The need for luggage

[kombi1976]

This may seem like a bit of a lame post but even small tool-related things are a triumph for me.
This roof rack is a case in point.
A good friend, the same who kindly gave me the Sportco Martini Hornet, gave me a number of useful things for my '67 Bus while we were emptying his shed of well of a decades amount of horded articles.
One of them was the roofrack from his '72 VW Camper conversion (which he also gave me!) and it was sprayed and is in some of the pics I've posted here of the '67.
When I discovered this and tried it on my bus I got excited about roof racks, because let's face it; every one likes a good rack....
Anyhow, at a local VW wreckers I came across two 3/4 length racks.
One was in pretty bad state and was one big piece of suface rust and dings but I know a guy who'd like it for his rat look bus and the legs on it moved around fine even though 2 of the 6 were missing.
So I bought it for $75 and sold it for $80......I'm too much of a softy to make much money, especially from guys who are into the same stuff I am.
The other rack, however, was sprayed white and almost complete although it was a little bent in places.
But the legs were stuck hard.
I figured at $85 it was a good deal and picked it up.
Here's what it looked like when I brought it home:





Not long ago I decided it would be good to run both the camper rack and 3/4 rack on the '67 for a show that's on the first weekend of November and I spoke to my brother about it, saying I'd have to cut off the legs and have new ones made up as well as mounting pipes.
He just about shouted me down and told me to use WD-40 and a hammer on a daily basis, just letting the stuff soak in and penetrate.
I thought "Well, I guess it's a shot."
Here are the tools of the, well, not the trade:



Now, you're all saying "Ok, there's a ball peen hammer there along with 2 rubber mallets but I don't see any WD-40."
That's because I chose INOX, a local product, instead.
It isn't alcohol based so it doesn't waft away when you spray it on something.
It sits there and penetrates like crazy.
I began this on Monday and simply headed out there each afternoon giving each bolt and leg joint a liberal coating and giving them a healthy belt with the hammer although not enough to bend the metal in and pinch the legs inside the pipe.
By Thursday I had all of the bolts out, apart from one I'd accidentally broken off a few months back when I tried this process with WD-40.
And on Thursday one of the legs came out and another was moving although not willing to come out.
On Friday arvo it came out after some gentle persuading with the smaller mallet.
I had a long day on Saturday and most of it was spent in or on the way to or home from Canberra (including the hour by the side of the road waiting for road service when ran out of fuel ) so I didn't manage to work on it at all.
But today after church I came home with one purpose in mind and went to it.
I hadn't used the larger mallet until today and it really helped with some of the legs that we a little bent and stuck fast.
I also drilled out the bolt that had been broken and liberated the last leg.
I can't begin to tell you how proud I was when I got it out.
As a funny old Scottish woman I know said when she was pleased with herself "If I was chocolate I'd eat myself!" :D
So, here are the legs removed from the rack:



It's no really visible because I cleaned most of them but when the legs came out the shafts were covered in a thick, clay-like, liquified sludge which had clearly been rust until about a week ago.
The INOX really did the trick.
And here is the rack sans legs:



Now I need to determine how long the legs need to be so the rack will clear the roof of the '67 as they are presently too short.
Then I'll drop it into a local engineering firm for them to make up new the legs.
I'll then take to the rack with a the angle grinder and wire brush and strip it to bare metal before spraying it matt black to match the camper rack.
I'd be grateful for any advice on how to remove the INOX and rust crud from the inside of the tubes where the legs are inserted.
Short of pouring petrol or turps through it which is trouble some, especially with the bolt holes in the pipe, I'm not sure how to effectively do this and I don't want it to rust up again soon.

[Alboy]

Ever try just about any solvent and a bore brush? Especially one of the "on a rope" type?

[kombi1976]

I'll try that.
I thought about using a brush but I'll have to work out what diameter.
It's probably in the realms of 50 cal.

[Alboy]

50 caliber I would try 20 gauge or a little smaller shot gun brushes and swabs.

[kombi1976]

More news on the roof rack.
I took the legs down to a local engineering company to get longer ones made up as the present ones are too short.
The guy took one look at them and said no.
He said the litigation risk was way too high and if anything too heavy was put on it or it accidentally came off because it was badly fitted some time the insurance company would take everything from him.
Ya gotta love a litigious society, haven't you?
It all comes from the sort of people that sue someone else for not wiping their own behind.
So I'm going to have to do it myself.
A mate has a pipe bender and it shouldn't be too hard to weld.
I've also thought about how to make it as stable as possible.
It'll entail some extra strengthening and I may even widen and/or lengthen it.
Anyhow, it won't be ready for 2 weekends time worse luck.

[LvrLover]

Just remember to liberally apply some brand of "never seize" when you put it all back together. That way it will come apart again later.

[recoil junky]

I'd say the welder dude is a pansy. I'dda built 'em in a heart beat!!

kombi, your missus must have the patience of a Saint. Mine gives me "the stare" whenever I talk about bringing home more old Ford treasures.

I'm thinkin' you'll have an A#1 campin' rig when this is all said and done. The best part is, your are having a ball putting it all together. Great job!!

RJ

[22hornet]

I think that the welder just didn't want to do the job, or he doesn't trust his own work. The rack will separate from the roof before any decent welds give out.
 
I would spray more WD40 into the tube and let it soak into the rust to loosen it some more. Give it a good scrub. It the bore brush is strong enough put it in the chuck of your cordless drill in low speed. You don't want a really tight fit either. Some play between the brush and tube will loosen the rust more readily. Give it a good clean after with some petrol.
 
