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Old 09-04-2015, 03:14 PM
Leepac1 Leepac1 is offline
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Hi,
I am currently in the process of rebuilding a 1932 Alvis 12/50 TJ, starting with an abandoned rolling chassis. I will be finishing the chassis work shortly and then I have the daunting task of building a new body from scratch.
What I should like to ask the members is,(taking into consideration that I am quite poor with computers) is there such an idiot proof programme that will allow me to take and rework a photograph to redesign a body shape by altering it, eventually coming up with a shape that suits me and also be able to take measurements from.
I know that I might be asking a lot but I am not capable of driving a full blown CAD programme and I figured that this might be a better option than making and scrapping dozens of full size templates until I got something that I liked, any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you all in advance,
Andrew.
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Old 09-04-2015, 07:57 PM
Ranchero50 Ranchero50 is offline
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Hey Andrew, I'm a firm believer that CAD should stand for Cardboard Aided Design.

I don't say that flippantly. You can flesh out and form some basic design elements quickly with minimal effort. Before making the fairing for my bike I did print out some pics of it and sketch some ideas of what I needed. When I built my jet boat I spent a lot of time sitting on a milk crate making motor noises which helped the ergonomics and deciding where to mount things. I'm good at visualizing what I want but still needed some stuff for my mind to work with.

You should be able to lock in your seats, cowl / firewall and radiator pretty quickly and flesh out the form from there. Good luck and post pics.
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Old 09-05-2015, 08:38 AM
Leepac1 Leepac1 is offline
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Thanks very much for that, this is where I started..
image.jpg
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Old 09-05-2015, 08:40 AM
Leepac1 Leepac1 is offline
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This is where I am now...
image.jpg
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Old 09-05-2015, 08:42 AM
Leepac1 Leepac1 is offline
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Hopefully, to something like this, in the not too distant future...
image.jpg
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Old 09-05-2015, 09:04 AM
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Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
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Andrew I feel you pain. I don't do CAD either. Years ago...Y E A R S... there were these things called opaque projectors. Basically you could lay a book or photograph on the surface, it would project it on a screen or all. The further away, the larger the image. I have one that is probably 40 years old.

If you could borrow one of these, you could literally cut and paste photos and sketches and project them onto a wall life size.

Once you get the profile you like, you could use this to project on a white paper wall and trace/measure the areas you want and create templates and even a buck of sorts.
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Old 09-05-2015, 09:21 AM
bobadame bobadame is offline
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I've recently discovered white board paint which can be drawn on with dry erase markers. This would work well with Kerry's suggestion for the use of a projector.
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Old 09-05-2015, 01:58 PM
Leepac1 Leepac1 is offline
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Thank you for your input, I think that I might make the bonnet and possibly the scuttle as these are sort of dictated to by the radiator shell, I will then only have the back 3/4s to worry about. Does anyone have any ideas for the body frame, timber or steel? I am not the best woodworker although this is more fitting for the car, steel 1/2"-3/4" box section would be easier to fabricate, but not to attach to, Your input is greatly appreciated, thank you,
Andrew.
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Old 09-05-2015, 05:44 PM
Ranchero50 Ranchero50 is offline
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Google's image search has helped me out a lot when trying to find different pics of stuff I'm interested in. Looks like you should be able to pick up most of the lines if you have a known point of reference for a dimension.

https://www.google.com/search?q=1932...w=1680&bih=961



Also, I think wood would be more period correct and a great learning experience to work with.
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Old 09-06-2015, 03:07 AM
Leepac1 Leepac1 is offline
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Thank you Jamie,
Yes, I do agree with you that wood should be the way to go, especially with today's modern laminates making structures much stronger than they would have originally have been, plus, I did fancy a go at a bit of wood "steaming"
The back end you show is something along the lines that I did have in mind, maybe slightly more tapered, the deciding factor will probably be the spare wheel, I would like to put it in a boot, as opposed to on the left hand side, where it was originally.
I still have a couple of weeks of mechanical work yet before I can start on any body fabrication, engine assembly to complete, rear axle to mount and then a fuel tank to fabricate.
image.jpg
This is what it should look like, I only have a couple of chassis mounting brackets. Would you recommend soldering the tank together, something that I have never tried on this scale, or welding, along with the distortion that it causes? Once again, thank you all for your input,
Andrew.
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