John Bonnett
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Posts posted by John Bonnett
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Some time ago, I made a clamping device that I call the Octopus although it only has four legs. For jobs like planishing it is very helpful allowing both hand free to operate the weight and the flipper.
The main concern is that both wings are as close to being identical as they can be. This is part
icularly important from the rear.
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The return is now gas welded to the wing; a really long run of weld. the first picture shows the weld after the flux has been washed off. The second picture shows metal finishing started.
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The three major wing panels are now gas welded together and ready to be welded to the return. So all progressing nicely.
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The two rear wing sub-panels are now formed and Clecoed in place.
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Right, let the shrinking begin. Here are the sequence of pictures. The final one is not quite there but getting on.
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The two return section are now drilled to accept the wing mounting screws and today I have TIG welded them together to make one complete section.
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Amazing workmanship John, and you have done that rare thing among special builders, in achieving a look that is even better than the original - the back end looks fabulous. I look forward to seeing the finished article!
Best wishes
Steve
Steve that's really kind of you, thank you. It's amazing what a boost a bit of encouragement gives on a long term project like this one particularly when one sails into the doldrums and headway is lost. I'm glad you like my changes to the bodywork but whether it looks better than the original is a matter of personal taste. I really hope that I haven't upset any purists among us but this shell was built entirely from sections obtained from a breaker. I took the licence with the design for one reason only; to make it easier for me to make.
I've designed out all the straight creases because they need to be perfectly executed otherwise they would stand out like a sore thumb. The same applies to the rounded rear end and the wings. I spent quite a bit of time looking at cars that i found attractive from the rear including an E Type, 911 and Rochdale Olympic. They all share similar lines which I find attractive. And at Spa, I spotted a Morgan SLR which bears an uncanny resemblance
to the rear end on my car.One of the things that never cease to amaze me is how fluid metal is; almost like plasticine. The following pictures show the rear wing return section clamped in place and how much shrinking is going to be needed to bring it to the correct curvature. I'll write up the process and post a few pictures showing how it can be done over the next few days
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I've made some good progress since the last offering. The bonnet scuttle end has been re-worked to match the curve of the windscreen frame and the two halves clamped together and the whole thing offered up. At the rear, I'm now ell on the way with the right hand rear wing. The final picture is the second return section formed and waiting for drilling to accept the mounting bolts.
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I've made a start on the last panel; the right hand rear wing. This is made up of five separate sub-panels that are welded together. The return contains the mounting bolts which attach the wing to the body. The return which i showed bring formed in an earlier post is welded on.
Now, great excitement. The bonnet. We clamped the two halves together and laid it in position and I have to say that I am absolutely delighted with how it looks. It will have headlights recessed behind perspex covers and a hand made widened Triumph grille. Here are a few pictures. Sorry I have posted two of the same and cannot delete the unwanted one.
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Here are a couple of
pictures bringing everything up do date -
I've finished planishing the long TIG weld and the passenger side rear wing is now bolted and bonded on to the body. A few pictures to follow.
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I've recently gone through this exercise and the hinge bodies seem to wear preferentially and fitting a new pin has made no difference. New hinges are of variable quality and if you do go this route my advice would be to reject and return to the supplier any that have slop.
John
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The back panel is now fully TIG welded to the tailgate aperture and rear quarter light panels which completes the welding of the rear end. By welding on the curve distortion is kept to a minimum but shrinkage always occurs which necessitates tapping up the area immediately around the weld and then filing flat. The lows are brought up with a slapper and weight.
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On fitting the rear wing a misalignment was apparent. Quite how this happened is a bit of a mystery because before the side panel was bonded on everything fitted perfectly.
I suspected that the side panel hadn't sat down properly so I removed a wedge shaped piece and then replaced it in the correct position. I also removed a section of the wing to be replaced by another that replicated closely the contour of the side panel. Pictures show the sequence. In order to make the wing section piece easy to form it was annealed by first blackening the surface with an acetylene rich flame and the n removing the black by heating with a neutral flame. Once the black disappears this is a signal that annealing temperature is reached. Once clamped in place over the wing it was an easy matter to hand form the new piece. I hope the pictures clarify the process.
