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1946 Ford Roadster Pickup - You're BarredFabricating A Custom Nerf Bar From the April, 2011 issue of Rod & Custom By Kev Elliot
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My 1946 Ford roadster pickup sits pretty low, but the large gap under the tailgate has always bugged me. So, I decided to fabricate a nerf bar for the rear, incorporating the taillights. I fitted trailer lights as a temporary measure on the eve of the Rod & Custom road trip to Bonneville in 2008, and of course they're still on there, but look awful. I've kept them, but now they're somewhat disguised. Here's what we used to bend... Here's what we used to bend our tubing: Eastwood's Pro Former tubing bender. Supplied with dies and followers to handle 3/4-, 1-, 1 1/2-, 1 5/8-, and 1 3/4-inch-diameter steel and chromoly tubing, it's versatile and useful for any number of small fab jobs during a project build. So, armed with a hydraulic tubing bender and a notcher, both supplied by The Eastwood Company, I secured all the materials I figured I'd need for a paltry $15, and set to work. Eastwood states that its bender can produce up to 60-degree bends in steel and chromoly tubing in 1 1/2-, 1 5/8-, and 1 3/4-inch diameter, and up to 90-degree bends in 3/4- and 1-inch tubing, and though I didn't need to produce bends over 45 degrees I couldn't get it to produce more than 60-degree bends in 1-inch tubing. The bottle jack that operates the die required a couple more inches of travel before the die moved. Referring to the instructions, the jack rod could be extended to provide more travel; 90-degree bends were then attainable, though this only applies to smaller-diameter tubing. In operation, the bender was simple to use and performed effortlessly. It didn't take long before I was ready to break out the welder. In fact, I spent more time measuring and cutting than I did bending. The corresponding 1-inch follower... The corresponding 1-inch follower also required fitting, though this is as simple as pulling the R-clip, sliding out the shaft, and swapping the follower. While the ends of the nerf bar feature the tubing simply cut at an angle and butt-welded, the joint between the lower tube and the mounts required a notch in the end of the latter to fit snugly around the tube before welding. I've done this in the past (and even built rollcages in the same manner) by careful use of a cutting disc in a grinder, and a file, but a decent tubing notcher saves much time Eastwood's tubing notcher makes use of easily sourced hole saws and a regular electric hand drill, meaning perfectly notched tubing is within everyone's reach. Just take it slow with the drill; hole saws don't take kindly to high speeds. A project like this should easily be completed in a day, and can make a big difference to the appearance of any car, for very little outlay. Until you get the bill for chrome-plating that is ... Light Options
I'll readily admit the trailer lights on the truck were a temporary measure the night before leaving for Bonneville in 2008, and of course they're still there, but hidden behind the nerf bar they're not that bad. Plus, I like the fact that they're so bright compared to vintage lights. However, I had considered a couple of other options when planning the project. Originally I'd planned to curve the ends of the nerf bar around the corner of the pickup bed, and thought it'd be neat to use the lights I took off my other project, the "Purple Pig" '49 Chevy, as this'd provide reflectors too. I think this would have looked rather neat with the lights turned on their side. Teardrops were another brief option, if for no reason other than I already had a new pair, and their shape is very close to the curve of the ends of the nerf bar, but they're somewhat over-used in my opinion. Likewise, the '59 Caddy lights, which also would have had the disadvantage of being the rearmost part of the truck, and most likely would constantly be getting broken.  With setup taking a matter...  With setup taking a matter of minutes, we were ready to begin bending. The tube was fed in between the die and follower as shown. Note, we used thin wall seamed tubing, so ensured the seam was on the inside of the die (on the top of the tube shown here), meaning it'll be on the inside of the finished bend, and hence only be minimally stretched. The seam can split otherwise, but this type of tubing was perfectly acceptable for our non-structural nerf bar.  The first task was to set...  The first task was to set up the bender for 1-inch tubing, meaning we had to swap out the die for one of the correct size. Attached with two Allen bolts, they're easy to change, though the recess the bolt sits in actually formed raised dimples on our tubing once bent.  The final step before the...  The final step before the bender is ready is to fit the correct size U-shaped tubing support on the rear of the die. Again, fitment is as easy as pulling the shaft, though the die has to be moved for this shaft to clear the body of the bender.  Looking from the rear, you...  