It looks like the rectangular tubing I bought the other day was actually the wrong size. I ordered the appropriate stock, but didn't notice the stuff they loaded was was not.
So I'll have to deal with that later this week.
For now, I'm taking a page from the Blackhurst playbook and making life easier by making it harder.
Can anyone tell what these 1/2" steel plates are for?
(Hint: They're sitting in the rocker panel.)
Going to guess they are going to serve as part of the interface to the donor chassis sills. Not sure what the bolt is for?
Pete
There are actually 2 plates. The bolt is holding them together.
You ever have a day where you feel giddy because everything went well?
Today was one of those days!
Those plates are hammer forms to make gussets between the rectangular tubing I'm adding into the rocker and the outer rocker panel.
It will make removing the rocker panel next to impossible after it's all welded together, but with the way I'm putting it together, if the rocker ever needs to come off, it will probably be because the car was wrecked and will get cut off anyway.
I have pictures I'll post as soon as I get them uploaded.
So the forum has decided to not let me paste from my phone, and I've blown the dust off my laptop (literally) to post these stupid pictures. Nobody is going to take the sprinkles off my donut today!
So, after I got home from work I went straight to making a paper template for my rocker gussets. Then I used my aforementioned Ryobi grinder with a (few) half worn out 24 grit disc to strip the paint off some 14 ga scrap I have laying around. With that done it was time to start marking/cutting out gussets with the second cheapest plasma cutter Amazon has to offer!
I've actually had this plasma cutter for months, and this is the first time I've really used it in earnest. For $230 or so, it's pretty awesome!
Also, that grinder is actually Frankensteined out of 3 different broken ones. LOL The wheel lock is broken because it got dropped while it was still spinning and the lock was inadvertently engaged. This is the last of the lower amp/power models I have left, the new ones are either neon green or yellow. (guess who's colorblind, lol)
So anyway, trace/cut and fit it into the hammer form.
grr... I need to edit my template.
Masking tape to the rescue!
So with that done, the blank gets bolted into the form, and stuck in the vise. Then I get to do what I do best. Beat it with a hammer!
Once it's all bent down. you can see how the outer edge didn't shrink down all the way.
It's easy enough to deal with after it's out of the form, but for now lets spin it and fold over the top flanges use the cross pein to tighten this hard to reach corner.
Alternatively, you can use a blunt chisel or a piece of bar stock, but I like my hammers.
I made the form so it only makes the difficult side of the gusset. After the flanges are bent over you can see how the edges wrap around the form. If I made the form to include the last flange, it would be very difficult to get the part off of it.
That, and this way I'm not committed to the part of the gusset that applies to the inner sill/rocker. Some of these will need some minor tweaking/adjustment to different parts of the rocker so I'll bend that last flange with a hammer/dolly or a stick when I'm 100% sure what angle it needs to be.
So after pulling it off the form I trim it up, clean up my corners and make some relief cuts in the curved portion so it can really get formed to the rocker panel. Then I take a hammer from the backside and shrink down the last of the little ripples left.
(sorry for the blurry pic)
You can see on the back I had actually laid out all of the gussets on the sheet before I made a prototype. Fortunately I had the good sense not to cut them all out at the same time.
Then a test fit in the hollowed out rocker.
Sweet!
My profile tool will come in very handy.
I'll be making at least 12 of these gussets, so all the work to make the form will actually save me time in the long run vs making them all freehand, and they'll be identical plus cheaper and more accurate than trying to weld flanges onto a flat gusset. I've got 2 finished, and 5 blanks cut. Now that my template and tools are dialed in it should take about 30 minutes to finish making all of them. 40 minutes if you count stripping paint off another piece of scrap.
That, and I always find it amusing telling people I made a tool for a job. In my work, sometimes I have to make a tool to make a tool, to make a tool. I think my longest chain so far is 4.
So yeah, today counts as a win!
Uh, nope nope nope...
You get the chassis home yet?
Pete
Crackers what became of the title/paperwork two step??? Beating metal into shape is about as rewarding as digging stumps with the backhoe....both are somewhat therapeutical and they provide tangible results 
In reply to NOHOME :
I just unhooked the trailer. 
759NRNG said:Crackers what became of the title/paperwork two step???
