I just wondered how much interest there is in the group in sheet metal fabrication of components such as bonnets, nosecones and tanks.

907 showed us a superb example of his crafsmanship with the header tank and I just wondered if other people in the group are into similar projects. It is a particular interest of mine and it would be nice to hear from any other masochists out there and share knowledge.

John

I have fabricated loads of bits and bobs over the years... Brackets and things..

S'Funny though... they never seem to look as good as 907's

[Edited on 22/7/2006 by wilkingj]

I am US west coast ....I am making a metal buck for a 442 nose ... still a ways off from testing it.


Be happy to compare notes with you, there was also some discussion on Yahoo North America group.

Be happy to compare notes with you, there was also some discussion on Yahoo North America group

Great to hear from you. Would love to see some pictures when you are ready.

All my knowledge comes from Ron Fournier's videos which I think are absolutely wonderful. I gave up hope of ever being able to gas weld aluminium until I picked up the tip about using TM2000 lenses. I bought a set and it is amazing how much easier it is once you can see what you are doing and not blinded by the sodium flare.

Do keep in touch

Best wishes

John

I dunno why I'm getting dragged into this.

I haven't made anything yet.

I do however intend to have a go at a nose cone during my two weeks hols in August.

I'll keep a photo record, "from conception to scrap bin."

Don't fancy all that woodwork though John. I'll start with rad templates first I think.

Paul G

Come on Paul, you know you can do it.

I must admit, because I am not the best woodworker in the world the worst part for me was making the buck. I think the key to the buck is to make it sturdy with holes for G clamps so that you can clamp down adjacent pieces prior to tacking. This avoids the dreaded overlap! I tacked with my aluminium parts on the buck. There was a bit of smouldering and the poor old buck looked a bit sorry for itself but the clamps kept everything true. This may not be the approved way, but it worked for me. If the joints are made on a curve, there is very little distortion, certainly none that cannot be rectified with a little planishing.

Have you seen how much Demon Tweeks are selling Caterham aluminium nosecones for? Keep the buck, you could be sitting on a godmine!

John

I've done a bit of fabrication work.

Hi Trev,

John emailed me a pic of his project, well impressive, (he's so modest) but I had nothing to email back.

So I emailed him one of yours and said I did it.

atb

Paul G

I wanted to do more metal shaping until I saw this...nothing could compare to it. Fellow in the US built it & sold it on Ebay. 4000 hours and 15 years to build....
Rescued attachment 2006-06-01_180633_silv2.jpg

I've done a bit of fabrication work.

Come on Trev, I know the truth. Your secret's out!

You work is the standard I can only dream about. I'd love to spend a day with you and be inspired.

Yours in awe

John

I wanted to do more metal shaping until I saw this...nothing could compare to it. Fellow in the US built it & sold it on Ebay. 4000 hours and 15 years to build....

Hi Zetec, I see what you mean but this guy started at the beginning just like most of us. Trouble for me is he probably started a lot earlier in his life than I did in mine.

Cheers

John

I agree - but I don't think I've got enough years left to get to that kind of skill level! Of course, I should be on the road in a few years, and the builder of that one never drove it...not even once. Only ran the engine for the rolling road, then sold the car!!

I agree - but I don't think I've got enough years left to get to that kind of skill level! Of course, I should be on the road in a few years, and the builder of that one never drove it...not even once. Only ran the engine for the rolling road, then sold the car!!

Yes, for him probably the joy was in the building rather than the driving.

I said to a model engineer once after he had spent 5 years building a loco, you'll be glad to get it finished won't you. He said well not really because then I shall have to start another. I'm sure for a lot of us who build cars from scratch the satisfaction of the build ranks almost as highly as the driving but for me there is nothing to compare with the satisfaction of actually getting on the road or circuit with a car that started as a load of 1 inch erw.

John

John, you don't need to spend a day with Trev to be inspired . I saw him gas weld some ally sheet at Pauls (907) a while back . 2 minutes and I'm inspired ! When my engine is rebuilt and running fuel injection I will be having a go at a bonnet . Anyone have any tips for forming louvres?

My friend who builds bodies for vintage cars has tooling that fits into his wheeling machine. It uses a modified brake disc. looks weird but produces a very good job.

The traditional way is to buy the correct tooling and punch them out with a fly press.

Anyone else have any novel ideas?

John

I'm not very good with fibreglass so I made a power bulge in aluminium

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l57/bonnett_2006/phoenix40001Medium2.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l57/bonnett_2006/phoenix42002Medium.jpg

John