Last night I was working on my 40 dash for my 31 Roadster. First I fabricated a 3 inch by 1/8 inch band to match the shape of the dashrail opening and transferred that shape onto the dash allowing a bit more for the final trim. This band fit perfectly and I thought it would be simple to maintain the shape while welding it to the dash. I tacked it into place and placed it back into position for fit and all was looking good...! So I took it out of the car so that I could finish welding it up and was careful to hammer the welds and maintain low heat levels in concentrated areas by doing a little s***ch here and there until it was completely welded. After doing some grinding I put the dash back into the car and noticed that the dash ****ed the band down and that it didn't match the radious of the top rail by an inch....!!!!! Heres a couple of shots... The clamps brought it up a bit more and there is too much pressure on the top bar for the cowel where it starts to bend and won't allow for the roadster dash trim. My heart just sunk looking at this mess after practicing all the precautions. It's been a long while since I've done extensive sheet metal work and I don't have the inventory of fabrication tools others have and I need some one to help me "Stretch" this thing back into shape...! Any suggestions on how to do this without an English wheel...????????? I'll try to get photo's later today.
It's only metal, theres always a way to fix it. Some pics would help, if ya can. At worst you might have to undo what's done and start over...
or cut the offending warped peice off- I bet the original stuff goes back reasonably easy. Wisconsin? I heard it's stupid cold up there right now.
Choose any of these 3 options: #1 Hammer and Dolly the heat affected zone to stretch it back into shape. #2 Cut it apart and try again. #3 Sell it to me for $1.00 plus actually shipping charges.
Hi Mark man- I went through the same thing cutting up my '36 dash for my t. I think I called Bob like 5 times before the first cut! Anyway... my brother has a got a pretty decent english wheel if it comes to that -Jake
How did you weld it (mig, tig, oxy)? Just curious.. I wouldn't be afraid to strech it back to shape with a hammer and dolly. It may be tedious, but you could finish it with those tools as well. Worst case is cutting and re welding. At least you didn't melt it into a big pile of molten magma.
Yeah some pics would really help. I'm having a hard time visualizing. Is this a band that follows the side to side contour of the gas tank lip where the roadster dash rail bolted to? Kind of a ledge for the 40 dash to rest on? There's some real craftsmen on here, I'm sure somebody's got a solution for this problem.
Sounds funked.Would cuts or pie cut or two or three allow you to find the shape again? Drill a hole(s) and cut to it.Maybe place it with a two by four at each end after the cuts and do a little bouce on it to get it's shape back.A simple wood buck might help to match the shape to.Been meaning to email ya sometime and come down for a visit and project tour. -Strat.
You know the twohand rule on spotwelding sheet metal, right,Mark? If you can't keep your Left hand on the dash while welding it with your right -.....you have it too hot. Oh and I never said blue metal either.
Did you say you used 1/8" metal to weld on to the dash? There is no need for any more than about four to six tabs to mount the dash. and metal of the same thickness or no more than 18 ga. is all that is needed to hang it. That's just what I would do. dwrfab Don Ross
Heres a couple more shots... Again the clamps brought it up a bit more and there is too much pressure on the top bar for the cowel where it starts to bend and won't allow for the roadster dash trim.
I've seen Don Ross's work - IMHO you would do very well to heed his advice. Using thicker metal as a "brute force" metal to control distortion is an iffy proposition as you just discovered. In my limited experience it has always been easier to rework panels of similar thickness - yet another advantage of using the "thinner" material. On the bright side - it's just metal - heat, hammer, stretch, shrink bend - some combination of those usually seems to work.
Why not cut a wooden buck out in the shape of the upper dash rail and hammer the warped piece into it to match it? Basically a big, heavy duty hammer form. A 2x8 just longer than the width of the dash would be perfect. Even just screwing the upper dash piece into the 2x8 cut to match the dash rail would probably form it to the shape you need. Once you bend something that thick it tends to keep it's shape. Just a thought.
I dont think you have hammered and dollied your welds enough. Try hammering directly on dolly to get some stretch. Oh yeah, its much easier said than done.
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