Being as the alloy was free it is worth giving it a fair try :)

It'll not matter if the heat desroys the laminate, it'll probably help with the bend formation !!

For the likes of side panels & the transmission tunel if you can get the bends looking reasonable the job will be a good'un, after all we are not talking about structural parts of the buid ;)

I don't know if you are used to working with sheet materials but here is a good DIY way of forming flanges on light stuff.

Try and find a couple of sturdy lengths of angle iron ( Box section is good if you want a larger radius bend )
Wood will do the job but tends to leave an uneven bend due to springing ( Hardwood is best )

Clamp the 2 lengths so as your bend line is level with the top. You'll need a few clamps spaced at regular intervals, otherwise the bend is unlikely to be true !!

Once clamped tightly, take a nice rubber mallett & start to form the bend.
Lightly tap the material from one end & work you way to the other end .... Bend only a small amount at a time, if you try to do it in one hit, the bend is likely to wrinkle.
Working back & forth, bending a few degrees at a time, you'll have a nice 90deg bend done in no time.
If you have a good quality wide panel beaters hammer, the final strokes can be done with that.

Done properly, it will leave a good quality finish.

If you have the right press break tooling, laminated material can be bent .... The last place I worked bent loads of the stuff.
The equipment cost millons so it bleeding ought to :eek:

Cheers Ronnie,

I'll give it a go tomorrow. Put the floor in today. Also noticed that in the Ron Champion book there is a plate below the steering rack, presumably to help keep the sh!te out of the engine bay. I've not seen any of these fitted to a Roadster.

Peter