Introducing the Stig Special

[dsholler 54]

I'd love it to look like it had just been found after 30 years.. A few dent's, faded paint, peeling decals and a bit of surface rust... Sounds strange I know!

 

The trouble with fitting neon's is I'd have to make some kind of smoke machine to get the full effect.... Maybe under fender exit exhausts with Redex injection to get the smoke 

 

 

Ian, Don't  you know by now you can order anything off the internet? 

Just put a couple of these babies underneath, and wire the switch to that fancy new dash panel of yours..

 

http://www.nightmarefactory.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=IA229&gclid=CNPQv-SWjrcCFYHe4Aodc1kA8g

[Stigian 1,234]

Ian, I reckon you should let us know when you stop adding chunks of Steel and start painting, ....................so we can all have guess at what it would weigh in at (if it can be).

 

My guess would be around 1001lbs(454kgs).  Also I think I would always want to be behind you on that in a Parade,.................... rather than in front 

 

Hi Richard, apart from a very small bit of steel to add to the belt guard I think I'm done with adding more heavy metal.. Not including the the dozer blade of course.. No idea when I will get around to making that!!!

I don't blame you for wanting to be behind me on the parade... I do keep thinking I need to find an old (beyond rescue)  Westwood or similar to drive over..  It would make a great video

 

 

I'd love it to look like it had just been found after 30 years.. A few dent's, faded paint, peeling decals and a bit of surface rust... Sounds strange I know!

 

The trouble with fitting neon's is I'd have to make some kind of smoke machine to get the full effect.... Maybe under fender exit exhausts with Redex injection to get the smoke 

 

 

Ian, Don't  you know by now you can order anything off the internet? 

Just put a couple of these babies underneath, and wire the switch to that fancy new dash panel of yours..

 

http://www.nightmarefactory.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=IA229&gclid=CNPQv-SWjrcCFYHe4Aodc1kA8g

 

 

Lol, great machines.. I love that you can buy "fog juice" by the gallon 

 

 

 

The bald bearded bloke (otherwise known as Garry) popped in the other day..

 

 

 

 

And gave me a hand bolting both fenders back on... I'm pleased to say that no sounds of cracking filler was heard during bolt tightening

 

 

 

 

Having finally got the inside of the hood a lot smoother I thought a coat of that thick brush on brown oxide primer would be just the thing for hiding the filler..

 

A test paint on this off cut of fender produced a nice smooth-ish finish with only slight brush marks showing... I can live with that as I'm not after a perfect paint finish under the hood..

 

 

 

 

However when the paint went on under the hood it had different ideas in how to settle!!

at least I can sand the runs down when the paint drys.

 

 

 

 

 

But the good news is all the filler work on the hood and fenders has been finished 

 

It's nice to see another color on the beast for a change

 

 

 

 

 

In other news... I have just been given another Wheel Horse!!!   I can't tell you which model it is as... I don't know... It was left at the house when the owner bought the place.. about 15 years ago.. The owner has no interest in it and could only tell me that it has four wheels and a big engine..

Pete had a quick look yesterday and confirmed it is a Wheel Horse with a single cylinder engine with the air filter on the front.... But couldn't find and decals to say what it is!!

I'm guessing it's a Raider, but I quite like the mystery

 

Oh... and the only way to get it out of it's resting place is to carry it.....  It should be an interesting rescue!!

[Anglo Traction 761]

It's nice to see another color on the beast for a change

 

 

 

 

 

In other news... I have just been given another Wheel Horse!!!   Oh... and the only way to get it out of it's resting place is to carry it.....  It should be an interesting rescue!!

 

 

Looking good Ian,........the pic seems to somehow remind me of the similarity to the Robot in 'Lost in Space' or some other Film/Movie  !.  

 

Great news of another 'orse  . Hope it's a good'n.

Edited May 11, 2013 by Anglo Traction

[COMMANDO6 20]

Looks great! Remember to post pics of the retrieval of the new horse.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Having had a fair bit of brush painting experience I'd say from the pic that you're using oxide primer that's meant for spraying. It's possible to use by brush (only just) but only on a cold day and thinned with a slow thinner. Even then it's a struggle best avoided.

