'69 RS Camaro update -- neat tins

I know, I know. Why tub a perfectly good '68 Camaro (I mis-keyed the '69 in the topic header -- sorry) ...
This time, I got to do something on it and I thought it came out pretty well. Have a look at those fenderwells!
The more I do on cars like this one, the better I'll get at my own stuff. When The Wrench called last week and asked for me to assist, I bee-bopped right on over ...

... And helped make these fenderwells and the pieces over the radiator. No lie; I was actually a significant contributor! It's an interesting, kind of barter-based thing. I help him on other people's cars when he's in a pinch, and I don't always pay him for tweeks when I'm in a jam.
(Kind of made me feel good that they came out this well, I guess. Thought I'd share.)

Nice work Cory....what aluminum is he using and how thick? I am about to bend some up for my car so anything I can learn would be good...

thanks

Dang, that's an RS! Nice work Cory! I was chatting with the nice fellow who built the spyder's engine. He's embarking on a special project. A mega-punched out Ford 351 with twin-turbos. He's aiming for 900 horsepower on pump gas. This fellow LOVES turbos. He told me he's actually having fun on this build and has gained a great deal of respect for big ole pushrod V-8s!

Tell da wrench I said "hi".
angela

Jim, it's all 16-gauge cut from a standard-sized 4x8 sheet. This stuff has a chromed side and an ordinary brushed-finish side.
Here's a sort-of how-to, if you're interested:
Required tools are generally a scroll saw, a whizzer with a ScotchBrite pad on it, tin snips, cardboard for templates, a Sharpie, a one-meter straight-edge, a square, and a spray-paint can lid for curved corners to follow with the bead-roller. The break and the bead-rolling press are readily available from Harbor Freight for not a lot of money.
He generally uses 1/8" rivets, a pneumatic drill with a corresponding bit and drills the holes off the chassis.
That process is part of the finish work, but has to be done before rolling and folding; to make the holes look evenly measured, he starts at the corners, .5" in from the edges, and then cuts the distance from one corner to the next in half, drills another hole and then keeps dividing the distances so the holes are evenly spaced and all half-an inch from the edge of the sheet. He chases the holes manually with a larger drill bit to de-burr them.
We bead-roll the ridges in before any bending of the shape we need, and then use a manual metal break to make the straight-line bends.
The polished side has a plastic film on it that he makes his Sharpie marks on, and when he's done folding a piece, he hits a rag with Brak-Kleen and wipes off the marks. It's all him from then on, but I'm learning as we go. (I fiddled with my own tins for a while, and then he tweeked them a day or so later to make them perfect. It's kind of like sheet-metal oragami.)
After the fitting adjustments with the snips and pneumatic cookie, he clips it into place with kleekoes (temporary rivets) and works on whichever pieces touch the first one. After he's done with all the little pieces he needs, he takes them out and peels back the plastic before he rivets them in for keeps.
He generally puts larger pieces over smaller ones, like in the shot labelled 427 MCYL (above); it's a small finish-piece tucked into the corner under the fenderwell piece, making up the gap between the firewall and the fenderwell. You can see the rivets, but not the demarcation between the sheets when he does it that way.


These are old, but they're from last year's efforts on my car:

Thanks! Will do.
900 HP on pump gas? He's crazier than YOU are!

Cory - Like I always say, my brutha, you got some MAD SKILLS!!!

Thanks, Jim. I'm a tactile learner, and the curve on this stuff is pretty easy on me. I hope the guy The Wrench is doing the job for likes it. Jury's still out until Monday.
He's supposed to be able to fire the Camaro up at about mid-day on Sunday, and he estimates it's probably good for somewhere between 500-550 horses. Lemme know if you hear it, huh?

Cory,

Not exactly a thread high-jack, but not really on point either. Has to do w/ your parking brake, or lack thereof, which I have been thinking about. I saw an installation of what was called an in-line parking brake installed in a Speedster at JPS shop. Liked it so much, I asked John to use that instead of the std handle on my car. He says it's really cheap and easy to install, and is little more than a hydraulic ratchet, which is to say, you pull up on this knob, which can be installed anywhere near a rear brake line I guess, or anywhere you might care to run one, and hit the brake pedal a couple of times. It pressurizes the line, and does not let the pressure out while the button is set. Sets the brake at the back, and keeps the pressure on. When you want to undo, just touch the brake pedal again, and you are good to go. Supposedly, this a scheme drag racers used to help get a quick jump off the line. Want me to ask John about where to get one? Only down side is that you can mash the pedal too hard, and get it so it does not release like it should. Worst case scenario then is you have crack the bleeder just a bit to lower the pressure, and then all is right again. Or so it says here. Ask the Wrench; maybe he's heard of this thing?? In the Hoopty, what's one more button? And Outlaw is Outlaw, right? Who wants to look at that whimpy V-dub brake handle when you could have something taken off the drag strip?

Kelly

I kind of like the wimpy handle I have, but thanks.
I spent $500 on that dumb thing.

Hey Cory - what's that gauge sitting on the drivers seat in the photo above? Is that a blood presure monitor - yuk, yuk!

That's funny!
Naturally, the BP cuff is part and parcel of dealing with The Wrench ...