Having the chassis home highlights some serious co-spacial issues.
Primarily, the body is about a foot too low for the tires to roll under the rocker panels. The rest can be resolved with fire. (Or more specifically, plasma.)
I'm probably just going to yank the rear subframe back off (it only has 3 finger tight bolts holding it on anyway) and trolley the chassis under it on my transmission jack.
Since I'm planning to lift the chassis up to the body I'm probably not gonna want the added weight of the suspension on there anyway.
The GF has decided I don't have any personal time this weekend and I have to work most of next week, so I don't know how much I'll be able to get done, and I still have to go to the steel yard to get the correct tubing before the two can become one.
Also, with the chassis home, my lack of storage space is becoming even more evident. To the point I'm seriously reconsidering the tent idea. 
I really just need to bite the bullet and build a decent sized shed. (I mean, it's not like I ever want to actually finish this car anyway.)
I have a time table in my head for how the next few steps will play out, but I'm afraid to make any of it public.
However, I need to have it rolling again in the next two weeks as I need to replace the roof on a trailer the beginning of February.
If i can be of any help............I'm not that far away...........
I had a reprieve from the forecasted weather today, so I spent some time cutting the excess off of what's left of the Lexus. (And there's not much left.)
I took a break to buy some more saw blades for the reciprocating saw and noticed Tractor Supply had 10" 300# flat-free wheels on sale for $15. So I made this thing...
Then took that handful of self-tapping screws and screwed that bitch to the chassis where the rear subframe usually resides.
It rolls quite nicely on my E36 M3ty driveway, and is low enough to roll completely under the body.
Oh, so I'm digging through my scrap pile and find this piece of steel with some super precise layout marks on it. 
I didn't actually do all this just for the sake rolling the chassis around.
I have been wanting to build a dedicated cart for my welder/plasma cutter/grinders. The wheel width here was set to the width I'm planning to make the cart, so when I'm done moving the chassis around I can use this as the beginning of that cart.
Maybe that thing will get it's own thread?
I'll have more eventually. I'm probably going to the steel yard tomorrow afternoon, we'll have to see how that goes.
“64-ish” is more precise than I mark my scrap!
Those big knobby tires look pretty sweet for a welding cart, but you have to wheel it over gravel I guess normal casters aren’t going to cut it
Lol, this was a drop off a piece of tubing I ran through the roller while making a bed frame. (It had an arched headboard.)
I'm not good at fancy math so I mark several spots to use as reference points and measure periodically until I know how much length I need to get the appropriate crown and span. It makes replication much faster.
My current cart is an old cafeteria cart with 2 skinny wheels mounted way too close to each other and a pair of tiny casters.
I mostly use it like an awkward hand truck otherwise it buries the casters and/or teeters rather precariously.
Hopefully setting the tires wider and bigger/wider casters up front will make for a more stable cart.
I'm also planning added storage for welding supplies, gloves, helmets, etc. Also grinders and grinder consumables, and power outlets/cords all on the cart.
Un berkeleying Believable
The chassis still needs to go up on the driver's side (something is binding) and back about 3", but I need to reinstall the rear suspension and hang wheels on it to be sure.
But OMG! I never would have imagined they would be anywhere near that close!
This calls for some celebratory Jagermeister!
Oh, and the forum photo hosting is awesome-sauce!
That’s incredible. looks like you’ll have a nice chance to add some sweet, sweet box flares!
berkeley yeah!
Huge milestone reached today! 
Before you start shifting floor pan to exoskeleton measure at least three times.....you might end up like Nohome and have to push the front susp. forward a smidge to compensate for wheels in fender opening kinda E36M3.....be careful ....dark out there
In reply to Rufledt :
In other unbelievable news, the stock Lexus wheels/tires fit in the arches on the wagon "perfectly".
Without even trying Uncle Ben is gonna be Hella Flush Yo!
I am going to have to move the arches/flares up on the body though.
In reply to 759NRNG :
Non-issue. The wagon and the Lexus wheelbases are only 0.4" different.
Of course, everything will be mocked up before I do any welding.
Even at that, I'm relocating wheel arches, so I can fudge them a little if they don't look right.
This is going to be epic.
Pete
Oh berkeley yes!
It looks like tbis is going to be fast progress from here!
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