We’ve started the project by getting things organized and photographed, and by beginning to strip some of the small components. While not necessary to complete the bonnet conversion, the headlamp buckets were included so that some dents could be removed.
In these photos, a restored and re-tooled reciprocating hammer is being used to re-shape the buckets.
These buckets were in good shape overall, with minimal pitting that can be handled with some high-build primer and some elbow grease. This dent needs to be removed first, though, and a new adjusting nut added in the lower left. This turned out to be powder-coated, and removal was a slow process, even with coarse aluminum oxide media.
Removing the dent with the reciprocating machine. I would have had more clearance in the planishing hammer, but that would have stretched the metal a bit, and these buckets are already thinned out from the original forming process. The reciprocating machine allows precise setting of the hammer travel, in a machine frame that does NOT flex!
