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PostPosted: August 7, 2016, 8:24 am 
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Joined: February 9, 2016, 8:46 am
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Location: New Jersey
Color me stupid, but I can't get my head wrapped around one point on sheeting the scuttle, at least not as is normally seen in these builds. If the driver compartment hoop is say, 1/2" higher than the firewall hoop, and angled to allow the sheet to sit flat and be riveted, what happens when you get to the firewall hoop, which is vertical. The sheet will not sit flat, as it is hitting at somewhat of a tangent to that hoop. How do you rivet it down without buckling or dimpling the aluminum?

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PostPosted: August 7, 2016, 9:15 am 
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Joined: April 12, 2012, 11:56 am
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My scuttle hoops (for a better word) are fabricated from 16 ga sheetmetal, and yes, there is a fair bit of massaging and aligning. The key is to have all three surfaces (nose lip, firewall lip and top of dash) aligned for a smooth and straight line. But there will be un-intended consequences that will need to be worked out. For example, the vertical portion on the rear of the hood will not be vertical, but slightly angled back. Nothing that is difficult, just time consuming. Did I mention that I have 3,500 hrs in my build? :rofl:

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PostPosted: August 7, 2016, 9:54 am 
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When you're forming the firewall and the dash, make the angle of the flanges match the angle of the skin - they don't have to be 90 degrees. A hammer and dolly are all you should need to tweak them a few degrees.

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PostPosted: August 7, 2016, 10:04 am 
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Thanks for the replies, guys. I guess it gets back to the last post I did on my build log about getting the gauge cluster to fit. A 1/4" here, a degree or so there... It's more about getting it to work properly than absolute numbers. That, I can get my head around!

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PostPosted: August 7, 2016, 4:56 pm 
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Joined: May 1, 2012, 9:43 am
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Location: Sidney, BC, Canada
I had the same thoughts on making hoops to form the scuttle and hood supports. Not only does the hood slope up, the frame also tapers. The curves in the hoops have to be a bit conical to actually conform to the shape. I was going to make hoops out of 1"x1/8" steel straps but because of these issues I'll probably go with a thin gauge sheet metal and tweak the shape to fit.


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PostPosted: August 7, 2016, 9:04 pm 
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Joined: October 19, 2012, 9:25 pm
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Location: Summerville, SC
I churned out my scuttle today and while it won't win any beauty contests, it fits well and is functional. this is just roughed in at this point. I'll do some trimming and sanding and I may use the slapper to shrink it around the dash and firewall

I had to fuss with it a bit and use the rubber mallet to get it to conform around the roll bar

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