Rango.....1942 Willys MB

[MrBeast]

It has to feel good to see it all coming together like that.

Are you going to paint the body or just leave it all weathered?

[Metcalf]

I'll keep fogging it in OD paint when I modify something, but in general I am going for the southwest patina thing....

[Metcalf]

Started the cage.....I have much more respect for people who work in tube a lot!

[JeffRRC]

Looking good!

[Metcalf]

Thanks. It was a learning process. I had a few little bugs that didn't make me too happy. The windshield angle ended up a little too upright. I will need to rebend the windshield mounting frame a little bit to get the angle right. The one bonus to that is that with a slight bend to the frame I think the frame will now clear the carb plenum that sticks up through the hood a bit on 'normal' hood blocks.....

Here was the other pic I took.....



It shows the cage feet in the rear. The b-pillar pads will be tied to the frame on the inside of the tub eventually and the C-pillar ties together both wheel tubs and then goes down to the floor and frame.

[MrBeast]

It is looking good, what did you use to bend the plates?

[Metcalf]

It is looking good, what did you use to bend the plates?

A small hydraulic press brake in the shop where I work. Sometimes its nice to have access to stuff like that. It took like 15 minutes to bend all the plates and sand all the corners.....

[MrBeast]

A small hydraulic press brake in the shop where I work. Sometimes its nice to have access to stuff like that. It took like 15 minutes to bend all the plates and sand all the corners.....

I have been wanting to build one for a while, I have seen several kits and what not you can get for the harbor freight shop press. Would be nice but right now I don't even have a shop to put it in.

[Metcalf]

Well, I tried to take a few more pics. I am kinda rushed these days, and cage building expert I am NOT......

The basic cage is all in and tacked heavily. I will be pulling it tonight to final weld....



Its just your basic cage. Front to rear ( A to C pillar ) cage design. I think it turned out pretty decent. It was hard to be happy with it being straight enough. The tub isn't, so its hard to know where to draw the line when trying to square things up.



I think I am getting ok at more complex tube nodes like this. I really don't have that much experience with tubing. These where done by eye with a flap disc and a sharpie.



Here is how close the factory tool box lids come to the C-pillar tube. All that work to have the C-pillar roll inboard to get the factory MB/GPW style tool box lids to open......



Sometimes you just have to improvise another way to strap, pull, or tub on a specific part of the cage. Having about 10 of those small ratchet straps would be nice....I didn't....so I improvised.



Here was another little trick I had to use. I have a splice on between the A and B pillar bends because those bends are out of plane. I added a small tack weld to the splice tube to hold the main tubes apart by about 3/16". Then I used some hose clamps and a section of angle iron to keep tension on everything so I could hold a point of rotation when setting in the main hoops. I could have still used another 5 pairs of hands, but it did help.

[Metcalf]

I'm going to try and attach the PDF file of the basic frame I designed for this build.......