Threshhold and Access doors

[mbatm01]

et al,

I am almost done with the shell off floor replacement. My 63 Safari did not come with its threshhold - can any of you please post a picture of one and how it covers the plywood to the step frame? Can I buy them, or will I have to make something fit?

Also, I have two holes in the sides that will need doors - any ideas how to build one at home? Not sure what to use as the frame - the existing access door has a Z shaped extrusion with mitered corners.

Thanks,

Kevin

[59toaster]

This may not be original but our 59 just uses a peice of extruded aluminum stair tread that cover about 1.5 inches into the door. Looks like a peice of angle iron with one side ribbed and the other has a curve to follow the stair. Any home store like HD, Lowes and Ace will have it for just a couple dollars.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by mbatm01

et al,

I am almost done with the shell off floor replacement. My 63 Safari did not come with its threshhold - can any of you please post a picture of one and how it covers the plywood to the step frame? Can I buy them, or will I have to make something fit?

Kevin

Kevin,
I covered the edge of the plywood with aluminum channel. The channel also captures the galvanized sheet I used to protect the underside of the plywood over the step. I bedded it with Sikaflex. After i straighten out the threshold I will set it over the channel.
Originally, the aluminum sheet that covers the plywood above the step was bent up and over the plywood. There was some water damage, and i wanted to put on something a little more robust.

[Wardinbb]

Originally Posted by markdoane

Kevin,
I covered the edge of the plywood with aluminum channel. The channel also captures the galvanized sheet I used to protect the underside of the plywood over the step. I bedded it with Sikaflex. After i straighten out the threshold I will set it over the channel.
Originally, the aluminum sheet that covers the plywood above the step was bent up and over the plywood. There was some water damage, and i wanted to put on something a little more robust.

Don,
Could you share with us newbes what model Cleco your using there? And with the belly pan wraps, did they come that way or did you bend them yourself?
Thanks,
Ed

[mbatm01]

Thanks for the responses, that was what I needed.

Kevin

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by Wardinbb

Don,
Could you share with us newbes what model Cleco your using there? And with the belly pan wraps, did they come that way or did you bend them yourself?
Thanks,
Ed

Ed,
The Clecos are 5/32" (black), and the 1/8" are copper. Each size is color coded. I don't know if there is more than one manufacturer. They are definitely worth the investment. Especially if you need to put a piece on and off several times to make it fit right.

The hardest part of my project so far has been the new belly pans. I used .032" 5052 H32. That's definitely the outer limit you can use without professional tools like an english wheel.

I tried bending the curls by hand. Not a good idea because you cannot get an even curl and the metal will oilcan between the outriggers. I built a bending jig out of 6" sewer pipe, sliced in half. I clamped the metal to the jig and rolled it around the pipe.

You can only roll about a 30 degree curl this way, but that is enough to prevent oilcanning. For the rest of the curl, I mounted the sheet and cleco'ed it to the outriggers, then completed curling around the outriggers and clamped it in place while I drilled the holes through the floor channel.

[Wardinbb]

Thanks Don for the answers. There's a zillion choices on the Cleco site and the color patterns will solve the mystery. Colors are good. I can do that. They make me write in crayon cause I'm not supposed to use anything sharp! Except for the plastic putty knife when they let me pop off dried sap from my trailer .

You obviously wanted a quality belly wrap when you upgraded to skin stock. It must be a real PITA compounding both curves.
Thanks again,
Ed

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by Wardinbb

. . . Colors are good. I can do that. They make me write in crayon cause I'm not supposed to use anything sharp! Except for the plastic putty knife when they let me pop off dried sap from my trailer .

Ed

They let you have crayons? They took mine away; something about crayons, saliva, and light sockets.

They do let me have food colors and napkins. If I'm good next month they will let me have some chalk.

[Wardinbb]

Originally Posted by markdoane

They let you have crayons? They took mine away; something about crayons, saliva, and light sockets.

They do let me have food colors and napkins. If I'm good next month they will let me have some chalk.

Don, I know how it goes. But you can impress them. If you get the chalk, add some drool and you'll get paint! Then, sky's the limit. Its kinda like, give a kid a hammer and the whole world becomes a nail. Carry on with your bad self.

