Project 2.

[Errol62]

What they said Brett. Bone transplant.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Brett027]

Those Stark pillar lower repair sections look good mate, how well do they fit ???

Perfect fit Blacky. The inner is very strong and has no give in it anywhere. Fortunately it follows the pillar shape exactly. The only downside is that there is no outer lip for rubber door seal though and adding that really thin and shaped bit on the inner curve is not easy to do. When I get to that bit I'll take a photo of what I mean.
The outer patch is thinner and the tail that follows the inner curve of the firewall can be easily flexed to match the firewall. The outer has all the pressings of the original including the channel for the outer door rubber and is easy to fit to the inner panel. On Wilma I welded both the inner and outer patches together before mounting the single piece. This time I mounted the inner first then welded on the outer. Both methods worked, but I think doing them separately is probably a bit safer.
You have to drill out the k-frame bolt hole when fitted, as both the inner and outer don't have the hole pre-drilled. You have to have k-frame in place to fit the mount so drilling the bolt hole with the k-frame on is pretty straight forward as the bolt mounts on the pad and just travels through the inner and outer to fit tight against the pad. I use a punch that just happens to be the right size to line up the k-frame hole and the mounting pad. You can see it in one of the photos where I had just tacked the mount on. From what I have seen on the forum, people can make the mistake of thinking the inner and outer are part of the bolt strength. The inners job is to hold the mount securely and the outer is to align the outer sill. The hole through the inner and outer patches should be a loose fit for the bolt so it can pull up tight against the mounting pad next to the k-frame. I have spoken to Sasha about pre-drilling this hole but he thinks it better to do it on the car- he is a very smart dude, so he is no doubt right

The Stark K-frame mount is a very strong unit with 3 layers of steel to support the k-frame bolt and best fit of those available to purchase in my view. I have purchased another brand but didn't use them because the angles of the mount where it attaches to the sill where wrong and they were quite significantly less thick on the bolt pad. Probably good enough but different.

I can recommend all three without hesitation. It is a job that requires a lot of care and easily messed up. I am confident that the Stark parts are worth the expense and are as strong as the original design intended. The inner is much stronger and thicker than I could make, so if money was an issue I would make the outer as others here have done, but definitely buy the inner as it is the critical one for the pad.

Hope that helps

[Errol62]

Agree on the outer subframe leg attaching bolts. I had to fabricate most of this from remnants and new sheet on the van. Sasha's bits weren't available at the time. Also, I extended the front joining tab of the fabricated auto (wider) top hat no 1 body member to form the leg mating face for a bit more strength. The thickness of the a pillar mounting flange is relatively critical.

When I fitted outer sill the hole was about a half diameter out of position.

FB ute driver, EK van project

[Brett027]

Yes, I had that issue with Wilma. The hole needs to be clear enough for the big hex head to not foul the outer sill end.
A bit of experimentation this morning on those curved rail sections. Not exact with the look.


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[Brett027]

A bit Mad Max ish at the moment but with a bit of caressing with the grinder they should come up OK. Hopefully the humps and curves are close to the original.
Fully closing them in might be a mistake but can't be worse than the original design. Maybe a drain hole at the lowest point once installed.
My welding mate has had enough.

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[Errol62]

Mate they look good and enclosing them is a good idea I reckon, on top especially. From factory they have a drain hole, look at the end of my ute thread if you need a picture but surely you have at least one relatively complete one.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Brett027]

Yes, I got got a spare original thanks very much Clay. And of course some remnants

[Blacky]

There is a bloke making these sections now, saw it on bookface sometime over the last couple of days .....

[Brett027]

How much have I saved today then?

[Blacky]

How much have I saved today then?

Don't know hat he was asking for them , it depends on what you value your time at i guess ???

[Brett027]

Not much- unless I'm doing something I don't want too and then I become very expensive

[Belly760]

How much have I saved today then?

Don't know hat he was asking for them , it depends on what you value your time at i guess ???

Yes thats David Robinson. I bought a set. And looking at them they are ok. Not brilliant. And my thinking a little on the light side. Could be a heavier gauge steel. And a bit on the expensive side. You saved yourself $560 too Brett.


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[Brett027]

Thanks Sam that's good to know. The originals are light gauge panel metal. My mad max specials are next gauge up from that. And they are zinc coated (other than one piece cause I ran out). They may fit, as well! We'll all know soon enough.....

[Errol62]

Woah! Bought a running fb for less than that a few years ago.

Originals were 18# 1.2mm by my measurements. As are other structural members such as no 1 front body member and inner sills.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Brett027]

Home mades are 2mm. Originals are 1.6mm on folded box section and panel metal 1.1mm on the half length top piece. Give or take.