{"id":3916,"date":"2012-09-24T23:52:06","date_gmt":"2012-09-25T03:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monocoque-metalworks.com\/main\/?p=3916"},"modified":"2012-09-24T23:52:06","modified_gmt":"2012-09-25T03:52:06","slug":"panel-beating-literally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monocoque-metalworks.com\/main\/2012\/09\/panel-beating-literally\/","title":{"rendered":"Panel Beating – Literally!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Summer, we replaced a rear lower valance on a ’66 roadster with one of the commonly available panels out there, and the fit was HORRIBLE!\u00a0 We had to flatten ALL of the flanges on the piece, and re-roll them in the proper locations.<\/p>\n

So… right around New Years, we started making repair panels for this piece to replace the forward 4 inches of the panel instead of the whole thing, allowing us to localize the repair and replace only the typical rusted area – right behind the rear wheel.<\/p>\n

Ever since the aftermarket panel fiasco last Summer, I swore that if I had to replace one of these again, I would just make it myself – and so today, it was time to put my money where my mouth was…<\/p>\n

This is actually a tricky panel to form up from scratch – it has a very deep draw to it, and so it is not something that you can simply wheel up on the English wheel alone.\u00a0 Instead, you have to beat the panel into shape violently, putting lots of stretch into the center and shrinking the edges, and then use the English wheel to smooth things out and tweak the piece.<\/p>\n

Take a look at how a panel like this is formed from scratch – you’ll be surprised how ugly it gets during the process!<\/p>\n