[Air_Cooled_Driver]

Hi all. I've poked around on this site and many others for a long time. I have been deeply into cars since my teens (now approaching the half century mark) and have quite a few restoration projects under my belt, some of which would be deeply embarrassing to revisit, more so the further back one goes. I have learned a lot over the years, at least to the point where I now realize there's a lot I don't know.

I've been deeply distracted over the last couple decades by raising kids, getting a career off the ground, burning the career back to ground level, reconstructing the career a different way, and most recently by buying a historic property, i.e., everything needs to be repaired and rebuilt. But, one of the elements of the property that makes me happiest is an 80' x 24' tobacco barn (this is Southern Maryland) that is now, finally, converted to shop space.

My original car passion was air cooled VW and Porsche, and I still like those a fair bit, but I have branched out over the years into old trucks and other things. Now that retirement is visible on the still-distant horizon and the kids are a bit older, I find my brain turning again to restoring cars and to how I would go about making different panels and custom parts. Over the years I've tinkered a bit with that, but it's ever more drawing my interest.

I have some basic metalworking tools--shrinker/stretcher, assorted hammers and dollies, planishing hammer, bead roller, maybe some other things. A decent welder, obviously. I know I don't know how to use any of those especially well, but I've gotten by. Currently drooling over those mid 1900s F.J. Edwards cast iron English wheels. Would love to find one of those on craigslist. Anyone else notice how much the MetalAce 44f Imperial resembles those?

Looking forward to being on here at long last.