Body work: What am I looking for? Do I use the same gauge for exterior panels as I do for interior/floors etc?
Body framework: I know that 1x1 tubing is normal, but I just know my wife is going to want something more "roll-over-able". I know I don't have a lot of interior room for a full roll cage, so what are my options?
Cold rolled v Hot rolled: does it matter to the likes of me who's just welding it together anyway?
Paints and coatings: What are you all painting your "un-seen" parts with? and what's that stuff you use on metal that you can weld over, so your car doesn't rust from the inside out.
Please feel free to add any and all metal related questions to this thread.
Thanks guys.
-- Edited by Dave Scott on Wednesday 26th of February 2014 10:50:51 PM
For body work on the older cars, use 18g cold rolled. Chevs and Fords need 1X1 tubing to hang all the sheet metal on because originally these members were made of wood, but in a roll-over it will all collapse. If you want to protect yourself in a roll-over, then you need a proper roll cage. Not much room for them in the older 30s cars. Hot rolled steel is a bit softer than cold rolled (less carbon) and has less tendency to crack when bent sharply. The problem with hot rolled is that it has a very hard scale on it which must be removed if you plan on having paint stick to it. One option is to buy P&O hot rolled (pickled and oiled) but around my area it's next to impossible to find.I just find it best to buy cold rolled steel because it will save me time down the road even though it is much more expensive.
Unseen parts should be etched with phosphoric acid, then coated with an epoxy primer. Another option is to use a zinc-chromate primer with a urethane sealer on top of it. This was the norm about 10 years ago, but now just the epoxy seems to be what's recommended. The stuff you can weld through is a rattle can primer, and I wouldn't recommend it because it will never last as long as a 2K primer.
-- Edited by hemi43 on Wednesday 26th of February 2014 11:28:24 PM
A roll cage isn't going to do a lot if the seat your in rips out of the floor. You can do a lot with one 1x1 if you pay attention to cross bracing adding gussets to intersecting part reinforcing hinge areas and using good door latches that are going to stay shut. its all in the detail.. like the gusset plates in your frame on the kick ups
Dodge had no structural wood. You were asking about primer, well on my car after I got it back from acid dipping I soaked any seam with epoxy primer and sprayed hidden areas using a syringe. I let it drip for 2 days, then sanded any excess epoxy drips before spraying the whole body. I have had no rust seep through any seams in 8 years.
-- Edited by hemi43 on Thursday 27th of February 2014 09:23:40 AM