As LvrLover has said use an anti seize product. "anti seize", "never seize", nickel seize", or similar products are available at Bunnings. Apply it to both components, the leg and tube, before assembly. You can't really use too much and it will save you a big headache later on when you want to pull it all apart again.

[kombi1976]

Well, I agree, he mustn't have wanted the work.
He was a "glass-half-empty" sort of guy anyway and he gave me the "everyone's going out backwards/there's no work around" sob story.
So today I went and saw another engineering company on the other side of town and the guy there said "Yep, I can do that."
When I told him I wanted to go from 8" in height to 11" he said "Mmmm, that's a little higher so how about I put some solid bar in there to stop it bending?"
I thought to myself no wonder the other guy is short of work and these guys are doing stuff all the time.
I asked when it could be done for and he said Monday.
He turned back to his work and I said "Don't you want my name and number?" and he replied "Well, you'll back for these, won't you? Can't use the rack without them."
It was very refreshing to have someone tell you they can do a job, tell you how they'll improve the design and that it'll be done in a reasonable amount of time a opposed to the "Fill in this form in triplicate/80% deposit/it'll be done the day after forever" I always seem to get.
So knowing it would be done quick I immediately headed home & got to the rack the cup wire wheel & my grinder.
It truly is amazing.
The missus came out while I was doing it and said "why don't you use sandpaper?" to which I replied "Watch THIS!!" and applied the wheel to a section of paint on the rack.
It comes off like water.
But it's loud as Meatloaf after a night consuming copious amounts of tequila and chilli con carne and vibrates like crazy too so I stopped about halfway through.
My fingers had swelled up like mad from the vibration so I'll finish it tomorrow and get it ready to paint early next week when I get the legs back.
That way it'll be ready for our trip next week.

[Alboy]

Good deal Kombi

[kombi1976]

I think so.
I'm yet to find out how much it'll cost me to get the legs made up but we'll see.
If it comes out under about $300 as a total cost I'll have done ok.
Better still, if i'd like it to be longer I can always have the guys lengthen or widen it at a later date.
Another guy I know picked up one these for his bus and had to have the rust cut out and fixed.
His is longer and as he likes so he got it powdercoated but a decent flat black paint job is enough for mine, just to stop it from rusting.

[kombi1976]

I'm proud to say that I've further progressed since my last post.
After extensive work with the wire wheel yesterday and the day before I managed to get the rest of the paint off.
This time I wore gloves so after extended use it only felt like spiders were crawling all over my hands.
It was better than the swelling I had before but nonetheless an "interesting" experience. :undecided:
Here are a couple of pics of me at work:




That got all of the paint off except for a few skerricks in "hard-to-grind" places but as you can see it looks tons better:



I than got to it with a wire brush to remove the aforementioned skerricks and lastly wiped the whole rack down with acetone to remove the paint dust, metal filings and rust particles left on it before painting.
I decided on a self-priming matt black engine paint which cures with heat.
It's unlikely to get as hot as a motor but a few days in the sun will cure it nicely and we're doing some long drives so it should be good.
I also got the legs back from the welder.
I don't know where he gets his steel from but it must be a special deal.
Not only did he make them longer, he welded the original feet onto them then drilled and threaded a hole and put a high tensile bolt in each to hold on the gutter clamp.
Oh, an they're all solid steel to prevent bending.
The price, you ask?.........$25 for the lot!!
Here's a couple of pics of the rack painted along with the legs:




My only issue now is a full set of original clamps for the roof rack.
I have 3 but need another 3 similar.
No one makes anything like them anymore as cars don't have gutters so I'll just have to keep my eye out for some on old smashed up racks and in the meantime use the 4 clamps from the short rack I have.
I actually made a trip to the local motor wreckers today in search of some but lucked out.
However this was lurking under some old truck springs and a diff in a rusty old trailer......



It's a little bent in places but it's complete and is the sort of rack small cars had during the late '60s and early '70s.
It would probably suit a VW Type 3 Wagon or even a Beetle if the legs were lengthened.
I know where I can get some more suction cups and the bent bars are easy work with a gas torch.
I paid $20.......it's unfortunate the guys at the wreckers don't know that could've got $50 for it.
What do you think, another Kombi resto? :)

[recoil junky]

Sic'em kombi!!! You're doin a bang up job looks like form this end.

Have you tried those paint remover wheels that go in your drill? They look kinda like a scotch brite pad, only stiffer. I was eyeing them when I was to the hardware store last time. Might do better on metal than a wire wheel. I might try them when I get to working on my Yank Tanks.

RJ

[kombi1976]

Thanks, RJ!
I do my best, or at least as best as I can be bothered with - it is, after all, a roof rack.
It would be worth using those paint remover wheels if this were flat panel but it's tube steel and as a result the wire wheel lets you get into places you couldn't with a normal wheel.
Unfortunately the rack didn't get up in time for my weekend up the coast.
I needed another half day and just ran out of time.
But I chatted with a fellow gun nut about the whole thing while I was in Sydney on Saturday and he gave me some cool tips.
He's a complete guru with any tool and so I'll be giving his ideas a go to solve the challenges I have.

[22hornet]

and vibrates like crazy too so I stopped about halfway through.
My fingers had swelled up like mad from the vibration so I'll finish it tomorrow

I was speaking to a chain saw guru at work and he mentioned a term called "white finger". Basically the vibration from the saw, or grinder, whatever, shakes your hands and fingers in such a way that it impairs the blood circulation. The damage can be irreversable. Anything from a mild loss of dexterity to amputation could be the end result.
Swelling is a sign of severe "white finger".

[kombi1976]

Amputation!!??
OUCH!!!
Just wearing gloves made a huge difference and I had no where near the same problems when I used it next.
I'll have to be careful though because my hands are my living........can't play guitar without fingers!