 

For panels I use a high build oxide primer sprayed on, for less important parts a white spirit based oxide primer which will brush on and lay. White spirit based primer is ok provided the gloss is synthetic enamel but would be no good for cellulose type finish which would react with it. As you know, I hand paint the enamel gloss but again it needs to be done on a cool day and thinned but it is an art.

 

It's looking good Ian - bet you're sensing the clock ticking to Ardingly, I am with the A-800 project which is just about on target I hope.

 

Keep up the good work mate, and don't let the new arrival distract you.

 

Andy

 

 

[Stigian 1,234]

 

Looking good Ian,........the pic seems to somehow remind me of the similarity to the Robot in 'Lost in Space' or some other Film/Movie  !.  

 

 

 

 

Lost in Space!!    Your showing your age here Richard.... Then again so am I for remembering it

 

 

 

Looks great! Remember to post pics of the retrieval of the new horse.

 

 

Thanks you Sir..

 

You can see all about the new Wh here..

 

[Stigian 1,234]

Having had a fair bit of brush painting experience I'd say from the pic that you're using oxide primer that's meant for spraying. It's possible to use by brush (only just) but only on a cold day and thinned with a slow thinner. Even then it's a struggle best avoided.

 

For panels I use a high build oxide primer sprayed on, for less important parts a white spirit based oxide primer which will brush on and lay. White spirit based primer is ok provided the gloss is synthetic enamel but would be no good for cellulose type finish which would react with it. As you know, I hand paint the enamel gloss but again it needs to be done on a cool day and thinned but it is an art.

 

It's looking good Ian - bet you're sensing the clock ticking to Ardingly, I am with the A-800 project which is just about on target I hope.

 

Keep up the good work mate, and don't let the new arrival distract you.

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy, you may well get bombarded with quite a few "how to paint" questions when top coat time comes closer..

 

I don't know if the red oxide I'm using is made for spraying, but I do know it was made for painting RSJ's, girders, that sort of thing..   It's horrible stuff to brush on, it drys so fast it's hard to get a smooth-ish coat.. But.. It will stop any rusting, it will hide a few er.. defects under the hood and it can be sanded down to a very smooth finish...

 

 

Tick tick tick, yep Ardingly is getting closer for sure.  I'm hoping to have a lot of the panels top coated and finished off with Marks 1st class decals in time for the show... Not sure if I'm going to have the time to be honest, but fingers crossed..

 

But at least she will be drivable this year and looking a lot more finished than last year 

 

The new arrival only distracted me for a few hours yesterday, but then I cracked on with this beast..

 

 

 

Having spent a long time getting the bodywork looking nice, I thought it was about time I got on with the last job that's keeping the beast from being in "running condition"... The exhaust..

 

 

As you know the way the exhaust was mounted it was a bit too close to the new gas tank, so I needed to move the exit point on the manifold..

 

A while was spent reducing the size of a bit of "cheapo" pillar drill leg to not only fit the manifold..

 

 

 

 

But to also fit in this standard size bit of "cheapo" pillar drill leg.

 

 

 

 

The manifold was screwed to the bench and levels checked before welding.

 

 

 

 

Test fitted to the engine. I still need to block off the old exit on the end of the manifold..

 

 

 

 

Test fit of the exhaust time... I didn't like how it looked... Apart from leaning a bit it sticks out way to far from the engine..

 

 

 

 

So this bend I made for the exhaust last year was cleaned up..

 

 

 

 

And the exhaust tack welded back together..

 

 

 

 

That looks much better 

 

 

 

 

 

Only a little bit of welding needed to make it gas tight, a brace to the engine to make, and the hole in the manifold to plug up and the ol girl will be drivable once more  

[bowtiebutler956 650]

 Wow, thats what I call making an exhaust bend the hard way!   It looks like it fits well though.

 

Matt

[Stigian 1,234]

You know me Matt, why do things the easy way

Just using the parts I have kicking about the place really, funds are a bit tight at the mo so I tend to "make" rather than "buy" if I can.

 

 

I forgot to post this in my last update, so here's part 51 of the build video's

 

Enjoy..

 

 

 

[Charlie Smith 142]

I agree with you Ian, why go and buy all these parts when you can make them yourself?

Also I think if you make somthing there's that great sence of achievement once it's finished and you've got your final outcome,

Keep up the brilliant work,

[Stigian 1,234]

I agree with you Ian, why go and buy all these parts when you can make them yourself?

Also I think if you make somthing there's that great sence of achievement once it's finished and you've got your final outcome,

Keep up the brilliant work,

 

Thanks Charlie...

The greatest sense of achievement will come in just over a months time when I get to drive her around at Ardingly this year... I can't wait for that..

 

 

 

Progress has been plodding along in a kinda "bit here, bit there" kinda way.

 

The top of the gas tank now looks like this (it has done for a while, but I forgot to post a photo of it), not 100% circular but close enough and it certainly looks a lot better than how it did.

 

 

 

 

The exhaust now has a rather hefty bracket holding it up, and the manifold has been stewing in the E-Tank for a few days.. Both will get a few coats of high temperature paint today.

 

 

 

 

The fenders have had a good few coats of primer and are awaiting a bit of light sanding to make them nice and smooth.

 

 

 

 

There's something about grey primer that makes you think "it's almost there", even if there is still a huge amount of work to do before its "finished"

 

 

 

 

The next panel to tackle was the rather long belt cover... This is where I found a slight design flaw!

 

 

 

 

Getting at this bolt is er... Interesting...  I think it's always going to be a pain to get out, but at least I can make it less of a pain but trimming a little steel in the right place.

 

 

 

 

Once the belt guard was on the bench I made a start on cleaning off all the protective paint and grinding down the welds.

 

 

 

 

Quite a while later the belt guard looked much better.. I need to add the odd bit of filler here and there to hide some welds in obvious places, but not much.

 

 

 

 

The front of the guard needs a little trim at the bottom by the hood to get the lines correct and to stop the hood catching the guard when it's opened.

 

 

 

 

The side cover on the left side got the same treatment and just needs the lightest of skims of filler to hide the joins.

 

 

 

 

And while both the side cover and belt guard were off they both were drilled and had captive nuts welded inside to hold the shifter plate in place..

 

 

 

 

In other news the top coat paint has been ordered, so expect to see some nice looking paint over the coming weeks 

[Stigian 1,234]

Morning all, a little more progress has been made..

 

 

The belt guard and side panel have been filled and primed..

 

 

 

The exhaust has had a clean up and a repaint with high temperature paint..

 

 

 

 

And the exhaust manifold has been extracted from the E-Tank, cleaned up, had the old exit plated over and painted.. Looking at the photo another coat or two of black stuff wouldn't go amiss..

 

 

 

[Anglo Traction 761]

Looking good Ian. On the home stretch?.  Going to look real neat with some Red on it. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you for some good 'Spraying/Drying Weather'. May pay you a visit if ok, as I've been 'Out of Service' for a while (one handed) and I'm bored with not being able to do much. PM  ya!.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Coming on and looking good Ian, and I know the feeling of keep discovering things that still need doing and hold back progress on the final straight, in my case with the A-800. Good to see that Richard is offering to come down and lend a hand (Sorry Richard  )

 

Andy

[Anglo Traction 761]

Coming on and looking good Ian, and I know the feeling of keep discovering things that still need doing and hold back progress on the final straight, in my case with the A-800. Good to see that Richard is offering to come down and lend a hand (Sorry Richard  )Andy

Yep !. just the one. Fortunately, being a 'Southpaw' my default hand is still good.

[Stigian 1,234]

Looking good Ian. On the home stretch?.  Going to look real neat with some Red on it. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you for some good 'Spraying/Drying Weather'. May pay you a visit if ok, as I've been 'Out of Service' for a while (one handed) and I'm bored with not being able to do much. PM  ya!.

 

Hi Richard, not quite on the home stretch yet, but most of the panels will be top coated for Ardingly.. The paint turned up last thing yesterday

A visit would be cool, best leave it until after the weekend though, just getting over a nasty dose of "flu" type stuff and you really don't want to risk catching it!!

I'm quite lucky as I don't tend to catch colds/flu etc,  my immune system is very good at blocking them...  But every couple of years something will get through and knock me sideways for a while.

 

 

 

Coming on and looking good Ian, and I know the feeling of keep discovering things that still need doing and hold back progress on the final straight, in my case with the A-800. Good to see that Richard is offering to come down and lend a hand (Sorry Richard  )

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy, and thanks for your "how to brush paint" PM, it's proved very handy    A reply will be coming now my brain is starting to function again.

