Aluminium vs Steel floor
 

Hi all,

in the book it says to use the sierra roof (i.e. steel) as the floor and weld it on to the chassis but i've seen lots of you have used an aluminium sheet and secured it down with rivets. probably a silly question but are the rivets not a potential weak spot for rusting/chassis integrity and is attaching aluminium to steel in this way okay to do?

cheers

Ben

No because you also apply generous amounts of PU sealer to glue it on as well.

There is not a problem with ally to steel with this method.

Yes, using aluminium is more than fine. Remember its also bonded when riveting the aluminium to the chassis.

yeah there is a possibility that it could oxidize, i am going to fit a thin strip of rubber between them :)

Use pu the rubber will squash and split.

oh ok , what is pu?

Michael

Polyurathane

Good you say that actually! I've got geffin tons!! :) or access to it anyway! :)

cheers guys. could sikaflex be used instead of pu? purely because i've already got it sitting in the garage?

Yes, that should be fine to use, lots of builders use that stuff....careful what you let it get into contact with cos its super sticky :eek:

Welcome to the forum too Ben :) , photos of your build is a must :D

cheers
andy

cheers handyandy.

i'll upload some pictures soon, i'm afraid progress is slow but the chassis is almost complete! just need to earn enough to get some running gear in time for the summer holidays :cool:

We all like build photos :cool:

Hey...any small progress IS progress, keep at it, we,ve all been at the same point in our builds so know what the build process can be like.

Maybe put your location in your profile...you may have a fellow builder close by to gain / swap build tips & it also helps with motivation when you might need some ;)

Hope you enjoy the forum too.

cheers
andy

Ooo another southerner welcome to the forum. Your not the only person in Guildford, Robo is in worplesdon.

Welcome to the forum!
Most of us seem to use ali floor held on with rivets and sikaflex. I'm sure it's not a problem!
Use sealed rivets and/or put a blob of sikaflex on the end of each rivet to help reduce oxidation.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that some race series require a steel floor though, so bear that in mind if you ever plan to race it.

You could probably dispense with the rivets all together, the sikaflex is very sticky stuff.

Some manufacturers turned to bonding panels of a none structural nature on to cars and what a bugger they are to get off.

ah i'm in worplesdon so he may be hearing from me if i ever get stuck! lucky him!

Wow :eek:

I didn,t expect it to be that close :D :D

Try a test piece for yourself. scotchbrite and degrease a piece of spare box section and a strip of ali. Glue and rivet a small section and let it cure a couple of days. Then try to get them to part company, if you have done it right the ali will tear before the bond lets go.

bob

I'm using 2mm steel, as i was able to get 2 off- cuts and weld them together. cheaper than buying ally.