Re: Post Whoring Thread 3.0 - Bill loves zee Germans, forget you W-Body guys
Put down the candy and let the little boy go... lol.
Body shop whoring because I'm on an enjoyable and fairly easy project on a wicked build- its a 72 Trans Am clone with LSX power, full frame, and mostly custom inner body structure. Its to be a hard driver less than a show car. Once other team members had the hood clearing everything and roughed in the expanded shaker scoop hole, I was chosen to chase the cosmetic details. Follow along for a few steps if you want.
First issue was the cutout necessary for intake duct clearance, on the hood shell. See where the bracing has been chopped out?
I trimmed and bent one side and made a simple brace for the other. Making the brace was so easy with fab shop tools. Stomp shear to chop off a strip, measure and cut, roll bead for stiffness, curve to hug hood skin, drill for welds, paint backside. The other flange was the cutoff wheel and pliers then hammer and dolly. I tried to pick a spot that looked natural to trim it. The green tape is engine guy's keep-out line.
Same places today, welded and smoothed, and with rattle can etch primer on the re-bent part. Don't mind the debris.
I added a couple small rods to the edge at this corner of the hood also, to correct the look. Engine guy had roughed it in.
Then there was the scoop hole itself, also (very) roughed in. I took 2 TIG rods and formed one to one side of the opening flange. Laid that on the floor and bent another to match it. Flipped one over and tacked one end to the other, and presto I had a symmetrical shape that snugly fit the 90 degree flange I'm starting with. Clamped it in place and began folding the flange over the wire for a stiffer, slimmer, rolled edge. Like installing a door skin, kind of. Used my door skinning hammer for some of it, and my big flat dolly. Endo the day I flipped it over to tidy up the topside but it was too close to quittin time to be welding.
The wire helped me to provide a straight and even edge, and make sure both sides were shaped the same, like this corner that wasn't quite. This area has to look good from all the angles.
After lots of careful hammering which I love to do but now causes pain, lol:
I did manage to put a few tacks at the corners to curtail potential vibration. Panel bonding adhesive will probably be used as a filler / sealer here on the underside to bury the flange's wavy end.
I gotta turn that mechanic dude onto some 80 grit for finishing but yeah, now I have something solid to build a paint job on. What he did in this case was to trim out the original hood hole, expand as needed to fit a re-scaled custom scoop, establish the position and patch the hoop back into the hood skin. There were several small dents that I used a plastic crayon and hammer for, and other areas are yet to be addressed. Like both edges at the sides of the hood. Extreme clearance issues there so more mods to come.
People, anything you can make with posterboard and glue can be done in steel so get to it. Dats all my hos for tuday, go on widja friday nites.