My wife rules! We actually met in a metalshaping (hollow ware) course in college. After we watched the vid the first time, she went down to her shop and gas welded some sheet steel like she had been doing it for years! I am a lucky man indeed!
Cool! I'm happy to hear your wife learned so quickly from my DVD! excellent! The thing about the method I teach is that it is easy to learn, I have a student at college where I teach evening classes who welded perfectly just one hour after first picking up the gas torch. Most people I teach are pretty competent after about six hours of practice. David
I said earlier in the thread that because I did not have many photos of the process of making the back of the body I would post some of the same process from other cars. THIS IS NOT THE RILEY BUT AN MG SPECIAL I AM BUILDING. The techniques and the process used on them both are pretty much the same. Once again the customer made this simple buck under my direction, this saves a lot of time for me and cost for the customer because he can get a pretty good visual of what he wants and I can then make a good representation of what is in his head with the least amount of time spent discussing it. David
The sides of the body have shape only in the top area, the rest of the panel is single curve so these are not wheeled all over, I simply shrink the top edge and lightly wheel this area. David
OK its been a while but I have been very busy at work. I will try to post the last few photos to finish off this thread over the next few days. Here is the back of the little MG ( this is not the Riley remember - for those who have been following the thread) This is a little trick I use when I cant get clamps into the panel for holding it while I mark it. The centre section is wheeled but there is not much I can show about that stage. Here the two side sections are laid over the centre section and the edges are scribed onto it. The centre section is then trimmed. I don't use clamps when welding so once trimmed that is it ready to weld.
Next all the sections are gas welded together. I show how I gas weld ally on my youtube footage. I then take the top off the weld with a grinder, hand beat it and file it to show all the highs and lows. I dress it untill I get a metal finish. David
Great work Dave, I especially like the MG pic from the rear - it looks like it could be an early Lakes/Bonneville car - from the front (apart from the fuel fillers) or is that just my brain working upside down, southern hemisphere & all that.
Hey David I notice in the MG pics the tail extds right to the point from the cockpit , but in the finished car it seems to be in 2 pieces the very last foot or soo seems to screwed/riveted? on. Why is that. The poor MG looks very boxy after the Riley.
Lovely. Excellent work. Historically though, the teardrop-tailed type of body was relatively uncommon on specials, being harder to make than the light open tourer type with slab tank behind. Though the latter doesn't give quite the same scope for displaying your workmanship it's a pity one doesn't see it as often on new specials. Personally I'm rather fond of the type.
John, This is an interpretation of MGs from the 30s (its not a replica of any model) the center section would have been the petrol tank and the tail end section would have been a separate panel. We did it for aesthetics so it was in the 'style of' period MGs that is the reason it looks boxy too it is in the style of the early MGs (google Q type or K type MG ) David
Don't worry Ned I have done a good few of that style car too! Bellow is a replica SS100 that we did the bodywork for. I hope this one makes up for all the pointy tails! David
Ned I had to look up "windovers" I had never heard of them. I will read more when I get time. The mindover thing came after I was featured in a magazine and the title they used was "Mind over metal" so I used the mindover bit for my signature. David
The Jalopy Journal
