Body Panels Part 1

Since I was still unsure about the pumps, I decided to start working on sheet metal. I needed a radius on all the panels. So I decided to build a bender out of some scrap pipe.

It took a few tries to get things right. The first tank I made was a little "flat". I wanted a little bit of a crown across the top. If that makes sense.

I decided to under bend the piece a little bit and push it between some angle iron and weld on one side. I figured the angles in cad and used a digital angle finder.

I think it worked pretty good. It gave it that "look" that I wanted. It just took a "few" test pieces.

The reason the panels have paint on them is because they were scrap I got from my brother.

Next pieces were the sides. They needed to step out towards the seat so it would be wide enough so I could ride it too. They also support the tank. You'll also notice in the second picture below, that after I welded up the end sheet, I used a flap wheel to round it over.

You'll also notice the seat is done. I gave the wood backing to my Mom and she sewed up some seats for me.

I'm also not going to talk much about the linkage because it ultimately got ripped out when I changed pumps.

Rest of the sheet metal will be covered in the next post.

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