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Posted

 

the CMK razor saws sold thru the UMM-USA site came in handy here

taped guidelines on to the tail and sawed narrow slots to outline the lid over the fuel tank

this will not open - the metal beneath is too thick

and the tank underneath is not original on the restored car anyway

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Posted

now to the bonnet - which was cast in two parts = with lots (unavoidable) of excess of wh metal buildup and flash

using mostly hand drills, and large to small metal files, I am prepping the surface - top and bottom

openings will be covered in mesh -  and removing ALOT of white metal - have to reduce the thickness of the parts by about 50% 

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Posted

changes to bonnet for the '24 "hybrid" restored car -

soldered over the rear inward louvers and filed and sanded everything smooth

now starting to file channels on either end of the bonnet to retain the bonnet straps

again - used tape to guide the filing

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Posted

and yes - balsa wood can ignite - "so don't try this at home"

1.0 mil tube soldered w tix solder onto bonnet edge and then hand filed for the hinge

Pico's casting uses - I think - burillium (?)  which seem to be less prone to deform while soldering - higher melting  temp?

don't think you can do this on the Finecast white metal - has anyone been able to ??

always wanted to try this - Wingrove has made his bonnet hinges from brass for decades ....

still not real time - but I'm catching up ....

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  • Like 1
Posted

The metal is Britannia metal, which I used due to its low melting temperature, silvery look and ability to be highly polished. Mold was made of Smooth-on Mold Max 60. The white metal used by Wills Finecast is much softer, also floppy in comparison, lower melting point, much grayer color and cannot be polished nearly as well.

Posted

still upside down ?

oh well

managed to reduce the thickness of the bonnet panels to about .040 - which is reasonable

how much metal have I filed off of this thing ?  See the jar ...

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Posted

So I sawed apart a section of the right hand bonnet to make a second hinge - per the photos

trying a smaller dia. brass tube - 0.70 mil - which in scale is about 3/4 of an inch

closer to scale than the central hinge - but I wanted some extra strength at the center...

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Posted

filing the slots on the smaller hinge - but using the same square files

and soldering the second length of tube for the opposing hinge ... 

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Posted

hinges assembled for initial check

strength is good - but I need some more "fold"

will correct this while I add more details to the bonnet

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  • Like 1
Posted

I'm sure you worked through this already but the center hinge tube wants to be attached to the outside face of the hood while the secondary hinge wants to be attached to the inside face of the hood. That gets you the maximum opening. 

I see your dilemma in trying to solder the tubes in that manner without adding a bunch more parts. 

Are you wanting to leave the hood fully open or just enough to show what's inside? I think the way you accomplished getting the hinges on there in the first place trumps the ability to fully open it.

I see a yellowish/gold tint to the metal. Is that real or just a consequence of lighting? Is the metal easy or difficult to file? In other words, are you constantly having to clean the file or is there sufficient hardness to the metal that keeps the file clean?

Awesome build and I'm looking forward to seeing more progress. 

Mike 

Posted

the slight yellow cast is due - I think - the light reflection on the cast surface

more tweeks to the bonnet;

a filet of evergreen plastic added to the bonnet edge

strips of brass and plastic added to the underside of the bonnnet

and drilling the first of many holes for the copper rivets

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  • Like 1
Posted

louvers added to the right side of the body

these were super-glued in place, along with the rounded opening, which was filed from a chunk of cast metal

experimenting with Lab-metal to fill in some casting imperfections

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