sheets for bodywork

[misty]

Hi All
thinking of doing the whole car in galvanised sheet 1mm could this be ok for the iva man

[twinturbo]

An expensive solution , and not a huge advantage.

TT

[flyerncle]

Galvanised sheet may crack the zinc if bent sharply.
Rust will set under whatever you put over it ie paint.

[Davey]

Galv sheel alsl looks very industrial and not good for a car's bodywork IMHO plus its heavier than ali.

D.

[Talonmotorsport]

Don't use galv sheet it has a rough surface finish much little sterling board, it is hot dipped and is rarely flat in any thing under 1.6mm. Galv will not crack even if you put a fold crush (180' bend) in it. If your worried about it rusting use zintec. It's a finer coating (might even be sprayed on )than galv and it's done at a lower temp which means it stays flat down to 0.6mm. If you want to know what zintec is look on the back of any white goods ie fridge,washing machine etc. If you plan on welding it you will have to take it down to bare steel with sanding disk or simular and wear a mask while welding. One advantage of zintec over ali or mild steel is that most paints or primers will stay where they're put due to the surface finish. I'm doing my car with zintec 1.6mm for the floor and 1mm for the body work, I'm using it for 3 reasons, 1: I want to weld the floor on 2: I want to weld the panels together and grind flush before it's painted 3: it's a third of the cost of ali.

[misty]

many many thanks to all i think i will try zintec just to see how it works on a little bit first

[Talonmotorsport]

I used 1.6 mm steel Zintec sheet for the floor and put holes in every 50mm along the rail lines. then puddle welded these to attach to the chassis.

How are you planning to attach the floor, stitch welding along the edges, spot welding or another. interested in knowing.

Also do you plan to have a continuous floor across the car as in the book or two separate pieces.

Mine single sheet all the way across, I believed that must make for a stiffer chassis.

Adrian

I'll probably drill the floor every 80-100mm and plug weld it with the TIG and stich weld in a few places for good measure. Not sure wether to go for a one or 2 piece floor yet as my car is 1218mm wide and my tranny tunel is 40mm narrower. It meens I can get a standard size hatch back front seat in the chassis and it'll accomadate my child bareing hips. The side panels will be stuck on with sticker flex type gunk and a few pop rivets. I'm using zintec as it's not as greasy as mild steel and I want to weld the panel gaps together and grind it flush, I hate that all made of pieces look above the rear wheel arch. The weight of the matterial does'nt bother me as my chassis is 16g and I'm no light weight, besides I can all ways swap the engine out for some thing with twin cams and a turbo when I've either got the time or money do it.