1986 Porsche 911 - with added E46 M3

After the colossal disappointment last night of not of being able to bash that wiggly flange into a piece of tin I had to realise that I'm not good enough to make it like that.

First I have some pictures to better display how wiggly it is.

This is from the back.




This is the front.




As you can see it is particularly wiggly and ergo, quite difficult to reproduce with just a couple of hammers and a vice.

I decided that I should recognise my limitations and make it in two bits then weld them together.

First I made the wiggly bit which I could compare vis-a-vis the original.




I didn't even need a hammer to do this.

I formed the wiggly bits by manipulating it over the T dollies and the sharp(ish) folds for the flat sections (where the spot/plug welds go) were made by bending it on the back of the vice, again by hand.

The flat sections for the spot welds all need to be at the same level because they fit to a flat panel.




The wiggles were starting to look reasonable so then I thought about how I was going to join it to the next piece.

I really didn't want to weld it on the corner as it would be difficult to tidy up and make it look nice.

I decided to bend a shallow flange on it which I did with a pair of pliers working a bit at a time.

I cut slots in it where there were conflicts of direction.




This had the effect of slightly straightening out the wiggles and curving the whole piece.

To deal with this I used the stretcher on the flange where required.

This didn't turn out too bad.




I decided to leave it there for tonight because I didn't want to get carried away jumping on the pedal on the stretcher and muck the job up.

I'll hopefully get chance to look at it again tomorrow and do any necessary tweaks before I start to make the next part.

Right, I'm off to the shop because the lovely Doctor needs some ingredients to make a carrot cake.

Cheers.

......and then a nice cup of tea?

unlucky guess

Mrs BC wanted to make a courgette and walnut cake

we went shopping

we bought neither courgettes or walnuts because apparently we already had enough of both

I'm not sure why we went shopping

Right then, this is the time where I have to come up with excuses as to why I haven't got much done.


Saturday started off with the usual routine; ignore the alarm clock for a while, creamy bun shop and leisurely breakfast (more like brunch actually) then have a go at the general knowledge crossword with the Doctor whilst Fat Al eats the sausages I brought back from the cafe for him.

Going later for breakfast works out well for Alan because they save any sausages that break up in the pan for him.

The lovely Doctor did get up early on Saturday to work on the carrot cake.




Meanwhile, back in the shed, I had this wiggly thing.




When I turned the flange on it with the pliers it gave me quite a sharp bend but what I really wanted was a nice radius of about 8mm.

Normally I would tap it up on the smaller of my T dollies but this was not possible because of all those wiggles.

I knocked up a shorter version to tap it over by using the unthreaded shank of an m8 bolt and a strip of scrap from that old security screen I dismantled a while ago. (I knew it would come in handy)




This did what I needed.




I then started to make the next bit, that is the piece that the wiggly bit is going to be welded to.

It looks a very simple piece but it is, as I have come to expect, a bit more complicated due to various curvey bits and different angled flanges etc.

I got that involved that I didn't take any pictures whilst making it but it now looks like this.




Compared to the original.




I always leave things a bit oversized whilst making them to give me a bit of a margin incase things move of shrink whilst I am forming them. It is much easier to cut it down to size when it is done than it ending up too small.


Next job is to weld the two pieces together then add the extra details to it.

I didn't get the chance to do that in Saturday because it turns out that the doc has finished making the carrot cake and we have to take it with us to a birthday party.

Sunday was spent laying out reclaimed building materials like a massive lego set for the lovely Doctor's remodelled patio area, I have to keep her happy.




Once we have worked out what is what I can cut them up to suit.




No shed time this evening as we are watching the formula one.


Cheers.

Well I've just spent a completely disproportionate length of time hammering a lumpy bit in a piece of metal that when it is installed is never going to be seen by anyone.

Even if I ran you over you would be hard pushed to find it.




It looks very straightforward to do but it isn't exactly as it seems.

The sticky up lumpy bit is flat along its length but the panel it is part of has a very subtle curve to it.

I used anything I could lay my hands on to do it, such as T dollies, a toe dollie clamped in the vice, bits of scrap metal well, like I said, anything to hand that was suitable.

When I started to put the lumpy bit in it started to straighten out the curve on the panel so I did a bit of lumpy bit then a bit of curvy bit etc until the lumpy bit was lumpy enough.

It is a bit ill defined to be honest and not particularly straight edged so I might go at it again to fettle it up a bit more.

Then again I might not, refer to the opening sentence...


Cheers.

Thanks James, I'll batter it into submission.


I didn't have the chance to do anything last night because it was quiz night.

We finished third, which is terribly disappointing.

I'm blaming the result on the fact that the Lovely Doctor was absent due to her being on a secret mission somewhere in Caledonia.


As she is still up there I thought that I could make up for lost time tonight.

It has been issing down all day and when I opened the tent I found it was totally flooded.

I had to go and get my water wings before I dare go in.

I started to sweep it all out but it just filled straight back up.

After half an hour of sweeping I gave in.

I thought that you wouldn't believe me how much water there was, so I took a picture.




I told you you wouldn't believe me, the picture makes it look like it was just a bit damp when it was really about half an inch deep, even after all my sweeping.

The next job is to take my new bit underneath to mark out where the downward lumpy bit needs to go but I'm not getting under there without an aqualung.

Try again tomorrow.


Cheers.

Mate, I'm too old as well!

The tent is far more luxurious than being out in the open, at least it is when it isn't submerged.

Now that this bit is just about ready.




I need to look at this bit.




The best way to look at it is to cut it out, so I did.




I will be able to sort out the back edge of the floor now.

That sticky out bit is where I put a new piece into the floor but didn't weld the last bit because it was under the flange of the bit that has now gone.

That left hand corner was a bit fiddly to release because I did not want to hack up the metal that was behind it, so it came out as a big bit and a little corner bit.




It also took a bit of a battering on its way out.




I hammered it back into shape and roughly welded the two bits back together.




I have offered it back into position and tweaked it a bit so it fits properly so now I have something I can copy.

The rotten fuel tank bracket was getting in my way, so that came off.




I've got a piece of 1mm steel and folded the lower flange over.




Next thing is to put those two channels in that run either side of the tank bracket but that is a job for another day.


Cheers.

An evening in the shed tonight without having to perform any good Samaritan duties as the Amazon delivery was already here when I got home.

It was lent up against the coal shed door, totally sodden because of the monsoon.

Why he/she couldn't open the door and shove it inside I don't know...

Anyway, I was working on the flutey bits.

I'd just given them a quick bash last night because I wanted to feel like I'd done something but tonight I decided to use a bit of wood to bash it with because it is a bit kinder to the metal.




Yesterday I used the hammer form to get them started in the correct positions but tonight I went freehand by opening the vice jaws the right amount then bashing it down between the jaws with the wood.

I got a bit carried away with myself and took them slightly too low down towards the flange at the bottom.




It will have to do because I CBA to start again.


Knocking them in made the surrounding metal move about a bit, the flange on the bottom developed a curve in it which I had to straighten out.

More annoyingly the edge of the piece moved inwards, shortening the piece.




Actually, it is easier to see from the other side.




It was always going move that way but I'm annoyed with myself for not leaving enough metal at that side of the piece because it was a big enough lump of tin that I started with.

I should have knocked the flutes in 10mmfurther away from the edge.

It means I will have a bit of a gap to sort out when I weld it to the car.


To take my mind off that unforced error I started the other end.

The bottom flange kicks up a bit and there is another tab to fold over.




I need to try it in the car now to see what adjustments are needed but it was at this point that the Lovely Doctor told me that she had ordered pizza...

...and that I needed to go to fetch it.


Cheers.