Lol, yep there are so many little things that need doing, I just have to concentrate on getting the most important jobs done before Ardingly.

 

 

 

 

 

Coming on and looking good Ian, and I know the feeling of keep discovering things that still need doing and hold back progress on the final straight, in my case with the A-800. Good to see that Richard is offering to come down and lend a hand (Sorry Richard  )Andy

Yep !. just the one. Fortunately, being a 'Southpaw' my default hand is still good.

 

 

Is your "default" hand the one your body always returns to after a reboot?

[Anglo Traction 761]

 

Is your "default" hand the one your body always returns to after a reboot?

 

Sort of ............ Default hand as in when your body responds to the instruction to pick up a Beer  ,   Catch up next week.

Edited June 1, 2013 by Anglo Traction

[Stigian 1,234]

I think my default hand is the one that reaches for the kettle 1st thing in the morning 

 

 

Grey primer has a wonderful habit of showing up any defects in panels, and in the bright sunlight of yesterday morning quite a a few defects/missed bits of sanding were noticed on the belt guard!!

 

A bit of sanding down and a few cats of grey primer later the guard was looking much better..

Seen here enjoying a bit of morning sun with a couple of the outriggers covers that had had a blast of red oxide on the insides..

 

If you look carefully you can also see a glimpse of a different shade of red on the table..

 

 

 

The different red being top coat on the inside of the side panel..

This was a test paint to see how the paint went on, to see if I could produce a smooth finish with a brush, and to check for any paint reactions..

 

For my first time trying to get a good finish with a brush I'm happy with how it went..  The paint didn't react, the brush marks seem to be vanishing over time as the paint settled down (they might even of gone by the time I look this morning), and although I did miss a bit of paint and managed to get some dust on the wet paint (must remember not to wear a filler dust coated shirt when painting) this test bit has given me great hope for the future of shiny paint on this beast

 

 

 

 

Now onto the other end of the scale, a very rusty seat.. This was the one that was on it for a long time, the seat with lot's of lumps of foam showing/falling off..

The challenge was working out how to fit these springs...

 

 

 

To the base of this non Wheel Horse seat..

After a coffee and a bit of ing, and a good measure, I struck lucky.. Just in front of the two studs sticking out the base of the seat are two holes that just happen to be correctly spaced apart for the springs to bolt on..

 

 

 

A bit of trimming down of the new seat base and a couple of holes drilled later it all bolts together

 

 

 

 

This seat won't be staying, but as it's the only seat I have that doesn't have large lumps on foam showing it's going on for Ardingly.

Since this photo was taken, the seat hinge plate thingy has had a trim to clear the 3 point guard..

 

 

[Charlie Smith 142]

Good finish with the brush Ian, over all well done, it's getting there, really see the improvements now

[Lars 526]

  getting closer now Ian... thats gooooood keep it up

[Stigian 1,234]

Good finish with the brush Ian, over all well done, it's getting there, really see the improvements now

 

Thanks Charlie, if I can find the time today a few more panels will get a coat of the shiny red stuff inside.

 

 

 

  getting closer now Ian... thats gooooood keep it up

 

Thanks Lars,  keeping it up

 

 

Only a couple of photo's this time..

 

 

Lot and lots of panels in red primer ready for a top coat..

 

 

[Stormin 9,981]

With regards to painting. For large areas, as I'm not being geared up for spraying yet,  I use a sponge radiator roller and brush for  the places the roller can't fit. 

 

The 6x6 is lookin' reet grand Ian.

[Stigian 1,234]

With regards to painting. For large areas, as I'm not being geared up for spraying yet,  I use a sponge radiator roller and brush for  the places the roller can't fit. 

 

The 6x6 is lookin' reet grand Ian.

 

Thanks Norman.. I do have one of those small roller thingys which I will probably use to paint the long flat panels on the fenders..

 

 

And today we have... Lot's and lot's of panels with top coat painted inside. Oh, and one end of the gas tank.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2013 by Stigian

[Charlie Smith 142]

Ian, what red paint are you using, and where did you purchase it,

Looking good now,

[Anglo Traction 761]

 

 

And today we have... Lot's and lot's of panels with top coat painted inside. Oh, and one end of the gas tank.

 

.....And you even had time to cut the grass during a busy week Ian !. Glad you got some decent weather for the painting