Blisters III

11-20-2012 -- And here's what the blister looks like clamped in place:

Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the way this project is proceeding...

Blisters II

11-15-2012 -- The blisters are being crafted!  I went out to the shop today at lunchtime and Dan was well along with the first of the blisters.  He started by creating cardboard patterns delineating the outer edge and the "fold" line where the flange transitions to the bulge.  He then made a frame to hold the flat sheet of steel while he hammers it into shape, using cardboard gauges to measure the depth.  The cardboard gauge will also ensure that the blisters on each side of the car will be identical.

Blisters - Step I

11-13-2012 -- The Blisters

Monday (Veteran's Day) I went to Chattanooga with the Shady Boys to visit Coker Tire and pick up Daniel's new tires for his Model T speedster.  When I arrived at the shop, I realized that Dan has started making the "blisters" that will enable the sides of the hood to clear the valve covers on the engine.  He first stabilized the position of the louvers by fastening a piece of steel behind the ones he needs to cut.  Then he scribed the teardrop shape he believes is needed onto the louvers and flat portion below the louvers and started cutting.  Naturally, as you would expect from this fine craftsman, every scrap is saved and labeled.  He will form a dish-shaped blister from a flat egg-shaped piece of steel and eventually that will get welded into the cut-out area and smoothed in.  Here are some pictures:

 

Lookin' Like a Car

11-7-2012 - The hood is now completely assembled and mounted!  Dan needed to put it in place in order to determine the exact location and size required for the "blisters" that will clear the forward corners of the valve covers on the engine.  The really good news is that the alignment is now close enough that we will not need to do any further body work on the cowl.  It's really looking more and more like a car:

An Issue with the Hood

And now, 11-2-2012, a new challenge has emerged.  It's always a challenge; never a problem.  Dan has placed one side of the hood top in place, attaching the hood hinge in the location where it belongs.  He used this side of the hood to determine the correct location of the radiator shell, since the hood is the rigid piece that alligns with both the cowl section and the radiator shell.  Once he had the hood piece mounted, it became apparent that the rear edge does not perfectly align with the embossed edge of the cowl section on which it rests.  It will be interesting to see Dan's approach to solving this challenge: