Kirkham build manual

[Kerry Pinkerton]

Joe Hartson called me tonight and turned me on to the build manual that Kirkham posted of their Cobras. The book documents a special one-off cost is no object car built for the founder of Oracle.

This is an amazing resource. Wish I had seen it a couple years back. Some great tricks in here.

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_18.pdf

is the link to the body building portion.

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/

is the link to the whole book.

There is some REALLY, REALLY good stuff in here.

[Barry]

Originally Posted by Kerry Pinkerton

There is some REALLY, REALLY good stuff in here.

Indeed!! Thanks Kerry (and Joe!)

[rexrogers]

Thanks for the link it is great to see how they are made.

Rex

[jhnarial]

Dang that is a hell of a find.

I briefed over it but I will spend more reading it throughly tonight.

[Pa Pa Jack]

Thanks, now I KNOW how incompetent I am!!!


Jack

[Kerry Pinkerton]

I just read it again for the third time. Picked up a few more things. I like the way they used wire and twisted it to locate a panel. Also sharpening the trunk opening tip line by annealing the aluminum and using a sharp dolly. I'm in the process of fighting fitting the fenders/decklid etc.

I asked David Kirkham (on the HAMB) about the alloy. His response:

Originally Posted by David Kirkham on the HAMB

The alloy is P7. Sorry, I can't tell you much more than that. It is a Polish aircraft alloy that I have never really figured out. As for the doors, we made them from 3003 H14, although the H14 is long gone when we anneal the aluminum. After it is worked, the H is probably somewhat higher than 14.

[steelsmith]

Kerry, I'll bet you would have done a few things different if you'd seen this before starting your roadster project.
We live in an amazing age. Information like this is invaluable for anyone who'd like to take on a full body build, or even a radical body reshape. It should also give a guy a reality check, concerning what it takes and whether or not you should. Too many times really neat projects get started, only to run out of steam long before the end of the task.

Thank you for posting this link.

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

[David Gardiner]

Thanks for posting this Kerry a very interesting link.

Apart from the method of stretching the panels over the forms, these are the exact techniques I have been trying to get accross. Gas welding, using a file to show up low spots, dressing them out withn a flipper (slapper) checking the surface and correcting any imperfections. Even using soap to prevent the file clogging. This is what I show on the aluminium bobber tank build.

Mr Kirkham says he learned these skills from an English craftsman and he says that these skills are almost extint, that part is not true, these skills have been passed down through the years, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, and AC (Auto Craft) were still hand crafting bodies and training people untill very recently, Many independent companies have also always existed. The skills never died out. I learned some of my skills from an ex Rolls Royce panel beater. Many of the guys working for Rod Jolly and the like are ex Aston Martin or Rolls Royce employees.

David

[Tuck]

This is the actual car that Rondo and I saw in their shop when we took the facility tour last year. The whole process of turning out some of those billet parts from 2' x 2' cubes of aluminum was staggering. Nice book, but I would like to have the car itself.......lol

Tuck

[3 Chiefs]

Kerry I can imagine your excitement in this find. This is a great source of information. Thanks for posting. You can use your new found knowledge on your next car.