After 60 plus years of studying various disciplines from sales to journalism to publishing to race car fabrication, violin making, sculpture, etc. I decided that I want to become a journeyman panel beater. This task used to take a seven year apprenticeship, while the machinists served five years. My prior knowledge might give me about a 1-2 year head-start.
Thus I've been considering making a buck and trying to clone my '54 Shadow petrol tank. After spending three decades in the auto racing industry as a publisher and part-time fabricator I thought I at least had a pretty good introduction to the panel beating art. Then I've spent a couple of dozen hours on YouTube watching many journeymen turn out complete car bodies. I feel as though I can make a wooden, or even wire buck that would fit the bill.
For fun I looked on eBay to check prices of reproduction Vincent petrol tanks and they started out at $600 US which surprisingly is 490 Pounds Sterling! The last time I was in the UK the Pound was $1.80, so everything cost me almost double. After scrolling through 20 eBay pages I found I could buy an aluminum or steel Vincent tank for $250 US dollars. Then I noted the approval rate for the sellers was at about 60%.
Surely 'they' (probably from India) are stamping the tanks and welding them together. Has anyone seen or bought one of these repros? I've never had in mind that I'm going to sell a tank, and more than likely it's going to take me 2-3 tries to make one that is acceptable. I want to make the tank because it'll involve lots of shrinking and stretching, they keys to working steel and aluminum into the compound shapes.
I had not checked the currency conversion from US dollars to Pounds Sterling in years, and I am gob-smacked the Pound is now so very low. I sure wish I had the time and revenue to once again visit my beloved Chipping Campden where I spent three summers in the 90's.
So, what is the verdict on the repro Vincent petrol tanks?
Thus I've been considering making a buck and trying to clone my '54 Shadow petrol tank. After spending three decades in the auto racing industry as a publisher and part-time fabricator I thought I at least had a pretty good introduction to the panel beating art. Then I've spent a couple of dozen hours on YouTube watching many journeymen turn out complete car bodies. I feel as though I can make a wooden, or even wire buck that would fit the bill.
For fun I looked on eBay to check prices of reproduction Vincent petrol tanks and they started out at $600 US which surprisingly is 490 Pounds Sterling! The last time I was in the UK the Pound was $1.80, so everything cost me almost double. After scrolling through 20 eBay pages I found I could buy an aluminum or steel Vincent tank for $250 US dollars. Then I noted the approval rate for the sellers was at about 60%.
Surely 'they' (probably from India) are stamping the tanks and welding them together. Has anyone seen or bought one of these repros? I've never had in mind that I'm going to sell a tank, and more than likely it's going to take me 2-3 tries to make one that is acceptable. I want to make the tank because it'll involve lots of shrinking and stretching, they keys to working steel and aluminum into the compound shapes.
I had not checked the currency conversion from US dollars to Pounds Sterling in years, and I am gob-smacked the Pound is now so very low. I sure wish I had the time and revenue to once again visit my beloved Chipping Campden where I spent three summers in the 90's.
So, what is the verdict on the repro Vincent petrol tanks?