Vitesse bonnet lower aperture

[ahebron]

After giving up looking for a supplier of the bottom of the grille aperture for my Vitesse I reluctantly decided to use my last week day off before return to work next week sorting it.
Plan 1 involved cutting out of 50x10mm bar with my jigsaw a curve that matches the top of the opening and then beating a piece of metal into shape using the curve as die.
But I then realised that 10mm is not wide enough.
Plan 2 was to cut out of the 50x10mm bar a 18mm x 600mm length with my metal cutting circular saw, it is rated to 6mm but by taking it easy it cut the 10mm.
Went off a wee bit so put it into the mill to even it out to 18mm.
Then it was out with the oxyacetylene to heat the cut and milled bar pressing it into the concave piece from Plan 1 giving it the shape to make the curved channel with.
I had a length of 1.2mm galv sheet which I cut to 48mm (14 + 20 + 14) width x 600mm and folded one side of the channel in  the folder followed by the first use of my shrinker to pull a curve into one side. Other side was done in the vice with g clamps and a hammer. 
Coat with zinc phosphate.

Stage one completed but I need the piece to go behind which is the strengthener and what the grille screws too.
And I have it already, yes the piece I used as the die to make the outer channel is perfect to use as the strengthener.
All I had to do was grind down the ends to fit into the existing channels on each side of the opening and weld it in.
Before the next part I drilled and tapped a hole in the middle of the bar for the grills mounting screw
Then I drill 4 holes in the outer channel to plug weld and weld those and at both ends.
I did cut back the outer panel on the front so the joints dont line up.

While working on the bonnet I came across some cracked paint in the rh headlight recess and picked it out to see surface rust under the paint and also found a crack in the panel where it joins onto the bonnet brace, this has been brazed at some time so I couldn't mig it but might end up cutting the section out and rewelding. And the same on the lh side. Both look like no primer on the metal just top coat🤬

 

Adrian

[Pete Lewis]

thats looking good 

Pete

[ahebron]

Thanks Pete
For some reason I had been dreading this job for a long long time but I think it was just a matter of starting it and seeing where we end up!

Now I have two more bonnets to fix 😉 

Adrian

[Iain T]

Adrian, 

Good job well done. It looks good and structurally sound. 

Iain 

[daverclasper]

On 05/06/2020 at 22:23, ahebron said:

For some reason I had been dreading this job for a long long time but I think it was just a matter of starting it and seeing where we end up!

Well done. I'm like that. More stress in thinking about it (I'm not a natural optimist), than when I actually, eventually, do it.