This is a read-only archive of the old Madabout Kitcars forum. New posts and replies are no longer possible, but every thread is still here to browse and read.
I spent ages reading his Testarossa one. Very interesting.
There are quite a few companies doing similar. There is one near Salisbury who scan cars and prduce a buck from that. They can also do it from a computer model.
I quite fancy scanning a few nice cars and then 'tweaking' the dimensions to fit ones I can afford. They knock out the buck and I get it skinned in aluminium or they can do bucks for fibreglass too.
"Skinned in aluminium" is a throw-away phrase that could cost up to £100,000 on an English wheel WCA!!
Get the fibre glass one!!
Naaa, the English wheel's the easy part, far easier than messing with bits of glass strand and resin, the hard bit is welding all the sections of panel together. If a panel can be made in one piece, like a door panel, then it really isn't that hard, or slow. I rolled the boot lid on my Berlinetta in about 3 hours.
Found the thread... As fas I know this guy had never built a car before. His creation is amazing. It was my inspiration to build my own English wheel and get into metal shaping. It really isn't that hard, it just looks it.
Roach manufacturing are a couple of miles from where I live and they do things like these :
They reckoned the bonnet section of mine could be up to £40,000 on it's own. That compare to £60,000 - £80,000 for an entire body for something with fewer curves
Very tasty, I agree your style of body would be rather difficult, a bit like a learner trying to swim the English Chanel but it doesn't need to cost a packet.
I would say my English Wheel set me back less than £200, I have just treated myself to a shrinker/stretcher which was a little over the £100 but apart from that the cost is quite modest. I have started making a tool to make louvers and I want to build myself a Bead Roller, which will probably be all I need. I don't plan to take up body building, when I no longer need them I will probably pass them on. Although my son Michael may have other ideas...
If you fancy trying the Alfa in the 2nd picture down then just let me know. Make sure you make the hatch big enough to get the spare wheel out though...