Restoring Sheet Metal

Ol racer
Ol racer Senior Contributor
edited November -1 in HUDSON
FYI

Butch Smith ask me to Post a few pictures of the nice repairs Guy Spring performed on his '46 Cpe Door; (Guy is Dany Spring's brother)



Butch had searched to no avail for18 months for a better door for his supercharged Hornet Project I am lucky to also have a bodyman nearby capable of similar workmanship.
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Comments

  • mrsbojigger
    mrsbojigger Senior Contributor
    Nice Work!
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    That's some great work, Guy!
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Thanks for the compliments. That was a tricky little job. Some one brings you a door, no car. How do you cut off the bottom (which is five panels deep), make new panels, weld it all back together and have it reasonably line up where it was before? All I could think to do was make a table type jig where I could still remove and flip the door over and put it back in a repeatable position. Then have bucks that I could position around the bottom of the door to get all of the radii and curves right. It was challenging for me.:)

    By the way, how do you like the table?:D
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    more pics to see.
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Hey, I actually remembered to take pictures this time.:) Maybe too many.:D



    The inner structure is odd shaped. I primed all of the places that got welded shut or that would be hard for the painter to get to before I welded them on.
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Where I have the two doors side by side they aren't the same. Close, but not the same. The old door is a two door sedan that Mr. Smith brought for me to maybe use some parts off of. I ended up making all new but it was nice to have as a reference. The drain holes and some other little things are different, not to mention the over all size. ...And that's about it, hope you find the pictures interesting.:)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Bent you are my metal working hero. Have you thought about vacationing in Canada in my garage to help me work on my cars. All the beer and bacon you can handle LOL
  • VicTor Z
    VicTor Z Senior Contributor
    Hello Bent, I do like your table! Where did you buy the table? See you at Yosemite???
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    The hell with the table . . . I want a door like that!! LOL!



    Just kidding, table top looks good, looks like it might need some nicer legs to match the top.
  • Browniepetersen
    Browniepetersen Senior Contributor
    Great work! I have seen your work before so I expected as much but I have to say you have a true art...:)
  • Ol racer
    Ol racer Senior Contributor
    FYI



    The Table is a beautie too... looks like engine turned metal (unsure the correct name) similar to some custom dashes I have seen. Good Work!



    I dont toss out rusted doors or fenders anymore knowing there are still a 'few' true craftsmen around, and not just parts changers...
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Thank you gentlemen, you are too kind.:)



    This was more of a restoration then a "street rod" type job. I wonder if the moderator could move this thread to the "Hudson" section? Maybe more people would see it,.....I need the work.:D
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    bent metal wrote:
    Thank you gentlemen, you are too kind.:)



    This was more of a restoration then a "street rod" type job. I wonder if the moderator could move this thread to the "Hudson" section? Maybe more people would see it,.....I need the work.:D





    Wow, outstanding skill, talent and a lot of hard work...





    Ray
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    BM-



    Have to ask: How did you bend the curves in the panel? Do you have a really long set of slip-rollers or did you bend it by hand? Also, isn't there a crown on those panels (front of car to rear of car)? How did you get that back into the panel?
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    I think your talking about the flared piece that attatches to the outside of the door. It's curved long ways to flow with the body, yes. The way you have to make that piece is you have to stretch the outside of the panel. Make the metal thinner on the outside than the metal in the center. It's a 'reverse curve'. Like the rockers on the two door sedan (suicide solution). It was made on an english wheel and the little off set where the trim will go was done on the Pullmax.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Bent Metal...



    With the skills you obviously possess, you should be a great asset for a high end auto restoration house. I suspect that Ivan Z would be able to pass your name to some who are able to keep you employed. Even with the economy being in the dumper... your abilties are rare and the attention to detail is what seperates the Wanna Bees from the real craftspersons. If I possessed your skills, and I do not: I would be knocking at the doors of the best restoration shops as a contract sheet metal parts supplier.



    Good Luck and thanks for sharing this amazing abiliy with us.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    bent metal wrote:
    Thank you gentlemen, you are too kind.:)



    This was more of a restoration then a "street rod" type job. I wonder if the moderator could move this thread to the "Hudson" section? Maybe more people would see it,.....I need the work.:D





    I agree! I would like to see this on the Hudson side of the forum. Very interesting work.



    I don't understand what a "reverse curve" is.



    I like the way you completely remake the individual panels. Not just patch the existing panels. It looks like how I would expect Hudson would have done it.
  • hdsn49
    hdsn49 Senior Contributor
    All I can say is WOW. Your one very talented individual. I'm glad your a Hudson guy.
  • rambos_ride
    rambos_ride Senior Contributor
    Although there might be a Hudson Hot-Rod in the background :p

    I've moved this post to the main forum per request.
  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    rambos_ride wrote:
    Although there might be a Hudson Hot-Rod in the background :p



    I've moved this post to the main forum per request.



    Dan-



    Are you an administrator now?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    How about moveing it back where it was. There I would click on it and get the first unread message. Here I have to wait for all of it to download.
  • rambos_ride
    rambos_ride Senior Contributor
    RL Chilton wrote:
    Dan-

    Are you an administrator now?

    Un-offical moderator is more like it :o I just try to help out from time to time with the forum.
    How about moveing it back where it was. There I would click on it and get the first unread message. Here I have to wait for all of it to download.

    Billy - I don't see the difference in behavior between the main-hot-rod forum on how the thread page loads...what browser/operating system are you using? (I tried only IE, WIN2k, XP)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    My Vista works the same in both places.
  • mdwhit
    mdwhit Expert Adviser
    Billy K.TN. wrote:
    How about moveing it back where it was. There I would click on it and get the first unread message. Here I have to wait for all of it to download.



    My IE Browser 8 (and 7 before that) work the same way.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Incredible work Bent Metal
    I do the metal thing too but I'm truly humbled
    WOW!



    Take the advice of one of the other posters and hit the top-tier Resto shops and show'm what you got that they ain't got.
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Billy K.TN. wrote:
    How about moveing it back where it was. There I would click on it and get the first unread message. Here I have to wait for all of it to download.



    I'm not sure, but I think that's a problem with the "display mode" that you are set on within this web site. Maybe on the street rod side you got it set to show newest to oldest and oldest to newest on the Hudson side??? Just trying to help. ...Dan/Rambo's ride should know the answer to this.:)
  • bent metal
    bent metal Senior Contributor
    Roy Chapin, a reverse curve is a shape in which the outside edges need to be stretched rather than shrunk. Most (90%) of automotive panels are a high or low crown and are shrunk on the edges or stretched in the middle. A reverse is opposite. This gives the panel a "potato chip" or "saddle" shape. Maybe I can draw it better than I can talk about it.:)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    This is almost like magic to me. Especially at the level you are recreating these sheet metal parts. I would like to agree with "Hdsn49" and say that I'm glad there is someone out there that is making quality Hudson parts.



    Thank you, and I hope the Hudson community keeps you busy.



    Also thanks for the explanation of what a reverse curve is. Fascinating
  • Richard E.
    Richard E. Senior Contributor
    Hey, when it comes to bending metal, Guy is your Guy! He sure did a beautiful job on my side-mount fender on my 36T. It looks like a factory original!!
  • tigermoth
    tigermoth Expert Adviser
    this is fine and everything if you can't find a skilled bondo guy...LOL! nice work..it's art. regards, tom
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