Nothing Special's '71 Bronco

[Gary Lewis]

It won't be that far from the end. I'd certainly be able to at least get in well enough to tack it. But I'm planning on welding a plate on the end of the 4x4 to cap it off, and I'm not sure of it will work out better to do that before or after bolting the fender. So that's certainly a possibility, but the details still need to be worked out.

On the bar, I think it would look more professional (or at least less amateur) curved. But we'll see how the quote looks...

I agree that the bar will look better curved.

As for closing off the tube, be careful as then there's no way for water to get out. So if the bolt holding the fender leaks you'll have moisture in there that will cause problems. And, you don't want the thing sealed while you are welding to it, so you'll want to leave that bolt hole open until the very end.

[Nothing Special]

I agree that the bar will look better curved.

As for closing off the tube, be careful as then there's no way for water to get out. So if the bolt holding the fender leaks you'll have moisture in there that will cause problems. And, you don't want the thing sealed while you are welding to it, so you'll want to leave that bolt hole open until the very end.

If I don't close the ends of the tube I think they'll be pretty susceptible to trail damage. 3/16" wall isn't very heavy for 4" square tubing, so especially at the ends I think they'd get deformed pretty bad, pretty quickly. Closing the ends won't prevent all damage, but I think it'll be a lot more reasonable that way (I thought about going up to 1/4" wall which would "only" add ~15 lbs per side, but that's the kind of thought process that leads to an overweight vehicle).

Plus again the closed ends will give a more "finished" look.

But I'm thinking there's no way with closed ends I'll be able to prevent water from accumulating. I could put a drain hole in it, but then some crud will collect in there too and hold moisture, so I don't know that that would be a net positive.

So my thought is to put a bunch of WD-40 in there after it's welded up. Hopefully that will protect the metal well enough.

And yes, leaving the bolt hole open while welding is a good idea (although I suspect my welds will be pretty good vents on their own!).

[ArdWrknTrk]

If I don't close the ends of the tube I think they'll be pretty susceptible to trail damage. 3/16" wall isn't very heavy for 4" square tubing, so especially at the ends I think they'd get deformed pretty bad, pretty quickly. Closing the ends won't prevent all damage, but I think it'll be a lot more reasonable that way (I thought about going up to 1/4" wall which would "only" add ~15 lbs per side, but that's the kind of thought process that leads to an overweight vehicle).

Plus again the closed ends will give a more "finished" look.

But I'm thinking there's no way with closed ends I'll be able to prevent water from accumulating. I could put a drain hole in it, but then some crud will collect in there too and hold moisture, so I don't know that that would be a net positive.

So my thought is to put a bunch of WD-40 in there after it's welded up. Hopefully that will protect the metal well enough.

And yes, leaving the bolt hole open while welding is a good idea (although I suspect my welds will be pretty good vents on their own!).

Just clip the inside corner of the end caps.

You can fill it with some drain oil and roll it around.

On the Bronco you can flush end to end with a hose.

[Gary Lewis]

If I don't close the ends of the tube I think they'll be pretty susceptible to trail damage. 3/16" wall isn't very heavy for 4" square tubing, so especially at the ends I think they'd get deformed pretty bad, pretty quickly. Closing the ends won't prevent all damage, but I think it'll be a lot more reasonable that way (I thought about going up to 1/4" wall which would "only" add ~15 lbs per side, but that's the kind of thought process that leads to an overweight vehicle).

Plus again the closed ends will give a more "finished" look.

But I'm thinking there's no way with closed ends I'll be able to prevent water from accumulating. I could put a drain hole in it, but then some crud will collect in there too and hold moisture, so I don't know that that would be a net positive.

So my thought is to put a bunch of WD-40 in there after it's welded up. Hopefully that will protect the metal well enough.

And yes, leaving the bolt hole open while welding is a good idea (although I suspect my welds will be pretty good vents on their own!).

I hadn't thought about the trail damage, and didn't realize the ends will be that visible, so I understand the desire to close them.

But a drain hole will only get plugged. I will never forget the morning in Flagstaff when I realized my boat trailer's three cross members were rusted through from the inside. It was 6 am on a Sunday morning and I was sitting on a picnic table drinking a cup of coffee and looked over at the trailer and spotted cracks in the center of all three cross members. We were headed home that day and it was pretty obvious that they would drop the 5,000 lb boat on the axles while on the interstate.

They had rusted through from the inside due to the weep holes having gotten plugged. And all three appeared to be equally bad, which suggests that the odds of that happening are 100%. So I wouldn't go that way and would seal them up with the exception of the fender bolt hole and use it to spray in a preservative. Then seal it with thread locker on the bolt.

But I'm not sure WD40 is the right thing to squirt in there. I don't know what is, but I think WD40 is volatile enough that it will eventually dry out. Even WD-40® Specialist® Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor says it only "Protects metal from rust and corrosion for up to 2 years".

What about something like EASTWOOD INTERNAL FRAME COATING?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I hadn't thought about the trail damage, and didn't realize the ends will be that visible, so I understand the desire to close them.

But a drain hole will only get plugged. I will never forget the morning in Flagstaff when I realized my boat trailer's three cross members were rusted through from the inside. It was 6 am on a Sunday morning and I was sitting on a picnic table drinking a cup of coffee and looked over at the trailer and spotted cracks in the center of all three cross members. We were headed home that day and it was pretty obvious that they would drop the 5,000 lb boat on the axles while on the interstate.

