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Harry72
18th Dec 2004, 01:30 PM
How many here do work on car metal, like hand forming, rust repairs, dent removal.
I've done quite a few cars over the years, all the above and more, I'd really like to get into engineering side of cars abit more so I can fabricate chassis/structual parts for my up and coming project car... a 1967 HB Torana coupe(1st model torry... ala vauxall viva).
I intend to remove the roof and make a removable hard top, unsure what motor to run yet might go for a commondore V6. But I've been told the CC of the 3.8 V6 might not pass the rules, so a nissan SR20DET might pass maybe(2ltr/4cyl/16v/turbo).
Retro GTR/XU1 theme is what Im aiming for, you know the shark side flutes, GTR style rims, paint blackout's, front underside air dam, droptank...
Should turn a few heads at car shows I reckon!

Any of you guys doing cars at all?

bitingmidge
18th Dec 2004, 03:14 PM
No, but I like to watch.

Besides, forming the metal and stuff gives rise to more questions.

So start the online tutorial!

P :D

Harry72
18th Dec 2004, 07:15 PM
Wow an online tutorial would have be truley massive to cover just the basics... its much like woodwork to me the more I do the better I get... err sometimes!
Ps. Nike, just do it!

journeyman Mick
18th Dec 2004, 10:10 PM
Harry,
I used to do a bit, mostly just rust and dent repairs on the body work side but lots of running gear swaps. The rules got really tough in Qld a while back which pretty much coincided with me working really long hours so I gave it all away. The rules have relaxed a bit now (apparently they're making them uniform across all the states, just like the building code :rolleyes: ) but I'm completely over tinkering. I rarely even service the cars myself. Plus all the stuffs getting very high tech now in the engine management side so besides all the engineering problems involved in a repower there's all the dramas of making the computer work.
Lived on a farm for a while where I had a huge workshop with a pit and an overhead girder trolley mounted block and tackle. It got to the point where I would have one or two projects happening, a whole swag of cars for parts and my daily runaround all parked there. Then friends and family started bringing cars, mowers and machinery in for repairs. I had suppliers couriering parts to my door and kids coming around asking for work :eek: . There's nothing like a hobby turning into a job to sour the enjoyment. I woke up one morning and looked at all the work lined up and realised I didn't want to do it anymore! :rolleyes: Finished it all up and went back to building, just in time to catch the last bit of the boom before we had the recession we had to have. :(

Mick

RETIRED
18th Dec 2004, 10:50 PM
How many here do work on car metal, like hand forming, rust repairs, dent removal.
I've done quite a few cars over the years, all the above and more, I'd really like to get into engineering side of cars abit more so I can fabricate chassis/structual parts for my up and coming project car... a 1967 HB Torana coupe(1st model torry... ala vauxall viva).
I intend to remove the roof and make a removable hard top, unsure what motor to run yet might go for a commondore V6. But I've been told the CC of the 3.8 V6 might not pass the rules, so a nissan SR20DET might pass maybe(2ltr/4cyl/16v/turbo).
Retro GTR/XU1 theme is what Im aiming for, you know the shark side flutes, GTR style rims, paint blackout's, front underside air dam, droptank...
Should turn a few heads at car shows I reckon!

Any of you guys doing cars at all?

Don't want to put a dampener on you but I hope you have an engineering degree because it will cost a fortune to employ one. I am not saying anything about your choice of vehicle. :rolleyes:

capedcrusader
24th Dec 2004, 03:45 AM
Hot rodding - definately very cooool - if I had a garage and disposable income Id rat rod a 32 Ford Highboy or a 51 Mercury or even an old Jaguar - bolt on a supercharger, paint it black with a spraycan and maybe put a skull and crossbones on the side for that old style hot rod look.
Just dreaming at this point though. Definately going to make some decorative blacksmithed wrought iron/steel window security bars though. So much to do - so little time.

Harry72
25th Dec 2004, 02:16 AM
Don't want to put a dampener on you but I hope you have an engineering degree because it will cost a fortune to employ one. I am not saying anything about your choice of vehicle. :rolleyes: From what I've seen and heard(Im in a car modifying club)its not that hard to get chassis mods passed so long as you run it past a consulting engineer first!(yeah they charge a bit...)
For instance 1 of the club members just happens to be doing a HB torrie... get this its got a LC front end on it(as in the whole front of a Lc on it panels/chassis/Xmember)and it will be receiving a 253(god knows why), to facilitate this he's got a Castlemaine Rodshop LC/J V8 chassis full clip on it, its allready has been passed for the V8!
I intend to use 1 of these CRS kits but it must be modded to fit the HB chassis lenght(its 6" shorter and front rails are different heights)thats why my mate has a full LC front welded on. CRS will modd it at a price for me if I want... nearly double but its bolt it on!

