For those of you guys who fabricate sheet metal and other metal pieces for your 914, how do you actually make the pieces? I need to make a reinforcement piece for the firewall where the clutch tube and wiring harness are located. I do not have access to a mill so do you guys have any suggestions?

Basically, for those of you who do not have a mill, what do you use to cut, drill, and bend? What kind of bits do you use? Do you use any hand tools? Any ideas would be appreciated because there are several items I need to fabricate for the car.

I know this is a rather noob question but there is still so much I have to learn.

For sheet metal, I use a sawzall, cutting wheel on a grinder, heavy duty tin snips, grinder. Depends on the thickness and the shape. Often make a paper template first then trace the shape onto the metal. Shape with hammers/dollies, pliers. Sometimes have to tack into place, then hammer, tack, and so on 'til it fits right before completing the welding.

For mill and lathe parts, nuttin else will do. Or, go down to the hardware store or hobby store and find a washer, a metal tube or whatever that is close and will work.

Use calipers and measure. Take measurements and calipers to store for the parts hunt.

Make cardboard models before cutting metal.

Then make metal parts. For sheetmetal I use a machinist's vice and a hammer to bend lips,
a sandbag and a ball peen hammer to make curved or dished pieces, a set of metal shears, a DREMEL with the fibre grit disks, a MIG welder, a hand nibbler, and a coupla other hammers and pliers.

Oh yeah, 2x4's and other scrap lumber. Handmade the drain area near the hell hole that way- before replacement parts were available. Lotsa double compound curves and it looks OEM.

NowI have a John Kelley metal shriking disk for smoothing overexuberant hammer dings.

A little practice and you too can make any metal part.

Ken

I haven't done any myself (yet) but if you go to Border's/B&N/etc, and look through the automotive section, there are a couple of nice books on automotive sheet metal work. Amazing stuff - those guys are truly artists. For smaller pieces that don't show, I'm sure it wouldn't be too bad a project for a DIY noob. One technique I remember was to make a form out of a hard wood and then hammer the sheet metal onto it; but I don't recall if that was only for aluminum. My impression is that the whole craft is 10% practice, 20% tools, and 98% practice. Good luck.

For angles I bought one of These

For rough cutting I have a couple of These

You can cut with This but it takes longer

You dont need mills or lathes to make sheet metal replacement parts...

In this thread some A--hole redid his 911 door jamb..

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?show...23&hl=sheet