Build Kurts 1978 Honda Civic Trailer

[Kurt]

Did some more today and I finally ran out of sheet metal....gotta buy some to do the last bit before the frame gets welded up underneath.

Got the front cut "off" to make it flush. Once the frame is in place I will finish the front off with a large sheet across the front. I had to cut a portion of the lower sills/rockers out due to rust. The one gaping hole in the below photos is still there but at least I will have some solid metal to weld to when fixing the hole.

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[Kurt]

Ha ha! Well once the frame is underneath I may take a 'trailer break' until the fall after we move. The body work will be the fall project and then spray it next spring.

[Kurt]

Looks like you are having fun with this. Have you figured out how you are going to make a trailer hitch on your 1200?

Kinda. My car is a '78 despite the earlier bumpers so I have retained the bumper shocks the 78-79 cars used. At this point, I have them removed but, there are 'tow hooks' attached to each of the bumper shock mounts (see pic below).

My thought was to weld a beam across these tow hooks and weld in the small small receiver to that (like the 'Curt' brand Toyoto Corolla one below). BUT, for extra support (and peace of mind) I was thinking of then welding in another support beam that curls underneath the car and bolts onto a plate I would weld or bolt to the part where the tow hook is behind the spare tire well.

I want the entire receiver assembly to be removable which I could do by removing those bolt one tow hooks and from the plate underneath the car as I don't want to stare at the hitch assembly when I only plan on towing the trailer once or twice in a season. My main concern is making it all safe so I am using previous set ups like Twylas (Justins), Vic's and Will's to see what has worked....they have towed their trailers a lot and I can attest Twyla's has been loaded up good and heavy on our annual 1000 km round trip.

I am new to welding (as you can see in the pics!) so I am having Jay (a previous first gen owner) who is a welder by trade design, fabricate and weld up the trailer frame and hitch.....I kinda want it to stay attached to the car :mrgreen:

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[Kurt]

I am taking it down to Jay (the welder!) tomorrow to have the frame welded up underneath. Once thats done I will post some pics. From there it will likely sit till the fall as I am moving in about 2 weeks.

[Kurt]

Actually fit in my truck like a glove Frame is being done over the next week or so at J1 Metal Fab https://j1metalfab.blogspot.ca

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[Kurt]

Been a while since I did anything but now that I am moved and settled I am starting to work at it again.

I had the hitch welded up in July by Jay (J1 Metalfab) who is an actual welder. I wanted a tongue that could either be removed or folded so the trailer could be easily stored. He designed it so the 2" square tubing slides into a receiver (visible at the front) and then runs underneath towards the back where it slides into another underneath (hidden in the pics) that is mounted near the mounts for the gas tank. Both points are secured with hitch pins. Its pretty solid for the weight of the trailer but its good and secure. The tongue is long and I will trim eventually but as it stands now I can lift the tongue up with a finger so most the weight will stay off my car.

I finished welding up the frame at the front of the car and painted it to avoid more rust. I have the sheet metal already so next I will make a template and trim it before welding on the front panel.

Still more rust to repair on the body but I cleaned up the one quarter that has been bare metal since I got the car. Its sanded down, primered and sealed now to keep the rust at bay. Its pretty straight but I still need to cut the rust out the one quarter and weld in a patch. That parts gonna be a bithch so I have left it for last now that I more comfortable with the welder.

All primed up. Pretty straight actually for what it was.

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Bare metal. Time to fix before it gets worse

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Frame welded up for front panel

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Hitch Mounted

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Hitch Mounted

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[Kurt]

I went with the single bar after seeing a lot of the light weight utility trailers built this way (Home Depot sells a bunch and I have one also). On the Home Depot one that I have, the tongue folds but I it figured all the stress is where it hinges. On the Home Depot trailers the tongues folds underneath and the trailer is made to stand up vertical end to end for storage which of course is not possible on this.

I could add sway bars to make the "A Frame" but not sure I will need it. I may see how it tracks first. Its hard to see in the photos but its boxed in pretty good as the tongue stretches nearly to the rear of the 'trailer/car' and not merely that front cross section.

[Kurt]

Found a set of wheels to match my Panasports. These are technically Watanabe brand wheels but they are the right off set and 4x120 and 13".

I ordered a set of Panasport caps for them so they would match mine. The center hole is a different size so I ordered a st of aluminum hub centric rings to narrow the gap so the caps would snap in. Need to refinish the wheels now by re-doing the centers in silver and polishing the outer lip.

Still cutting out the final rust. 2 more spots to do and the rust is all gone.....finally

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[Kurt]

Finally some work on the trailer:

Cut out the rear seat brace, welded up the front panel (still some trimming and welding to do there) and polished the out lip of the wheels (painting the centers next)....

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[Kurt]

Getting back to this trailer build. Primer then paint. Honda "Heather Mist Metallic." Will clear coat tomorrow and will re-post the finished wheels.

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