Corvette: Wrap Your Ass in...wait, what?...Aluminum?! Get the berk outta here...

I had the opportunity to check out this little project last night at The Panel Shop. These guys have some serious skills...

Wow, that's craftsmanship!

Holy wowzers.

wow

I'd work at a place like that for free for several months.

Wow. That's cool. If you are ever in Utah, stop by the Kirkham facility. That place is amazing. They had a copper Cobra there that was just unreal. I understand why they are the place to take your damaged cobra to for fixing.

Man's control over metal is wondrous thing to behold.

("Man's" is a generic term for humans btw!)

Jeez you have to be master carpenter too.

It would almost be a sin to paint that when they're done.

Wow that's impressive! I agree with appleseed, needs to remain nekkid.

Great craftsmanship, completely futile wasted effort that could have been devoted to something meaningful.
Is it lighter? No
Is it stronger? No
Is it faster? No
Is it safer? No
Is it cheaper and easier to repair? No

Is there anything that make it functionally BETTER?

Wow.

Damn. That's... impressive!

Generally aluminum body work is lighter, so yes. Structurally aluminum will be stronger in shear and torsion, so yes. Because of the 2 examples above it will be faster, so yes. Also because of the 2 examples above it will be safer, so yes. It is not cheaper and easier to repair so you got 1 right out of five. Sorry but that isn't a pass even in a modern school system. We wont give you a medal for participating.

In reply to erohslc:

And what if it draws a little attention to your business?

Suppose someone notices your amazing skills? And what if one of those guys who notices happens to own a Ferrari that could be worth $30 million, if it weren't for a little damage to the rear quarter panel? What if that guy decides to send a little business your way?

erohslc wrote: Great craftsmanship, completely futile wasted effort that could have been devoted to something meaningful. Is it lighter? No Is it stronger? No Is it faster? No Is it safer? No Is it cheaper and easier to repair? No Is there anything that make it functionally BETTER?

All forms of art are a waste of time according to your though process. Curious what you would consider "Meaningful"?

How about:

"Is it a one-off incarnation of someones vision who had the audacity to make it real?" "Would anyone want it over a stock corvette?"

Here is another effort that would fall under your waste of time definition, but just seems to make people happy despite being meaningless.

And...and...and...

And what if the Ferrari guy who saw your silly aluminum Corvette had a friend? And what if that friend just happened to own the original body buck for the Cunningham C-4RK?

And what if that friend thought, "Hey, maybe this guy could, you know,..."

egoman wrote: Generally aluminum body work is lighter, so yes. Structurally aluminum will be stronger in shear and torsion, so yes. Because of the 2 examples above it will be faster, so yes. Also because of the 2 examples above it will be safer, so yes. It is not cheaper and easier to repair so you got 1 right out of five. Sorry but that isn't a pass even in a modern school system. We wont give you a medal for participating.

I thought the Corvette used plastic panels and carbon fiber because it's lighter and stronger than aluminum?

Woody is laying down a lot of trump cards. :-)

Man. Impressive work.

If aluminum is such a poor thing to make cars from, wonder why Ford just invested millions in changing the body of their best selling vehicle over to such a crappy material? Why did Honda invest millions in making the frames for their best selling off road bike (the CR250) in a twin spar aluminum design? Why did Yamaha start making their WR and YZ frames from aluminum? Lots of poor decision making going on there.

The Corvette was originally made in fiberglass because it would have been exceptionally difficult (i.e. expensive) to make the stamp dies for the swoopy lines. It became tradition and yes it does allow quick and reasonably inexpensive restylings. Modern hydroforming techniques could probably do it in sheet steel or aluminum now, but what would be the point?

Dude, I was there at Automotive Restorations last night as well. Some serious machinery there and awesome they gave everyone free reign of the place.

Dude, I was there at Automotive Restorations last night as well. Some serious machinery there and awesome they gave everyone free reign of the place.

crxmike wrote: Dude, I was there at Automotive Restorations last night as well. Some serious machinery there and awesome they gave everyone free reign of the place.

Damn. I almost started an "Is anybody else going?" thread. Sorry that I missed you.

Curmudgeon wrote: Modern hydroforming techniques could probably do it in sheet steel or aluminum now, but what would be the point?

I think that was the other posters point and why I brought it up.

CF and CFRP are lighter and stronger than aluminum. So this is a great show of craftsmanship, it doesn't make a lot of sense. (I'm assuming what the one poster meant.)

egoman wrote: Generally aluminum body work is lighter, so yes. Structurally aluminum will be stronger in shear and torsion, so yes. Because of the 2 examples above it will be faster, so yes. Also because of the 2 examples above it will be safer, so yes. It is not cheaper and easier to repair so you got 1 right out of five. Sorry but that isn't a pass even in a modern school system. We wont give you a medal for participating.

Strongly disagree, and here's why:
Lighter? How many real racecars use aluminum bodywork, they would if it WAS LIGHTER.
Stronger? Corvette body IS NOT STRUCTURAL. Anyway, alloys used for hand formed aluminum are malleable, NOT STRONGER.
(Try forming a sheet of 2024T3 into a fender. Flat sheets are great for wing spars though.)
Faster? Since it's not lighter or stronger, it's also not FASTER.
Safer? Fiberglass absorbs more collision energy than malleable aluminum, so it's SAFER.

Sorry, but I think I've won all five. That's a pass anywhere.