Stainless steel body work, practical?

[eSteve]

Morning,

whilest at the Exeter show I saw some cars finished in polished stainless stell.

I was wondering on the practicality of using stainless for the side panels, rear tub and bonnet.

I am wonder the following:

1. Cost, presumably stainless steel is going to be pretty expensive.

2. Does one have to spent a significant amount of time a) polishing it in the first palce and b) keeping it nica and polished.

3. Workability, is working with the stainless steel going to be too difficult, i.e forming nice sharp bends and forming the material aroung the rear tub rails.

I think, yes it would be far too expensive, it would need too much looking after and it would be a pain in the arse to work with.

What are other peoples views, anyone considered it? Has anyone got a Haynes Roadster with stainless bodywork?

[Enoch]

My Robin Hood was nearly all stainless, it's a pig to work with and very heavy compared to ally or fibre glass. It does keep it's shine ok but is very springy so hard to bend in to shape and work with. Personally I would not go that route, mainly because of the weight. The cost is certainly another issue.
Just my 2p worth.
Enoch.

[trickydicky0_16]

Stainless costs about £90-120 for a 2m x 1m sheet 1.2mm thick personally i would'nt do it. finger marks would be a big problem plus weight and workability

regards

[mr henderson]

Robin Hood stainless is about .7mm thick. Still pigging hard to bend into a decent folded edge. I did some RH bodywork and I'm not going to do any more!

[Talonmotorsport]

As a former sheet metal worker I hate the stuff! It's hard to cut with blades that have teeth, if you cut it with a grinder you get burn marks along the cut line and if you use a nibbler it gets a puckered edge. Unless you have a 8ft guillotine , 8ft 20ton brake press and a 24 inch throat notcher I'd say avoid it and go for either ali or steel. It looks nice but is it worth the time , money and agro probably not.

[eSteve]

Thanks for your opinions and experiences chaps.

It pretty well backs-up my thoughts, i.e. it's a bit of a no-go for a self-build.

Shame really, as some of the sevenesque cars at Exeter with stainless steel bonnet, scuttle and side panels looked really smart.

I'll stop dreaming then and stick with the ali.

[HandyAndy]

There was a 7 style car at Stoneleigh this year, with ALL of the bodywork made from ali, including the nose, he said the nose was made in 3 sections, but you couldn,t see a seam or where he,d smoothed the joints, it did look stunning,
could really appreciate the man hours the builder had put into it, was quite a crowd puller too.

cheers
andy

[Bonzo]

Originally Posted by HandyAndy

There was a 7 style car at Stoneleigh this year, with ALL of the bodywork made from ali, including the nose, he said the nose was made in 3 sections, but you couldn,t see a seam or where he,d smoothed the joints, it did look stunning,
could really appreciate the man hours the builder had put into it, was quite a crowd puller too.

cheers
andy

I guess this will be this one



Took that photo at last years Stoneleigh show & I must say, it is a real work of art
Spent ages talking to the builder ( Probably bored him to tears !! ) That is craftmanship of the highest degree & is a great credit to the bulder.

The car is also featured in the book .... Very much suits my personal taste & very much the way I would have liked to go with my own build.
Would have loved to have had a crack at it, had my father still been alive, I would have had the confidence to give it a crack .... He would have kept me on the straight & narrow, that's for sure

Steve

I had a look at the Robin hood's, as Mr H said, the stainless is very thin & looked to be .7mm at the most.
Also agree with Phil, best left alone if you do not have access to the right fabrication equipment, certainy be difficult to get a quality finish using diy tools.

That said, the stainless look works for me.

Stainless sheet can be bought pre mirror polished, the trick is, keeping it looking that way during the fabrication.
Once done, it is more or less maitainence free, just keep on top of the polishing to keep it gleaming

[TSM Locost]

That car belongs to Trev Davis who now has his own body shop, been known to repair priceless Ferrari race car bodies. Very nice guy that has time for all.

PS. now fitting alloy roof with gull wing doors.

[HandyAndy]

Thats the one Ronnie ,

It really is a stunning looking car, not just the fact its all ali, but imagining the amount of hours gone into making the bodywork alone makes it even more impressive.

cheers
andy