SMC Discussion Areas

Guys, thought I would share my latest project with everyone. This is a RC cooler I bought a few weeks ago from a guy here locally. The cooler is in great shape except for the bottom... which is why I got it so cheap. Check it out!

Here is the cooler and at first glance, looks pretty good.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0111.jpg)

As you can see, the bottom needs a bit of work
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0112.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0113.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0114.jpg)

Here is a donor cooler I picked up pretty cheap on E-Bay... As you can see, the bottom of the cooler is nearly perfect. By the way, these two coolers are both progressive coolers. (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0115.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0116.jpg)

I start by stripping off the paint using a die grinder with a stripping wheel attached.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0117.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0118.jpg)

Next i lay a straight edge along the bottom marking it all the way around.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0120.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0121.jpg)

Next, I use a die grinder with a 1/32" wheel to cut the bottoms out.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0121.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0123.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0124.jpg)

Here is the donor cooler after being cut open... The bottom looks great with zero rust!
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0125.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0126.jpg)

Next, I mark the RC cooler and donor bottom and drill 1/4 holes all the way around to get ready for welding. I then cut 1" strips of 22G sheet steel to weld on the inside.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0127.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0130.jpg)

After the main body is welded up, I cleaned the bottom of all rust and painted it. Also, cut some new foam insulation and fitted it into the void. You can also see the fiber board bottom piece from the donor cooler.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0131.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0132.jpg)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0128.jpg)

More pictures to come!

Great descriptions and tutorial pics!

We need more tutorial pictures like this on this website !  8)

Great save, Thanks for the pictures!!
Creighton

Great job Jeff!
It is nice to have it all laid out like that.
Maybe the powers that be can move this to the Tips & Tutorials section...might be best served there.

Jeff,

Thanks for taking the time to document your procedure, that's awesome. Great pictures plus an easy to read, step-by-step narrative. Excellent! Gives hope to other out there that may have a cooler that they want to save!! :laugh:

Great work!!  I'm curious how you will keep from overheating the insulation as you weld out the new bottom.

Very nice attention to detail, great work so far. like to see the finished pictures.

        It would look good on top of an RC 81  :laugh:

I was wondering about smoking the foam myself.

It's funny there use to be two hundred RC 81's, now there are going to be a thousand of them and five hundred orange crushes. :Oo: :oops: :tounge:

Hmmm who ever came up with the number 200 for the vmc 81's  I bet the coca cola cowboy has bought and sold 200 rc's alone LOL

Here some more pictures of what I completed yesterday. Some of you were wondering about burning the new foam under the welds. the 1" strips of sheet steel I placed under the seam kept the heat down so the weld never touched the foam. Plus a wet rag right after the spot weld keeps things cool and helps with possible warping.

Here is my mig welder that I will be using for the job.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0146.jpg)

This picture shows the cooler welded up before grinding the welds smooth. Notice how I alternated the welds to control heat distortion.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0147.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0148.jpg)

Here is the small grinder I use for detail grinding.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0149.jpg)

Here is the final picture after welding and finish grinding. The picture on the right shows the seams didn't line up perfect but will be corrected during bodywork.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0151.jpg) (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/bondovian/IMG_0150.jpg)

Nice working there Bro. Smart using the damp rags as well. A clint of mine works on high end vehicles. Prosches. Fararri's  etc. He taught me that trick some time ago. He'd be buffing this cars for high end clients for shows and sometimes too much heat when polishing would cause the hood to cave and he'd grab a wet rag and throw it on it, and pop, it would pop right back into shape. Pretty cool to see.
 Looking forward to finished pics

This has to be one my favorite, if not my favorite, tutorial of ALL TIMES!!

Keep up the great work, Jeff!

Wow what a great job. You need to call Rick at Ricks Restoration and see if you can be on his show.  :biggrin:
Very nice job. Can't wait to see finished pictures.

Nice work Jeff.  :happydrinkers: I wish I had those type of skills!

>>Wow what a great job. You need to call Rick at Ricks Restoration and see if you can be on his show.<<

Agree on great job! Better yet call History and get your own show :-)

Creighton

nice to see someone with old school skills.  great job jeff