Strange things happen for strange reasons. Take our little T for example. Something trickled down from The Man that dictated that we needed to fabricate hood sides for our little car. Now we don't know how much we're at liberty to discuss it, but we obliged: we made hood sides.
This exercise was out of our tech center's capabilities, we decided to find someone with a few more resources for the task. Aside from alleviating our workload, it lets someone with a whole lot more experience show all of us the ropes.
After some pleading, we talked Dan Fink Metalworks in to fabricating hood sides and giving us some instruction along the way. We specified two things when we proposed the deal. First, we wanted something lightweight and simple. Second, we wanted to remove it easily without a tool kit, a floor jack, and a smooth garage floor to work from.
Fink's master crafter John West responded with just the ticket. He whipped up hood sides in a matter of hours from 11-gauge (.907-inch) aluminum sheet. He fastened the panels with a combination of rivets, tabs, rivet nuts, and quarter-turn fasteners. The panels not only satisfy our aesthetic requirements, they also provide the Walker radiator with a very stable support (remember, only two bolts and tabs secure the radiator to the frame).
So follow along as a consummate pro gives our car some spats.
John started by measuring...
John started by measuring the span between the grille and the firewall and the height that he wanted to bring the panels. He taped and eyeballed the general line to get an idea of the finished result.
He then transferred the general...
He then transferred the general dimensions to a slice of 11-gauge aluminum sheet. Note that as he laid out the dimensions he added roughly 3 more inches width and height to the panel.
The aluminum John folded over...
The aluminum John folded over gave the panel a good platform, but it interfered with the grille shell.
He responded by trimming the...
He responded by trimming the folded aluminum back at the grille shell to make the panel sit flush at the grille. He then trimmed the panel's edges once he positioned it in its intended location. He trimmed slightly more from the folded ledge than the panel itself to prevent firewall-to-panel interference.
Even though the panel sat...
Even though the panel sat flush on the body and grille it still interfered with the fuel pump and came perilously close to the lower radiator hose. John marked and trimmed the offending pieces for hassle-free operation.
The panel required a consistent...
The panel required a consistent mounting point for further fabrication, so John marked the framerail for a mounting point.
He transferred that mounting...
He transferred that mounting point location to the side panel for proper alignment. John finally drilled the panel and frame and squeezed a 1/4-inch rivet nut into the frame for the panel to bolt to.
John bolted the panel to the...
John bolted the panel to the frame and aligned its front edge with the grille shell. He then marked and subsequently trimmed the folded area away from the panel so the outermost edge would fit flush with the grille shell.
The side panel sat flush with...
The side panel sat flush with the grille shell once John trimmed the folded area. He then marked the leading vertical edge based on the grille shell shape once the panel sat flush.
John used another quarter-turn...
John used another quarter-turn quick release tab to fasten the panel to the grille shell. He marked the highest edge of the panel and positioned the tab below it and behind the grille shell's flange. He then drilled and riveted the tab to the shell.
He bolted the panel to the...
He bolted the panel to the frame mounting point he established earlier and marked the grille's quick release tab to the panel with a scriber.
With the panel marked, John...
With the panel marked, John removed it, drilled it, and dimpled it for its 1/4-turn fastener. He locked that fastener in place and moved to the final fastener location.
John then bent another quick...
John then bent another quick release tab for the firewall-to-panel mount. He located the vertical position and drilled the holes per the prior steps. He fastened the tab to the firewall with two more rivet nuts that he imbedded in the firewall.
The panel came off the car...
The panel came off the car yet once more for the fourth fastener. In this case he punched a hole for a mild-steel tab. He bolted the panel back in place, marked the tab where it contacted the frame, and trimmed it.
John then ground the finish...
John then ground the finish from the frame away where the trimmed tab met the frame. Once he cleaned the frame he welded the tab to the framerail itself.
John fastened the panel to...
John fastened the panel to the frame and outlined a general shape he wanted the panel to take to clear the headers. John marked a hole smaller than necessary, trimmed it, and fitted the header. He repeated the process several times to get the opening just right. At that point he trimmed the panel's top edge to coincide with the cutout.