Projects Truck into a coupe- My next pet project

Cool stuff!

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looks good. so is that shrinker worth a shit? I'm still scared to buy it, but its half the price of the JS/Lazze one.

 

It definitely moves metal.
The stand is flimsy and nearly useless as it comes. It flexes and bounces the machine across the floor like an inch worm on every stroke. Easy to stiffen it though or scrap it and make a new one.
The head or actual business end of the machine is good, I just Wish it was just a little different though. If I could Change what ever I wanted, the jaws would open wider and the slot would be more C shaped than a sideways U. As the curve develops, it locks itself into the body of the shrinker. See the pic- that's a quarter top so it's really not a hellacious curve there but it will not go in any deeper- and that sort of sucks a whole bunch because there more than 1/2 of the depth rendered useless if you can't turn the piece around. Logistics of this short coming are that you need to make some pieces out of 2 or 3 pieces. A "C" shaped throat would make the machine 100% better.

 

a way to get around this is to get all your deep inner shrink done first and work your way out. if you need more shape, stretch from the inside and wheel it out.

 

Yeah, providing you ( certainly not I ) can get it right the first time and don't have to go back in for adjustments. I tried doing my deep shrinks (less and less the further in you go) first and then working my way out. I really had what i felt was an uncontrollable mess with no direction and I couldn't save it. Maybe someone with more experience could have? But I couldn't pull it off, after 2 hrs I scrapped that one and started over again.

 

The jaws on the Lazze on are the same way. I think, like you mentioned, it is a matter of learning how to use the machine and how the metal reacts to it. Can't expect to be proficient with a new machine in one day.

 

if you get it close in the shrinker, you can get the same effect by stretching the very peak of the radius in the wheel...

The unsettled edge thing you were getting is very normal when developing a surface in the middle, you can 'wash' the edges out and it will work its way back to straight in the wheel before you know it. PM me if you need help in the middle of building these panels, I just finished my quarters so they're frsh in my head.

 

I pulled the side plate off, wouldn't take much to have a C shaped throat
Also hard to see, I ground a slight radius on the dies along the back edge. So slight you can't see it. Just enough to remove the teeth that flowed over the back edge. That really made a difference on the jaws not grabbing the piece as I'd try to slide it. The tool marks in the metal against the teeth really made for some hurcky jerky grabbiness as they'd catch on each other.



Here's a 1954 ekold shrinker stretcher. Stand mounted hand operated.

 

I'd say the biggest frustration I'm having is the edge by the decklid doesn't do what I think it should do.
The second biggest is that the panel, as it flows down the 1/4 to the rear wants to curve to the outside. I need it to curve to the inside slightly. I can get it sorta close but sorta isn't helping.

 

You can also take the panel out of arrangement to fit it in that machine easier. basically, push the ends together to make it one big circle.. You have to do this sometimes out of necessity to fit panels into a machine.



Watch this video. Note the end arrangement vs. the arrangement he is planishing it with. same shape, different arrangement. Make some profile gauges to get it back into proper arrangement between shrinking sessions.

 

That's way above my pay grade right now, maybe next week.
I saw that video a couple weeks ago and was in awe.
When he Pushed it flat and it fit his buck perfectly

 

The blank was cut already, and in just a few mins over 1 hour I had this. Its 2 mins old. Seeing as this is about the 7th or 8th one I've tried to make now, it gets quicker.

Now ill fuck with it for a week getting it just right, screw it up and start over no less than twice I'm sure. Lol.



I keep getting a high spot in the center, and I'm not quite sure why? When I look at it from the other side, the end by the roof rolls off nice, the end by the tail pain rolls off nice, but the almost center appears as a lump right at the crown. At least I'm consistent and symmetrical.

 

Maybe I worry too much ?

 

That high spot seems to be because you're shrinking too far forward. From a side view, there is no shrink needed when the panel is a straight line. Only need to shrink where or starts curving. It is just a simple bend where it is a straight line, no shaping necessary. When you shrink that far forward it will pull up where you are getting a high spot. To release that high spot you can wheel over that zone to stretch it out.


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Today my fortune cookie said :
Don't try to discern the "why",
instead try to understand the question better.

So later in the day I placed my pattern over the piece I had made. Mainly so I wouldn't loose it, but then I had made this interesting observation. Keep in mind This pattern was done with magnets and thin air. I then cut the blank to the size of the pattern. Then I formed the blank by mostly shrinking the edge. There was some wheeling but not much at all. I would determine the amount of shrink by how well the edge fit to the bead, little did I know I was gaining extra metal the more I shrank it.

So, you can see that the pattern is short of reaching the bead, that must mean the steal grew. Growth from the shrinking I don't understand. Ironically or causative - the area where the pattern is short of reaching the bead is exactly where the high spot is.

