Great attitude on life you have! Really enjoy your builds, regardless of what, since you have this positive vibe, learning by doing, a great life lesson. 👍💪✌
For repairing cracks in plastics, along side adding new material, it’s very beneficial to imbed rings of steel wire over the crack. Just press it with the heat gun into the plastic. It adds a lot of structural strength.
Your plastic welding leaves nothing to be desired. You, Donn, are a Master. Period. Most excellent. That is from the heart of a 60 y old man who has seen a lot. Of course, we are now used to your other abilities. You don't lack much in anything you set out to accomplish. You just do it. And you do it correct. You are in my top 3. I have hundreds of Subs.
I restored several WW2 vehicles in my life. They had cork gaskets oll over.. It is amazing, how well this gasket material works...for such a long time.. I am sure, they will last by far longer than 20 Years.. ;) Well done, my friend..Greets from Germany..
Как всегда всё отлично сделано. Очень люблю ваш канал, постоянно жду новые выпуски. С удовольствием смотрю как вы работаете, всё грамотно восстанавливаете, на совесть и на долгие времена. Спасибо вам за хороший контент, за доброе видео. Всего вам самого хорошего. Всем мира, добра и любви.
LIKE A GLOVE !! Looks great Donn, fixing everything and making it look great again. Really a fantastic overhaul. We appreciate you sharing the overhaul with us , watching the fine work and fabrication has been fun and very entertaining. Stay safe and keep up the great work. Fred.
Noooooo! I thought for sure that I waited long enough after ep. 6 came out to start watching; and to ensure that it was the finale/final assembly. The bad news: I was wrong-the goods news: seems there's more than 1 episode remaining. Sigh-still enjoying each video. Thanks Donn. God bless.
Inspiring Donn. When I'm feeling lazy, I watch one of your vids and I'm raring to go and fix things (and in Poland there is a lot to fix!). Thanks for the mojo!
the first time I saw an Argo (6x6) was on a kids tv show in the late 1960s, then ads in hunting /fishing magazine from the same era, they have been around a very long time, long enough to address many of the deficiencies you found during this rebuild. these machines were not cheap then. I really hope this unit will now give you years of trouble-free service. always look forward to your videos. thanks
I hope it will serve our family well, too. Even when not maintained properly the new parts should last a long time. I plan on keeping everything in check so another complete rebuild would not be necessary anymore. 😄 Thanks!
With the care and detail you've put into this Donn, It's gonna be around for more than 20 years. Probably wear out an engine or two before you need to rebuild that body and undercarriage again. Loved the detailing of everything. Even a full paint on the axles. Shows what you have all "touched."
Donn, I have been watching your builds for years. Thanks for posting your work. I do alot of building like you do in Northern ,CA.. It is enjoyable to see your same excitement of a job well done as my own. Love it! Right? Doug. D.C Smithing
The main problem with silicone is that it doesn't stick very well to a lot of materials like PE for example and also the paint doesn't stick to silicone...
We had a guy come in at a place I was working a few years ago wanted pretty much the same job done on his 6 wheeled version, but also wanted us to fab up a stainless steel outer pan/skidplate for it. We got everything cleaned and fixed up and got the new pan made up and installed. it looked pretty cool and worked pretty good. We didn't use any fasteners below the waterline but use a crap ton of 3M panelbond to get it to stay on. Guy was super happy with it. Kept bringing it back for services and stuff. We wound up repowering it one time because the old Kohler had given up. Last I heard it had sold at his estate sale for not much. I wish I had known about it at the time I would have bought it.
Looking better every episode, you should be very pleased with your work. I found cork gaskets are fine on low or no pressure applications, many other materials used like silicone, neoprene, etc, but they can be expensive as you found out yourself. Looking forward to the next post, keep safe and well 👍
Well done Donn. Looks like a very well planned restoration and making your own gaskets to save a little money is definitely old school and unfortunately pretty much a lost skill now. Happy Father’s Day to you Donn.
Great restoration. As an occasional welder/fab guy, I'm quite surprised that you didn't reinforce the areas of the frame that cracked in order to beef things up a bit. If it cracked there once, it will crack there again and you ground most of the welds off flush on both sides as far as I can tell, so there is no reinforcing weld bead. A guy I know had an Argo that he restored (it was far worse than yours) and he ended up rebuilding almost the entire frame (lots of rust) from heavier materials. He also used diamond plate for the floor. Still impressed with your work.