himzol
6th Jan 2005, 09:21 PM
From what I've seen and heard(Im in a car modifying club)its not that hard to get chassis mods passed so long as you run it past a consulting engineer first!(yeah they charge a bit...)
For instance 1 of the club members just happens to be doing a HB torrie... get this its got a LC front end on it(as in the whole front of a Lc on it panels/chassis/Xmember)and it will be receiving a 253(god knows why), to facilitate this he's got a Castlemaine Rodshop LC/J V8 chassis full clip on it, its allready has been passed for the V8!
I intend to use 1 of these CRS kits but it must be modded to fit the HB chassis lenght(its 6" shorter and front rails are different heights)thats why my mate has a full LC front welded on. CRS will modd it at a price for me if I want... nearly double but its bolt it on!

The lead in Pirie's getting to you isn't it? :D :D

Harry72
7th Jan 2005, 02:57 AM
Yeah its pretty hard to avoid it when you make it for a living...

himzol
8th Jan 2005, 09:25 PM
Harry,

Sorry for the P!ss take, I have a friend of a friend :rolleyes: who works for a company that does Kit cars. I can possibly get some info for you though I must admit I'm not all that sure I know what your after in this thread.

Himzo.

Harry72
8th Jan 2005, 11:14 PM
"After", just to see if many others here have a interest in modifying/restoring cars!
I allready know what I need too do for my project car!
I've got a job coming up in 2 weeks, bit of a jam job on a hilux... back on the tools again.(gotta pay for a new table saw somehow)

Glen Bridger
19th Jan 2005, 01:24 PM
Hi,

If anyone is interested I have plans to manufacture an "Old English Wheel".
I'll post it if you like.

Glen.

sailingamerican
19th Jan 2005, 01:48 PM
I have a question. Sence I am a Yank I never have gotten into car rebuilding when I am in Coffs. Do you have regulations on what size engine you can use? Are there any other restrictions? We do not need inspections on anything we do over 25 years.

My brother inlaw lives in Penrith. He rebuilds cars from the ground up. He has never mentioned any restrictions.

I spend so much time playing architect and contractor that my spare time is spent more in my metal shop then the wood shop. My son and I just rebilt a 1966 Frod fairlane 500. 389 moter. We have no restrictions on cars older than 25 years. No smog or anything. Here in California that can be a big problem.

I am in need of a good small car to buy near Coff's this summer. I sold my old one. I want a clean good running car. If anyone has one forsale drop me a line at [email protected] or [email protected]
Thanks. Richard My inlaws live there and the do not use their garage.

zr240
27th Jan 2005, 02:29 PM
Glen if you could post the put up or email theenglish wheel plans that would be great!

Do you know anywere that supplys the dies for them?


Ash

gatiep
27th Jan 2005, 04:46 PM
I have posted a few pictures of two kit cars that I built at http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=14089

I have some pictures of a few more kits as well as modifications on vehicles that I can post if there is any interest.

These were all done in South Africa and I have no idea on restrictions in Western Australia.

:)

hudnut
31st Jan 2005, 02:49 PM
Well here's my first post in the woodwork forums and it's about metalwork. Go figure. :)
I've done a few cars with mates and a 1952 Hudson of my own (http://www.doyle-family.net/hudsonbuild/index.html).

I've just finished cleaning the shed of the pieces of a 29 Buick so I can set it up for timber work that I've been wanting to do for some years now (also got some veneer from Gunns to try some marquetry).

With regard to the query above about english wheels, I made a small one for myself for bits and pieces. It's small but with patience you can use it for things like the rear guards on the above buick as the body panels for the older cars aren't that big.

I made mine by welding a C shaped frame for the "throat". The top bearing is a ford wheel bearing "square shouldered" mounted on a 1"OD piece of bar. The bottom bearing is a round shouldered generic NSK bearing (without an oil groove) about 2" diameter on another short piece of bar. The bottom bearing is then mounted to a couple of pieces of RHS that slide inside each other with a threaded rod arrangement used to raise and lower it. I stick it in a vise to hold it still. Works great.
Cost $25.

Glen Bridger
1st Feb 2005, 06:53 PM
Hi Ash,

Sorry for the delay. As requested here is the plan for the English Wheel. You will see in the top of the exploded drawing the profiles for the anvils which will be required to be machined up.

Have fun,

Glen.

Glen Bridger
1st Feb 2005, 06:55 PM
And..

johnno402002
20th Mar 2005, 07:02 PM
Hi,

Just found and joined the forum, I'm about to begin owner building a new garage / workshop so that I can build my hot rod.

If you want to have a look at some interesting car metal work, have a look at the Metalshapers Association web site, at http://allshops.org/

A warning though, don't expect to come back for a while, some of the stuff on there is amazing. In particular, have a look at the albums (or anything) by Jim Bailie, a true genius who works out of a shed in his back yard.

