The BMW 507 Ultimate Build Thread!!!

[A12pilot]

Thanks Bary. Good news is I stink at golf, and it snowed here today but before that happened I got my side garage bay done on my mini-MCACN workshop! Yes, SuperDave's Vintage Coachworks, Restoration, Fabrication, Pet Rescue, Barn Builders and Home Remodeling, Inc., is almost ready for business!



So last couple weeks I spent on the rear. More fun things on the front, but the rear isn't without it's charm! As you can see by the initial tape measurements, everything needed to be equal on both sides. I did this on the front but have to do it again once I connect the fenders to the fascia and cowl. Like my stock buying motto of buy high and sell low, I measure once and cut twice! I'm getting the hang of panel forming so I think the next body I make out of Aluminum will be way better. We'll see. I hope my buck stands up to the abuse. Oh and speaking of that, two crucial errors on my initial buck sculpture: trunk relief line and lower rear quarters/tail panel transition wasn't correct. But that's the advantage of visiting the real deal and getting measurements! Easy fixes and the buck is more accurate as a result.






All the welds we're completed then ground smooth. I used USC's All Metal to seal up the welds. I use this mainly anywhere lead would have been originally used. Works great! Final body work to follow and one will note that the rear quarters aren't complete yet. No wheel lip or lower edge. If I did that I couldn't remove the entire section as it would be locked on the buck. That's why I didn't join the fenders to the fascia.




So right now, the only panels left are the cowl (just need to make a new one... That one on there was made by a third grader!), doors, hood and trunk. I want to wait until I mount the body on the frame before I start making those parts. The trunk and hood need frames and the door skins need an inner structure so I'll wait on those for now. Up next will be priming, then I'll start into the frame! Woohoo! Disaster is sure to entertain all!

Drivetrain:. Update to follow on this, but after several meetings with higher ends builders, I'm leaning on BMW V8 power to keep it all BMW.

More to come ...

Cheers
Dave

[A12pilot]

I printed a couple parts recently, one is posted in the previous post and that's the trunk bezel. The other is the dash gauge pod. The dash itself is a fiberglass replica molded of a real dash, now with the gauge pod, I've got the entire dash. The steering wheel is being printed as we speak!






Really impressed with the technology. Amazing stuff! Now, if I could just print another me!!

Cheers
Dave

[TimG]

Wow, that's amazing. The welds almost disappear.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

So in the future you could print out a 507?

I want one!!

Ryan W31

[Xplantdad]

Very very cool Super Dave!

[A12pilot]

Oh, I’m sure someone has already done that, Ryan. And truth be known, for movie sets, entire cars have been laser zapped out of foam for background props!

But I can tell you based on what I’ve paid so far in parts printing, making a whole car would be beyond cost effective!

Plus, my thread would only be two pages long and the car would be done. I mean…where’s the fun in that?!

Cheers
Dave

[TimG]

You can't be in Texas with all that snow, it's only warm and sunny here.

[A12pilot]

Some major steps forward! I built a frame to hold the front end off of the body buck. This allowed me to weld the fenders to the fascia. Now I can finish the gutters and fender edges.

Rear quarters are all primed along with some install bodywork on the front end. I spent an hour staring at the front not liking one turn signal. It was facing down along with being canted to the side a bit. So I hacked that out, recessed it, then rewelded it up. I'm very happy with the syma...symmetric...simetric.....same sidededness between left and right now.

The front and side grilles head to the chrome plate guy tomorrow in Massachusetts. Can't wait to get them back! I welded up a frame with studs for mounting, then sat that in epoxy followed by epoxy putty on top of that. It bolts right up and won't cause any issues once it's all fastened in place.

So what's next? Frame time!! I can't finished the edges of the rear until it's all mounted on the frame.

More to come...

Cheers
Dave

[A12pilot]

More of the grilles.




One day!!



Cheers
Dave

[njsteve]

Technical question Dave: was the body buck you made, the exact size of the original car or slightly undersized to accomodate the thickness of the metal panels you're overlaying on top of it? Just curious.

Hell, just your woodworking skills alone, amaze me.