The welds need to be ground flush to avoid stress concentration areas which form next to the weld bead. That's what I was taught in the short welding course we were able to take in Uni eventhough I studied wood processing technology. So take my opinion with a grain of salt. 😀
Wow your going to have A New machine when you get done I really enjoy your channel ! And you don’t stand there and talk all the time like other channels
Brilliant Donn! Totally enjoy your videos! Used to do more of this stuff myself, live in remote Canada very much a case of you have to be able to do it yourself. Here it’s mainly snowmobiles and four wheelers, few Side by sides coming in now. My dream is to join a couple engines and stick it in a snowmobile; couple 540cc engines make it a 1080cc … working slowly on getting/ collecting parts.
12:35 punching holes works much better if you put the block of wood upright, so you punch into the end grain. This way the cutting edge of the punch can just go in between the wood fibres, instead of cutting the fibres. Just like the block of wood you put on the floor when splitting firewood with an axe.
Thanks for mentioning this. I'll try it next time I punch some holes. I've tried hardwood, plastic, and aluminum with moderate success. Lead block works pretty good, but not the most healthy.
More fabrication videos on: th-cam.com/users/DonnDIYvideos You can support me on: www.patreon.com/DonnDIY For random updates follow me on: instagram.com/DonnDIY
Donn, knowing what I know now, about silicone sealants. I prefer using Permatex, in the sealing of the skid plate and tub, 'Permatex, The Right Stuff Black, 90 Minute Setup' version, gives superior cold weather sealing, -53°C to 260°C, while lasting a hell of a lot longer than silicone sealants, unless you have access to really specialty sealants. Best wishes from Northern Canada.
I have an Argo. Pro tip is to put the track pins in so if they come loose they slide outward and not inward. Also avoid extended or loaded side hilling with the tracks as it will also eat into the tub. That's what looks like happened here.
The previous owner has replaced the original track pins with threaded rod. So I guess the nuts worked themselves loose and the pin started to eat away at the tub. Or like you said, the original ones were inserted from the inside toward the outside and when the cotter pin failed the pins slid inward and wrecked the tub. I havent noticed sidehilling being a problem but thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind.👍
for cutting gaskets especially intricate. ones i use a cricut(vinyl cutting machine) theres different tutorials online if i recall correctly but i use a differnt blade and 2 passes
It may have been a good idea to have put a strip of butyl tape between the two parts of the tub and, maybe around the bolts that replaced the rivets. But I suppose that's the problem with posting videos to TH-cam - any advice is always too late - and usually wrong 🙂. Looking forward to seeing how it handles snow. Thanks for the videos.
@@DonnDIY Havent had time to edit the videos. And I took on a rather big car renovation side prodject too. Have lots of video but jeah. Its going to take some weeks at least I am able to edit video 🙂
I am not sure if you've finished this project yet or if you post videos as you complete each stage of the rebuild. Anyway, I am in the middle of a total rebuild of my Avenger, and have done all the jobs you have had to tackle (although mine wasn't so beat up, thankfully). I have taken to opportunity to remove the generator and replace it with an alternator, and I am replacing the mechanical cooling fan with an electric one (mainly because the fan belt snapped on the previous owner, destroying the stator and that destroyed the flywheel magnets and the cooling fan - so it was an easy decision not to replace all those expensive old-school parts from Kohler). It might be a good opportunity to do both these upgrades while the engine is out. The alternator is especially helpful if you fit a winch.
You could of removed all the greese zerk fittings and instead ran greese lines from a manifold to all the points. That you can easily get to with a greese gun. Plus a top chain greese plate from there also would be a game changer. 😲👉💡Always make something better than when you got it I alway say.
More fabrication videos on: th-cam.com/users/DonnDIYvideos
You can support me on: www.patreon.com/DonnDIY
Follow me on: instagram.com/DonnDIY
Near perfection as always Donn looks like new
Great attitude on life you have! Really enjoy your builds, regardless of what, since you have this positive vibe, learning by doing, a great life lesson.
👍💪✌
For repairing cracks in plastics, along side adding new material, it’s very beneficial to imbed rings of steel wire over the crack. Just press it with the heat gun into the plastic. It adds a lot of structural strength.
Are you OK, man? We start to worry...
