Projects What!!? another 27 on 32 chassis!??. Scratch build body.

Hello Mike, thank you for your input, I only have access to two 'real' 27s one does not have the inner frame work and is on a model A frame. The other is the tourer I put a photo of on here earlier. I checked today what you pointed out, I found that on one side the tourer has a straight line down the cowl and sill and cranks inward at the 'B' post. On the other side the cowl also cranks inward from the 'A' post. I think the side that is straight back to the 'B' post is correct.

Nothing I have done to this point is set in stone and I can modify the chassis. I dont think I will straighten it, I may make the chassis slightly narrower like Dennis did or tweek the body slightly. I will not know untill I have a bit more bodywork made.

I am glad you pointed it out to me because I can be aware of the possible problem.

David

 

I'll PM you some notes...

 

Good to see you again today Dave and thanks to pointing me to this thread. Further thanks for not putting up any pictures of Glen and scaring off your readers!

 

Neil, glad you like it. I owe you a thank you for all the work you do for not only our club but the VHRA. Without Glen I would not be anywhere near where I am with it now.

David

 

I have done some work on this recently but not had time to upload photos.

I had a load of sections folded by my mates at Wesbroom engineering in Colchester (thanks to Matt and Dave) Its quicker and easier to get this sort of thing done by them than do it myself. This is all 2mm (14g) mild steel and it is the sections I need to make up the inner structure of the '27 body.



As I said earlier in the thread I am going to make the structural parts as close as possible to the original. It worked for Ford and is fairly straightforward to reproduce.

I had the subrails folded in two sections and then joined them as below. Its pretty hard to fold something that is deeper than it is wide so that is why I had them done in two pieces.



I took a template or profile of the top of the cowl in hardboard...



I formed the top of the inner 'frame' for the cowl, this is made in one piece.



I checked it against the original as well as the template as I formed it.

David

 

Here are the 'A' posts copied from the originals, they join to the hoop above to make up the frame on the inside of the cowl. The doors will of course eventually hang from these.



I have done quite a bit more but thats all I have time for now lunch brake is over.

David

 

next I had to make a copy of these pieces on the inside of the cowl...



I took a paper patern and traced this onto some of the 14g steel, cut it to the shape then hand formed the flanges,,,



I plasma cut the holes freehand...



David

 

I cleaned them up it a file and sander...



I have to trim them to length it was obscured by the frame thing in the tourer cowl. No-one is ever going to see them once they are in place but they look pretty stock.

David

 

You make it look sooooo easy.

 

That is some very nice work Dave! Great finish on the radius of the cowl pieces. Do you plan on spot welding them in or buck rivets?

 

Worse than that Dave - you posted a picture of my handiwork... I did intend tidying it up a little before I put the body back on!

See you Saturday - I've sold my other '27 today so I'll need to retrieve the other panels that belong to it including the spare rear panel.

 

Glen told me it was someone else who did that brace. No-one would have known if you had not said LOL. Nothing like piling on the pressure I need the rear panel to make you a new one. I am up to my eyeballs this week!.

David

 

Its easy if you know how.

I saw Ron Covelle is making a '27 T body, I saw the buck, I could have made several bodies in the time it took to make that buck. Totally unnecessary if you have an original body to copy. I dont even have a body to copy!.

David

 

Hahahaha - you should have seen what I cut out!

 

I made the other sections that go under the cowl...

Here is the original...



and a couple I made...



David

 

This is coming along nicely David, your work is astounding!!

 

Zapp 69 Thanks - nothing too complicated here at the moment most of it was done with hand tools. I used a bead roller for the two pieces above.

I am going to plug weld most of it but I may use rivets in the cowl where they can be seen. I will have to find some rivets like the originals first.

David

 

I got the firewall to this stage....



Then I decided to cut it all apart again and put in a little more detail- photos later.

 

So I decided that I wanted to make the firewall a little more like an original, the two 'leg' shaped pressings are the most notable detail so I put these into my hand made firewall...



By doing this I also got rid of where I had welded on the corner.


I also put the bead around its perimeter to match the original. This is where the skin of the cowl joins the firewall.

David

 

I took a paper pattern from the cowl...



I will not have the Tourer body much longer so I need toget as much info as possible while its here.

David

 

Such a small change for an extreme difference. I was surprised when you weren't happy but can see why now

 

Thanks mate, is seems you are the only person talking to me at the moment!. I mated the firewall to the subrails, Working on getting the hoop for the cowl fitted.

David

 

Well I didn't want to bother you for purely selfish reasons.
Anyway - I have to prepare myself to be humbled again. See you Sunday!

Ooh - scrapping litho tomorrow. Want me to leave a couple of sheets in for pattern making?

 

No we are all still here we are just sitting in awe, brilliant work David.

How did you form the bead in those cowl brackets? bead roller or other method??? Are they 14 gauge steel or lighter gauge?

 

Phil, nothing humbling, you can do things I can't, different strokes...

Jimmy, I made the pieces from 14g steel and formed them in my swaging machine (bead roller) Its a hand cranked machine. Took lots of passes. They are not perfect copies but close enough.

David

 

Bead roller from what I read earlier.

But yeah I'm just waiting impatiently for more pictures

 

Hi David
i have your dvd and watch it often . when you get to the bun panels could you document the build of them, i know your working on a tight deadline but im sure i am not the only one waiting to see how you build them. you have a way of making it seem so much easier to build, and i think every 26 /27 roadster in the us needs a set of bun panels . Thanks for sharing and helping us hobbyist to improve our metalshaping skills.
Scott

 

Hi Scott, I will probably be making the bun panels last of all the panels 'cos I own a set of knackered ones I can copy but yes I will show how I make them. I am filming some of this stuff for another DVD but I am just so busy I don't know when it will get done.

David

 

Jimmy Just thought I would say that the smaller of the cowl brackets were formed on the bead roller, the triangular ones were formed by hand, I could have done them all with just hand tools, if I get time I will post a little tutorial on how.

David

 

Phil here is a couple of shots of the new model T tourer rear panel I made for you in exchange for the loan of your T body.





See you Sunday.

David