrow, I shall be ordering the welder, mask, etc., then going on a hunt for whoever has good power tools (drill - also with hammer for another job, grinder and so on) on sale. Drill bits that I haven't already got and discs, I'll order from RS, as I have an account with them already.

In the past I've always had Bosch or Makita without any issues. Any other brands worth looking at these days? Heard good reports about Ryobi? Unlike before, I'm not tied to cordless, so the world is my mercury flavoured oyster.

I know they're for a one-off job but I'd rather buy decent, then I can will them to Tania. They'll be just what she always wanted!

[johnthesparky]

I switched from Makita to Milwaukee a few years back, most of my stuff is cordless and Makita had a bad run with batteries, Milwaukee have 3 year warranty on all their gear including batteries, so I sold up and switched allegiance! It’s been good, and is still going strong after 4 1/2 years, and it’s used most days!!

If you are buying corded stuff though, I think it is all very similar (it’s the slow moving end of the market, so doesn’t change very often) so decide which colour you like

Some power tools!

[igor]

Have you considered fabricating the bumpers from a suitable length of 200PFC? Just need an oxy-acetylene torch for the cutting and welding. Is that technology still common in your part of the world?

[jamesd1972]

www.parkersteel.co.uk/Product/0853976/Mild-Steel-Channel/200-X-90-X-30.0KG-S355J0-PFC

Saves everybody else the google !

[Phil H]

He'll need a pair of turbos to drag around the extra weight!

[georgeb]

Apr 17, 2018 1:17:05 GMT igor said:

Have you considered fabricating the bumpers from a suitable length of 200PFC? Just need an oxy-acetylene torch for the cutting and welding. Is that technology still common in your part of the world?

With the link kindly provided, thanks James, that's serious heavy metal!

It's given me a thought though. I'll have to investigate. I'll get back to you. 😊

[georgeb]

Apr 17, 2018 7:54:23 GMT Phil H said:

He'll need a pair of turbos to drag around the extra weight!

I'd be more worried about my poor little air suspension compressor! 😊

[georgeb]

Thanks johnthesparky. Think I'll go with corded now I have power available. Seems to be a fair bit cheaper than the cordless stuff here as well.

Maybe novelty tax? 😊

[georgeb]

Apr 17, 2018 9:38:51 GMT georgeb said:

I'll have to investigate. I'll get back to you. 😊

Trying to type before, on my phone, stuck in a Manila traffic jam, bouncing over Manila potholes. Not an ideal combination.

So, to the thought.

I was going to cut, or get cut, a top, front and bottom, shape them and weld them together, when igor mentioned U-channel. My idea is if I can find somewhere to get the steel I want, get them to do the basic channel shape in a brake, then I can use pie-cuts and weld to round the ends. Also if I cut a tad larger at the bottom than the top, it should give me the sloped front profile I'm looking for. Sounds easier than trying to line up three separate pieces. Or even get them to make an L-profile, shape that - top and front - then weld a separate bottom piece. The bottom piece (at the front anyway) only has to be wide enough to allow me to attach the existing spoiler and fog lamps, and add rigidity.

Feasible?

[Phil H]

What you described rang a bell, at which point I remember seeing something pre-made in B&Q at the weekend - a C-section Lintel profile? Not sure if houses over there are made the same though..

[johnthesparky]

Apr 17, 2018 9:46:56 GMT georgeb said:

Thanks johnthesparky. Think I'll go with corded now I have power available. Seems to be a fair bit cheaper than the cordless stuff here as well.

Maybe novelty tax? 😊

I’d do the same, except most of the time I’m on site I turn the electric off

[Phil H]

Apr 17, 2018 11:45:32 GMT Phil H said:

What you described rang a bell, at which point I remember seeing something pre-made in B&Q at the weekend - a C-section Lintel profile? Not sure if houses over there are made the same though..

Just walked past some Armco/traffic barrier that is just about perfect as well..

[igor]

That could work too. Could even use a couple of these end treatments for the corners.