C5 gto

[bobadame]

I really like that rolled and pleated look.

[heinke]

Thanks Rick and Bob.

The beauty of the rolled/pleated look is that it's fairly simple to do

Some people have commented in the past that what I'm doing doesn't look like a Ferrari at all. You know what, they're right!

It's a rolling work of art that just happens to resemble a Ferrari on the outside.

[jlrussell4]

Some people have commented in the past that what I'm doing doesn't look like a Ferrari at all. You know what, they're right!

It's a rolling work of art that just happens to resemble a Ferrari on the outside.

Great attitude Joel . And a work of art it is! Thanks for posting for us to drool over.

[heinke]

So I had a large area (~4 ft X 3 ft) to cover. There were no square corners so I had to start by making a cardboard template for the whole area. The bead rolling on a sheet this size is tricky but doable. I put in as much insulation as possible to keep the heat and noise out.



After trimming, bending and trial fitting about a dozen times...



The piece fits great.



The stallion shield looks right at home...



The door to battery box remains as final piece to this puzzle.

[heinke]

The next bit of sheet metal work is to build a cover for the transmission tunnel. With the chassis backbone designed to accommodate a fairly long transaxle it’s much more than a “hump” in the floor. The top of the backbone in the middle is just below elbow height and elevates at the rear above that. Thus the tunnel sheet metal needs to be multi-level and I decided to put a glove box into the front part of it. These two factors raised the complexity factor quite a bit.






The first step was to create a cardboard template.






As the tunnel area is very visible, I decided to dress it up with some diagonal pleats bead rolled in.






Using the chassis tubes as a hammer form, the sides were bent down. A pie cut was taken out, the front bent down and sides of pie cut welded backup. A template was then made for the front section.






The front section was bead rolled, sides and front bent to shape, and holes cut out for glove box opening and gear shifter. The front section is clamped into place for scribing and cutting in preparation for welding.










The glove box lid mounts flush with the panel using a piano hinge and paddle latch. I found a real slick stainless steel paddle latch that’s just the right size for this application. I plan to fabricate a small box-like piece around the gear shifter and make a shift gate on the top of it. It’s a Ferrari after all, and don’t all Ferrari’s have a gated shifter.








So this piece took quite a bit of time to make. I did run into a challenge during metal finishing the joints that I couldn’t solve myself. On one welded joint for a pie cut, the weld cracked every time I planished the distortion in the weld area. After it cracked for the 3rd time, I knew using the same TIG welding method over again just wouldn’t work. Since I was planning to attend the Santa Cruz Metal Meet, I decided to enlist the help of an “expert” instead of continuing in frustration.


My special thanks goes out to Kent White for solving the issue. He applied his aluminum gas welding expertise to re-weld the joint. It turns out the heat was being sucked out of the weld area too fast and he was able to prevent this by using the torch to post heat the weld area. He also demonstrated how to best planish the welds with a slapper, dolly and body file. I don’t know that this is a definitive comparison test on welding methods but the same weld that cracked 3 times after TIG welding didn’t crack after gas welding. I now have purchased the TM2000 glasses, flux, and instructional videos so I can learn the gas welding method.

[Carbuilder]

Joel looking real good.

[jlrussell4]

The car is coming along nicely. Way to go

[cagedruss]

Where did you source the paddle latch? Been looking for one that small.

Thanks,

[iNVision]

That interior is looking great!

[Dick]

Joel
this thread is inspiring
i have had an Alpha GTO by Joe Alphabet for close to 30 years now
use to Slalom race it and had a ball racing against Porsche's and Vette's
your making me want to redo the interior to something similar