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I am not very good at working with aluminum. I know my limits and know my expectations. I really want my back panel to turn out nice!!

Does anyone know of a shop in SoCal that can do my rear panel, or is there any folks on the forum here in SoCal that could do this? I don't mind paying someone to help.... I just want to do this right!

Any advice is appreciated.

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James Cuba
Turbo Rotary "Rotus Project"
Chino, Calif

James, I'd encourage you to take a stab at it. I don't know how your fabrication has gone so far but working with aluminum is quite easy and the rear panel is easier to do than you might think.

It's only a few dollars worth of aluminum, try doing it, you might be surprised how well it goes. If it doesn't work out for you then I'd say look for help.

Ron

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I will give it a try!!

When they talk about annealing, is that just lightly heating the area you want to bend? Do you have to bend while it is still hot or does it stay soft and hardens after you "work" it?

_________________
"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.
The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."
— Earl Nightingale

James Cuba
Turbo Rotary "Rotus Project"
Chino, Calif

I think most people use something like a Sharpie pen to mark the area you're annealing. Heat the areas until the sharpie marks disappear or turn very light. Let the aluminum cool and it will be able to be worked while it is soft. It may need to be annealed again if you work it too much since it then work hardens.

I found 0.040" 3003 H14 (half hard) aluminum to work great for the back piece.

Good luck,
Roy

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Like Ron said, the back panel isn't that hard. The aluminum hardens as you work it, hence the periodic annealing. One of the things I wish I had done differently, and I would change if I do that panel again, is to have less aluminum to wrap around the top tube. I left enough that it's attached along the inside edge. If I were to do it again, I would leave less and rivet it on the top of the tube instead, that would make the forming a lot easier I think. Good luck with it and have fun.
Kristian

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I feel the same Kristian. On my R1 project I wrapped the aluminum to the inside of the tube. Then when I put on the cover panel I had rivets on top anyway.

Sharpie marker and butane torch are your friends wen annealing. When the metal becomes difficult to work, anneal again. There is no such thing as annealing too many times. Let it get too hard and it will crack though.

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A good template helps. If your template fits just like you want then there is a good chance the aluminum will too.

I formed my top around the tube and would do it again. You can see that I only have two rivets on top holding it on. I put Sikaflex underneath but really the aluminum holds itself in place. The only thing I didn't like was I relieved the corners too much. Unfortunately I didn't see How It's Made: Caterham until much later. After watching them do it at the factory I saw how easy it is, I should have left more in the corners and formed it.

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"That's a big 10-4, good buddy!"

Why not watch the instructional video? "How It's Made Dream Cars S02E04: Caterham Seven." https://youtu.be/zTNKV9eKTeo

It has an absurdly long section showing a Caterham assembler bending the back panel around, hammering the top edge over, annealing, hammering some more, draw filing, and polishing. Hey, it looks easy in the video! <grin> YouTube also has many videos from Ron Fournier and Ron Covell showing how to shape sheet metal.

Remember, you can get more aluminum than you need, then practice forming pieces of it around some bent tubing. Uh, and it's easier with 3003 sheet. You don't want 6061, which is way more common in my area.

A couple more comments on forming the rear panel. Do NOT use a steel body hammer on the aluminum. Get a rawhide hammer, also a piece of hardwood with a semi-circle cut into the edge that is slightly large then dia of your tubing goes a long way in getting a tight radii. I also clamped wood across the back side of the upper frame and then used hardwood and a nylon block to slowly move a slight bend down the whole length of the rear panel, then repeated the process another 5 or 6 times. Dave W

That video was cool and helpful.

Any suggestions on how to form the vertical larger radius bends across the back to the sides?

Can I just cleco the panel in place and make that bend, or should I form it against something like a 4" PVC pipe or something like that. Would I need to anneal those areas where the larger bends will be?

Thanks for all the suggestions. It's makes "giving this a try" an easier concept to grasp.

_________________
"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.
The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."
— Earl Nightingale

James Cuba
Turbo Rotary "Rotus Project"
Chino, Calif

I don't knows if it's the right way or not, but I did the larger radius bends at the sides just by bending around the top and bottom tubes. It seemed to work fine. I attached the bottom center to the square tube and them just bent it around and attached it on thge other side of the bend.
Kristian

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After I cut it out I put the aluminum panel face down on a blanket then used the template to mark the start and stop of the bend. I used a plastic pipe to form the bend. I'm sure other ways will work too but this is how I did mine.

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I used .032 aluminum for the rear. It bent around the tubes really easily. So far (2 years/14K miles) it's held up fine.

Just be aware that if you are building a "book" chassis, the upper and lower corner radii are not equal. The bottom is formed tighter than the top. Definitely use a template, marking the end of the forming. Pre-cut the aluminum to size. Granted, it is a leap of faith. You will have to manually replicate a sort of slip-roll as you form to get it to fit right. Blindly forming around any one-diameter tube will get you something you cannot use. Small slow steps are advised working inward to each corner from both tangents. I hope this makes sense. I'm on my 2nd Brandy!

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I have to admit, after making a cardboard template, I was a little surprised how "banana" shaped it was. Definitely need a template.

I clamped mine in place across the back and put a vertical board at the start of the bend, probably not required and pushed it around.

You could also do some of the work using a plastic pipe. I did that for my engine hood. But you have to mark the start and end of the bend top and bottom. Then you have to make small bends and move the pipe more at one end to create the larger radius. For the engine hood it's the way to go, for the rear, not really required.

Ron

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They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. By the time you finish the car it'll feel like you've done it on your knees.