A couple weekends ago, I put on a metalshaping demo for some of the Stovebolt guys in the area.

Some of the vintage tin that showed up:

















In order to have a specific fabrication project to work on, we chose the panel just above the windshield of the Task Force trucks (1955-59). This is an area commonly plagued with rust issues due to condensation inside the roof:







Where they are now reproducing complete cabs, or roof panels with this panel attached, they have yet to market this panel alone. Since I had just set up my bead roller with the tipping wheel, I thought it would be a good candidate for fabricating this panel.

We did start the demo by showing some basic metalshaping, including tuck shrinking using modified vice grips..

















One of the questions posed was whether it was better to use and modify poorly fitting reproduction panels or attempt fabrications from scratch. To demonstrate how "tweaking" of reproduction panel creased edges could be accomplished, the following was shown: Two folds were installed in a panel to simulate a factory bend, and then lines drawn in to move the bend to a new location. Hammering gradually from one side to the other did a fairly good job of moving the crease to the new location.