Introducing myself, from Southwest Florida...
 

Hi all, Randy here!

I've been playing with cars, almost exclusively 2-seat sportscars, for over forty (>40) years. While I've never attempted to fabricate too complex of a shape, I've done my share of making up patch-panels for rust/collision repair and modifications.

I'm sure I don't have much to offer in the way of tips and metal shaping skills, so I'll be doing a lot more listening than talking.

Not fully retired, though I do get to stay home and play with cars all day; I have a shop built behind my house, and people from all over the US send me their BMW M Coupes & Rdstrs for me to work on. I also fabricate a reinforcement component for the car's Achilles Heel, a weak trunkfloor/differential mount, and ship them all over the world (they're on 6 of 7 continents, and if somebody can prove they have one of these cars in Antarctica, I'll send them their kit for free!).

The blue one front and center, is mine (fitted with a Eurosport twinscrew supercharger), but the rest were only here for me to do work on, then they'll be shipped or driven back to their respective states.

http://spcarsplus.com/gallery3/var/r...g?m=1428531948

I also have a couple of the topless versions, '99 & '01 M Roadsters (the '99 is also about 450 bhp/supercharged) and I've had this old 1957 Austin-Healey for a little over thirty-seven (>37) years.

http://spcarsplus.com/gallery3/var/r...g?m=1347056671

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it ;)

Hi Randy welcome to the forum
Peter

Hi Randy. I'm pretty much in the same mode as you - good place to learn. Some very talented metalshaping folk contributing here. The M Coupe with a blower must be be nice :). All those revs and double the torque :). I have a 1M, a 1977 633 and building a sort of tribute E21 Group 5 with a turbo 2.5 M50 and sequential.

Pretty Healey too...

Thanks Peter & Richard, I appreciate the welcoming!

With a screen name like skintkarter, does that have any connection to these sorts of karts?

This one is a 1961 era McCulloch R1 go-kart chassis & (originally designed for chainsaw) engines. When I can get the problematic carbs working right, it's pretty stimulating to drive! There's quite a following of vintage karts here in The States, and I will concede that this is my one true mid-life crisis!

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...53&oe=55FC4476

The most recent panel I shaped, was a cowl for the R1 above; these are most often referred to as a Nassau Panel (or simply number plate). I don't have it painted and fitted yet, but I'll try to get a completed picture of that soon. Just a simple little bench-top English wheel project.

http://spcarsplus.com/gallery3/var/r...g?m=1431055538

Hi Randy, no we were a bit later than than. Have two boys now 22 and 19 and we karted through the various classes from around age 8. Got fairly serious and spent our way pretty much to the pointy end. Boys were quick but we were only doing around 12-15 meetings per year, so they didn't have the seat time of say Mitch Evans or Tom Blomqvist, who were our top guys around that time. We didn't have the money or the connections to make the jump to single seaters and do it properly, so parked the gear up as the guys went through their crucial exams. Decided that a crazy track day car would be good family fun, hence the Group 5 E21 replica in current build.

The McCulloch looks great! Would be just nasty with pipes!

Welcome Randy. I drove one of those in about '62. It was in a parking lot and I hit a seam and went airborne for about 50'. Scared the crap out of me!