Yes it's not normal to disappear unless som accident has happened , better to let people know what goes on ❤️
Your plastic welding leaves nothing to be desired. You, Donn, are a Master. Period. Most excellent. That is from the heart of a 60 y old man who has seen a lot. Of course, we are now used to your other abilities. You don't lack much in anything you set out to accomplish. You just do it. And you do it correct. You are in my top 3. I have hundreds of Subs.
I restored several WW2 vehicles in my life. They had cork gaskets oll over.. It is amazing, how well this gasket material works...for such a long time.. I am sure, they will last by far longer than 20 Years.. ;) Well done, my friend..Greets from Germany..
That's a lot of parts you're doing a great job! Thanks for bringing us along.
Как всегда всё отлично сделано. Очень люблю ваш канал, постоянно жду новые выпуски. С удовольствием смотрю как вы работаете, всё грамотно восстанавливаете, на совесть и на долгие времена. Спасибо вам за хороший контент, за доброе видео. Всего вам самого хорошего. Всем мира, добра и любви.
Hi, looks great, fantastic work. Many thanks for your uploads, from UK.
Thanks man!
Excellent work 👍👍👍. Thank you for sharing. Be safe 🇨🇦
Wow, this is going to be better than factory built by the time you are done.
Great video, I enjoyed it very much, thanks for sharing your time,efforts and talents with us.
And it NEVER gets boring watching you never get bored. You're very clever that's why "WE" like watching you.
Excellent work and beautiful video, thank you very much for sharing it, I send you a hug from southern Argentina.
Sei veramente un ottimo meccanico, falegname, elettricista, sei bravo in tutto!!!
Awesome job Donn (as usual). Thanks for sharing.
LIKE A GLOVE !! Looks great Donn, fixing everything and making it look great again. Really a fantastic overhaul. We appreciate you sharing the overhaul with us , watching the fine work and fabrication has been fun and very entertaining. Stay safe and keep up the great work. Fred.
Thanks!
Noooooo! I thought for sure that I waited long enough after ep. 6 came out to start watching; and to ensure that it was the finale/final assembly.
The bad news: I was wrong-the goods news: seems there's more than 1 episode remaining. Sigh-still enjoying each video. Thanks Donn. God bless.
Inspiring Donn. When I'm feeling lazy, I watch one of your vids and I'm raring to go and fix things (and in Poland there is a lot to fix!). Thanks for the mojo!
the first time I saw an Argo (6x6) was on a kids tv show in the late 1960s, then ads in hunting /fishing magazine from the same era, they have been around a very long time, long enough to address many of the deficiencies you found during this rebuild. these machines were not cheap then. I really hope this unit will now give you years of trouble-free service. always look forward to your videos. thanks
I hope it will serve our family well, too. Even when not maintained properly the new parts should last a long time. I plan on keeping everything in check so another complete rebuild would not be necessary anymore. 😄 Thanks!
Thank you for your videos. I enjoy them each time you post.
Cleveland, Tennessee USA
With the care and detail you've put into this Donn, It's gonna be around for more than 20 years. Probably wear out an engine or two before you need to rebuild that body and undercarriage again. Loved the detailing of everything. Even a full paint on the axles. Shows what you have all "touched."
Great video again. 👍 👍
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
With that much care and attention it will last at least twice it's previous life.
Brilliant work.
Donn,
I have been watching your builds for years. Thanks for posting your work. I do alot of building like you do in Northern ,CA.. It is enjoyable to see your same excitement of a job well done as my own. Love it! Right?
Doug. D.C Smithing
You have a great knack for DIY projects. Your mind set is unsurpassed. Great job!!!! 👍❤️📹☺️
Thank you! 😊
Another great video Donn. Polyurethane black sealant is a great choice as it's used on car body's and glazing where silicone breaks down with uv
The main problem with silicone is that it doesn't stick very well to a lot of materials like PE for example and also the paint doesn't stick to silicone...
Looking GOOD!! Outstanding job so far!
Looking good!
We had a guy come in at a place I was working a few years ago wanted pretty much the same job done on his 6 wheeled version, but also wanted us to fab up a stainless steel outer pan/skidplate for it. We got everything cleaned and fixed up and got the new pan made up and installed. it looked pretty cool and worked pretty good. We didn't use any fasteners below the waterline but use a crap ton of 3M panelbond to get it to stay on. Guy was super happy with it. Kept bringing it back for services and stuff. We wound up repowering it one time because the old Kohler had given up. Last I heard it had sold at his estate sale for not much. I wish I had known about it at the time I would have bought it.
