"The Next One" - Handcrafted Mid-Engine Sports Car

[iNVision]

With the metal shaping for the front compartment coming to an end and the troughs along the side redone(wasn't happy with the first go of narrow troughs) it was time to start fitting all the body pieces together.

I started by fitting the tops of the rear 1/4's to the buck. A few areas were in need of a massage until it felt relaxed in place.


Our Body Caliper was set up to measure and compare both sides for symmetry.


I was quite pleased to see that the consistency of the panel curvature came out this well. That includes the outer curvature. The curvature was checked in relation to each other on both sides at 5" increments.


Thanks for following along.

[jlrussell4]

Hi Nick,

The Invisiion is coming along real good. I like your body caliper, it's a good idea .

[iNVision]

Here's a little progress that was made on R2's rear end.

The rear fascia pieces were already clamped in place and scribed and with most of the major shaping coming to an end it was time to start trimming and welding things together.






Lower fascia being fitted to the wire frame buck.


Lower and upper pieces are clamped and ready for welding.

[3 Chiefs]

Nick the car is looking better with every post. You sure do nice metalwork. Thanks for posting your build. Oh by the way, you need a new pair of gloves.

[anders nørgaard]

Great work Nick!

[iNVision]

Thanks fellas

About those gloves, they're great for grip control(thin rubber face) when used for cutting and shaping metal but really don't get along with sparks on the back face... be it from grinding or welding. I'm on the lookout for ones that are similar but more durable on the backside.

[doug_walter2002]

Nick, Those look just like the gloves I use. They work great for everything but welding and grinding.

[iNVision]

Some pictures of the pieces that make up the front fenders coming together as well as detail work around the headlight areas.

Top section of the driver's side finder 'clipped' into place on the buck in preparation for ...


... the two lower front and rear pieces to be lined up and tacked into place. Final welding will take place off the buck. You may notice that the piece being tacked is on a slight angle at the moment. As you guys know, it's crucial to precisely align the surfaces being welded. Once tacked, I flexed the panel into position and adjusted the joint with a hammer and dollie. I was aware that there would be some springback of the panel when removed from the buck but that would be addressed by relaxing the lower feature.



The main body feature was sharpened up using our tipping wheel after the convex/concave surfaces were created with the english wheel. Getting the initial lines straight was one of the bigger challenges since the guide marks were on the underside of the panel while it was being pushed though the wheel. Aside from working the metal at the seam during tacking/welding and rolling the front lips these pieces weren't touched with a hammer or slapper.

Now onto the other side to hem the lip around the headlight area. After the first pass the feature is still a little bumpy. The trick for a nice result is to take your time during this procedure otherwise it will require a little more finessing to smooth out. At the time I was working on this ... I was in a hurry...


A bit smoother, but not great as there are some flat spots that need to be worked out.




During final welding of the panels I'll go over that touch up the small inconsistencies.

Thanks for looking.

[jlrussell4]

That's super nice Nick.

[iNVision]

Originally Posted by jlrussell4

That's super nice Nick.

Thanks very much Mr. J. I really appreciate your support.