![]() I can see you have spent a lot of time on it. Here’s an overview of all the underhood sheetmetal fabrication–truly an exquisite display of craftsmanship.First congratulation on attempting this. This will hide the distributor and wires, presenting a very clean appearance. A custom coolant overflow tank will be mounted directly to the thermostat housing. Small openings were made in the header panel for the latch strikers to enter, presenting a very clean look with the hood open. Both latches are cable-operated with the original BMW cables. Latches from a BMW are used, and special mounts were made to hold them securely in the proper location. The openings for the fans will be cut at a later stage. It takes a lot of careful fitting to keep the gaps uniform around a contoured recess like this. As with everything else on this truck, the craftsmanship is impeccable. Here you can see how nicely the panels fit together, with a snug, uniform gap. As you can see, everything is fitted beautifully. This close-up shot shows how uniform the stepped-down area is where it wraps around the concave area. To enable the double-thickness panel to fit flush, a beading machine was used to form a recess on the top flange. Note that the top edge has been reinforced by welding an additional strip of metal to it. Here all three of the panels have been welded together. The matching panel for the other side of the engine compartment is shaped here. One metal piece has been made from the pattern and rough-shaped. A chip board pattern was made for the panels that fit next to the center panel. Look for more articles on the Souza Ford F100 in the months to come. There were a few more steps involved to bring this project to completion, which you’ll see in the photos. Here is the step, fresh off the Pullmax machine. ![]() This step was made with a beading machine, and as you can see it adds an attractive detail to the joint. ![]() With the three rear panels shaped, fitted, and joined together, a step was made on the rear flange on the header panel so the reinforced edges of the rear panels would fit flush. Part 4: Cleaning Up The Engine Bay On The Souza F100 A pattern was made from 3/4-inch MDF to guide the panel through the Pullmax machine to make a uniform step. Anyone who has attempted making a convoluted panel like this will appreciate what it takes to get a snug fit. These were patterned with chipboard, then carefully trimmed and fitted with precision. With the center portion roughed out, the next step was to fit the very convoluted side pieces, which have to fit snugly on all edges. Part 3: Fixing Ford’s Mistake Reshaping ‘56 F100 Fenders This is the layout for the fan location, showing the reinforcing step on the perimeter of the panel. As you’ll see in the photos, this really gives the panel a finished and professional appearance. Great care was taken to place all welds away from the corners to ensure a uniform radius in those areas.Ī pattern was made from 3/4-inch MDF to guide the panel through a Pullmax machine, outfitted with a set of rounded step dies. Here you can see the filler pieces tack-welded into place. A decision was made to put a stepped detail in this panel, which gives it more strength and becomes a strong design element. Once this panel was shaped, trimmed, and fitted, a large panel was designed to fit close to the twin fans, which are controlled by the engine management ECU. The radiused pockets on each side were accomplished by fitting two curved angles into place. ![]() It spans the distance between the front fenders and has a gentle arch in the center. The top header panel was next to be fabricated. This panel was given a gentle arch toward the center, in keeping with the beautifully contoured inner fender panels covered in the last article. The first panel to be fabricated is a curved header that covers the top of the radiator and spans the entire distance between the front fenders.
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