You can see why I've been researching there if you have a look at the car I'm building here http://members.optusnet.com.au/~jjohnson61/JohnsHomePage.html

regards,

John

capedcrusader
25th Mar 2005, 01:54 AM
You can see why I've been researching there if you have a look at the car I'm building here



The 30's fords look pretty cool open wheeled IMHO
See attached picof a Canadian (I think) guys 32 ford finished by brushing on engine oil (not even a drying oil)
Have you seen www.hopupmag.com ???- they use words like "daddy-o" - coooool

Lucas
25th Mar 2005, 02:46 AM
Many Moons ago it seems i use to pro drag an old LC Torana rans 10.1's
but there was a HB that use to race out there that had a Turbo charged 350 chev shoehorned into it
way to much power for it
Ran a 10's pass and got wheel spin the whole 1/4 mile
what a monstar

johnno402002
26th Mar 2005, 09:38 AM
The 30's fords look pretty cool open wheeled IMHO
See attached picof a Canadian (I think) guys 32 ford finished by brushing on engine oil (not even a drying oil)
Have you seen www.hopupmag.com (http://www.hopupmag.com/) ???- they use words like "daddy-o" - coooool
I think the sort of car you like is imprinted on you at some point early in your life, sort of like when a chicken latches onto the first thing it see's when it hatches. My imprint for the hotrod happened in the 80's, and I'm sort of stuck there.

The stuff in hopupmag is based on 50's & 60's styling, which I never really connected with, cause in the 80's we were trying to do something new and better, and we were reacting against the earlier stuff. The style I like is almost completely out of fashion at the moment, but that's OK, because it will be ten years before it hits the streets, and the curent fad then may have swung back to 80's styles.

On the subject of HB torana's, a friend of mine had one set up for drag racing, it had a 392 chrysler hemi in it, and was left hand drive to get the drivers weight onto the side of the car the engine was trying to throw into the air. It had a fibreglass front from a later torrie on it, it looked pretty good, but I never heard it start :)

HB torrana's are a cool base for a street machine, you are on the right track, but get the engineer involved early. I'll see if I can dig up some photo's of the one my friend had and post them.

regards,

John

Harry72
27th Mar 2005, 07:17 PM
Went to my car clubs 1st show yesterday, had a huge burnout comp... a black HB torrie took out the 6 cyl class(from whyalla I think)unsure on what 6 it runs def a holden6 tho judging buy the rocker cover.
A local lad(club member) blew out a MT slick in about 30sec's flat... 600bhp 10ish second clevo does that(XBGT), and its street registered!
We had a good turn out I guessing at least 3500 people turned up(not bad for first show).

capedcrusader
1st Apr 2005, 02:03 AM
The stuff in hopupmag is based on 50's & 60's styling,

I think the hopup guys are into the original 50's zero budget rodder mindset which was to get cheap 30 year old flathead v8 (250 CI I think) cars and bolt superchargers onto them with the emphasis being on spending the most on the supercharger but yep well finished rods/customs are cool.

violincrafter
9th Apr 2005, 04:09 PM
Hmm, this was a good hobby years ago when fuel had some serious octane and the price of petrol was 18cents per litre (or less if your older than I can remember LOL). Since then we have been more environmentally friendly by the introduction of unleaded fuel and emmission control standards that has more plumbing, and sensors, vacuum switches to make anyone "DIZZY" to say the least!

I think that these days you have to really think wisely and consider whether or not all these clever modifications on a classic is really worth the work and serious effort not to mention State regulations. To do a chop of anycar without the use of photoshop is a bit risky. If you intend on building a car thats for everyday use and you like the classic era then thats fine. But, to spend all that money and labour on building something that sooner or later will become impracticle to run is a bit dicey. I like the falcons , monaros of the classic era but would not pay 35000 $ for a car that sits around for show and tell has had panel beating all over it with bog levelling and a fuel usage that requires a Skase sharehold in petrolleum bowsers. The more the steel has been worked the more brittle it becomes and stretched far beyound the original spec's.

These cars are no doubt wonderful but back in the days of LEADED petrol with octane rating to maker you shiver. BRRRRRRRRRRR!

Modifications take a lot of effort but all Im saying IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?
Anyway I like tinkering on cars myself but only if it gets put to everyday use!
5.8's and 5.0 litres with all the speed restrictions,,,,red light intersections at every say 800metres or less and speed camera's just DIEING for revenue,, I think I can get there faster on a pushbike nowadays. Oh well this is just my 35000$ or pennies for thought.