Looking from the rear, you can see how the U-support will hold the tubing in place as the die moves in an arc to form the bend. While the bender has no measurements or protractor on it, it wouldn't be hard to add one, as the latter is especially useful if you need to duplicate bends of a precise angle.  Though designed to be bolted...  Though designed to be bolted to a bench or stand, we clamped the bender down temporarily as we were only making six bends in lightweight tubing. A bottle jack provides the hydraulic force to push down on the die, which pivots to bend the tubing.  With the rings to hand, which...  With the rings to hand, which I intended to use to mount the taillights behind, I could determine the distance between the upper and lower horizontal tubes of the nerf bar. The rings are 3 1/2 inches ID and 4 1/2 inches OD, making the tubes 4 1/2 inches apart. Once I'd made the first bend and could determine where the outer end of the nerf bar would be, I measured to the start of the bend (where the steel rule is). Knowing the width of my pickup bed and the length of each bend to the point at the ends of the nerf bar, I could determine the length of the straight section between the bends, and hence mark where the second bend should start. Got that? The instructions provide thorough details on how to measure where to start the bends.  Here's one of the dimples...  Here's one of the dimples mentioned in picture 2. Whether they appeared because we used relatively thin wall tubing, or whether they're a common occurrence, I don't know. Not disastrous maybe, but not desirable on a piece that is being fabricated for appearance.  While at our local industrial...  While at our local industrial metal supply house to source the tubing ($8 for two 8-foot lengths of 1-inch ID steel from the remnant section!), I took the opportunity to check out their selection of ornamental gate and fence accessories, and came away with everything you see here for just over $6. That makes the grand total for the whole project come in at under $15!  I then made a duplicate tube,...  I then made a duplicate tube, laid a ring between them at each end, and used a straight edge to mark where each tube would have to be cut to form the points.  With the sections clamped...  With the sections clamped to a metal bench, I TIG-welded the ends. Note the spacer to raise the ring to the center of the tubing. I MIG-welded the rings from behind, as well as welding shut the joint where the rings are rolled but not welded.  To mount the nerf bar to the...  To mount the nerf bar to the truck I bent up another couple of bends, and with a couple of the brackets shown earlier welded to them, they bolt to the old rear pickup bed mounts, which aren't used on my truck. These are slotted, so allow plenty of adjustment. With the fabrication complete, I welded everything up and filed the ends of the nerf bar to shape.  When welding two tubes together,...  When welding two tubes together, it's preferable, and essential if it's something like a rollcage, to have as tight a joint as possible, which means shaping the end of the tubing to be welded. Sure this can be done with a grinder and a file, but this Tubing Notcher from Eastwood makes the job so much simpler, and uses easily sourced hole cutters in a drill. It's also especially useful if the tube is to be welded at an angle other than 90 degrees, as you'll appreciate if you've ever tried to do this by hand!  The Notcher uses regular hole...  The Notcher uses regular hole saws, which should be the same diameter as the tubing.  Here's the finished joint...  Here's the finished joint between the nerf bar and the section of tubing that serves as its mount, ready to be welded.  A trial fitment finally showed...  A trial fitment finally showed what it looked like on the truck. I opted to add the second pair of rings to semi-hide the mounts, plus I'll run the tailpipes through them at a later date. However, I had planned to form a frame around the license plate, but hadn't realized quite how large the bend radius was. Instead I modified the lower bar to drop down under the license plate, rather than mount the plate to the outside of the nerf bar.  A couple of lengths of 1/2x1/4-inch...  A couple of lengths of 1/2x1/4-inch steel bar were bent with nothing more glamorous than a vice and hammer, then drilled and tapped to mount the license plate.  With the nerf bar removed,...  With the nerf bar removed, I formed a dropped centersection and welded it into the center of the lower tube. These S-bends can't be formed in the bender so I made a U-bend with a 12-inch straight section at the bottom, cut the bends in half, flipped one side over, and welded them back together.  Voilá, the new-and-improved...  Voilá, the new-and-improved nerf bar. I was very pleased, until exiting a gas station on my way home, I caught the center, bending the nerf bar up and backward, ripping the wiring out of the left light. Looks like I may have to move it out and up under the tailgate if I want to keep it.
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