rp975 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I thought that I should show you some pics of the fan shroud that I made from 2mm thick aluminium sheet. I started by making a male die out of 7 ply the size of the radiator openning but made a radius on the corners so that the metal would form more easily. Then I cut out templates of the fans and their mounting points and screwed them onto the base. I then had to make a frame that was strong enough to handle the pressure of pressing the metal. I made it from timber that I had lying around, although I should have used hardwood. The timber was 2" x 8" with steel angle brackets making the corner joints as strong as poss. You need to aneal the metal as best you can before pressing, and part way through if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 wow, nice. I assume the first is the form you made to beat the aluminum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 the metal was pressed not beaten, I didn't take any photos of the frame, so I have attached some of the plenum that I pressed from 3mm thick aluminium, you can see that there is a hardwood frame that the metal is pressed into and the fan shroud was done in a similar way using a 20ton press. The motor is a VQ30det into a 1974 260Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 what size press are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 20 ton, the frame of the press is about 800mm wide, a workshop press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Very nice work. That shroud should work great. Looks like you have been playing on a mill, also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 Hi Sweetleaf, Thanks for your comment, the side brackets were made from 6mm plate. I cut the four pieces out with a bandsaw,drilled the holes whilst the pieces were clamped together, then I put bolts through the holes to keep the plates lined up and used a die grinder to trim up the outside edges. It would have been good to have a cnc mill to use for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Here is the shroud polished and with the fans fitted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizm0Zed Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 wow, awesome. wanna make another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 It would have been good to have a cnc mill to use for this. No, you did it the right way. I've been billet-free for years. It's the small details that make all the difference between guys who build their own cars, and guys who write a check to someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Man, that is awesome. nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 quote wanna make another? Hi Nizm0Zed, The wooden die, or buck that I made would only work if you were using the same radiator as me, it is a Gemini radiator which is slightly smaller. I have used this because of where the inlet and outlets are, this suits the VQ motor better. From the pics on your link to your car it looks like you are very capable of doing a project like this shroud. If you like I could talk you through it. Thanks for the comments guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNkEyT88 Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Nice, I'll have to add this to the list of things to attempt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizm0Zed Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 A gemini radiator huh (Either Chevette or Opel to the natives) i have a spare sitting around, guess i'll see how the fit is. luckily i know someone who has a big alloy gem radiator they may wanna sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 A gemini radiator huh (Either Chevette or Opel to the natives)i have a spare sitting around, guess i'll see how the fit is. luckily i know someone who has a big alloy gem radiator they may wanna sell. Sounds good let me know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Very nice work... I'd be proud to sport that work of art! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 What series aluminum did you use? I assume an 1100 dead soft. Nice work by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 Very nice work... I'd be proud to sport that work of art! Thanks for the comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp975 Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 What series aluminum did you use? I assume an 1100 dead soft. Nice work by the way. I used 5005 series aluminium, 2mm thick, I annealed it as best I could by sitting it on my BBQ with it on full whilst using a small propane torch moving over the surface in small areas at a time. I used the BBQ because the sheet would cool down too quickly with just the torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 So would you say , you, "threw another shroud on the barbie"? ( spoken with an aussie accent )....I know, you dont even have to say it.Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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