Well done Donn DIY. Congratulations.
Looks better than new and will probably perform better than new. Nice work, thanks for sharing. 👍
Doing all the work that nobody is going to see is the hard part, but when it floats and runs right you'll know it was worth it.
Hi Donn,
Fantastic to watch you turning this machine back into as good as new.
My compliments.
Awesome content, can't wait to see more!
Thanks!
Quality workmanship Quality video
Looking better every episode, you should be very pleased with your work. I found cork gaskets are fine on low or no pressure applications, many other materials used like silicone, neoprene, etc, but they can be expensive as you found out yourself. Looking forward to the next post, keep safe and well 👍
Great video DONN 👌👌👌 hope youre grandpa is doing Well 👍👍👍👍
My grandpa is great! Thanks!
Beautiful work Donn, as always.
I ONCE SAW A VIDEO WHERE THEY USED A TORCH ON FADED PLASTIC BLEACHER SEATS IN A STADIUM, AND IT MADE THEM LOOK LIKE NEW AGAIN!
Caulking the skid plate is a great idea…
Saw other guys who have rebuilt Argos on YT do that and I also thought it was a good idea.💪
Inspiring, awesome work!!! Can't wait for the next episodes...cheers!!
Thanks for watching!
You just made my Sunday morning.
Cheers man!
Good series great choice.
Thank you!
You have a big brain for ideas.
Better then when it was new
Well done Donn. Looks like a very well planned restoration and making your own gaskets to save a little money is definitely old school and unfortunately pretty much a lost skill now.
Happy Father’s Day to you Donn.
Thank you for sharing,i learn a lot and your video is always a pleasure 👍👍👍👍
Thank you very much!
I've seen you build some really cool shit over the years. That one looks especially fun.
Great work Donn!
Donn Inpressive again, Your First Plastic welding attempt turned out much better than mine Is all I can say.
I see that. From the factory. You can't trust too many, can you. Much better than new! 😺
Super travail, 👍comme d habitude 😁
Absolutely amazing.
Great restoration. As an occasional welder/fab guy, I'm quite surprised that you didn't reinforce the areas of the frame that cracked in order to beef things up a bit. If it cracked there once, it will crack there again and you ground most of the welds off flush on both sides as far as I can tell, so there is no reinforcing weld bead. A guy I know had an Argo that he restored (it was far worse than yours) and he ended up rebuilding almost the entire frame (lots of rust) from heavier materials. He also used diamond plate for the floor. Still impressed with your work.
The welds need to be ground flush to avoid stress concentration areas which form next to the weld bead. That's what I was taught in the short welding course we were able to take in Uni eventhough I studied wood processing technology. So take my opinion with a grain of salt. 😀
Good job Donn looking good well done
Looking a lot better to me as well...
Wow your going to have A New machine when you get done I really enjoy your channel ! And you don’t stand there and talk all the time like other channels
Awesome work!!!
Brilliant Donn!
Totally enjoy your videos! Used to do more of this stuff myself, live in remote Canada very much a case of you have to be able to do it yourself. Here it’s mainly snowmobiles and four wheelers, few Side by sides coming in now. My dream is to join a couple engines and stick it in a snowmobile; couple 540cc engines make it a 1080cc … working slowly on getting/ collecting parts.
GOOD JOB IN GENERAL OF THE AMFIBIAN. BUT THE AXES REPAIRED A REAL JUMP, THE REST PHENOMENON
You are a talented man.
Nice work!
Really Looking good.
Nicely done
By the time you are done rebuilding it, it will be better than how Argo built it new.
12:35 punching holes works much better if you put the block of wood upright, so you punch into the end grain. This way the cutting edge of the punch can just go in between the wood fibres, instead of cutting the fibres. Just like the block of wood you put on the floor when splitting firewood with an axe.
Thanks for mentioning this. I'll try it next time I punch some holes. I've tried hardwood, plastic, and aluminum with moderate success. Lead block works pretty good, but not the most healthy.
More fabrication videos on: th-cam.com/users/DonnDIYvideos
You can support me on: www.patreon.com/DonnDIY
For random updates follow me on: instagram.com/DonnDIY
it looks great, nice work!
