What I'm making is two different panels to cover the hole in the floor
out of aluminum. What I'll do is glue insulation to both of them (like
is in the rest of the car) to help with noise and heat. This was a
simple piece to make but let's walk through the process so I can show
you.
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Here is the piece fastened with 6-32 screws and riv-nuts and now I
need to make a second piece that will go around the shifter area. The
reason that I'm using two pieces is because if I ever have to mess with
the shifter turret area, it will make it much easier.
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This process was used on both pieces. I started with a
piece of cardboard till I had the shape that I wanted and then
transferred that to the aluminum. I used an air saw to cut the hole out
which worked really well. Now it's time to bend the piece which is
pretty easy if you take your time. After laying out how wide I wanted
the bends to be (blue lines) I clamped a piece of wood over them and
slowly worked the metal towards me.
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This is what it looks like once I was through bending. This only took a
few minutes and was pretty easy to do. Now it's time to put a radius in
the middle that will match the other panel.
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I used a piece of pipe to bend the aluminum which was clamped in my
vise. I use this piece of pipe for all kinds of things like a long pry
bar (check out the end) and I also formed my center console with it
years ago. I started in the middle and slowly worked it a little at a
time till I had a rounded shape. I'd check my progress often and tweak
it here and there as needed till I had it like I wanted.
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Look what was inside of the tubing when I grabbed it. That's a black
widow spider which has a nasty bite if he (or she) were to get you. One
of the things I do before picking up anything, like a container, a paint
can, anything flat or even a small can off the shelf is check the bottom
of it first before putting your hand under it. If you don't, you might
be putting yourself in harms way like you see here. In this case I keep
this piece of pipe next to my tool box which is right next to a wall. As
I'm reaching back there I'm thinking of spiders the whole time and was
the first thing I checked for once I had it in my hand. This one was
about two inches from the opening when I looked in it and I quickly
changed ends and started banging his end on the concrete. Once he fell
out he I gave him a love tap with my shoe and then put him in the
trashcan.
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