Ed

[mbatm01]

More great information, thanks.

Don, how did you handle the compound bend at the curves where you have to slit the belly pan? Do I install the belly pan from the floor channel down, or from a straight line along the frame up to the floor channel? Did you do the belly pan sides in 2 pieces - i.e., one for the straight run, another for the compound curve? Also, any pics of how you notched around the tounge and bumper would be great - I think that is a big potential source for water to get in.

I am planning on installing the belly pan in 3 sections - 2' wide strips down the sides and a wider finishing strip down the middle.

Thanks,

Kevin

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by mbatm01

More great information, thanks.

Don, how did you handle the compound bend at the curves where you have to slit the belly pan? Do I install the belly pan from the floor channel down, or from a straight line along the frame up to the floor channel? Did you do the belly pan sides in 2 pieces - i.e., one for the straight run, another for the compound curve? Also, any pics of how you notched around the tounge and bumper would be great - I think that is a big potential source for water to get in.

I am planning on installing the belly pan in 3 sections - 2' wide strips down the sides and a wider finishing strip down the middle.

Thanks,

Kevin

Kevin,

I put 24" strips down the sides from the front outrigger to the wheel wells, and another 24" strip from behind the wheel wells to the rear bumper.

For the curved sections in the rear, I started 2" inside the frame rails, lined the sheet up parallel to the frame, and put in clecoes to hold the sheet in place. Then I used a screw jack with furring strips to hold the belly tight against the bottom of the outriggers where they start to curve up around the outrigger. I pushed the curved section up until it met the floor channel, used a few C-clamps and 1x2 furring strips to hold it tight while I drilled holes through the edge of the belly pan and floor channel. You can see the screw jack and furring stips in the first photo below, although they are now under the frame and not at the outside.

The toughest part was cutting the angle where the belly angles up alongside the frame rail to the rear bumper. It was a lot of cutting and test fitting and recutting until I got a tight fit. This is where the clecoes were really handy, because I took each side off a half dozen times until I got it trimmed just right.

I used a felt tipped pen to trace the edge of the floor along the corner, then cut slits to make the tabs.

In the front, I made two separate pieces, one for each side. Where the two sheets meet at the front outrigger, you need to make sure the straight section does not extend beyond the outrigger, or the front curved section will not lay flat.

These pictures are:

1. Wide shot of rear curb side
2. Close shot of slit joint at rear outrigger
3. Close shot of front joint between curved sheet and straight sheet.

[mbatm01]

Don,

Thanks - those pictures help a lot. I want to make sure I understand, in the front you used two pieces - one straight from the wheel wells forward to the last out rigger, and another from that outrigger to the front to handle the compound curve. And in the back, you used one piece only from the wheel well back to the bumper and handle the compound by putting in a long slit at the last outrigger, so the rear part of the slit slides forward and goes between the outrigger and the main straight sheet. Is this correct? If so, why two different techniques, because of the bends needing to be made?

Where and when did you vulkem? Between the floor channel and belly pan, and then again between the belly pan and shell? Any vulkem on the belly pan sheet joints underneath?

Thanks for all of your help.

Kevin

[markdoane]

Kevin,

Correct. The reason I used two pieces in the front and a single in the rear was the dimensions. I got the aluminum in 3' x 8' sheets, for $17 ea. The rear sheets needed to be about 8'-6" so I laid the pattern out diagonally across the sheet and it was just long enough. The front side sheets needed to be a little less than 8' so those were cut straight. I could have used a 48" wide sheet split down the middle to make two pieces, but the 3 x 8 sheets were cheap so I cut them down to 24".

For the two curved pieces in the front, the 36" width was too narrow, so I ordered one sheet of 48" x 96" for those two pieces.

I used Sikaflex under the floor channel, but have not used it between the belly pan and the floor channel. I will put a bead between the skin and the belly pan only where needed to fill gaps, after the rivetting is complete. In the original factory installation, there was no sealant between the skin, bellypan, and floor channel along the straight sides. There was sealant around the front and back where there were gaps, but it was not a complete or continuous.