Ill keep my money well invested than depreciated by piston slap! You can get for $15000 a recent model v8 commodore or falcon without all that hard elbow grease. I personally like Mercedes Benz.

johnno402002
10th Apr 2005, 10:06 AM
Interesting observations violincrafter, and I'm sure your thoughts would be inline with most peoples ideas as well. Some of the issues you raise are not as bad as you may think though. I had to go through all these issues ( and a lot more) when deciding to start collecting bits for my 1930 model A ford hotrod project, below are some of the answers I found.


Hmm, this was a good hobby years ago when fuel had some serious octane and the price of petrol was 18cents per litre (or less if your older than I can remember LOL). Since then we have been more environmentally friendly by the introduction of unleaded fuel and emmission control standards that has more plumbing, and sensors, vacuum switches to make anyone "DIZZY" to say the least!
That's certainly an issue, but pretty easy to fix. In my case, I am considering using a front cut from a Toyota Lexus as the source of the drive train. For around $3500 - $4000 I can get a relatively recent power plant, with every thing attached. These engines are the best engineered production V8 out there at the moment. They run on unleaded fuel, and comply with emmission control standards, and go like a scalded cat. The introduction of computers into engine management has somewhat simplified things from the time when they were trying to control emmissions using carbies, a lot of the vacuum thingies have gone.

You do have to get your head around a whole new technology, but I enjoy learning new stuff. And there is a tremendous amount of stuff out there on fuel injection and engine management, here for instance http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html is a fuel injection computer. I have built one and bench tested it, it's unbelievable, and so is the support from the online community attached to it.


I think that these days you have to really think wisely and consider whether or not all these clever modifications on a classic is really worth the work and serious effort not to mention State regulations.
State regulations are a serious issue, no use building the thing if you can't drive it. Recently there have been guidelines for street rod registration implemented nationally, and all states except NSW have accepted them. NSW has some issues with reproduction chassis that they won't budge on, apart from that it's not too hard to get a street rod regoed. Street Machines, on the other hand, are yet to get together and start seroiusly lobbying for the same stuff, and at the moment a classic Monaro is more at risk of being becoming an off road vehicle than a street rod.



I like the falcons , monaros of the classic era but would not pay 35000 $ for a car that sits around for show and tell has had panel beating all over it with bog levelling and a fuel usage that requires a Skase sharehold in petrolleum bowsers. The more the steel has been worked the more brittle it becomes and stretched far beyound the original spec's.
One way to get around the brittle steel problem is to replace it, and it doesn't have involve using bog. Once again the internet is coming to the rescue of old crafts, and sites like Metalshapers.org are a terrific environment for learning how to do this sort of stuff. Have a look at this for instance http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/communityalbums.cgi?action=openalbum&albumid=9980098330532&ownerid=9990083442279


Modifications take a lot of effort but all Im saying IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?
I can't really answer that. For some reason I developed a disease that I just can't seem to get cured of, so I try to keep it satisfied without it taking over my whole life. It seems to be linked to that other insidious disease I have but can't shake, tool disease, the unquenchable thirst for new tools. :eek: Sometimes I think my hot rod is just an excuse to buy new tools.:o

I think this is a core question you could ask of any hobby or for that matter any anything else we do. If I were to take a purely rational view of my house, for instance, I may conclude that the best thing would be to move my family permanently into a F1 motel :)


5.8's and 5.0 litres with all the speed restrictions,,,,red light intersections at every say 800metres or less and speed camera's just DIEING for revenue,, I think I can get there faster on a pushbike nowadays.
I always thought it interesting that we have speed restrictions, but no limit on acceleration. I mean, you don't need a V8 to break the speed limit, I can do that in a clapped out oil burning Camira. Red lights are usually followed by green ones :D



Ill keep my money well invested than depreciated by piston slap! You can get for $15000 a recent model v8 commodore or falcon without all that hard elbow grease. I personally like Mercedes Benz.

The first model A I invested in, a pile of rusty crap my brother called it, doubled in value with no work what so ever in two years, made my super fund look pretty sick. You won't get that sort of return from a late model falcon or commodore, quite the opposite actually. One of the main reasons for me investing in a model A rather than something late model is that they are such a good investment. If I were to pay everyone to do everything it needs to have done to it, then it would be no good, but most of my fun comes from doing stuff, rather than driving it anyway. I guess most people are around the other way.

HB torana's have definitely gone through the bottom of their value trough, and are climbing back up in value as well.

I think you have raised some good issues here violincrafter, certainly got me thinking anyway.

regards,

John

Harry72
10th Apr 2005, 06:13 PM
HB torana's have definitely gone through the bottom of their value trough, and are climbing back up in value as well.

Ah thats good the 67 2 dr HB I've got still has the original factory paint and trims!
Most cars once they hit over 30yrs old start going up in price... HQ's even there was so many made, now they are getting very rare in unmodified condition they can fetch big dollars.(up to 5-10 times the original price new... if you can find one!)