This is so cool, it must be some sort of World War II Aircraft Manufacturing technique for welding aluminum by smashing it together that was used for cars. This trunk lid was made by Carrozzeria Touring in the late 1940′s and as much as I curse the way they build cars, this is some of the most amazing craftsmanship I have seen. Since it isn’t adding any new material its keeps the panel very light and super strong and without the heat of welding, the panel doesn’t warp and distort. I’m guessing that the force of smashing the two aluminum pieces together in a focused area causes enough heat to melt and stick them tight.

Welding aluminum with a punch

Aluminum welding technique

I’d like to see other examples of this attachment procedure and find out what it’s called.

These headlight rims were purchased with headlights and buckets to “bolt in” to the front end of the Touring Body 1949 Ferrari 166 Coupe. The parts are beautiful and very expensive (even though the chrome plating is flaking off) but there is no way to secure them to the car! I have to make these brass tabs which will be soldered onto the rims so I can use a bolt to secure them to the bodywork. I drilled the holes in the parts for more surface area for the silver solder to adhere the tab to the rim. Once I am done I’ll send the rims to the engraver to have the delicate “Carello” script scanned into the computer so when they get re-chromed we can engrave this important detail back in. What an expensive detail!

Carello Ferrari Headlight 250, 166, 212,

Trim Rim Ring Carello Headlight

A group of three approaches the top of the pass.

We have a very close relationship with Rich and Jean Taylor at Vintage Rallies, and I wanted to create a video to promote and build their events. So, earlier this summer we gathered some favorite customers and friends together for a spectacular day of enthusiastic driving on wonderful back roads. We closed down the shop, and Nate, Casey, Peter and I were actually able to enjoy the cars we work so hard on.

We made sure that every car had a camera and a co-driver to run it. The result, a brief, but fun piece that shows just beginning of some of the capabilities that these cars possess. Video after the jump (click here). » Continue reading “Vintage Rallies Close to Cannonball”

We took a Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Tourer down the road to listen to the gears – and it happened to be a splendid day to make a video. It amazes me that a pre-war car can drive so fast and so smoothly – though still being a good bit of work to drive.

As we’ve been traveling through the Canadian Rockies on Route 1, the Trans Canada Highway, Route 93 and other roads,  another group in Pre-War cars has been mixing it up with our group of sports cars. To see a 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost “floating” along at 70 MPH is a sight to behold because it looks so effortless and elegant with the huge wheels and locomotive styling. This group is staying at the Banff Springs Hotel as we are so I am passing cards out to see if I can work on any of these icons. Sure, it would be great to see more of the inner workings on a Silver Cloud or on this Peugeot but  I’m more interested in getting some tips!

Peugeot Pre-War

Silver Ghost, Wrath, Cloud?

Things are coming along nicely on the 1950 Ferrari 166 Touring Berlinetta, here you can see the dashboard lining up nicely with the upper door panels and the windshield glass fitted with new mahogany tack strips installed. All around the body openings are hand whittled wooden strips to jamb the glass into place while providing an area to tack the headliner and upholstery. Hidden under the painted aluminum trim on the top of the door is a tack strip to which the leather door panel upholstery is attached . Near the rear vent windows, the tack strips secure the headliner on the top half and the rear package shelf leather to the bottom half. Unfortunately these tack strips are in channels around the glass openings which means they are sitting in pools of water every time the car is washed or driven in the rain so all of the strips were rotten to dust.

Six tack strips secure the front windshield, two on top, two on the bottom and two on the sides. These dog bone strips were in decent shape because they are located on the sides and didn’t spend much time bathing/rotting in water but since they are so thin, the tacks securing the headliner caused them to splinter and blow apart. They are totally different pieces left to right and had to be hand shaped for 6 hours to make fit correctly. This is a lesson in how not to build a car!! They don’t make them like they used to… thank god!

Mahogany Tack strip

Lining up Dash Ferrari

166 rear glass

Side glass plastic

Side glass profile detail

Even though the original rear side glass for the 166 fit terribly, I used them as a rough outline to make new pieces from plexi-glass. It still took 4 hours of sanding per side to get it to fit tightly. These windows open at the rear for ventilation and the reason Touring made them from plastic is to allow them to bend outward without a hinge as the cam mechanism pushes it out. Crude. In the photo with the drawn outline you can see the original shape being so much smaller than what it needs to be in order to fit properly.

Can you believe how much labor went into building this dash? I would guess that the bulk of the piece was hammered out to fit a profile but the stepped bores for the gauges were made from a two piece press die, simply and amazing number of hours to fabricate this piece.

This piece had so many layers of primer, filler and paint that it has taken about 8 hours to strip it down to bare aluminum and will take another 20 hours to re-finish it in the dark blue color that it was originally. There are more man hours in this dash than goes into assembling a new Pontiac!

166 Touring dash panel

Touring berlinetta

Brass is a pain in the neck to weld, it doesn’t give you any clues as to its melting point like other metals. Steel gets shiny and looks like flowing liquid while aluminum gets super shiny and puffs up slightly which tells you when you can add the filler rod.

Brass just gets dark so you have to poke the area with the filler rod and hope it sticks even though it often just spatters and makes a mess. Unlike aluminum or steel, it is easy to build up brass on an edge of sheet metal like I am doing in these photos. What I found is that you have to keep the material extra clean with a stainless steel brush and glass bead blasting it when the piece gets black and nasty.

These photos are of little trim pieces on a Ferrari 166 Touring bodied Berlinetta that I am restoring. These pieces didn’t fit well from new,  I think my 6 year old daughter could have made them fit better. I have spent lots time welding on new material and filing it down to fit around the trim and re-locate the holes so the screws actually thread into something.

The reason Touring used brass is because it takes chrome nicely without any extra material like nickel or copper and is relatively easy to shape.

Brass Heli-arc

Tungston Inert Gas Brass

Brass trim welded and fitting