Case Mod - In Progress Cosmos Cruizer - Final Pics!

Cast aluminum typically is a softer compound to make it easier to pour, so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can pick up some sticks this week and give it a go.

Thanks Wayne!

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Made some good progress on the bars over the weekend. Lots of filing and sanding! It actually didn't take as long as I thought. Or it didn't seem like it anyways.

For the two center pieces, I used a combination of round and half-round files to get them to fit on the main bar. But for the end of the main piece, I had to use my die grinder with metal cutting wheel to get it to fit around the curved end piece. The wheel's diameter was pretty much spot on.


The end result. I don't really have to be too exact with the fit, since any gaps will be filled during the welding, then filed smooth.


One side done. I clamped it to a flat surface again to check alignment.


Once I got both sides filed down, I went ahead and sanded everything down to bare alu. Decided to do a quick mockup, and clamped both sides to a steel plate I had lying around. I put the rubber feet back on to confirm that it would still sit perfectly flat. This is mainly because the orientation of the feet is largely unchanged from stock.


So these things are pretty much ready to be welded. I just have to bolt them down to make sure they don't move at all while they're being joined.

 

Looks brilliant mate !

 

^ Yes, bet it's tricky doing that nicely & looks perfect to me.

 

This looks cool and this time im not joining in 3/4 way through the mod Subbed and Good luck.

 

This is a sweet looking idea, its coming together nicely too.

 

So I went ahead and grabbed me a pack of Alumiweld rods, and gave it a go today. I think it went fairly well! There was certainly a learning curve, but it wasn't too difficult to figure out, and I got the hang of it pretty quickly.


I was going to practice on some spare parts, but didn't really have anything comparable to the 3/4" thick bars, so I just dove right in and started on the first joint: Welding the two longest pieces together.


I had my hands full with one hand holding the torch and the other feeding the rods, so I couldn't get any in progress pics. But here's how it went down...
1. Cleaned parts thoroughly with soap and water, using a wire brush around the areas to be joined.
2. After drying completely, it got wiped down with acetone.
3. Bolted down parts to steel plate. Made sure the two parts could not move at all.
4. Began heating parts with torch. This took about 4 minutes to get the aluminum to the correct temperature (in this case, 750ºF)
5. Started drawing the Alumiweld rod across the joint until it melted into a pool. This was key to knowing when the alu was hot enough. Before, the rod would just break off and away, and wouldn't stick. Once it pooled up, I could work it into the gap with the rod. This took some finesse to get the pool where I wanted it. I ended up dabbing the rod as it melted along the gap.
6. Once the gap was filled, I slowly worked my way around the piece, bringing the heat with me as I went.
7. After going around the entire thing, I quickly moved on to the next part to be joined. After all three areas were welded, I let the whole thing cool for about an hour.
Here's the result of the first weld:




The welds are pretty messy, but I wasn't concerned about getting a perfect bead on my first try! I just wanted to make sure I had enough weld built up to close the gaps and be able to grind it down smooth with no pits or sink-holes.


Once it cooled down, i could unbolt it from the steel plate and check it out.


Next step was to stick it in the vice and start smoothing out the welds. I initially used my bench grinder to get the big chunks, then I moved to the dremel and files.


After the files, I used my orbital sander with 80grit to get all the file marks out. Next I'll move to 220.


Other side:


A couple close up shots of the welds:




Over all, I think it came out pretty good considering it was my first try. It really pays to do your research! I heeded all the warnings about contamination, and made sure everything was as clean as possible. And it helped to watch all the vids available too.
Tomorrow I'll do the other side, and I'll set up my video camera and see if I can capture some in progress shots for ya.

 

Looking good mate, can't wait to see more progress.

 

Well done on the welding mate, never done it myself but I imagine it can be difficult.

Loving the work done so far and cannot wait to see the finished product.

 

Beautiful work Brian & thanks for the detailed description of the steps, I'm tempted to try some now & slightly messy finish isn't a bad thing other than requiring a little more work to clean it up, after seeing a master like Paslis welding & smoothing it is so a skill I have to add to my set & this for your first attempt really is absolutely awesome mate, nicely researched.

