what mm ali to use?
 

what mm ali is acceptable for, floor/transmission tunnel/ and back seat part. 1.2mm or 2mm?
using the fiberglass pannels for the rest

i think i used 1.6 for the floor and 0.9 every were elce

tilly

cheers mate

also i think iv used 1/8th pop rivets on a 2 inch pitch

tilly

Remember that aluminium comes in many strengths and grades and you can get a 1.2mm sheet that is harder than a 2mm sheet :eek:

For rivet spacing, 10 times the rivet width is a reasonable rule of thumb.

what grade and mm, would you recomend for floor and rear seat section? im just gona do it with the same alli saves buying different sheets?

I've used a 2mm 5251 H22 for the floor (210MPa Tensile Strength). I then used 1mm 1050 H14 (Half Hard) for the tunnel, behind seats, sides (100MPa Tensile Strength).

If your bolting your seats into the floor (as per the book) You want a beefy grade of metal, plus your going to stand on it. I think the book actually recommends using 2mm aluminium for the floor. 1mm to 1.2mm for other panels. If you want to enter you car into the 750mc race series, it needs a steel floor.

when sheeting your floor etc do you have to cover the transmission tunnel from the underside or can you leave it open. also i take it you use ali rivets?

Some folk cover the floor & tunnel, others have just done the floor.

I used 2mm alloy for the floor ( Left tunnel open ) & have bought 1.2mm for all of the rest ..... Rear panel done, went round the corners a treat :cool:
Side panels & interior next :)

I bought a full sheet of 2mm .... Had enough left from that to make my fuel tank ;)

Yes alloy rivets, the sealed type if possible .

Went beserk with my rivets ..... Every 25mm :eek: .... One thing for sure, the floor don't bend when I stand my 14 stone on it !!

cheers for the info.

I like to leave the tranny tunnel exposed, comes in handy for a quick inspection, refix handbrake switch or speedo cable or adjust handbrake.

Personal choice though.....AndyH

That was more or less my thinking Andy :)

I also felt it would be a nice collector of every lump of garbage that comes its way ;)

when fitting the rear ali for where the seats are. do u just cut to size and pop rivet as it is, or do you have to do something to the edges (clean them up/round them or sumit)

Cut the sheet so it's just shy of the radius on the tube so when it's on you won't have a sharp edge.

I'm going to do the floor, sides, rear panel (and maybe bonnet) in ali, so how many sheets of what size and grade will i need?

3 sheets without bonnet. 4 with. there will be enough to make a fuel tank out of that too.

So that would be 3 sheets of say 1.0mm (sides rear, bonnet) and 1 of 2.0mm (floor)

when I get as far as the ali for the tunnel my plan was going to be, get some bolts and weld the pointing down on the inner edge of the tunnel and allow the ali floor to run on say 15mm so they are poking through hole's then make a piece of ali the same size as the tunnel and drill holes in in so the bolts come though to hold it up and then use nylock nuts and cut all the bolts so they don't sit proud. This way the prop is covered but with a few bolts your in and able to work on things

For covering the bottom of the tranny tunnel, separately, the best thing is just to drill a few rivnuts and use button head bolts.

Only problem with that way they could work loose over time and one day your driving along and hear a scraping noise. With the nylock nuts they won't undo on you and cause you grief.

How many parts on a production car are held on with Nylocs? My exhaust doesn't fall off, nor my sump, turbo, wheels or fuel tank. If a bolt is done up properly, it doesn't come off. People get a bit melodramatic about "Safety" of a kitcar and go OTT.

I was going to use a Castleated+Splitpin nylock with threadlock and a 2nd locking nut for good measure. :D

I understand some people are using just pannel bonding compound to fit some pannels rather than do any riveting or nutting..

TT

I was gonna do that too..................... and then weld around the end of the nut for good measure :D

LOL that sounds awesome, I'm going to do that for all my bolts :D

I don't know what all the comment's are about. Using nylock nuts are just good practice. They are cheap no real price difference and they do the job. End of the day my Car will never have a problem with a part falling off. I am trying to build my car to a high standard. bare in mind I have 12 knuckle dragging ford trained mechanics the are going to see mine

what size sheets would i need? parker quoted me nearly £300 :eek:

Either you or Parkers are avin a larf.
Think I paid about £140 for 4 sheets from
them back in September/October time

Hi James

You'll need 8ft X 4ft sheets

That price is very steep :eek:

Parkers is probably not the best place to buy alloy sheet ..... There is a lower cost national company out there ..... Be buggered if I can remember the name of it at the moment :o

Just for reference .... I collected 2 sheets of 1.2mm & 1 Sheet of 2mm of half hard alloy sheet from my local general steel stockist ( Not the cheapest of places ) !!?? ..... Cost me in the region of £125 inc Vat ;)

Jeeeezzzzzz Christ...Just checked their site.
They defo are having a laugh....
You were right at about 300 squids,,,:eek: :eek:

Yep, that's about the same time as I bought mine :)

I am sure it aint gone up much since then :eek:

Just wish I could remember the name of that other firm :o

Flyerncle will know .... That's where he got his from ;)

crumbs i got mine at the right time then. looking at the receipt paid £106 including delivery for 3 8x4 sheets of 1.5mm 5251 H22.

yes i did all my panels in hard ali. i didnt know how hard it was at the time just took the bloke on the phones advice, it was wrong and yes it blooming hard to bend.

my floor is 1.5mm 5251 H22 riveted every 2.5 inch and bonded. its so strong i can jump on it.

remember most tintops only have 0.9mm thick steel flooring

I thought i had the sheet size wrong and i did but still come in a t nearly £250:eek:

Aluminium Sheet 2.0mm 5251 H22 2.50 x 1.25 m /sh £88.15
Aluminium Sheet 1.2mm 1050A H14 2.50 x 1.25 m /sh £53.67

can you use any ali pop rivets to do the floor. cuz i think i'v gone ott loll. iv used 4.8 x 18. is this ok for iva tho?

A quick search back through the forum found this -

http://www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/...167/index.html

Just watch out for the £50 delivery fee!!!!

Try this link for Ali:

http://www.metals4u.co.uk/products.asp?cat_id=11

The 2mm 5 bar treaded plate is ideal for the floor being more rigid and non-slip. Delivery is reasonable to.

AndyH

Aalco.....

+1 for Aalco. I got my aluminium off Aalco in Liverpool.

Ohhhh I just remembered ..... The name is Aalco :rolleyes: :o :D

Cheers Paul :)

Sussed out the bracket problem Ronnie,2360 oal + 25mm for the front frame = too long.
Suspension mountings out by 30mm.

Plonker

Good to see your sorted mate :) :)