Let's see some sheet metal shaping

I think it's an 8V-71 , kinda big for a 284" Flathead. He is going to run a B&M on a Joe Albin manifold.

 

Just finished making this 30/31 Model A sedan delivery door skin for another local shop doing a resto

 

Got the B-Ville Roadster done.

 

I wish I had half of the skills you have...

 

Picked up some floor pans for another project from Pieces de Carrosserie in Montreal on Friday. Incredible skills.

 

Incredible!

 

Had a request to make a snout for an air cleaner to increase the available intake air. Loosely based on the OEM 55 Chevy breather, this snout would be used to modify an existing 55 breather to accommodate a healthier than stock engine and still appear stock. -ish.. The tube on a stock breather uses a seam at the bottom (6 o'clock) of the tube.



Factory seam in the tube...





Tooling for the lockformer seam...



test sample of the lockformer seam



A test piece to check the dimensions. Got to use some of that High school geometry....



Our redneck slip roll used to bend the tube....



Hammer form made for the bell end of the snout that will fit inside the tube and be spot welded together...







Hammer form opened up slightly more to fabricate the mounting flange. This will be trimmed and welded into the breather with the tube spot welded into the flange.







Snout trimmed and mocked up into the breather

 

How are you doing the forming over the MDF buck?

I know it's a stretching operation, I'm just curious if you're doing the forming with a hand hammer, or an air hammer, or some other kind of power tool, or if you're using a press and another buck, etc.

I've got an application where I want to put a very similar flare onto the wheel well of a racecar body and I'm curious how you're doing it.

I'll only need to do a 90° arc instead of a whole circle, and I'm working in 0.040" aluminum, but it's prepainted and I'm kinda worried about the best way to form it without totally smoking the finish.

It's a racecar body, so it's very liable to get mashed at some point, which means it don't have to be perfect, but it'd still be nice if most of the paint made it through the forming op intact.

 

We used Hand hammers, a Snap on linear stretch hammer, a rounded face hammer, and a door skin hammer. There was a bit of marking hence the opening a was sanded to remove the marking. You may be able to use an air hammer in a flow forming operation with better luck in keeping the finish intact, but based on our results I would think hammer marks are apt to show.

 

A dowel held on the metal and struck with a hammer may work with less marking.
Wood or plastic.

 

^^^ A corking tool. Wood, or other similarly soft material. While I know what one is, I don't have any experience using one to form metal against a buck.

 

@CoolHand could you form the lip on the wheel well with a handheld rolling tool? Something like a scaled up version of this tool? My thought being several passes of something like this to gradually bring the shape into the wheel well.

 

I made one of these and there is a ton of stretch in the bell mouth. I bent a ring out of round steel and used heat with around face hammer. Nice work Robert!!

 

Not so much shaping but been working on straightening out the roof on this old farm truck for a client. Not perfect but it is an old farm truck

 

Looks good. Looks like they walked on it loading hay

 

No where near Mike's skills, but trying to salvage a 47 coupe.

 

You can do a lot of work with old metal just take your time and go slow

 

Not finished yet, a different kind of chop. No door frames cut for 1-1/2" down. (2" shorter windshield)
Nowhere near capabilities of anyone here, but eventually it will look smooth after another 386,987 hammer/slappers taps. The 37 Ford back window helps.

 

Saw a neat demo on metal forming on You Tube's Harry's Garage. He is a wealthy Brit who is having a Lancia Zagato restored. The man in the shop needed to make two rear fender pieces which needed compound curves. He formed them using a ballot and an English wheel. Well worth watching.

 

Working on my COEs front fenders . Lots of hammer , slipper , and E wheel work . Drivers side done and painted , no putty just 2 colors of epoxy primer, high build , and spotting filler and lots of blocking . Both fenders were hammered bad , welded up with arc .
Don’t have a paint both so I paint on the porch . Paint a little dry ( orange pell ) so I put 4 coats of single stage and will cut and buff in February.

 

Nice work on that driver’s fender @JOYFLEA!

 

Cut out the square opening and formed a curved opening with brackets for the glass.

 

As a follow up to the air breather post, the owner has it welded up and in final primer. I think this has the "factory" look he was after...

 

^^^^^Outstanding^^^

 

I just realized that i have been watching this thread since the beginning, and i have never posted any work on it. Compared to some, this is hack work, but i hope some will get some entertainment and inspiration by my resurrection of junk.

 

Looks good to me. It's not glossy and perfect but the job is getting done.

 

@JimSibley looking good!

 

I guess the funnest part of this car is what it started as.

 

Nice. Love the progress shots. Any more you'd like to share?

 

I have a post on the build. It is titled 34 ford 3 w made entirely from junk.