Projects Giant speedster project

Dance up a jig.

Really it should be, "make up" a jig, a new jig, one for the rear fenders. But before we get into that I found out some news about the history of the Seagrave. Around 1958 it was purchased by the Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America (SPAAMFAA) ( that's a mouthful) from the City of Syracuse New York for $365 and was an 85 ft wood spring raised aerial. I still haven't found out about the fire that destroyed it.

Okay, so I messed around with a mock up of the rear fender then I started bending up some metal to make a jig. I want the rear part of the fender to have a little kick up and I can't get it into the roller. I dragged out an old bender I bought about 20 years ago to see if it would do the job but I've got to anchor it to the floor first. The bender was one of those useful looking items that never seemed to have much of a use.

Check it out--Alex got his red belt!

Jerry

 

Nice shape on the fenders!

 

.................

 

Jerry,

Looks like we'll be at Clarkesville on Sat morning (our oldest's birthday is Fri)- hope to see you there!

Bill

 

The jig continues. Making two identically bent pieces of steel can be difficult. But, I persevered. When I got the pieces close I clamped them together and heated them up at about two inch intervals. That relaxed them both. But not me. All that torch work got me hot. No jokes now! After that I welded the two sides together. The tail is too long and needs a proper shape. Rounded? Square? Pointed? Suggestions?

Jerry

 

Will you be dancing a jig when the jig is up? You're almost there!

Where are the taillights going? If you hang them from the back of the fenders I vote square, otherwise I vote somewhat rounded corners, but not completely round.

 

Lookin' good, Jerry. I enjoy checking your progress. Lotsa work...you're the man. Gonna be lotsa cheering for you when it's done.

On the shape at the rear of the fenders, my suggestion would be about a 12" radius side to side, with about a 1" radius at the corners.

 

Pointed would match the theme of the boat tail, but I think rounded would be more "traditional".

 

How about a taper, like this?

 

I just found this thread. OH MY GOD! AWESOME!

 

I vote for the taper that july08 shows. It goes with the boat tail well and has a proper vintage look.

 

X2 Lookin" great!

 

Hi Jerry.Outstanding build.Love the dare to be different builders.Love the inovation and seat of the pants engineering.And love the sound of that GREAT engine.Am subscribing.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

The jig is up.

Or down. After much contemplation I settled on the rounded corner concept but after observing with the jig from all angles I got to thinking that the fender wasn't long. So I added about nine inches to the jig. Of course that meant rebending and rearching the jig which took about all day to get right. Finally I was able to clamp the sheet metal to the jig in prep for the great hammering.

Jerry

 

The Great Hammering sounds like a Thor-based novel. Keep Loki out of things and you will be fine.

Be careful not to overdo it; the last time I did a Great Hammering project I got elbow tendinitis and was down for months. I should have spread it out over some days.

 

oops sorry i missed the question never to late for scallops like the batmobile..

 

Nice call on the fender! Matches the length of the vehicle better.

 

Put the hammer down.

Hey, I've worked three days in a row on the speedster. That's because I got the awnings done and the bathroom is done enough to use. I need a break. I hammered all day and produced a fender. Unfortunately I don't have any 1/4 inch rod. I'll get some tomorrow. I also realized I might have a problem when I start crowning the fender towards the rear at the up sweep. The change in curve from positive to negative may cause a problem. We'll see.

Jerry

 

You can still put crown in the panel there, but you'll have to do it by stretching the turned down legs instead of just pushing up the center.

Probably ought to get that done before you wire the edge, because the edge is where you'll be working that area.

Think about it like you already had a big long U shaped piece and you were going to try and bend it into that fender shape you've got there now.

In that case you'd stretch the center to make the convex area (or more likely, stretch the center and shrink the edges at the same time), and you'd stretch the edges to make the concave area.

It's just like doing a very shallow/subtle saddle reverse.

Raise the whole center until you get the crown you want (which will probably push the fender all out of contour), and then stretch the edges in the concave area to get the contour back.

 

Now see. Ryan, knows what he's doing. Whereas I just make it up as I go. I'm in trouble now and the only thing to get me out is a big hammer. Ryan, I'll try but I may make a big mess. Wish me luck. Maybe St. Eligius will guide my hand. In case you didn't know, he's the patron saint of metal workers. I need a picture of him.

Jerry

 

Jerry,
He even looks like you! I think his spirit lurks in your shop...

St. Eligius, patron saint of goldsmiths, metalworkers, and coin collectors

 

I think he looks like Dustin Hoffman! Lol.

 

Just go slow, it'll be fine.

It's a lot easier to stretch with caveman tools than shrink, so you've got that going for you already.

You just need a smooth faced hammer and some kind of a back-up dolly. Can be an actual dolly or just a heavy chunk of steel that you've polished smooth, whatever.

When you strike hammer on dolly, you're stretching, so after you've raised your crown, just work the edges on either side of that concave area between the hammer and dolly until the shape comes back into the proper contour.

If you're not using a dedicated body hammer and dolly for this, I suggest sanding and then polishing the face or both your hammer and "dolly" before you begin.

Every dent in the hammer face will become a dent in the panel each time you strike, so it will save a lot of trouble later to make sure your tools are slick before you start.

Go slow and try to keep both sides the same, and you'll be fine.

Worst case, you take that fender to a Metal Meet somewhere and let a guru there either fix it for you, or show you how to fix it yourself.

It's pretty hard to screw one up so bad that it can't be fixed at all.

 

"Uh-oh! Looks like rain! Definitely looks like rain. Yeahhh."

 

He's' got my blank stare. Need's a mustache though.

Jerry

 

Great to catch up with you, even if it was only for a couple minutes today!

I must say, the resemblance is uncanny

 

A question... Has anyone ever seen Jerry and St. Eligius in the same room?

Hmmm... Sounds to me like we may have a Clark Kent, Superman kind of thing going on here...

 

So get out your Sharpie and give him a mustache.

 

From the desk of St. Eligius.

Note to self. A mortal named Jerry is having trouble with the reverse curve on the fender on something called a "Giant Speedster." Sounds somewhat sacrilegious but I'm getting a lot of angst from readers of the so called Hoakey Ass Message Board so try and send him some subconscious help. Also help the styling guys at Chrysler before they botch up the new model year.

 

Just got this fabulous idea out of the blue. I'll make a short mockup of the rear fender and experiment crowning it. When I get that right I can crown the real fender. Wow, why didn't I think of that before. This solves everything.

Jerry