Had a bit of spare time so I thought I'd make the
oil cooler grille apperture for the lower valance. I don't really need to make this at this time as it will be made from aluminium when the main body gets done, but I just wanted to see what it would look like anyway. Based on the measurements that Alan scaled up, I drew it out onto a piece of card first.
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This will be made from aluminium on the body & will have a wired edge, but for the purposes of just seeing how it looks, I formed a bit of 1/4" bar to mimic the wired edge. I then made the shape of the appertutre by bending it around a 3" hole saw
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I then beveled the edges,so that when it was welded together, I could grind it down without fear of grinding through the weld.
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This was then placed into a bit of angle iron, so that when it was welded together, the joint would butt up perfectly & keep its shape.
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Once joined together it looks like this
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A piece of zintec steel was then formed to shape rolled around a piece of 3" tube.
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This piece of zintec was then welded together & put into the apperture, which was then tacked to the zintec sheet..
When making a butt joint in steel, I clamp a bit of flat sheet copper behind the joint. No doubt you've found that when trying to weld a butt joint in thin steel, it tends to blow more holes into the steel than it does welds. By placing a piece of copper behind the joint, you can weld the two pieces together, & the copper stops the weld from blowing holes, enabling you to weld the two pieces together as the weld won't adhere to the copper, but it bridges the gap between the joint. (hope that makes sense)
Having ground down the welds, I then calculated the shape of the apperture needed to cut into the front valance. By placing the new panel into that hole, I was then able to figure out the shape of the new panel & trim it accordingly
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The front valance was taken off the car & offered the
oil cooler grille to it so that I could cut out the apperture. After a little bit of trimming here & there I ended up with quite a snug fit.
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I tacked it loosely into position to make sure it sat in the apprture square & that it was the right angle to the valance
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I left I small amount of metal protruding on the inside to give me a little bit of leeway to put it exactly where I wanted it to go. A few tack welds were then added to hold it in place
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The valance was then offered up to the car to make sure it looked right. Once happy with it, the bottom of the grille that I'd made previously & the new valance were tack welded together. Unfortunately, in my haste to get it together I forgot to photograph this stage Doh!!. Once it was tacked together the whole piece was removed from the car & given a coat of etch primer just to keep the elements at bay until I can get to lay up the 'glass on the inside
The completed valance was then fitted back onto the car with body clamps.
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In this photo you'll see that I tacked a piece of 1/4" bar to the bottom edge of the valance which will add rigidity to the lower part of the valance, whilst also giving it a gentle curve as per the original cars. The bar was welded to the outside of the valance as I'm 'glassing the inside
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I'm pleased with the way this has come out & think it'll look nice when it's all made in aluminium. I've only tacked the lower grille to the
oil cooler vent in a few places as it's only on there for me to check that it looks ok. I'll be removing it when it comes to the fibreglass stage. As to the valance, again, it's all only tacked together, but because it's being used as a mould, it doesn't have to be structurally strong. The point at where the lower valance & the grille are joined have been welded at pretty much a sharp angle to each other. On the car they have a radiused edges, but for ease at this time it's not important. The fibreglass will be finished with a sharp edge at this point, but it's far easier to sand it down into a radius than trying to get the steelwork formed into a radius. I could of course just add a small bead of filler inside the panel where they join together which would form a radius on the finished piece. I have to stop myself doing things differently sometimes & keep reminding myself that this is just a buck & it doesn't have to be perfect at this stage. I'll probably alter the angle of the oil cooler vent to the valance when it comes to the final stages as it's out just a fraction in the photos, but that's the major benefit of doing things this way, as it's far easier to rectify a problem in steel or fibreglass than in a sheet of aluminium that's had a lot of work put into it lol.
The next part will be cutting out the raised sidelight plinth & grinding back the inner flanges on the vents on each side of the grille. I can then get to the point of fibreglassing the whole lot together Woo Hoo!!
cheers...Nige