Aluminum Body Experiment

[Roger Bray]

Hi Guys,
For the last few years I've been playing around with metal forming and have had some success and a lot of fun learning.
Just for the heck of it I decided to see how difficult it really is to fabricate a cobra body from scratch. Of course the answer is it's even harder than I thought.
Anyway. I made a pattern of the left front fender of my E-M out of card board and used it to make a wooden buck.
Here a few pictures of what I was able to accomplish.

https://picasaweb.google.com/rbrayzz/MetalWork

The result was not very good as far as a finished product is concerned, but I learned a lot and had fun doing it.
Now that I'm retired I'm going to be doing more metal working and I might try a few more experiments.
If I have enough money down the road I've toyed with the idea of buying a FFR kit and using the body as my buck to fabricate an aluminum body.
The chance of this happen is remote but it's fun to day dream.
Later,
Roger

[MAStuart]

Hi Roger Check out metal meet . com And Use the search flexible shape pattern. You can use the car you have now for a pattern and not do any damage to your car. Mark

[mickmate]

Very nice Roger, you make me look forward to retirement. If you're going to that much trouble I'd recommend getting the most accurate shape body you can to pull or buck up.

[ACademic]

You now have one more fender than most everyone here. Congrats on a great first effort.

[KevinW]

I enjoyed looking at your pics - can you put more up, and give us more comments on how you did it, and how hard it is.

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by mickmate

Very nice Roger, you make me look forward to retirement. If you're going to that much trouble I'd recommend getting the most accurate shape body you can to pull or buck up.

X10. This is very sound advice.

[Roger Bray]

Hey Kevin,
If you are interested in learning to do some metal working I suggest picking up this dvd

Amazon.com: Shaping Aluminum with Handtools DVD: Everything Else

It covers how to do basic metal working with hand tools.
You will need to buy a shot bag ( explained in video ) and maybe a few other things .. won't set you back more that $100.

The first part I made for my car after after I watched this video was a fuel cap liner:

https://picasaweb.google.com/rbrayzz...73145506646210

It really wasn't very hard to make.
Let me know if I can help in anyway.

Roger

[KevinW]

Thanks Roger - I'll take a look!

[Roger Bray]

I've finally caught up some of the things on my "to do list" and I've decided it's time to start back to my metal working hobby.
I have lots more to learn before I can build and entire body, but each time I try one of my little learning experiments I get more confident.
For my next project I'm thinking that I will try to replicate a simpler part of the car. Say, perhaps the rear fender.
For the next few evenings I will be reviewing my metal working instructional videos and come up with a game plan for my next project.

any feedback from the fabricators here on CC would be appreciated.

Roger

[broadspeed]

hello
very nice first atempt on the front wing
i would say keep it up and you ll have an aluminium body in no time

if you need free bodyshaping advice / video's
than have a look here https://www.tinmantech.com/
or check out youtube on the name tinman
also another one is lazze metalshaping LAZZE Metal Shaping Classes and Videos

he also did a lot of video's

also fun to watch even if you are not doing any metal work


regards

michel

[rodneym]

Originally Posted by mickmate

Very nice Roger, you make me look forward to retirement. If you're going to that much trouble I'd recommend getting the most accurate shape body you can to pull or buck up.

X2 what mickmate said.
If you're going to ALL that trouble, do yourself a favor and replicate 'accurate'.
Must be fun!

[bret a ewing]

A Contemporary Cobra would make a good buck, very strong body and quite authentic. Shape taken from CSX3045 S/C.
I am impressed with your embrace of the hobby, surely equal parts artisan and craftsman. Good luck with your new adventure.
I may employ your expertise on taking dimples and dents out of a Kirkham.