I'm currently building a hood, doors, and decklid for my ERA out of .062 aluminum. I also re-skinned an aluminum AC years ago. Working and forming metal is a a very enjoyable hobby but you have to have patience (and a sense of humor) when you start.
If you want to learn how to actually hammerform, wheel, and gas weld aluminum for such a project, a good place to start is to attend one of the workshops put on by Ron & Dan Fournier
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www.fournierenterprises.com
. Its about $1,000 to $1,400 and lasts for 3 or 4 days depending on whether or not you take the gas welding class. They allow only six students so you get a lot of time on the wheels and hammerforming and great personal one-on-one instruction. The Fourniers are really good people and very skilled. Ron also has a good series of tapes and DVDs on the subject. If I'm not mistaken, Mark Gerisch (who built Leno's car and also supplied the FIA nose panel for my AC) started out in a Fournier class.
You'll probably find forming the aluminum by hammerforming and wheeling to be one of the easier tasks. Gas welding, filing, and finishing 60 thou aluminum is a bit of an art and requires a lot of practice. Bending and forming the steel framework precisely so that doors, hood and decklid fit perfectly is not to be taken lightly. You'll need a lot of metal tools. A good English wheel is essential. You'll also need a Henrob welder and some other welder for the steel tubes (mig, tig, gas), a rotary former or bead roller, shrinker / stretcher / dollies, slappers, hammers, mallets, and shot bags. If your making the interior panels a good finger brake will help. Or...you could just buy a Kirkham and save $10,000 in tools. Oh yeah....You will also need beer.
