KevinR Posted September 6, 2014 Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 John, It's looking great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 John, It's looking great. Thank you Kevin. Every now and then I have a need to assemble all the bits I've made just to give me a bit of encouragement and to show that progress is actually being made. I think with any project it is easy to get into the doldrums from time to time and a bit of assembly does provide a well needed boost. Next job is to finish the right hand rear quarter light panel and then I'll be ready for the final in situ TIG weld which will join all the rear panels together. Once that's done I'll be on the home straight. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2014 I've now turned my attention to the driver's side rear quarter light panel which just needs the return forming and welding on. Here are a few pictures showing how I made the return. Starting with a flat strip of aluminium this was folded to a right angle and then using a shrinker shaped to follow the curve of the steel beneath it. The last bit where it bends upwards near the B post had to be stretched. The horizontal needed shrinking to follow the taper towards the rear of the car. I annealed the horizontal in order to make it easier to form where it meets the existing panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 The return is now successfully welded on and just needs metal finishing to complete the panel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted September 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Here are a couple of pictures bringing everything up do date Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve C Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 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 resemblanceto 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted November 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted November 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2014 Right, let the shrinking begin. Here are the sequence of pictures. The final one is not quite there but getting on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted November 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 The two rear wing sub-panels are now formed and Clecoed in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted November 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 The three major wing panels are now gas welded together and ready to be welded to the return. So all progressing nicely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted November 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bonnett Posted November 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 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 particularly important from the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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