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1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium

OAY842F Part of things Posts: 397	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium OAY842F @oay842f
	Apr 29, 2021 14:47:06 GMT
	See, even though I don't know what it's going to look like (and it sounds like you weren't 100% sure at the point you've posted up to - I don't care! It's a fantastic process and I love that you're using a Kitten chassis as a basis, pulling in bits and bobs as you need to. If it turns out to look amazing, great! If it turns out to be a bit "oooh, teeth suck" great! It's just enjoyable to watch progress and problem solving in such a creative way using some common parts and some "left field " parts. Thanks for taking the time to post this - loving it so far! Looking forward to the updates!
	1968 Mini MkII, 1968 VW T1, 1967 VW T1, 1974 VW T1, 1974 VW T1 1303, 1975 Mini 1000 auto, 1979 Chevette, 1981 Cortina, 1978 Mini 1000 1981 Mini City, 1981 Mini van, 1974 Mini Clubman, 1982 Metro City, 1987 Escort, 1989 Lancia Y10, 1989 Cavalier, 1990 Sierra, 1990 Renault 19, 1993 Nova, 1990 Citroen BX, 1994 Ford Scorpio, 1990 Renault Clio, 2004 Citroen C3, 2006 Citroen C2, 2004 Citroen C4, 2013 Citroen DS5. 2017 DS3 130 Plenty of other scrappers!

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blackpopracing Posted hell of a lot Posts: 7,052	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium blackpopracing @blackpopracing
	Apr 29, 2021 15:06:11 GMT
	The other major benefit of the scuttle is the wipers all fit and sweep the screen correctly.
	www.case-design.co.uk www.hotrodphotos.co.uk

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johnbonnett Part of things Posts: 468	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium johnbonnett @johnbonnett
	Apr 29, 2021 17:37:40 GMT
	In the project's early stages there are loads of different jobs that can be tackled so if you are getting fed up with repetition there is always an alternative. In this case, the transmission tunnel which I wanted to make removable for easy access to the propshaft . Rather than just fold a three sided rectangle I decided to make things difficult for myself and have the flat section sunken and radii on the corners. My hope being that I'll be able to route service pipes, brakes and fuel lines in the cavities which this design makes available. First thing was to fabricate some formers for the tunnel to sit on. These were made from sheet steel and welded together. The tunnel I formed out of 1.5mm 1050A pure aluminium. I first folded two upstands and then clamped the base down and by hand bent each upstand in turn downwards over the round tubes. See photos. I thought it might be useful to have a little cubby hole built into the tunnel so I made an open topped box in aluminium, cut an aperture in the tunnel and TIG welded it in.


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johnbonnett Part of things Posts: 468	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium johnbonnett @johnbonnett
	Apr 29, 2021 17:40:20 GMT
	Apr 29, 2021 15:06:11 GMT blackpopracing said: The other major benefit of the scuttle is the wipers all fit and sweep the screen correctly. Absolutely right, and what a bonus of being able to go modern and get away from the Lucas rack and pinion system that i have always used and never liked.


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johnbonnett Part of things Posts: 468	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium johnbonnett @johnbonnett
	Apr 29, 2021 18:42:47 GMT
	After the tunnel I decided to stick with the metal shaping and have a go at the inner rear wings. These I decided to make out of steel rather than aluminium in the interests of durability. Also, to this end they won't extend over the tyres, the gap between inner wing and outer wing being filled by 2mm plastic sheet. I bought this from Demon Tweeks and it is incredibly tough and stiff. It came rolled up and in the cold weather it was almost impossible to unroll it and keep it flat. But very much up to the job. I made a buck from plywood and cut out the steel blank. It was made in two parts with the weld on the CROWN. Both parts were going to need a lot of shrinking far outside the capabilities of my shrinker but very possible with tuck shrinking. This is done on a tree stump with part of the top surface hollowed out to a concave section. By placing the edge on the flat part of the stump and hammering along a line about 50mm in and over the concave part tucks are brought up. These are then trapped by hammering around the edge and nose of the tuck and then hammered. The metal has nowhere to go other than in to itself which effects the shrink and brings the edge up. Most of the hammer marks as well as smoothing were carried out on the english wheel. The second, mating part was made in the same way The two pieces were welded together and planished. This final picture shows the plastic clecoed in place.


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johnbonnett Part of things Posts: 468	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium johnbonnett @johnbonnett
	Apr 29, 2021 19:11:24 GMT
	We're going to fast forward now hopefully to where we are at this moment with the project. Along the way, there have been many structural alterations, changes of mind all in an effort to match the elusive images of what I want to achieve that are stored in my mind. It has taken time but to my mind time well spent and whilst my vision may not line up with many other people's I really like the shape and the motor car that is evolving. For inspiration I started looking at the Ferrari FF moving onto the Jaguar F type but then I hit on the DB5 which in so many ways fills the bill completely. Simple and iconic, not too much double curvature, definitely no feature lines which for a person of my skill level are a big no no and a very pleasing design. So with the DB5 in mind I was able to match the slope of the rear window and continue the body tubes to the back end of the boot. With that done it was time to think about the buck and I decided on a wireform rather than a wooden station buck. Both have their pros and cons but the thing that swung it for me it that it will be easy to look underneath to see how the panels are fitting and panels can be temporarily clamped to tabs welded to the buck. 6mm cold rolled wire is not the easiest thing in the world to bend but it does stay where it's put and the structure is very stiff. It took a long time to get everything symmetrical and trying to make sure that the curves followed through. But enough of the words, here are the pictures.


