Even though they're in the US, give Ron Covell and Kent White (tinmantech.com) a call and ask them who's good in Europe or the Middle East. Another suggestion: look at some Hot Rod magazines. There are a lot of unique, handmade metal bodies, and the articles often mention who did the work. Riddler Award contenders, for example. What are you using for a chassis? Matt
Matt, excellent idea. Chassis, since I want something very drive-able and hassle free, I may go with something like this:
"off the shelf" everything solved, drive train, suspension, braking, steering, and with valid title, and "almost" period correct...late 20' vs 30'. - the only problem I am seeing is with the front and rear track, the Alfa has a much narrower track front and rear - wheel base is very close and easy to modify. Comments, suggestions? Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'll post some pictures of my 1932 Ford and my attempt to build a custom body for it. The '33 to '38 Fords all had a 112" wheelbase. Front and rear track can vary by what axles and suspension configurations you want to use. I'll post more when I can. Matt
My pictures are at work. I can upload them on Monday. It was a fairly stock 1932 Ford. I sold it as a project, and the new owner put a Brookville body on instead. Matt
OK. The first picture is the 1932 Ford chassis by itself. (Behind it is the '68 Buick my wife's grandmother bought new.) The next two pictures are of the chassis with temporary floors and seats, with firewall and gas tank installed, one side view and one ariel view. These were very helpful for drawing the general lines of the body. I was going for a boat-tail roadster with low cutouts in the side rather than working doors for simplicity. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
For building the body buck, I started with MDF, and picked a curve that I liked. I shaped this curve with welding rod, and then cut out out of MDF. In a similar way, I cut out a longitudinal spine from MDF. Once I had a T of MDF, I filled in the overall shape with welding rod. I then used the welding rod to cut further pieces of MDF, essentially creating a series of cross-sections which would serve as the body buck. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Welding rod is great for sketching things out in three dimensions. It's easy to shape, but holds that shape. Here it's being used to define the body cutouts for the doors. The seats are older Jaguar red leather pieces that I found very cheaply on eBay. The next step is to lay down a piece of posterboard, cut out what reasonably fits to the buck, and transfer this to metal. In my case, aluminum. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Then pound the metal in a sandbag, and roll it smooth with a English wheel. Lots of elbow grease, but a great way to let out frustrations. Slowly things take shape. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
At this stage I became aware that the Ariel Atom was available in the USA, then being built by Brammo. I bought this one, which meant I sold the Ford for garage space and extra money. Like many car projects I had gotten stalled and was looking for something new. For a while I had both a 330 2+2 and the Atom. Both are now gone. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
So that's what I know about building a body on a chassis. I highly recommend using a Ford chassis. If you want an antique and authentic feel, get an original one. They're out there because people pull nice steel bodies off for hot rod use. If you'd rather have modern performance, there are a number of chassis manufacturers out there. Pick up a copy of Hot Rod magazine. Here's a video of my very first startup of this car: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV73gEtQL2s]1932 Ford chassis with 21 stud LB Flathead -- First Start - YouTube[/ame] With Smithy mufflers, a flathead Ford sounds really, really good. Unique. Good luck. Let me know if I can help in any way. Matt
Just curious, why is this thread (still) in the vintage Ferrari section ? Wouldn't it be better fit at some "other makes/models" or "special projects" section ?
Good point. Now moved to the rebodies section. Special projects are outside my specialty and moderator capacity. Matt
You may find this series on Youtube interesting.... Power Hammer Demo by Ferrari Expert Mark Gerisch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOL9NNN6M3U&list=UUVCd1Cd2XDtPqzjKAH49fMw
Ron Covell, who I really like. I took an in-person class with him, which included gas welding aluminum sheet, which isn't easy, particularly since aluminum doesn't change color the way steel does. Building a body: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMk-uJ35T0c]Roadster Body Part 1 - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtHj34WQCCk]Roadster Body Part 2 - YouTube[/ame] Matt
Amazing - he makes it look so easy. This a true art and may be one of the last "hand made" crafts left in car building - the main reason being that it is simply far too expensive to have machines do this in low volumes.
And this is how its done with the use of machines: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydoEJnwMlnk]Stamping Plant Tour - YouTube[/ame]
Yes, just need to find the right one and the right price - many are top dollar that are commissioned to built one-off bodies for "limitless budget" HNV individuals.