Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Nice work! Want to come work on my floors next?! I at least have new front pans ready to weld in.

Kev, after all your training and classes I'll be the one comming to you for work. I'm just some monkey banging away until it looks good enough. Kind of like the typewriter/Shakespeare theory!

I just got front pans as well. How do yours look? good fit? Mine will take some work, but I guess it's better than starting with flat sheet. I didn't expect perfection as they claim it works from like 51 - 56 or something like that. The body mount depressions aren't nearly deep enough and I wish they extended a little farther back.

I'm in the middle of recreating the floor pan body mount depressions for the rear mounts. I think I'll make a jig, because the rest will need to be done as well.

Still plugging away on the floors. The shop had a little surge of business, so the Clipper took a back seat for a while. I figured I'd post what little I've managed to get done.

I found that I needed to recreate the floor where the body mount bolts to the frame. In the sheet metal there is a depression where the bolt goes through and the floor is recessed to meet the floor brace. I ended up making a little fixture to clamp down the sheet metal so I could use the torch to heat it up and hammer out a replacement. It took a couple attempts, but I'm happy with the results.

I've got the rest of the passenger side inner and outer rocker panel removed, and I had a friend use his large sheet metal brake to make me some new inner rocker replacements. I'll have to take a pic of those once I've got them in place.

In dealing with the rusty floors and braces I realized that new body mounts will have to be installed. I found some in the Steele Rubber catalog, but the price seemed a little high for some rubber donuts. I know that many people use the polyurethane mounts and bushings because they are less likely to deform over time so I decided to make my own.

Some of you may know that my shop spray's the Rhino Lining truck bed coating with is a two part polyurethane material. I took the old rubber bushings, removed the metal washer and placed it in the bottom of a 2 inch PVC pipe cut to the desired thickness and poured in the Rhino. After it hardened (about 30 seconds) I cut the PVC and pealed it right off. What I got was a perfect new bushing with an integrated washer ready for install. I also poured the Rhino into another PVC about 10 inches tall creating a solid 2 inch diameter billet that can be placed in the chop saw or band saw and cut to any desired thickness and then center drilled to accept the bolt and washer. Way more fun than just placing an order.

More to come.

Attach file:

---

  (14.83 KB)


  (9.02 KB)


  (14.55 KB)


  (12.28 KB)


  (15.74 KB)

1 of 2 things.


1. can you give me detailed instructions on how you made the body mounts, so i can do it myself. and would herculiner do well enough?? as it is alittle more available to me off the shelf.

2. how much would you charge to make me a complete set for my car??

thanks dude,

Hank

Hank,

I simply went to Lowe's and picked up a 5 foot length of 2"id black PVC drain pipe for $4. I used the black because it has a foam core and it's more easily cut and peeled when taking the bushing out of the pipe.
Then I cut a piece of pipe about 5/8" thick, like a little bracelet and taped off one of the ends. I put the original steel washer inside of the newly created mold after a little trip to the blast cabinet to remove 54 years of rust. The Original washer measured like 1.9 inches in diameter so the 2" pipe was just about perfect. Next all I had to do was pump some Rhino into the mold and wait for it to harden.
This created the bushing with the integrated washer, but it took some sanding with the belt sander to get the top perfectly flat.
I think that for the rest of them I'll cut the desired thickness I want from the solid tube I created and just leave the washer loose on the outside. Once its bolted into place, it's not really going to matter.

I've never used Herculiner, but I have seen it after it's been applied. I know that it's more of a paint like product and when applied to a truck box it's pretty thin and hard like a paint. I just don't know how well it would set up when poured into a mold. I would be affraid of it cracking and braking. You'd just have to buy some and give it a try.

As far as making them for you, I could do another 12 inch tube and you could cut you own, you could get quite a few 1/2" bushings out of it. I would think enough for the whole car, and maybe a few left over. That would be the cheapest way to do it. Or, if you really wanted to have the washers molded into them, they'd all have to be made individually which would mean higher cost.

Shoot me you're address and I can mail you a sample of one so you get an idea of what they're like.

Keegan,
Great work there on the metalwork and the body mounts. Sounds like you're having fun doing it too with some and thrown in to accomplish what you've done recently. And it's great to have mates who can contribute and help too. Pity that work has to get in the way of your Packard.

Doesn't the Rhino Liner dry hard????? Wouldn't it be too hard for body mounts????? I really don't know. All bed liner coatings i've seen are rather hard.

Rhino is actually somewhat pliable. my uncle had it on his truck and it was kinda squishy hard, it was weird. can't be any worse than poly urethane, which i think one of the members on here made his own out of poly and showed us his technique also. i have that all over my z3 and it works great, but sometimes it can rip too. i think Rhino would make a great material as long as it didn't break down over time. i mean the original mounts on my car lasted this long, as long as the rhino can go that long i am good with it.

Keegan you have PM with my address. thanks for the offer ;0) you rock!

i need to look at my mounts really carefully to see what all i need and i could probably just make them myself, but i would need to have access to some Rhino lining....know where to get it consumer wise??? i think you are right about the Herculiner....it is more like tarry paint with rubber chunks and it wouldn't be that good to use. i had it on my ranger and the crap just peals right off when you scrap it hard. cheap way to do your truck bed, but not the best way that's for sure.

can you think of any other rubber product one could use that would be available at like Lowe's or Home Depot or something??

and great job on all the work, hopefully i will get to get dirty on mine again in the next couple of days. i am about to call the soda blaster, i am getting a bit jealous of him ;0)

later dude,

Hank

If you can't find the Rhino, another option is the Flexane 80 liquid as mentioned on another thread. That should be available locally at one of your industrial supply houses, although I don't know how it compares in price to the Rhino. Has been on my car for about 10 yrs now.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... &forum=3&post_id=8828#forumpost8828

There are a couple of picts of my setup on posts 10 & 16. Some of the bushings work in pairs and have shoulders that fit into frame & body recesses. Probably there to prevent metal to metal contact & noise, so am not sure how important they are to maintain, but if you want to replicate those, you'll need a slightly different type of mold than the flat bottom or sawing them off.

Here is a link to info on the Flexane. You do want the liquid, not the putty.

freemansupply.com/DevconFlexane80Fle.htm

EDIT: Was comparing hardness. Don't know about the original rubber or Steele's but Flexane is 87 which is pretty hard. Don't know what Rhino is. There are some silicone rubber mold compounds with a hardness of 45 that I think might work & available in smaller quantities as well. Larger quantities of a harder material of 57. I think the silicone can be colored, but if not, then maybe not appropriate. Haven't investigated that part--or the durability.

alumilite.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Silicone%20Rubber&Name=QuickSet

HH56 - I've never had any experience with the Flexane, but it looks like all my "original" ideas have been done better by those of you who have gone before me!

The "Tuff Grip" Rhino Lining has a Shore Hardness of about 80 and a tensile strength of 1100-1300 psi, so pretty similar in that respect. As for cost, I've calculated that it costs me about $4 an inch when molded in the 2"id PVC. So if I'm cutting 1/2" sections for bushings they're about $2 apiece. If memory serves, Steele wanted $7-$14 each for theirs.

Cli55er- You can't buy Rhino Lining as a consumer in it's raw chemical form. It's only sold to dealers in 55 gallon drums and then it has to be pumped in the correct ratio through a machine and manifold so it mixes quickly before it hardens. It looks as though HH56 has the right idea for a DIY home based creation with the Flexane. I got your PM and I'll try to get a sample of it out to you today. Let me know what you think of it.