1958 MGA Coupe

[bobs77vet]

thanks , I have not installed my hand made part yet. the door seal trim is on back order, the blue car photo has the orginal OEM part in it and I was showing that as Point of reference for what it should look like, thats a beautiful car. As luck would have it mid way through making this my buddy the owner of the blue car found an OEM set in England that needs some TLC and hopefully I am buying that set. It will let me verify the set I made is close to correct and then I will pass that along to someone in need.

 

[bobs77vet]

I have wanted a twin cam inner panel for the longest time let’s see what I can make with what I have on hand and see what I need to get make it really close to a stock part. on the regular MGA models what you see is not removable and part of the stamped inner fender, these engines bays run hot and any extra air you can get in there is a good thing and it does give access to some areas that are hard to get at






Let’s try it on 18 ga steel
So first let’s cut some curved radiuses using a shearing die set



Now let’s try the 1” flange with a panel flange die set

[/
Now let’s try the louvre, my louvre is the wrong size but I am sourcing one that is the right size , now I sliced the panel first with a cut off wheel and i can see in the future using a guide and maybe a thinner wheel, the pressing will be on both sides except for the first one


The louvre dies are made to nestle back to back with the previous pressing

And the proof of concept , I need to make a manual hammer die to clean up the ends and make then crisp



So let me get the right die and see what I can make

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

most louver dies are either a punch that you use in a press (the rest are a die that goes into a Pullmax)... also, use 20 ga or even 22 ga - you'll be much, much happier. louvers are hard until you get it - so keep up the practice.

 

[bobs77vet]

most louver dies are either a punch that you use in a press (the rest are a die that goes into a Pullmax)... also, use 20 ga or even 22 ga - you'll be much, much happier. louvers are hard until you get it - so keep up the practice.

thanks I can see where a die set for a press would be really nice, they are kind of pricey for one off jobs, I have seen where people have made them from scraps for hand punching with out the spring bar up front, I may try , it would give me more formed ends

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

thanks I can see where a die set for a press would be really nice, they are kind of pricey for one off jobs, I have seen where people have made them from scraps for hand punching with out the spring bar up front, I may try , it would give me more formed ends

if you do the hammer forming, don't slit the metal until after you've formed the dimple.. somewhere I have a die like that... basically it's a shaped hole cut in 1/2" steel with a punch that has that same form but 1/4" smaller (don't forget when you're doing this that the metal has to go somewhere).

 

[bobs77vet]

if you do the hammer forming, don't slit the metal until after you've formed the dimple.. somewhere I have a die like that... basically it's a shaped hole cut in 1/2" steel with a punch that has that same form but 1/4" smaller (don't forget when you're doing this that the metal has to go somewhere).

Good points let’s see what I can do, I am using an open bottom lower punch. I am not sure of the die spacing but will use 22ga, 20ga then 18 ga to come up on it. I ran out of time and test fitting will be another day

I decided while I wait on pricing for those bead roller dies to do this the old fashion way with a hand punch

With a 1/2 plate of steel the Louvres are 6 1/4 long x 1/2 wide 7/32 deep



I decided to put a clamping leg on my lower die



Here’s the idea



Weld the ends on which I will grind a radius into



Just use a cut off wheel







Weld it to the clamping leg



Clamp it in place to see if it works




And start to form the punching die, basically just grinding it to shape





And do a test fit





And I ran out of time handle and test punch another day. , ptobsly need to figure out depth control maybe two painted lines for a go/ no go situation

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

you may want a bit more room around the die. with that said, you also could simple adjust for depth

 

[bobs77vet]

you may want a bit more room around the die. with that said, you also could simple adjust for depth

Thanks I am getting there
So let’s continue, Eric O (Ohmite ) made some really good templates for me

Start with piece of 18 ga



Cut out template






I would like a higher quality one of these shearing cutters





Cut and mounted to drill the holes




Screwed together so I can sand the two at once to make identical panels






And two identical panels, which get sanded prior to the rest of the work




Layed out for the panel flange



Bead roller with panel flange








Let’s fine tune the top punch we added a handle



Let’s cut a piece to keep that narrow strip in between the Louvres flat and to control the punch depth



And can it get used as a dolly for smoothing out the louvre



Depth is right



And this was on the beat up test panel that I hammered flat



I think once I figure how to clamp up a support for the panel to rest on and figure out how to make clean straight line I think it will work

Can I spot weld a stainless steel weld nut to regular cold rolled steel?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Can I spot weld a stainless steel weld nut to regular cold rolled steel?

yep

 

[bobs77vet]

I Had some time to play around with the panel.

Used A contour sander to clean up the panel



Decided to us the 20ton press to help in the process , it needs the full 20 tons of pressure



I had to trim one side of the lower die to the dimension of the intermediate strip so I could rotate the panel when I press it. Basically press , flip over and press. Repeat as necessary and do some hammer and dolly work using the top pressing die






The hardest part of the process is getting good clean straight lines



One more louvre on this panel and then some clean up work

 

[BBShark]

Is the punch shear the slot (opening) while forming the louvre, or do you cut that first?

 

[bobs77vet]

Is the punch shear the slot (opening) while forming the louvre, or do you cut that first?

I cut it first, my tolerances are not tight enough for the press to shear it.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

to be honest, I forgot about this kid's video...

 

[rtj]

I posted a bunch of videos on louvre punching in the metal working thread. I seem to remember one had a cute young lady assisting.

There is a guy doing them on YouTube with a bead roller, if you search.

For what you are doing a special double punch might work.

One other thing crossed my mind, but it might be a red herring. You might want to look into sheet metal properties for stamping and whether you can anneal it locally with a torch to make it more pliable. I toured a guys factory once and he made dies for automatic machines that progressively stamped out small parts like battery cases, et cetera. It is a science.

 

[rtj]

Better go out to the shop and mess with my for-ever projects, and get off YouTube. But, found this interesting way he made dies.

 

[bobs77vet]

thanks , I did like the idea of the kids to use a second piece of sheet metal to flatten the top. the second video of epoxy cast has me very intrigued I never knew something like that even existed. that will be my reading tonight.

thanks bob

 

[rtj]

This has potential. I’ll quit junking up your thread and post others in the metal working thread.

 

[bobs77vet]

This has potential. I’ll quit junking up your thread and post others in the metal working thread.

 

[bobs77vet]

i like it, i need to visit that other thread more often

today we got back to the task at hand.

It does work with a manual die and press and the challenge remains getting a really clean straight line. For this side I cut the lines one at time then pressed them, the idea being that you needed the tension of a complete panel to get the best press. next time I think I will cut the lines all at once maybe made with guide that I make out of plywood with a chop saw.

I think once I straighten out the edges and do some hammer and dolly work it will look good.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Next time I do this, I'm going to try a trick that I saw on Bitchin' Rides. They pretension the metal where they're going to make the louver (aka stretch the metal by hammer and dollying the place where the metal is going to be louvered).