malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
- Messages
- 9,626
- Location
- Bedford UK
Occasionally you'll get a really desirable classic with poor spares availability and need to make a panel. I'm trying to replicate the rusty bit in the photo. The rest of the sill is really good and most of the bit I'm fiddling with is not all that structural
For starters a card template to get the shape
Transfer the shape to steel
There's a pressed hole at the back that the torsion bar would pass through if you could remove it. In my box of bits of metal that might come in useful one day there was a perfect thick tube and some smaller bar which were perfect for pressing the hole.
Bit more bending then an extra bit welded in. There's a good inch of stretch in the original pressing that the extra bit makes up. Extra bit has all the bends so the welds are in straight areas.
There's not as much grinding as it looks like - just the welds and nothing else - it was straightened with a hammer and dolly at the tacking stage.
Finally the desirable classic - going to be brilliant! Might be possible to buy original panels (the repro ones are cover sections). Didn't actually check. Much more fun to make your own.
I've got a write-up going on at http://www.renault4.co.uk/r5-restoration.htm They are right when they say the rear suspension mountings are a fiddle on these things.
For starters a card template to get the shape
Transfer the shape to steel
There's a pressed hole at the back that the torsion bar would pass through if you could remove it. In my box of bits of metal that might come in useful one day there was a perfect thick tube and some smaller bar which were perfect for pressing the hole.
Bit more bending then an extra bit welded in. There's a good inch of stretch in the original pressing that the extra bit makes up. Extra bit has all the bends so the welds are in straight areas.
There's not as much grinding as it looks like - just the welds and nothing else - it was straightened with a hammer and dolly at the tacking stage.
Finally the desirable classic - going to be brilliant! Might be possible to buy original panels (the repro ones are cover sections). Didn't actually check. Much more fun to make your own.
I've got a write-up going on at http://www.renault4.co.uk/r5-restoration.htm They are right when they say the rear suspension mountings are a fiddle on these things.