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Alpina99 South East Posts: 1,292 Member is Online	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium Alpina99 @alpina99
	Apr 29, 2021 19:33:47 GMT
	This really is excellent, Loving the way you have shown in detail what have done so far and indicated the direction in which the future of the project is going, (Also loved the tree stump for forming as the old fashioned coach builders used,) Nigel
	BMW E39 525i Sport BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.) BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.) BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)

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metalshapes Posted a lot Posts: 2,446	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium metalshapes @metalshapes
	Apr 29, 2021 20:01:33 GMT
	Very cool. Cant wait to see the rest of this build.


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namless Club Retro Rides Member Posts: 568 Club RR Member Number: 26	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium namless @namless Club Retro Rides Member 26
	Apr 29, 2021 20:05:24 GMT
	Wow! This is well cool 👌


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blackpopracing Posted hell of a lot Posts: 7,052	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium blackpopracing @blackpopracing
	Apr 29, 2021 20:22:35 GMT
	Inner arches are a work of art. I like the way you used brown paper to simulate the body - works very well!
	www.case-design.co.uk www.hotrodphotos.co.uk

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bmcnut Posted hell of a lot Posts: 5,667	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium bmcnut @bmcnut
	Apr 29, 2021 20:38:45 GMT
	that is a very good shape, looking forward to seeing where this goes.


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OAY842F Part of things Posts: 397	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium OAY842F @oay842f
	Apr 29, 2021 20:50:46 GMT
	Awesome! Inner arches said before - superb stuff, and it's shaping up a treat!
	1968 Mini MkII, 1968 VW T1, 1967 VW T1, 1974 VW T1, 1974 VW T1 1303, 1975 Mini 1000 auto, 1979 Chevette, 1981 Cortina, 1978 Mini 1000 1981 Mini City, 1981 Mini van, 1974 Mini Clubman, 1982 Metro City, 1987 Escort, 1989 Lancia Y10, 1989 Cavalier, 1990 Sierra, 1990 Renault 19, 1993 Nova, 1990 Citroen BX, 1994 Ford Scorpio, 1990 Renault Clio, 2004 Citroen C3, 2006 Citroen C2, 2004 Citroen C4, 2013 Citroen DS5. 2017 DS3 130 Plenty of other scrappers!

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johnbonnett Part of things Posts: 468	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium johnbonnett @johnbonnett
	Apr 29, 2021 20:50:50 GMT
	Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement which give a real boost to the morale and motivation and so much appreciated. A couple of pics I forgot to add in the last bit are here. I just formed a piece of aluminium to verify that the curves followed through the quite complicated transition part. This involved some serious stretching to produce the reverse curve needed. The chassis has been given Bilt Hamber treatment, coat of zinc rich primer followed by a top coat of epoxy mastic. The aluminium floor underside has a coat of etch primer followed by epoxy mastic. And finally 5mm closed cell foam strips have been glued to the chassis rails as a cushion between chassis and body. And a couple of interior shots showing the panelling.
	Last Edit: Apr 29, 2021 20:53:07 GMT by johnbonnett

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spartacus Part of things Posts: 256	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium spartacus @spartacus
	Apr 29, 2021 22:49:22 GMT
	What a great project. This is going to be one of those threads that continues to amaze with clever answers to engineering problems. It's always good to see new bodywork techniques, even if I'll never use them myself.


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leigh Posted a lot Travelin' with Flavin Posts: 4,316	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium leigh @leigh
	Apr 30, 2021 4:04:01 GMT
	Fair play to you, that's a big undertaking and, I'm sure, quite a challenge
	Club Retro Rides Member

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ovimor North East ...It'll be ME! Posts: 688	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium ovimor @ovimor
	Apr 30, 2021 6:21:06 GMT
	To think.... BMW took the Iconic MINI as inspiration for MINI one. See where we have evolved, thusfar.... Err.... yes, well Keep it Up [you can do no worse!] OVIMOR*
	Knowledge is to know a Tomato is a 'fruit' - Wisdom, on the other hand, is knowing not to put it in a 'fruit salad'!

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johnbonnett Part of things Posts: 468	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium johnbonnett @johnbonnett
	Apr 30, 2021 6:45:00 GMT
	Apr 30, 2021 6:21:06 GMT ovimor said: To think.... BMW took the Iconic MINI as inspiration for MINI one. See where we have evolved, thusfar.... Err.... yes, well Keep it Up [you can do no worse!] OVIMOR* I'm not trying to build an interpretation of a DB5, just a nod to a DB5 in certain areas such as the rear light arrangement and the way the curve at top of the rear wing follows along the body to the doors and front wings. That is where the similarity ends. The front will not have any AM resemblance and may be influenced by a Tornado Talisman. But however it develops I hope it will be cohesive and that the design will flow from one end to the other and that the result will be pleasing to the eye. Well, my eye anyway!


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fr€$h&m1nt¥ Posted hell of a lot Posts: 6,598 Club RR Member Number: 99	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium fr€$h&m1nt¥ @freshandminty Club Retro Rides Member 99
	Apr 30, 2021 6:53:10 GMT
	Incredible work, not sure if the title does it justice! The rear quarter looks a little like the PH mystery car.
	Fresh&Minty

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Jonny69 Part of things Posts: 606 Member is Online	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium Jonny69 @jonny69
	Apr 30, 2021 7:03:24 GMT
	Well I literally had no idea where this was going but now I’m definitely following with interest. I think you should build the mystery little blue car Oh, one thing though. Don’t spoil your underbody aero with all that stuff sticking down


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vitesseefi South West Posts: 2,126	1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium vitesseefi @vitesseefi
	Apr 30, 2021 7:26:45 GMT
	Reckon you’ve found a group who properly appreciate your efforts John 🙂 Keep up the good work! Nick
	1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend) 1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing) 1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)

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