Propane or mapp gas for doing this?.

 

Lovley thought you wasnt going to clean those welds up for a second then ! =) Coming along nicely now !

 

holy s*** !! You got some serious skills there... I just wish there was a "subscribe" button?? lol

 

Thanks guys.

Thanks Wayne, yes Paslis' metal work is quite remarkable and I'm envious!

I was just using my run-o-the-mill propane torch for this. I was concerned that I might not get the work hot enough to do the job but it worked well.

Thank you SilveR!

Thanks AciD_RaiN. There is a subscribe feature up at the top of the thread under "Thread Tools".

 

This build... Has endless potential my god :O even at this early stage I'm already getting vibes of awesomeness from the cosmos about this build subbed for more of this build and keep up the good work

 

Didn't get as much work done this weekend as I had originally planned. On Saturday, I was at my kids' school helping clean up and get ready for the new school year. Then on Sunday it was just too danged hot, and I tend to get quite lethargic when temps get into triple digits lol.

Anyway, getting to what little progress I did make... I didn't feel like filing or sanding in this heat, so I decided to just mount the headers to the case.


The first lug mounts in its factory location, then all the others had to be drilled.


A view from the back. I had a little bit of play to work with, and was able to get them looking symmetrical.


I then proceeded to mark and cut the bottom of the side trim away. I thought about cutting separate holes for each lug, but that would have made it very difficult to feed the header lugs through since they are all different orientations. So I just cut the entire area out.




From the side you can't tell where the cut is.


Even when you get down to the header level, it's hard to see the cut line.


And finally a view from the back.


Now that I have one side cut, I can transfer the cut area over to the other side. Any adjustments I need to make should be minor if any.

 

Oh god ! its so nice ! Like how its mounted and sitting !

 

Nice progress & result, I'll have to try out aluminium welding again with the propane, seeing what you have done here has inspired me.

Main time warmth is a modders friend is when painting, even 30c I feel slouchy.

 

Brilliant work as always boddaker. I am sure this will be another masterpiece

 

The left side panel is one of the more challenging parts of this build, if not the most challenging. It completely does away with the factory door panel, and after the modifications it becomes a major part of the support structure. Almost all hardware will be mounted to it, both front and back, and it will be seen from both sides. So not only does it have to be strong, but it also has to look good as well. And to top it all off, this will be the first time I'll be using fiberglass. So yeah, pretty tall order for this piece!

After spending hours in Sketchup designing it out, checking and double checking my measurements, I finally got to a point where I could start the fabrication process. The first step is creating the form, so a block of foam was glued up. This shape represents the reverse of the concaved area of the side panel where the components will go.


After marking it up with centerlines and borders, the carving began.


Work continued, carving and smoothing the foam to the desired shape (tools used: retractable knife, hacksaw blade, drywall sanding block). Then I added cutouts for the "shock towers" that will later become part of the IO panel on the bottom, and cable access on the top. I also added a piece of plywood on top for strength, and used zip ties running through all layers of foam to make sure it all holds together.


Here's a closer shot of the IO area.


To smooth out the imperfections and fill the voids, I slopped on the bondo.


While that was setting up, I moved on to the custom side scoop that will cover the lower radiator fan intake holes. Again, I stacked up three pieces of foam and glued them together with spray adhesive.


I already carved the door's contour into the bottom piece so it sits flush.


After taking a step back, I decided that 3" was too high. I removed one piece of foam, and started marking out the scoop shape. I added another small piece to the end so it tapers all the way to the edge.


Showing the preliminary front shape.


This piece was small enough to use my retractable knife. These knives are perfect for cutting foam because you can extend the blade out as long as you need it to be.


Once I got one side roughed out and matching the body lines, I needed to do the other side the same way. I'll be making two of these scoops, one for each side of the case, so it has to be symmetrical.


Profile shot. I like it!


Smoothed out and ready for filler.


Body filler added. More sanding required!


Work continues...

 

I love this mod, can't wait till it's finished

 

This mod is epic.