Thread: C5 gto
View Single Post
  #7  
Old 12-17-2010, 04:33 PM
heinke's Avatar
heinke heinke is offline
MetalShaper of the Month Jan 2018
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 487
Default C5 GTO - firewall

I’ve chosen an inset diamond tuck pattern to add some texture to panels on the C5 GTO firewall and interior. While doing some research before starting the firewall, I saw some similar things on HAMB (and maybe even here) and I really liked the extra personality it added. First, I’ll start with the tooling/machine and then show the panels at various stages.



I’m using a 24” Mitler Brothers bead roller. I built the stand and table attachments myself. I’m 6’5” tall so the stands they sell with the machines were too short (and I’m too cheap). The table is really a mandatory addition and I’m surprised they don’t sell these as an option. I copied the idea from Ric Campbell (http://www.bigwigracecars.com ) and some pictures he posted on HAMB. The primary purpose of the table is to hold the sheet level in the rolls so you can use your hands to move the sheet in various directions without having to also hold it horizontally. For large panels, it really saves your back as well. I made the table to attach to bead roller with only 1 bolt so it’s easily removable. The legs also slip on/off for compact storage.



To do the creases for the diamonds, I had to get a custom bottom roll made. Here to I need to give Ric Campbell credit as I copied the design from a picture he posted. I don’t have a lathe so I had to get a friend to make it for me. The top roll is a standard MB tipping wheel.





I’m using .040 thick 3003 sheet for the firewall panels. The first step after cutting the piece from the larger sheet is to layout the pattern. Ultra-fine Sharpies seem to work best for this. Standard/fine point Sharpie makes too fat of a line. To frame the diamond tuck, I use a rectangle with rounded corners and a depth of about 1/16”. Really just enough to give a visual frame to define the edge but not much as there’s rigid insulation behind the panel. I’ve found that a delrin step roll is much more forgiving than steel (doesn’t show my jerky movements as much) while making the rounded corners.





It took some trial and error to get diamonds sized to look good. I’d definitely recommend practicing on some scrap pieces to get the sizing and ratio you want. I settled on 1.5” wide by 3” tall diamonds. At first I was worried about crushing the creases made on first pass when making the creases for the second pass. I tried reducing the roll pressure, moving over the crease and then raising the pressure again. In the end, the easiest and fastest way worked best. Just leave the pressure on and run the rolls right over the other creases. If you let the sheet rock as it goes through the crease, the flattening that occurs isn’t really noticeable.





Why did I make two insets in the second panel you ask? This panel goes on a surface with a bend in it. I didn’t want to crush the diamond insets when using my Magnabend to bend it.







Here’s the panels installed on the chassis. I did peel the poly off a section on one of them. I elected to use anodized aluminum for the firewall and engine compartment panels. I peeled the poly before attaching the panel to make sure the bead rolling didn’t ruin the anodized surface. It didn’t.
__________________
Joel Heinke
Be original; don't be afraid of being bold!
Reply With Quote