454 in a tree, part 2

Great weather out here in Reno, Nevada this weekend.
 
Got the "Starship" unloaded from the trailer and into the back yard on Fri.  Sat. was a wash out, due to family takin' up the day with my B-day.  Today, Sun., I shot the bunny and focused on better uses of my time.
Over the winter I collected up 2, 20' x 4" x 6" x 3/16" "I" beams, 6 sticks of 2" x 10' x 1/8" box tubing, and some channel steel 11" x 12' x 1/8".
Now what does all that steel have to do with the "Starship"?
Well, I'm goin' to build a service rack. Spent the day gatherin' up the steel in one spot, takein' measurements, and drawin' some plans.
It'll be 11' long, 5 1/2' wide, and 2' high. 
I've had it with jack stands, ramps, and a dirt pit to get under the "Starship",  never really felt that safe anyway. I'll have a plywood floor to scootch around on and a much cleaner area to work in.
There is still a lot of work to do on the under side, drop the fuel tank ( gas has gone bad and needs to be cleaned out ), fab and install the exhaust, and complete hookin' up all the little things ya find at the last minute.
I'll try to post up some pics as the rack comes along and keep y'all informed as all phases progress.
 
WARNING! This is goin' to be a loooong thread, and there will probably be some "Boviating" to be found!
 
I'm goin' to be callin' on y'all from time to time, to get a few more pointers, O.K.?  

Way to go Starship, that will keep you safe and up 2' in the air will give you lots of room to work, thanks for the update, PG.

cool!

Now bare with me, as I am new-ish to the forums, but what does boviating mean?

....ah yes, the despare, suspence, mystery, 
drama , jovality of discovery, and yes,.......
....the bloviating.
 
I try to give as much info as I can, just in case someone else is attempting the same task. I hope, that if I'm being real stumpid, some one will point it out. Otherwise, I'm goin' for it.
 
I'll be cuttin'' and fittin' the parts for the service rack this weekend.
Ohhh, the things we do in the labors of Love, eh?  
 
 

Measure twice and cut once or is it the other way around. 
 
Definitely weld good.

My wife made up a first aid kit for my last big project... when I rebuilt the interior of our bus.  A big roll of duct tape, super glue, a fire extinguisher, and a walkie talkie.  If it bleeds, wrap it with tape.  If that don't stop it, glue it back on with the super glue.  The fire extinguisher serves two purposes... freezes the pain... or puts out the fire.  Use walkie talkie to call for help when all else fails.

Ain't love grand?

You guys are crackin' me up.
 
Fire extinguisher? For burns too right?
What about freezer burns from the CO2?
 
I got my speed square handy, a 25' tape, soap stone for markin', a Saws All with plenty of new blades ( makes a clean cut with minimal grinding ), a four inch hand held grinder, and plenty of wire in the ol' buzz box.
 
Here's a little tip,....
When you're tryin' to weld with the sun at your back, drape a dark towel over the back of your hood. It'll stop the glare on the inside of your face shield. This is where the duct tape comes in handy, it holds the towel in place.  

Towell over the head... see, thats where the fire extinguisher really comes in handy.  I had to weld a spring perch back on my CJ5 in Moab one year.  Used jumper cables and a coat hanger.  It worked well enough to finish the trail and get me back to the bus... but not being a clean MIG gas shielded welder, it really splattered hot metal all over the place... and all over me for that matter.  Got a few brands that day... fire extinguisher now mandatory.  Wife's orders!

I've gotten minor burns on my arms 'cause of slag, but nothin' serious.
When in college, many years ago, I was welding some brackets. I suddenly noticed an odd smell and felt a warming on the left side of my chest. A hot piece of slag had flown into my shirt pocket and ignited a book of matches. Luckily, there was a pack of cigs between me and the match book. Burned the whole front off my shirt pocket.  Haven't had any probs with the towel, *crosses fingers*, I suppose I should use a light piece of leather instead.  Although, I have'nt gotten any slag in my helmit without the towel, yet.

Hey Dave, glad to see you back in the swing of things. I know what a pain it can be trying to work around the weather, did lots of under the truck repair's in the snow and other ugly weather for too many years. Anyway, the service rack sounds interesting, are you building it in a semi-permanent spot above your pit? Drive on ramps to the rack height? Just be careful with unstable earth especially in this wet season. If you don't have leather protection when welding, 100% cotton is the next best thing. Take your time, be careful, good luck. Bob

Hey Bob,
I hear ya on the bad weather repairs. I've done stuff in my younger years that I wouldn't even think about, let alone do today.
I filled in the pit. The rack will be on 2' x 2' x 4" reinforced cement pads for each support. Drive on, removable ramps for sure. The whole structure will be able to be unbolted to dismantle and stow away.
That is if ya can really "stow away" two 11' x 1' x 2' 300 lb.steel structures.
I'll take some pics as it comes together. It'll prob scare the heck out of ya.
I did get a couple of the upright supports cut at work today. I just played dumb and the maint guy cut them for me.  It's O.K. though, I've scratched his back more than once.

The rack is a good size project all by itself but it will make things allot easier and much more safe workin' underneath the starship. As you can see from my post today about my engine build, I may not be gettin' to the transplant anytime soon. I was hoping for a couple of weeks layoff from work this winter but I have been requested to work on a special project. We're working on a showcase house with geothermal heating and cooling. I've been gettin' my 40+ hours on this job for the last 3-4 weeks and still have a few weeks of piping and control work left. I love the work and the general contractor is great but it's cuttin' into VETTE time.

quote:

ORIGINAL: C3 Starship

Luckily, there was a pack of cigs between me and the match book. Burned the whole front off my shirt pocket.  

So smoking could've saved your life. 

quote:

ORIGINAL: C3 Starship
It'll prob scare the heck out of ya.

More than the tripod setup you were using to pull/install the engine? 

Good luck with your project.

Ya mean this little contrivance of "Redneck Engineering"?
 

 
Well, it worked!

 
Yep. 
 
 
I wasn't scared. 
 
                         
 
Can't argue with success. 

It's the redneck engineering that helps keep our hobby affordable, if I had to farm out all of the work on any of my vehicles I would have fewer of them. I enjoy the challenge of doin' it myself.

Ya, it's just as much fun designin' and buildin' a contraption for cents, that others would pay big $ for. I'm always tryin' to come up with a cheaper alternative.