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Bob Riding

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The floors are done! My friend Ryan Ballis has been working on them, on and off for almost a year. His business,  Ballis Welding snd Fabrication in Fresno, has been booming, so he could only come out on Sundays after church, so it took a while. Ryan can weld almost anything- stainless, cast iron, MIG, TIG, ARC, etc., but the floors on my '52 Suburban were a challenge!
The PO, when asked about rust, said the floors were solid. "You can dance on the floors" he claimed. Actually they required 3 out of 4 floor sections and most parts of the rockers to be replaced. Definitely a Flintstone mobile. I used aftermarket patch panels from a USA company,  Classic 2 Current Fabrication, and was very pleased with the fit and quality. During the process, I asked Ryan why some of the welds looked perfect and others more irregular- he had to stop and start a lot, and had trouble creating a continuous bead in some areas. He thought that the rust and sound deadening material residues, even after wire wheeling and cleaning, were been pulled into the bead and contaminating the weld. With my (lack of) welding skills, I'm sure I would have blown holes all over the place if I had tried!  Before we started, he welded an 1/8" steel beam across the underside of the wagon to help keep it square. I test fit the doors and we are still good. Now on to cleaning up the welds that are going to show, and primer and paint.

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1 hour ago, 48ply1stcar said:

Welds Done, Well Done ?

Thanks. Yes Ryan is quite the artist. If you are in central CA, and need welding or fabrication work, you can contact him from his website link.

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Great job! Good to hear even the expert struggles a bit with welding patches into 70 yr old metal. Even when it looks clean it sometimes behaves very contrary. Just when I think I have my settings right and all is going well, all of a sudden it turns to chookshit (from Aussie chickens)

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3 hours ago, westaus29 said:

Great job! Good to hear even the expert struggles a bit with welding patches into 70 yr old metal. Even when it looks clean it sometimes behaves very contrary. Just when I think I have my settings right and all is going well, all of a sudden it turns to chookshit (from Aussie chickens)

Yes, it makes you appreciate the art of welding...I like it -chookshit - George Carlin would approve.

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  • 3 months later...

'52 Suburban update- we got the body off the frame! It was quite an undertaking - we inserted 2 - 4x4s through the open windows and ratcheted it up slowing so we could roll the chassis out from underneath. Almost didn't have enough clearance but letting some air out of the tires did the trick. Mounted the body on a homemade jig with heavy casters so we can move it around easily. Next steps- change out the rear end with a refurbished '92 Ranger third member and add brakes. 

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Bob,

Is that a adapter plate on the stock bell housing with a turbo 350 GM automatic trans on it?

 

DJ

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9 hours ago, DJ194950 said:

Bob,

Is that a adapter plate on the stock bell housing with a turbo 350 GM automatic trans on it?

 

DJ

DJ - Yes,  It's a Wilcap adapter,  Wilcap adapter 230 flathead to GM auto transmission and I'm going to be running a GM TH 200 4R auto trans with overdrive. GM TH200 4R. It looks similar to a turbo 350.and has the same mounting points, but has that 4th gear for cruising. I purchased a P22 218 motor from a shop near my home last year and it came with the adapter- all for $200, and it ran! 

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Certainly cannot go wrong at that price!

 

DJ

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