They had rusted through from the inside due to the weep holes having gotten plugged. And all three appeared to be equally bad, which suggests that the odds of that happening are 100%. So I wouldn't go that way and would seal them up with the exception of the fender bolt hole and use it to spray in a preservative. Then seal it with thread locker on the bolt.

But I'm not sure WD40 is the right thing to squirt in there. I don't know what is, but I think WD40 is volatile enough that it will eventually dry out. Even WD-40® Specialist® Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor says it only "Protects metal from rust and corrosion for up to 2 years".

What about something like EASTWOOD INTERNAL FRAME COATING?

What about a soup of beeswax and bar oil?

That stuff is tenacious, and won't come off!

[Gary Lewis]

Just clip the inside corner of the end caps.

You can fill it with some drain oil and roll it around.

On the Bronco you can flush end to end with a hose.

Jim - I think the problem is that he needs to weld the ends in while the tube is out of the vehicle so he can get to all sides to weld. Then he'll weld the tube into the vehicle. So he can't put the oil in prior to welding in the tube, and can't roll it round afterwards.

That's why I think he needs to seal it and put some preservative inside.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Just clip the inside corner of the end caps.

You can fill it with some drain oil and roll it around.

On the Bronco you can flush end to end with a hose.

Jim - I think the problem is that he needs to weld the ends in while the tube is out of the vehicle so he can get to all sides to weld. Then he'll weld the tube into the vehicle. So he can't put the oil in prior to welding in the tube, and can't roll it round afterwards.

That's why I think he needs to seal it and put some preservative inside.

Look up 'Schutz Gun'

Cheap toilet rings are $2 and a gallon of bar oil shouldn't be more than 10.

For $20 you have enough to seal three undercarriages.

Dust stuck in it only makes it stronger.

[grumpin]

Look up 'Schutz Gun'

Cheap toilet rings are $2 and a gallon of bar oil shouldn't be more than 10.

For $20 you have enough to seal three undercarriages.

Dust stuck in it only makes it stronger.

Used to use this on hulls of seaplanes and the floats on float planes. Good stuff.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/paralketone.php

[Nothing Special]

Just clip the inside corner of the end caps.

You can fill it with some drain oil and roll it around.

On the Bronco you can flush end to end with a hose.

Jim - I think the problem is that he needs to weld the ends in while the tube is out of the vehicle so he can get to all sides to weld. Then he'll weld the tube into the vehicle. So he can't put the oil in prior to welding in the tube, and can't roll it round afterwards.

That's why I think he needs to seal it and put some preservative inside.

I think Jim's thought was to leave big enough holes at both ends (like in one lower corner of each end) so I could put a garden hose against one hole and flush everything out the other end. That might work, but I think I'd rather have it pretty well sealed with some preservative in it.

And although I could get at the ends enough to weld them on after the tube is on the vehicle, that definitely wouldn't be the easy way to do it. And I don't see much benefit to welding them on later, so I'll probably do them off the vehicle.

But I definitely don't want to put the oil in before welding the tubes to the vehicle. Pouring a bunch of heat into tubes filled with oil doesn't sound like a great idea. And the tubes will be welded to the body tub. There's no decent way around that.

That Par-Al-Ketone and also the beeswax sound like stuff that stuff that more needs to be applied. What about just pouring a pint or so of bar oil in each tube? It won't get the upper surfaces very well, but water won't ever pool on that either. Although I suppose enough water in the tube and the oil would float away from the steel so it could rust under the oil but in contact with the water.

Still, I think that will work well enough. So I guess that's how I'm leaning right now.

[FuzzFace2]

Just clip the inside corner of the end caps.

You can fill it with some drain oil and roll it around.

On the Bronco you can flush end to end with a hose.

Jim - I think the problem is that he needs to weld the ends in while the tube is out of the vehicle so he can get to all sides to weld. Then he'll weld the tube into the vehicle. So he can't put the oil in prior to welding in the tube, and can't roll it round afterwards.

That's why I think he needs to seal it and put some preservative inside.

I think Jim's thought was to leave big enough holes at both ends (like in one lower corner of each end) so I could put a garden hose against one hole and flush everything out the other end. That might work, but I think I'd rather have it pretty well sealed with some preservative in it.

And although I could get at the ends enough to weld them on after the tube is on the vehicle, that definitely wouldn't be the easy way to do it. And I don't see much benefit to welding them on later, so I'll probably do them off the vehicle.

But I definitely don't want to put the oil in before welding the tubes to the vehicle. Pouring a bunch of heat into tubes filled with oil doesn't sound like a great idea. And the tubes will be welded to the body tub. There's no decent way around that.

That Par-Al-Ketone and also the beeswax sound like stuff that stuff that more needs to be applied. What about just pouring a pint or so of bar oil in each tube? It won't get the upper surfaces very well, but water won't ever pool on that either. Although I suppose enough water in the tube and the oil would float away from the steel so it could rust under the oil but in contact with the water.

Still, I think that will work well enough. So I guess that's how I'm leaning right now.

What you need is this https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-internal-frame-coating-14oz-aerosol.html

You could weld up both ends, drill a small hole for the straw to coat the inside and then seal the hole with RTV

I have used it on a buddies 1 year only hood to spray between the frame and skin and the front edge where they rust out. I did this years ago and then moved so cant say how it is holding up but had to be better then nothing.

Dave ----