Art & Inspiration Billet Aluminum Chassis by Kirkham Motorsports

Hey Guys! New here to this site! I just finished writing a book on a custom billet aluminum ch***is we made for Larry Ellison of Oracle. I hope you guys like it. I posted the entire build online.

The book goes into detail with high performance material selection, CNC machining, and how we actually made the hood, trunk, and doors.

I've attached a couple of pages from the book here.

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/

Happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

David

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Beautiful work,,but this in not really a billet site,,beware of dogs

 

There is far more information in the book than just CNC machined parts. The longest chapter (chapter 18) in the book goes into great detail on how to actually make a hood, trunk, and doors by hand. Techniques that have not changed for over 100 years. I learned the craft from a man who apprenticed with Roll Royce before WWII. Annealing aluminum, forming aluminum, hammer/dolly, pick-and-file, *******s are all included.

Many other chapters cover metallurgy. I imagine there are those on the site who have always wondered what alloys other people make parts from. In the book we explain the alloys we used and why we decided to use them. I hope the info can be of use and inspiration to anyone who dreams to make their own car.

David



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what he said! its nice but i dont think it it works here. make it out of steel. its not a plane, unless you are going to race with it.

 

This is the wrong place for your BILLET car...

You`d stick out like a TURD, in a punch bowl, at a traditional hot rod gathering!!

 

Hey Dave , It sounds like there is alot of useful metalforming imfo there, I'll check it out ,as I'm trying to do some metalforming myself .
Thanks , Bruce

 

Mr. Kirkham, while I agree with Little Wing that billet is generally not something that is found on this site, I can't believe that what you describe in your book wouldn't be of interest to many of us on this board. Especially your Chapter 18 which describes the art of actually making by hand many of the components that comprise a car, whether it be a hot rod or a corner-slicing Cobra.

Thanks for taking the time to post this most informative info. I, for one, really appreciate your effort. Your p***ion for things with wheels is most evident.

 

It might turn out funny if Mr. Ellison showed up at a hotrod show....

 

I wouldn't kick it out of my garage for dripping oil.

 

me either, way to think with your dipstick jimmy!!!

 

A friend on another site I frequent

www.clubcobra.com

mentioned this thread.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378992&showall=1

His work is quite nice. I figured I'd throw in our 2 cents so people who want to do things themselves can see how we did it. Now, did we do it the only right way there is on the earth? Of course not. There are many, many talented people across the world (and I am quite sure on this site, as evidenced by the above-referenced thread) who can make all sorts of cool parts--billet, sheet metal, you name it. We all learn from each other and get cool tricks and ideas from how other people do things.

I realize many of you might not be too interested in the billet aluminum stuff (certainly OK by me). I think there is, however, a bit of useful information in the book for people who are trying to build bodies themselves--be they aluminum or steel. The techniques are very much the same.

There is more to building a car than a body, however. Some people wonder about 4340 (nickel based chromoly) to make axles, hubs, shafts etc. Is that a good alloy? Well, that depends if you like rust. You can literally watch 4130 rust if you wash it in hot water. What heat treat should I machine 4340 in? What heat treat should I use 4340 in? What is E4340? What is 4340L? What is stress corrosion cracking? What is fatigue? What is intergranular corrosion? The questions are endless in material selection. Why did we use 17-4PH and Maraging 300? I'm happy to answer these questions to those who might be interested.

Why did we use Aerogel? I imagine you guys have issues controlling heat just like we do.

I guess what I am trying to say is, if you don't like the billet stuff, well, skip it. But there is a lot more in there than just billet. The main purpose of the book was to show anyone they can build their dream if that is what they want to do. That is why I put the book online--for free.

David

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Thanks for the kind words. I do appreciate them. And, please call me David!

David


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Well, i think the work is phenomenal (sp?) and the fundamentals in the book have very broad applications...

Just think about THIS thread that we all went nuts about...

Beuatiful work, thanks for sharing...

 

Craftsmanship should be welcome anywhere gearheads gather, regardless of materials used. Some guys here might wrinkle their noses at it, but probably couldn't duplicate it without a lot of help. Nice work.

 

Excellent work. Lots of fascinating techniques. Thanks for making it free, too!

 

I concour billsat

 

Glenn Reynolds of www.instapundit.com wrote a book "Army of Davids" that talked about how information is king. In the world we live in we are all better off the more information is freely spread. I just hope it helps some of you guys to reach for the stars. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something.

Fear is the thief of dreams.

David

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aparintly you havent looked at the link yet. billet or not, traditional or not, every body should apreciate good craftsmanship. and that car is beutifull inside and out.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I hope there are some nuggets in the book to help you guys make your dream cars come true.

David


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WOW, the FREE pdf of the book is amazing! Thanks for that.

If you do a standard hard or soft cover I will be ordering one.

 

thanks for putting up your free book,

next time you are in Poland can you do some more youtube videos on the craftsmen doing the body forming , its amazing how 1000s of hours of practice can make what they do look easy

Beaulieu

 

Most of the people putting down your book have never built anything. They probably have ***embled a lot of premade parts furnished by someone else. I totally admire your abilities that very few people on this earth will ever acheive. Somebody has to figure out what metals and methods to use to make all the parts they buy to build their cars, of course how that was done would not be appropriate for this site. You guys need to get a life or else read articles like this so that someday you might have 1/10 of one percent of his ability to design and build something. Thanks David for sharing some of the beautiful pictures and enlightening us on your consrtuction methods.

Gary Greeno
A builder and not an ***embler

 

I notice you pin stripe cars. I think pin stripes and flames are pretty cool. Here is another "shiny" one we made that we put flames on. Perhaps you will like this one better. Maybe this one is more your speed. It isn't aluminum--it's solid copper.




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Thanks for making all the information available. You have been doing outstanding work for years and I think most here can appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of your efforts.

 

Here is a little larger picture if anyone is interested. We brushed the flames into copper with a maroon Scotch Brite.

David

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I think this car fits in fine. I have never seen so many close minded people in one place. If you are going to make stupid comments You need to post pictures of why you are so qualified to speek for everyone.

 

Hmmm, That didn't seem to work. Let's try again.


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Hopefully these pictures are more to your your liking. Sorry the body is from copper and not steel. We made this punch bowl from copper. Perhaps it will inspire some people to truly think out-of-the-box and to reach for the stars.

David


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We made the interior from solid African Bubinga.

David

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