cigarman
Amphicar Expert
I had to share this with all:
My store has been very slow with the economy as bad as it is so I started working on Amphicars for people since August 2008. I am putting at least 30 hours a week in fixing customers cars and it is going good so far and every once in a while I get hung up on something and call some Amphi friends (Dave, Gord Scott at Gordon Imports) etc, and they help me figure it out. But on this one nobody I talked to had to deal with this issue yet...
Here's what happened: The Axle tunnels needed to be replaced and they were done before I got the car by a very good welder who did it without the transmission in the car to measure, the problem was that he thought he could get them lined up by eye with no problem, but it was a BIG problem, they were over 1/2 inches lower and towards the rear. I could see when the car was brought to me that each side was not even with the other and it might be a problem but I felt I could bend the tunnels enough to make it work without cutting and rewelding them at the base. I knew I would need some leverage and something very close to 4 inches around. I kept thinking of lanscaping timber that I used on my house some years back, so I went to Menards and bought a 8 foot piece that measured perfectly inside the tunnel. I cut it down to 5 feet because I only had 6 feet to work on the drivers side of the car. I had to jack the car up and use wood blocks(no jackstands not safe for this!) At first it wasn't moving at all with me pushing at the angle I needed so I stood using my weight on the post slowly and worked it around untill it was almost perfect.. I had to use a rubber mallot under the post between the wood and the bottom metal to get even more leverage it was at the perfect height now. Nothing kinked or broke or bent. It was still off from left to right though. This was the harder part because I couldn't stand on the post, I had to use just my weight and power to pull back on the car which actually slid the car over 3 feet to the other side on the blocks which I watched carefully and moved as needed until the problem was corrected. Then I went to the other side to fix the same (not as bad though)... I posted some pictures for you to see. so if anyone ever has to deal with this, at least there is a solution. Of course the best solution is doing it right in the first place...
Cigarman
My store has been very slow with the economy as bad as it is so I started working on Amphicars for people since August 2008. I am putting at least 30 hours a week in fixing customers cars and it is going good so far and every once in a while I get hung up on something and call some Amphi friends (Dave, Gord Scott at Gordon Imports) etc, and they help me figure it out. But on this one nobody I talked to had to deal with this issue yet...
Here's what happened: The Axle tunnels needed to be replaced and they were done before I got the car by a very good welder who did it without the transmission in the car to measure, the problem was that he thought he could get them lined up by eye with no problem, but it was a BIG problem, they were over 1/2 inches lower and towards the rear. I could see when the car was brought to me that each side was not even with the other and it might be a problem but I felt I could bend the tunnels enough to make it work without cutting and rewelding them at the base. I knew I would need some leverage and something very close to 4 inches around. I kept thinking of lanscaping timber that I used on my house some years back, so I went to Menards and bought a 8 foot piece that measured perfectly inside the tunnel. I cut it down to 5 feet because I only had 6 feet to work on the drivers side of the car. I had to jack the car up and use wood blocks(no jackstands not safe for this!) At first it wasn't moving at all with me pushing at the angle I needed so I stood using my weight on the post slowly and worked it around untill it was almost perfect.. I had to use a rubber mallot under the post between the wood and the bottom metal to get even more leverage it was at the perfect height now. Nothing kinked or broke or bent. It was still off from left to right though. This was the harder part because I couldn't stand on the post, I had to use just my weight and power to pull back on the car which actually slid the car over 3 feet to the other side on the blocks which I watched carefully and moved as needed until the problem was corrected. Then I went to the other side to fix the same (not as bad though)... I posted some pictures for you to see. so if anyone ever has to deal with this, at least there is a solution. Of course the best solution is doing it right in the first place...
Cigarman