Picture 1 shows the problem and the final one the solution.
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The clamps have now been removed and the rear quarter light panels tacked to the back panel. All is now ready for the final TIG weld to make the assembly one.
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Both rear quarter light panels have now been etch primed on the inside followed by top coat and they are now safely bonded on to the steel frame. It is so easy to damage panels that are just lying around in the workshop so it's always a relief once they are fitted. This applies most of all to the roof panel that i really wouldn't want to repeat in a hurry.
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The rear wings in common with most of the aluminium panels are made up of several sub-panels which are gas welded and metal finished to make a complete wing. The wing itself is built on a station buck which is not a former against which a part is beaten but more a pattern to check that the panel is the correct shape. The buck is made from 12mm Birch plywood and is reversible so that it can be used on both sides. In order to achieve a really sharp return this piece of the wing is made separately. It is formed by first folding to form an L section and then shrunk and stretched to shape it to match the body. The following picture shows it formed and trial fitted.
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I've been finishing the rear quarter light panels in preparation for bonding them both to the steel shell and the side roof flanges. The roof itself is held on in much the same way as on the GT6 but of course on the steel car it is spot welded down the rain gutter rather than bonded with an epoxy adhesive. I'm really impressed with the adhesive and totally confident that the joint will never come apart.
Hopefully more pictures later in the week.
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The project is really moving on at a pace and the back panel is now bonded to the shell and tack welded to the tailgate panel. With the overlap gone between the two adjoining panels, the shape of the rear of the car is much more evident.
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Or my age and wrinkles.
PM sent John
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The roof is now bonded onto the shell with two pack adhesive so there's no going back. The rear panel is trimmed ready for butt welding to the tailgate panel following bonding on. There's a little more work before the rear quarter light panels can be fitted but they should be on during the coming week. A few pictures attached.
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A bit more progress today with the insides of the roof and rear panel etch primed and top coated with French Blue. The next step will be to bond the roof and the rear panel to the frame.
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The return is now successfully welded on and just needs metal finishing to complete the panel.
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Thanks John!
I did think it unlikely but found both sides fibreglass when I removed them yesterday and started to have doubts....!
I've just started a full restoration on my Mk 3 so please bear with me if I'm on here a few times....
Pete
Pete, I'll be delighted to help if I can so don't be afraid to ask. There are many more knowledgeable folk on here than I so someone will have an answer for you.
I restored the MK3 GT6 in my Avatar and I have a good photographic record of the work I did. Any detail pics you need please let me know and I may well have what you need.
regards
John
I've designed out all the straight creases because they need to be perfectly executed otherwise they would stand out like a sore thumb. The same applies to the rounded rear end and the wings. I spent quite a bit of time looking at cars that i found attractive from the rear including an E Type, 911 and Rochdale Olympic. They all share similar lines which I find attractive. And at Spa, I spotted a Morgan SLR which bears an uncanny resemblance
Aluminium bodied GT4
in My Triumph Restoration Project
Posted
Pete, thank you. That's a really kind thing to say and you have no idea how far a bit of encouragement goes. I'm on to the last bit of bodywork now and it is getting exciting. It has been a long journey but the end is in sight.
Once the wing is finished I've got the supporting frame to make for the bonnet which will put us on the home straight.
Learning from the experience gained on the left hand wing I made the decision to form the return separately rather than tapping the return after the wing was finished. This is what I have done on the main wing and for the life of me, I can't understand why I didn't do it on this one as well. The big advantage is in folding a far crisper bend can be achieved. The following pictures 9for anyone who might be interested) show the return being formed using a shrinker/stretcher and pinned in place on the B post. The final picture is the penultimate panel nearly ready for trimming. The last piece needed to complete the wing is what one could call the sill extension.