Project Choose Your Own Adventure

[ScottyB]

i've been absolutely hammering away at this thing for the last week and have until the end of this week to really wrap it up.  i just keep re-running Jerry Reed in my head...."we got a long way to go, and a short time to get there..."

all the trim and aluminum roof sheathing has been dry fitted.  i have to remove and re-drill all the places the aluminum is bolted down with a bigger hole, so that the aluminum can expand and contract under the screw head without ripping itself apart since metal and wood expand and contract differently depending on heat and humidity.  time consuming stuff.

first prep your work surface


hold your breath and cup your balls as you cut a massive sunroof into your otherwise nice sheet of aluminum.  also measure and drill for the solar panel wiring hole


next up, finishing the inside of the hatch.  i ran out of birch so i used this thin wall covering from Lowes.  i hate working with the material (chipboard dust junk) but it bends nice.  threw a yard sale on it to weigh it down while the adhesive cured to the curve of the structure.


added some left over cedar.  finished result.


one tricky bit was figuring out how to mount the speakers.  they're deeper than the hatch itself, so they had to be mounted proud of the surface.  i decided it would be fun to put them in some matching cigar boxes.  added some wooden bulkheads on the sides where the hatch props will fit, and be secured with 2" lynch pins for safety. the hatch props are 3/4" electrical conduit bolted to door stoppers. the rubber collars are old sway bar bushings from the xterra that allow the props to rest on the surface and not scratch the wood.


ran into inference issues when i tested the hatch.  counter was still too far out and hitting the inside of the hatch when it closed.  because of the motion of the hinge, only being 1/8" off in the middle of the swing means 1/2" or more off at the bottom...so i had to grind it down and will re-stain.  in that shot that's also why the dome light got moved as i was trouble shooting what was interfering.  a lot of things bolted to the inside of the hatch share a very limited amount of empty space when its shut so i've been sweating my calculations.

needed to address my fenders next.  time for a test fit.  


love it.  this was a big motivator, just to see this on a day where i was feeling a lot of L's with the hatch issues.  it feels much more "right" and complete with the wheels covered.


started covering the outside of the hatch with aluminum.  this is a dry fit, no sealant involved, to make sure everything fits and lines up as well as running wires for the plate lights, 3rd brake light, and holes for the hatch door handles.


ran into some more hatch issues. the way i cut my hatch radius was too sloppy, and its not only too big a gap for my seal but also not consistent which you can kind of see in this shot.  currently stacking up some birch strips on that threshold to lessen the gap and then taking the belt sander too it to carefully smooth the bend and then hit it with some urethane.  i think they refer to this kind of screwup as "hand build charm"


and this is how she sits currently.  i've already removed the tongue box in prep for the final application of the roof sheathing this week.  today's goal is to cut out the fender overlap on the lower trim, shape/seal the hatch threshold, and then remove the hatch a final time tonight in prep for doing the final roof trim and also the final sheathing on the hatch.