The BMW 507 Ultimate Build Thread!!!

[A12pilot]

Thanks guys! Don't forget, Steve. Minimal tools, minimal ability and talent to match! But seriously, thank you for the compliment.

So after some wheeling on the wheel I placed the hood skin on the frame I drilled that into the frame while I centered it up. Knowing I now have it where it needs to be more or less, I removed the skin and mounted the hinges. I then welded the skin to the frame after I verified everything operated correctly. An interesting note was that later in production they increased the gap at the hood to header panel intersection due to complaints of interference.

Of course lots of final metal work to do, but time to crack a Shock Top Pretzel Wheat beer and enjoy my labor the past two weeks!

















Cheers
SuperDave

[markinnaples]

AMAZING Stuff Dave!

[mssl72]

So cool!!!

[dykstra]

WOW!! Incredible

[Xplantdad]

Super Dave is right!!

[A12pilot]

Moving forward with progress! Progress is progressing at a progressive rate. After coming off the high of the hood coming out so well,I moved onto the trunk... and that's when the problems started. I slipped on the press and whacked my noodle (which normally is a good thing, but this time, it wasn't like it sounds). That resulted in my New Jersey temper flaring up and me treating inanimate objects like living things which means I yell and curse at them thinking they learned their lesson, which they never do. But despite all that, I'm happy to say the trunk is formed as are many bruises and lacerations.

After forming the frame I placed it in the opening and then positioned the hinges. I'm using 1968 Mustang Fastback hinges since they are compact and have a coiled spring, so no torsion bars.







And then of course after all the fabrication the trunk lid is too heavy so I'll just add a pair of smaller helper struts or possibly another spring somewhere. Not sure just yet. Then after all the hammering and such, the skin got welded to the frame and viola.... trunk lid!



So now all the exterior sheet metal is done. What's that mean for the body buck? Mwwaaahhaaahaaa!!

Cheers
Dave

[A12pilot]

Another fantastic day and one that is bittersweet, exciting, and sad all rolled into one giant sentimental sandwich. With all the exterior metal done, I have no need for this sculpture. All this thing is doing is taking up much needed space that could be occupied by another project. So with that, it's time to send this thing off to the dump.

The exciting part about this is I'm past the stage where I need it. No longer am I looking at a mock up of my dream car. I'm walking into the shop and touching a hand fabricated copy. It's gone from dream, to concept, to computer scan, to reality. The mighty buck has served its purpose well and all along the plan was for this to be collateral damage as part of the build.













So join me with raising your glass tonight to a toast to your dreams: MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

Cheers
Dave

[A12pilot]

Alllllllrighty. Moving ahead it's time to figure out flooring. And while composite weathered birch really would look good in here, I'm thinking the floors need some better rigidity. The floors are pretty easy to form. Easy....... is anything on this easy?!





However, there are stamped impressions that I need to make which will require me to do some modifications to my press to accommodate the larger panels. I will also need to use the bead roller on a few panels too.




The trick here is also to leave enough room to run the exhaust without it hanging below the frame along with enough recess to make sure I'm not looking clear across the top of the windshield while driving. The seat has to be in the perfect spot. Should be easy enough. Should be....

So after all the fab work here's the pans roughed in. Nothing welded up yet. Why not? Everthing gets mocked up first then the whole car gets disassembled and I'll weld inside out. Of course before the exterior skins go on I'll get some nice pics of the structure and compare them to the ones I have of an original. One thing the 507 has are heat shields that run the entire length of the floors under the interior. Those will be formed later.



Stay tuned.... more to come!

Cheers
Dave

[cook_dw]

As always amazing work Dave.

[TimG]

It looks great, Dave. Just think how many people may see your trailer and think it's a real version in there.