1978 Reliant kitten rebodied in hand formed aluminium

This really is going to be an amazing little car when it's finished,
It'll be brilliant for you when people ask what it is to be able to tell them that you built it from scratch !!
Nigel

It is for us too!

You know the saying "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail". Sadly the case with the boot lid skin. It is actually more complicated than I had thought and it all went horribly wrong.

I was working under the concept that it is a single curvature panel. A straight curve for two or three inches above the rear lip and a transverse curve following the profile of the rear window aperture on the top edge. First I put in the lower curve using the wheeling machine with a rubber band on the top wheel.





That went well. Next with the rubber band still on and with a flattish wheel I wheeled front to back which I was hoping would produce the correct single curvature. I ended up with this, a real dog's breakfast.




What I had overlooked is the transition from curve to flat which means that material will need to be lost at the edges of the horizontal curve. I'm afraid this panel is beyond recovery but the material will come in for other pieces. 

I wish I had given it a bit more thought before ploughing on.

Ha, I'm not sure how a professional would go about it but this is what I did. 

First, I cut off the bottom three inches of the panel which sits nicely on the frame. The distorted section which is the greater part of the panel is ready to fight another day.


My thinking is that by clamping the main part of the panel to the frame so that it takes on the required curve and superimposing the edge onto the straight curve the profile will be correct and the transition from one profile to the other is accommodated by the joint. And it does seem to have worked. This has to be the longest TIG weld run that I have ever done. It's not particularly pretty but overall it went without any problems and there is only minimal distortion having put the joint very close to the curve. Penetration is a bit erratic but I've adopted the technique used by the Americans of putting a fusion weld on the backside and that certainly ensures a sound weld.










The straight edge shows that we have a CROWN which is very encouraging.

Thank you. I'm hoping so. The panel sits on the frame nicely so, today I'll be tidying up the frame and giving it a couple of coats of zinc rich primer and then trimming the boot skin to size.

Thank you everybody for your kind and encouraging comments. I realise that this project is absolute madness but everyone has been gracious enough not to tell me and let me get on with it. For sure, there have been many lows along the way but without them the highs wouldn't be quite the same. Like today for example. All along I could taste defeat with the boot lid and even this afternoon it could have gone either way. This is the first skin I have made and fitted so it really was a step into uncharted waters. 

So just to recap, I had to discard most of the original panel only retaining the flat curve running along the bottom edge. It was then a simple enough matter to  put a curved profile into the fresh piece and weld the two together which was where we left off last time. After trimming away the surplus material a flange was tipped using the beading machine. Just enough to break the line and then using a hammer and dolly, it was brought up evenly to a right angle. At this point the panel was definitely distorted and I was more than a little worried that it would stay that way. I was careful to clamp the skin tightly to the frame before tapping the flange over, first with a hammer and then using the door skinning tool which was invaluable. The corners were the hard bit because of the shrinking necessary but with a bit of heat and patience it was achieved without any overlap. There is marring on the flange from the hammer and door skinning tool but I can work most of it out. The important thing is that the topside is fine.

Enormous relief that the frame hadn't distorted and the boot lid sits nicely and closes as before on the catch. I lodged the panels that I had already made in position and this gives a really good impression of the finished rear end.

Thank you and I feel much the same about your project, the Breadvan. I love it. 

Just back from a delightful few days in Wales, fully charged and ready to continue the battle. The next job is welding in the rear lamp housings which is not something I've been looking forward to. It's an edge to edge weld so first I had to convince myself that I could do one. This turned out well because being a test piece there was no pressure or any worries about damaging the panel and most important of all I could sit in a comfortable position which is fundamental to achieving a good weld.


I always like to weld horizontally (the job, not me you understand) and with the rear wing on end approaching four feet long this was always going to present a challenge. I ended up sitting on the bench with the foot pedal on some steps. It wasn't ideal by a long way but for most of the job I was able to run a nice fusion weld which was pleasing. Things only went wrong when I lost my balance with the inevitable touch down. But a reasonable successful outcome, one down and one to go.

You should be well pleased with this. It’s looking very good.