I really don't get that, unless the shrinking not only is increasing the metal thickness but is also pulling metal out towards the edge??

Any way, I think I'll compensate and change the pattern then make another one or ten.
It's probably ok the way it is, but I'm not happy with it.
I could maybe cut it to the pattern and stretch it back just to see what happens.
I'd like to know where that extra metal came from.
R

 

You need to learn the difference between shape and arrangement. If you posted this on allmetalshaping you'd get a ton of specific help. I wish you were closer is help you but there's only so much words on here can do.

To get EXACTLY what you want, this is how I'd proceed

1. Sculpt foam in place
2. Pull a flexible shape pattern and make template gauges
3. Shape part to fit flexible shape pattern
4. Set arrangement with template gauges


That pattern you have now isn't the best because it is flat with no shape when you take the magnets off. Flexible shape patterns retain shape information. You didn't gain area from shrinking. You rearranged it. You likely shrunk a bit much. Causing that high spot.


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So here's a little experiment -

Shrinking does grows the edge-
With my sanity once again in hand, I cut my line.


Then made it fit the bead again by relaxing the curve the arrows are where the screw holes are.

This is almost right now, at leas heading in the right direction dropping that high spot. I drew a second cut line and will trim that and see where it sits.

 

Now I'm happy!
Sure wish I'd a learned or knew to watch for that days ago.

 

Drivers side quarter all nice now.

First test fit of next piece. Tail pan out of 2 pieces.
Layed it out, cut it rough & ran it thru the tipping dies 6 times & here it is. I need to slide it up a few inches after I trim the quarters. I'm debating if the tail pan should bolt in or just weld it?

 

47 interruptions today and that was before noon Quit counting after that.
After it was dead quite here I managed to get something done. Not much but something, cut fit and welded together. Tack hammer grind tack hammer grind weld hammer grind weld hammer grind. I'll hit it with a file tomorrow and tune it up a little bit more before I weld it to the car.

I even managed to draw up the next piece . Whooohooo

 

good job!

 

Thanks toreador!

N





Got the quarter returns completed and welded in. File and bump tail pan all tuned up and done. I left tail pan loose for 1 more day. It should made tomorrow go easy.

Tomorrow's plan is make 4 simple pieces, 6 if I'm lucky. Should be a walk in the park compared to the latest stuff.
Tail pan to trunk floor extension.
trunk opening to ^^^that ^^^ that piece.
Sub floor rail to trunk drip rail L & R
If I'm lucky I'll get the pieces L & R that go from wheel house to the lip of little corners I made today and blend with the 1st piece under the car - Tail pan to trunk floor extension.

Some how I need to figure out what to do with the trunk drip rail water exit? Hummm.

 

Holy sheet! You are a B.A.M.F.'r if I ever saw one. There is no way in hell, I would have had the balls to go as far as you have. Deep throat shrinker my ass....after all this you need a deep throat smoking, and maybe stick that piece of 36" pipe back up into the seller's nether regions. Hella',...... you may want to combine the two actions into one, after this mess. Humna' humna' that dude's Rebel Rodz July 2014 up....well...never mind...... This place amazes me every day, but got dayum man....you are the Baddest Assest Mutha' Fucker I have seen yet. Please post an address to send more beer to......all of us need to palletize that shit for ya'. I am indeed subscribed. Let me know if I owe you any money. LOL

 

Well thanks,
But the more you look around the more you will see guys way better than me and As I've said before, this one is really stretching my skill level to say the least. But I'm getting better everyday because of it. I didn't do this alone, I've asked for plenty of help here, looked at hours upon hours of videos, browsed some awesome build threads here, spoke with Lazze, and one of my friends built a Riddler winner and 6 top ten contenders. Funny he says I don't need his help and I'm better at metal than he is.

I think your right, most guys would have just broomed one. I couldn't sleep well knowing and passing this to someone who didn't know. Taking a loss just didn't make sense. At that time I didn't know everything that was wrong either, so
But damn I could have my Vicky well on its way if not for this one.

You can always send money if you want

I'm still praying for a good paint and body man to fall into this for a good barter. I'm so slow at that, good but slow.

Thanks again !

 

Those curves look smooth enough to have been done with a Ubangi lip stretcher.

Nice final on moving that 'apex'...That one had me wondering. The fit/attachment of the right quarter along that curve (use of guide holes) was ingenius.

 

This is great to watch. thanks for posting up the progress. It is awesome.

 

lot of work, turning out nice
j

 

That's funny !
It had me puzzled for a bit, I knew It could be moved but I wasn't sure exactly what was happening, why it was forming or how to fix it. A big clue was that it was always very consistent.
Thanks, we all get good ideas don't we?

Thanks man!

Thanks,
Your build is gonna be great too.


No updates though, my aspirations fizzled as other things kept me occupied.