OCMM 2010 550 Spyder build at Grumpy's Metal

[John_Alba]

Hello All,

September 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th we are having a meet here at Grumpy's Metal. (Cost will be $60 for attendees and no charge for team leaders)

Official hours TBD - Some safety gear will be provided i.e. Safety glasses, ear plugs, and some gloves will be available. Food will not be provided but we will have sodas and water available. ( there are lots inexpensive of places to eat and stay very close)

This will be a structured event with 30-40 attendees in teams of 5 to 7 people with one team leader for each group all working on a common project.

The project is a 550 spyder (building all the outer skins in Aluminum)

Between now and September, we will have a series of mini meets with a few of the group leaders and participates to organize the content and out line the project.

Also few hard working souls will be contributing their time along with me to get the inner structure sorted out prior to the meet.


This is a photograph of a finished car- we will have a body in gel coat at the shop within the next two weeks. Once we have the body patterns and bucks will start right away.

John A.

[John_Alba]

Additional information (posted at the suggestion of the Admin)

This event is the first Orange County Metal Meet.

I own a sheet metal fab shop and this meet will be held there.

The shop is well equipped with: a pull max, 36” CP plannishing hammer, 40” English wheel, 200 Amp inverter Tig welder, inverter spot welder, 1 kick shrinker, 1 kick stretcher, 2 Lancaster’s with stippled dies on a kick stand, 24” bead roller, bi-metal band saw, 52 pexto gap shear and at the time of the meet we will have 4-6 independent work station with beater bags and stumps. Also in the shop are numerous hand tools.

My handle on the Metal Meet site is “Unknowing” I am using my real name on this site.

The $60 fee is to help make having this meet possible. If you feel that $15 a day is out of line, then please don’t spend the money.

Safety gear will be provided, ear plugs, eye protection along with some beverages. Sharpies, scribes, card stock, strapping tape, transfer tape and a host of other necessities will also be supplied.

I hope I don’t come off too strong, but for the record I am putting out the line share of the resources out on this project. This is NOT a customers car. I do hope that with the work spent prior to the meet and with the contributions of the attendees that I can complete this project with a motor, trans electrical and brakes-- and actually drive it. At the end of the day if you help build a panel and it finds it way to the car the credit is your but the panel is mine.

In addition to the build, we will be having a few demos everyday and open discussions about different techniques and the project itself. It is my hope that if you decide to attend you come prepared to work, learn, share and get along.

Thank you

John Alba

[Kerry Pinkerton]

Neat project John. Wish I could make it.

I'm assuming it's going to be 3003 H14? .050 or .063?

[John_Alba]

The material will be 3003. But I am unsure of the thickness, the way I see it .050 might be better for the meet as it will shape a little faster but the .063 will hold up a little better.

What do you think?

Also I am considering using a steel inner structure as the an aluminum inner structure may crack over time, anyone have experience with this?

Thanks

John

[jhnarial]

That will be a great project.

I would love to see what the part-lines of the car will be.

Take a lot of pictures.

[Gleeser]

I watched someone make that access door on the rear fender somewhere. Wish I could remember where. If I remember right it's louvered towards the inside and they wrap around the fender. Looks very difficult to me. Such a stunning car Alba, I wish you guys the best in building it. Should be a LOT of fun.

[John_Alba]

You're right about the louvers... But I own the correct louver tool for my pull max...... I will make a good effort to photograph the stuff that is interesting.

Grant it would be great if you could make it to the meet.

John

[Gleeser]

I'd love to man. I just don't see how I could swing it. If that changes I'll let you know for sure though.

[Barry]

Sounds like a great idea - now if only I was a little closer!

Originally Posted by John_Alba

You're right about the louvers... But I own the correct louver tool for my pull max...... I will make a good effort to photograph the stuff that is interesting..............John

Sure would love to see pics of that Pullmax tooling John (maybe in another thread) I need to put some louvres into a curved panel sometime soon and could use some ideas!
Barry

[Kerry Pinkerton]

Originally Posted by John_Alba

The material will be 3003. But I am unsure of the thickness, the way I see it .050 might be better for the meet as it will shape a little faster but the .063 will hold up a little better.

What do you think?

Also I am considering using a steel inner structure as the an aluminum inner structure may crack over time, anyone have experience with this?

Personally, I'd use .063. It shapes very nicely, is easier to weld, and has enough thickness that you can file the small imperfections out. Tony Sanchez is an accomplished aluminum shaper/welder and I'd suggest you get his imput also.

Structure is a tough one. I talked with James Bowler when I started the roadster. He used aluminum but said if he had it to do over again he'd use steel.

Based on what I know today, I'd use a superleggera structure. Kirkham uses superleggera on their Cobras and some good photos of his structure are in his build manual. Some other interesting stuff also.

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_18.pdf

Your kick shrinker will have no problem with 1/8 aluminum angle. The roadster uses A and B pillars fabricated from various angles. VERY strong.