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

[MAStuart]

Thanks for all your replies . The utube makes it very clear. I thought you were saying that it had more contact with the wheels. Where in reality it has more overlap contact area. I originally thought that maybe you were trying to describe where some people use a bottom anvil with a smaller radius than what the panel would typically take. They wheeled the panel out of arrangement. Thanks again for your replies, now we can get your thread back on topic. Mark

[iNVision]

Originally Posted by MAStuart

Thanks for all your replies . The utube makes it very clear. I thought you were saying that it had more contact with the wheels. Where in reality it has more overlap contact area. I originally thought that maybe you were trying to describe where some people use a bottom anvil with a smaller radius than what the panel would typically take. They wheeled the panel out of arrangement. Thanks again for your replies, now we can get your thread back on topic. Mark

Good good Mark

Yes, more overlap contact during rolling.

Anyway, glad the video made this more clear.

[iNVision]

Pieces for the rear hatch are laid out and being prepped for assembly.


Fitting the pieces to the buck and scribing the underside of the dovetail panel so that the vent holes can be cut out.


After cutting out the vent holes, the panel was run though the tipping wheel to brake a starting bend. These bends can now be formed over the buck for a true fit.


Used to torch to heat and massage the corners into place.




Brother in law getting a crash course in metal shaping. Nothing better than diving in with both feet.


Always try to squeeze a little extra in at the end of the day...usually with a mockup panel or creating some templates. Here the front compartment got mocked up with some left over scraps of corrugated cardboard...


Transposing the templates onto sheet metal.




Guess it was a few days later when these panels for the front compartment were shaped...didn't have the camera around to get some shots. Now they need to be welded and finished. Next thing to tackle are those big holes in the hood...

[jlrussell4]

You are making good progress Nick.

[iNVision]

Thanks Mr. Russell!

[Jim Stabe]

Nick

Great work!

I noticed your cardboard pattern. I find that corregated doesn't form very well and I have much better luck with a chip board product similar to breakfast cereal boxes. Not sure if you have Costco stores up there but they use a heavy paper to separate the layers of paper towels and toilet paper that are stacked on pallets, regular grocery stores probably have the same thing. They let me have whatever I want and it makes really good pattern stock. I also use a heavier stock that I buy from an upholstery supply house for parts that I'm going to make on the brake or for things like door skins because it bends just like the metal will then you can lay it out flat and trace onto the metal.

Keep posting, I love to see your progress.

[iNVision]

Thanks for the thumbs up and the great tip Mr. Stabe. I'll have to source some other places as I go though the stuff rather quickly.

Yeah, that one piece does look pretty rough . Corrugated cardboard has it's place in the shop and doesn't usually work too well for templates. Saying that, this was all I had left in sizable chunks and only needed it as a visual representation of what I wanted the front compartment to look like. Except for the top cover, the rest was straightforward enough to lay out on sheetmetal. Cereal box press paper is the cat's meow when it comes to creating panels. I get it in 4'x8' sheets from the local metal supplier who use it between their sheet steel. With this stuff ...I can't believe I'm going to post this... but I've gone as far as wheeling, shrinking and stretching it....to a degree Call me crazy!

Here's a little template creation tutorial I did for someone a while ago.





Second more accurate template created from the first mockup piece.


Flanges marked out and tipped.






After tipping the flanges the panel takes on a totally wrong curvature.


Need to turn to the Shrinker/Stretcher to correct the curves.




Shrinks just like metal...almost. It bounces back a little. Good enough for a template though.


Some more stretching...


Touching up the panel's complex curvature with the wheel and an appropriate lower anvil. The pressed paper does compress enough to mimic sheet metal.


Ready to check the fit.


Doesn't fit too bad...with a few vice grips holding it in place.


Enough craziness for now.. the actual metal pieces will be left for another day. Thanks for looking

[larry mullen]

Nick
Thanks for the pattern tip , thats slick ..
Larry mullen

[iNVision]

Originally Posted by larry mullen

Nick
Thanks for the pattern tip , thats slick ..
Larry mullen

Thanks! Though I can still hear members laughing in the background.

For obvious reasons you can only 'push' the pressed paper so far and the glossy-one-side paper fairs much better since it doesn't tear as readily as the non-glossy stuff.

[Jim Stabe]

I do the same sort of thing but I haven't shrunk it yet, Guess I'll have to give it a try