Project Part 2

Time to get started….

After stripping off most of the old body panels I wanted to focus on the rear of the car. Hayden had built a frame of 3/4″ and 1/2″ box tubing for mounting the new sheet metal. After the sheet metal work is done the frame will go out for sandblasting and new red paint.

After mulling it over with my coffee cup in hand I made some quick measurements and sheared up the blanks that I would use for most of the rear deck.

I usually try to put the seams near where they will intersect with a tube (if there is one) so the metal will fit tight around the tube and to make it easier to install the panels after the car is painted without scratching up the new paint.

Once I have a good idea where the bends are going to be I do all the bead rolling. The bead roller I use has only an 8″ reach, or “throat”, so bends will interfere the beading process. I prefer to use the step roll instead of the common bead roll. I find the look is much cleaner and for some reason the step roll is much easier to keep straight!

My plan is to bend the outer edges of the panel down over the side and use some small rivets on the vertical sides of the square tube. Later when the fender panel is installed its upper lip will sit on top of the deck panels. If the car gets wrecked and they want to pull off the fender quickly the deck panels will be independently attached so they wont be flapping in the wind.

I made the 4 pieces across the front and then made the 2 larger panels at the back. When installing sheet metal panels on a car you always want the front panels to sit on top of the rear panels where they overlap so the wind won’t try to lift the front of the panels as the car goes around the track.

After getting all the deck panels done, except for the hatch, I made the rear panels. For these I used aluminum that comes painted white and is covered with a blue plastic film to protect it while you work. The film is peeled off at the very end.

This last shot shows the deck almost done. All that is left is to do the bead roll on the hatch. All 4 edges of the hatch have been folded over for strength and to make sure the edges are smooth and won’t cut the crew when they open it to add fuel.