Alley Cat 151

A place to post pics and descriptions of ongoing restoration projects

Moderators: rickf, raymond, Mr. Recovery

Post Reply
User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 3rd, 2014, 12:25 am

Well fellas, my dreams of bending my own steel were dashed. Doing an 11 gauge panel some 27" wide on my contraption just wasn't going to happen. The theory was sound so I'm saving it for a future project that is more light weight.

So today it was off to the metal fabricators and they got my bends done for a mere $36.00. So, today I went from this…

Image

to this….

Image

Still some fitting to do as some of the margins are far too close and then a detailed prep of the metal that will be under and around these new panels. My temporary fasteners establish the gaps at 0.04".

Welders, is this a suitable gap for butt-welding 11 gauge?

Prep, prep, prep...

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19740
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by rickf » September 3rd, 2014, 7:03 am

The gap should be fine if you are using a MIG welder. Maybe it is the angles but that looks a lot more like 16 gauge than 11 gauge. I know most of the aftermarket bodies were 16 gauge. I just cannot fathom an all 11 gauge body, it would weigh a couple tons. 11 gauge is just a a couple thousandths shy of 1/8" steel plate.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 3rd, 2014, 7:57 am

Yes, I'll be using a MIG and thanks for the input, Rick. You have an amazing eye for this stuff. I'll just have to make sure the box side of my temporary fasteners are on the outside on that outer panel so that everything lines up flush.

As for determining the gauge, I put a mechanical caliper on the original metal, locked it in place and checked it against other metal samples before selecting the 11 gauge I'm using for repair panels -but- and it was a perfect match. Would I be able to detect a difference of a couple of thousandths in that manner…probably not…so, yes, you may very well be correct and I have no reason to suspect that this particular Alley Cat is any different from other kits. As long as the darned thing is strong and solid and squared away when I'm done.

After these panels go in, I have only the floor left to construct and the installation of the newly designed front seat-mounts and this part is complete. Then, it's dealing with the center panel between the seats along with the MG subfloor mounts because I will be shooting off this platform.

After that, I'll be trimming the trailing edge of the rear fender openings and welding the flange back in. They are all wrong and will be cut back to A1-style. My reason for going with A1, rather than A2-style at the rear is the front fenders.

Notice the square corners on the front fenders? Awkward!…and ugly. I'm planning on performing a little surgery there as well; radiusing them to A1-style. I'm quite sure I can't manage to fabricate the A2 indentions up front so I will be going with the overall A1 look even though it's all A2 underneath.

User avatar
whiterabbit
Command Sergeant Major
Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 672
Joined: October 6th, 2013, 4:20 pm
Location: Bristol Virginia

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by whiterabbit » September 3rd, 2014, 8:33 am

Putting a radius on those front corners is a good idea and would make a world of difference in how it looks.
Sometimes it's easier to get a specialty shop to make a few parts for ya'. Probably took 'em 5 min to make those parts.
Looking good!
"It’s the unconquerable soul of man, not the nature of the weapon he uses, that insures victory." Gen. George Patton

1986-2014 Ordnance Corps RETIRED!
XVIII Airborne Corps Combat Affiliation
Go Ordnance!
1972 M151A2
1978 exMOD 109 Land Rover S3 (sold)
1942 WLA
M274 (sold) Big mistake. Sigh....

lpcoating
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Posts: 2026
Joined: February 19th, 2013, 11:38 pm
Location: Mansfield, PA
Contact:

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by lpcoating » September 3rd, 2014, 7:20 pm

You asked about the welding gap of .040". That will be fine but I'd also bevel the edges for the butt welds as I'm guessing you'll grind the welds flush on the outside.
M151 Body Panels - http://www.m151bodypanels.com/

'68 A1 - Under full resto

halftracknut
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Posts: 2064
Joined: December 11th, 2007, 2:28 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by halftracknut » September 3rd, 2014, 8:05 pm

Those jeeps were made by sams surplus....in Midland, Tx ....I think he still has a website?
slowest mutt east of the missippi..

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 3rd, 2014, 10:08 pm

Correct. I'll be beveling the joints prior to welding. I'll also be doing plenty of test welds on the scrap I have left over so as to get the settings on the MIG adjusted properly (using a Millermatic 200). I really don't want to screw this up. Among my many bad habits is that I have a nasty tendency to get my wire-feed set too fast. I really have no formal welding training. I've just used it a lot over the years and "fly by the seat of my pants."

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19740
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by rickf » September 4th, 2014, 7:06 am

Seat of the pants training is as good or better than formal training for the most part. Formal training comes into play on job sites where it is required by the insurance companies.
I passed my 4G and 6G tests with no formal training. I have watched and learned from some very good welders though.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

Hambone
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Posts: 2495
Joined: October 1st, 2010, 12:19 am
Location: El Dorado, Arkansas

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Hambone » September 4th, 2014, 7:35 pm

I saw one of those for sale in Houston, $1200.
http://houston.craigslist.org/bar/4621433436.html

halftracknut
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Posts: 2064
Joined: December 11th, 2007, 2:28 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by halftracknut » September 4th, 2014, 7:42 pm

worth the money...
slowest mutt east of the missippi..

Hambone
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Posts: 2495
Joined: October 1st, 2010, 12:19 am
Location: El Dorado, Arkansas

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Hambone » September 4th, 2014, 7:58 pm

If it was the real deal I would buy it, not worth the hassle of telling my wife that I found another jeep. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Last edited by Hambone on September 4th, 2014, 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 4th, 2014, 10:22 pm

G-almighty, watta beast! Look at the brush guard on that thing! Kinda reminds me of my International M3-4.

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 7th, 2014, 12:45 am

The compressed air gods were against me today. My large stand-up compressor took a dump and my smaller compressor won't run my sand-blaster. I have only a small area to prep beneath the location where the new panels go, so as to help fend off eventual rust under there SOoooo, I'll be running a siphon blaster to get it done but of course rain is predicted for my only other day off for a week. This kind of crap makes me crazy!

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 10th, 2014, 8:23 pm

One step closer….

Image

Outer panel goes in tomorrow if I can beat the rain.

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4029
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » September 11th, 2014, 4:26 pm

I've been at this all day and all day yesterday. Taking a break at the moment as I came in yesterday absolutely fried and don't want my evening ruined…again.

But as I was toiling away I realized that much of the work I was doing was better, and more detailed than the guys who made this thing in the first place so , here's the million dollar question -

How good is good enough?

Some of the work I've seen on this forum has been absolutely stellar but I doubt any of us would go so far as to start having parts plated in gold but then it's not necessarily a financial issue either. The guys who made my Alley Cat left slag all over the place. No doubt they were in a hurry to sell these to pay off the loan they took out to make 'em in the first place. Should I not concern myself about tidying up my welds and move on to the next thing that needs my attention? It's a real balancing act.

Post Reply