NoReins

Bent Metal, again great work. Your metal working skills are amazing. How are you making your bends for the pieces? They look awesome.

hightower2011

Agreed^

Every time I see your work I think you might as well be building this car from scratch!

bent metal

Thank you very much! When I started this project I was hoping that I wouldn't have to make anything at all. Because just about everything can be purchased new. But it's not working out that way. That's ok, I do sorta' see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

"No Reins", those bends were made by tipping on a bead roller. They could also been made with a hammer form. But I try not to make too many of those anymore. Too time consuming and I end up with a bunch of them sitting around that I'll probably never use again.

If you are not familiar with what I'm talking about just say so and I'll expain more. ...With pics if need be. I still owe you for the help you have given me.

bent metal

I just hit 50 posts! Now my info box is saying "You may post attachments". Awesome, hopefully I can post pics now without doing photobucket and all of that. Let's see.

I'm getting ready to do the floors in the front. The back seat brackets looked like they got too thin from rust, and when they were installed they were welded in pretty sloppy. So I made new ones. Looks like they angled them in 75 degrees to keep them from racking and squishing flat. ...I stacked the new ones up with the old ones to make sure they were all the same. They look ok.

Norm Peterson

Man, I wish my sheetmetal skills were only half that good.


On butt vs lap welding - buttwelding to me speaks of names like the Ring Brothers or Bob & Wayne Julian (SN65) to me, where I guess the $ for a car build can run into six figures. For that kind of money . . .


Norm

bent metal

I'm wanting this car to turn out really nice and hopefully there won't be any areas that are obviously repaired. The floors on "zmetalmilitia" and "No Reins" look great to me. I'd be happy if mine come out that good. So I think I'll do the lap joint.

I also got the low down on the motor. But I'm going to start a new thread on it because it's not really a part of this project. Not yet anyway.

A preview:

zmetalmilitia

I'm sure your car will come out fine with the quality of work you're doing. Its looking great! You definitely have an eye for detail. Keep up the good work.

NoReins

If I had known before that you had wicked fabrication skills I would have paid you to make me some of those seat brackets!!!! I guess I should have put it together with your name and all

Nice job again, and don't worry the explanation - keep at your project - I can't wait to see more!

bent metal

I know you didn't ask. But here it is anyway, and if you don't know how to do this,...it is a good thing to know. Plus, it's easy.
This is the rear floor. I didn't like where they put the outer flange. It needed to be in about three-sixteenths. So I flattened out the panel and tipped a new flange. You couldn't do this on a brake because it meets in the corner with another flange.
1. Mark your line.
[IMG][/IMG]
2. Run your first pass. Here you are actually thinning the material just a little bit. Which makes a weak spot so the metal knows where to bend.
[IMG][/IMG]
3. Each pass you are tipping the panel up a little more.
[IMG][/IMG]
4. Keep going until you get the angle you want.
[IMG][/IMG]
What is so good about doing this is that you can get whatever angle you want and also whatever curve you want. Or even have changing angles, like the piece I made to go over the wheel well. It goes from about a ninty on the vertical to about a forty-five on the horizontal. The upper flange on that same panel has a flange that changes widths. So I think it's a good thing to know how to do. And very easy to do.

THUMPIN455

I need a bead roller.. I hammer form almost everything. Its the long way around it for sure. You do very nice work, makes me look pathetic.