Zollinger Tube Chassis Restoration
- Thread starter gp800
- Start date
More progress. I sent the faces of 2 clutch covers to Vent racing where they were able to punch 16 total louvers. Then tonight I got to spend more time at Glenn’s place doing the rest of the bead rolling and adding the large perimeter step. Next comes rolling the perimeter portion of the cover, welding and polishing.
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Update time, I had picked up a really cool set of trix tuf billet spindles but unfortunately they were damaged fairly badly due to someone running them without the bushings in the trailing arms. I took them to Shad Simmons at SJS fabrication and he was able to weld up the damage and turn down the flats, we opted to add a little more material to spread the load out a little more and hopefully prevent future failures.
Then came time to roll the clutch cover perimeter. Being .090 thick the aluminum needed to be ran through a slip roller to achieve the proper radius. Luckily Glenn was willing to lend his expertise and did two of them in the matter of maybe 30 minutes. Then they’re off to Shad at SJS fabrication to be final welded. 
Any plans to re-temper those spindles after welding, or run as-is since it probably won't be a high-use machine?
You nailed it, The little this sled will be ran throughout the remainder of it's life It's not worth the time or expense.
I got the tunnel skin back from welding. There were a couple of spots on the long straight panels where it buckled and warped. I am going to see if when it’s riveted into place whether or not it draws it straight to the chromoly frame, if not I may try and cut out another and try again. But for now I dressed the welds and prepared it to test fit. 
Tensioning the skin in the chassis won't fix that problem. The welder should have used more tacks before final welding. Either way, the welder is at the mercy of the material since it is super thin. It looks like a reasonable job. But, to be honest, there are better welders who are more consistent in stepping distance, heat input, and amount of filler rod.
To fix it, you need a set of body hammers and hours of shrinking and stretching to get it straight. It can be done. The main concern is whether the weld seams were puckered when fusion occurred or if the welder took proper care to prevent welding warped edges.
To fix it, you need a set of body hammers and hours of shrinking and stretching to get it straight. It can be done. The main concern is whether the weld seams were puckered when fusion occurred or if the welder took proper care to prevent welding warped edges.
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what is the bump at the end of the tunnel for in the first sled you redid? i owned a Zollinger sled. i bought it after the 2003 jackson hill climbs it was a factory race rev 800 144. they said it was #12. i know i have some pics of at least one of these sled just have to find it, from the jackson hill climbs
For track clearance, the m10 has enough travel that the screws would tear the aluminum without it.
oof,
That doesn't look pretty.
was the welding done on plasma cut metal without removing the slag?
fit-up of aluminum is super critical to minimize warping. (tight fit "corner to corner" and good tacks really help)
also a tip on thin aluminum weld strength...... the grinding you did probably removed 50-60% of the strength by removing the weld.
visually the welds have portions that are very cold and likely have almost zero penetration, this contributes to the above.........
That doesn't look pretty.
was the welding done on plasma cut metal without removing the slag?
fit-up of aluminum is super critical to minimize warping. (tight fit "corner to corner" and good tacks really help)
also a tip on thin aluminum weld strength...... the grinding you did probably removed 50-60% of the strength by removing the weld.
visually the welds have portions that are very cold and likely have almost zero penetration, this contributes to the above.........
The part was cutout on a water jet, it is also welded both inside and outside as it was done originally.
Should be plenty strong then.
That explains the extreme warping also.
Hopefully enough clamps and rivets gets it fitting better.
Please share if so!
I hope so, I am just trying replicate it the way it was done back then using the other sled as reference. If it does not come out the way I want it once riveted I will start over and have someone else do the welding. It's not by accident that there are no names associated with the welding of the tunnel.
I'll dig around
$10 a louver? Damn! Guess I was giving 'em away at $2 a pop!
Cool builds. I was obsessed with tube chassis mod sleds all the way back in 1991 as a snot nosed brat ripping around on an Indy Sport. Got to see the Jackson Hill Climb in 2000 but I remember watching videos of the race from the mid 90's. It was definitely the heyday of hillclimb sleds.
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