Hello from the English Lakes

[Robert the builder]

Hi all,

I have some experience shaping and welding metal, but now I am retired I am trying to realise some of the projects I just hadn't the time for while earning my crust.

I built my first car before I left school back in the early sixties, went on to build many others and became a construction worker and engineer, working on excavation machinery making buckets and rippers, rock drills and lots of other heavy stuff. I went on to make decorative wrought iron (not the real stuff) railings and gates.

Fast forward to today I have just finished a car project, restoring a Kit Car I helped build back in '82, I enjoyed myself so much I found another one and have just started re-constructing the body. I read Tom Lipton's account of building his English Wheel:

http://oxtool.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03...eel-build.html

Tom has a link to Kerry's Roadster thread. This led me to Kerry's account of building his Roadster, thank you Kerry VERY interesting, I have learnt a lot already from that thread.

I have most of the materials and parts to make the English wheel and I have access to a lathe so I can turn stuff up.

My latest car has a robust 3" x 3" box section chassis and a Rover 3500cc V8 engine, with a BW65 transmission and Ford Cortina running gear. The body is partly fiberglass and partly aluminium, all the metal parts are simple folds or curves, no double curves except in the FG.

When I got the car it hadn't run since '92, the bonnet (hood) and engine bay sides were missing. There are some used panels about but I felt I would rather make my own, so I have started researching the tooling and methods I need to achieve this. The car is styled on the 1930 6c Alfa Romao open topped sports/racer. When I started work on the car I checked out the photographs of the real thing and found that the styling and body detail of the car I have is very simplified compared with the real thing, presumably to keep costs down.

I want to more faithfully incorporate some of the nice features of the Alfa without being slavish or trying to create a replica. My main focus is the bonnet, scuttle, windscreen and doors. I may try to create my own tub later and possibly my own nose cone/radiator if I can master the skills needed. I am undecided whether to go for enclosed wings (fenders?) with running boards or to make cycle wings and not have running boards

I can weld OK but I can't afford AC TIG, I have DC TIG but obviously that's not much use for Aluminium!

Anyway here I am. I have a lot of reading to do, I hope you will be patient with me, I have much to learn.