Donn, knowing what I know now, about silicone sealants. I prefer using Permatex, in the sealing of the skid plate and tub, 'Permatex, The Right Stuff Black, 90 Minute Setup' version, gives superior cold weather sealing, -53°C to 260°C, while lasting a hell of a lot longer than silicone sealants, unless you have access to really specialty sealants.
Best wishes from Northern Canada.
Great work ❤
Thank you so much 😀
Love watching you skillfully work your projects (but could do without the headbanger music 🥺).
That type of music is distracting and antithetical to concentrating while working.
5:40 5/4" or 1 1/4" is 32mm roughly. Always a good job on being an overall maker
I have an Argo. Pro tip is to put the track pins in so if they come loose they slide outward and not inward. Also avoid extended or loaded side hilling with the tracks as it will also eat into the tub. That's what looks like happened here.
The previous owner has replaced the original track pins with threaded rod. So I guess the nuts worked themselves loose and the pin started to eat away at the tub. Or like you said, the original ones were inserted from the inside toward the outside and when the cotter pin failed the pins slid inward and wrecked the tub. I havent noticed sidehilling being a problem but thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind.👍
@@DonnDIY I carry all thread as well just incase!
looking good, hope you're settling in to your new house
Thanks! We are slowly getting used to the house. And the porch is still not finished. But we're getting there.👍
Looks great
Looking great.. They make a plastic restoration "polish" (?) Removes the oxidation rust etc.. not that it matters..
That thing is gonna be like new! Maybe even better
Are you ok ?
for cutting gaskets especially intricate. ones i use a cricut(vinyl cutting machine) theres different tutorials online if i recall correctly but i use a differnt blade and 2 passes
Excelente, parabéns!!!👏👍✌️
Отличная работа удачи
Tubli poiss & good guy! 🤩
It may have been a good idea to have put a strip of butyl tape between the two parts of the tub and, maybe around the bolts that replaced the rivets. But I suppose that's the problem with posting videos to TH-cam - any advice is always too late - and usually wrong 🙂. Looking forward to seeing how it handles snow. Thanks for the videos.
I have that butyl strip for connecting the top to the tub eventually. I really didn't think about using it on the skid plate as well...🤔
@@DonnDIY I hadn't realised it was just a skid plate - my bad - I thought the tub was in two parts. I must pay more attention in future 🙂
Top job mate…….. 👍👍👍👍👍👍
looking good 👍
Cheers man. Slowly getting there. 👍 Any updates on your articulated offroad Audi Quattro?
@@DonnDIY Havent had time to edit the videos. And I took on a rather big car renovation side prodject too. Have lots of video but jeah. Its going to take some weeks at least I am able to edit video 🙂
Careful alignment of shafts will ensure seals seal properly and don’t prematurely fail.
So much skill
I am not sure if you've finished this project yet or if you post videos as you complete each stage of the rebuild. Anyway, I am in the middle of a total rebuild of my Avenger, and have done all the jobs you have had to tackle (although mine wasn't so beat up, thankfully). I have taken to opportunity to remove the generator and replace it with an alternator, and I am replacing the mechanical cooling fan with an electric one (mainly because the fan belt snapped on the previous owner, destroying the stator and that destroyed the flywheel magnets and the cooling fan - so it was an easy decision not to replace all those expensive old-school parts from Kohler). It might be a good opportunity to do both these upgrades while the engine is out. The alternator is especially helpful if you fit a winch.
Hey, Donn, congratulations with Ukraine, thanks for your job and videos.
Thanks for watching!💪
Fantastic work so far!!! And you built a house at the same time?! Too much man, too much
I didn't build the house myself, we had a contractor. But I was involved with it in every way and it was/is a time suck. 🤪
MM77 Approved 👍🏼👍🏼
В России про тебя бы так сказали, "Парень с золотыми руками".
Hope all is well with Dony, is the new house keeping you out of the workshop, good luck.
I'm shocked he didn't incorporate a propeller on the back with a electric solenoid for water. Incredible build from scratch.
I'm planning on adding an electric outboard motor. 👍
Nice 👌
You could of removed all the greese zerk fittings and instead ran greese lines from a manifold to all the points. That you can easily get to with a greese gun. Plus a top chain greese plate from there also would be a game changer. 😲👉💡Always make something better than when you got it I alway say.
Nice!
I would love to apprentice for you a couple weeks these are the projects I love & live for