Quote:
Originally Posted by Three Peaks
Referring to the panels for the body for rivetting, you'll probably need .090 sheet aluminum for the pieces you need to make up templates for and shape. The inner fenders, rear wheel arches, trunk aluminum, cockpit, rear bulkhead, firewall, door surround pieces, radiator enclosure pieces, and a few other smaller pieces you'll need to form. Not sure what others used, but I found .120 was a bit too stout for a lot of these pieces. .120 also wanted to crack when bent 90 degrees or more in a brake. I'm thinking .062 would possibly be enough and I've heard of guys using .040 for some of these pieces.
David Kirkham has some articles on the "Kirkham Academy" on here or on the Kirkham site on tips on making the aluminum bodies, what alloy they use for the bodies and what thickness they use, tools they use for shaving down the joint welds, etc.... lots of great info if you're into rolling your own.
Bob
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Yep; .120 is only referring to the 3" frame tubing.
.090 is really stout aluminum. I have a coil of .062 in my back shop I was always wondering what to do with; unfortunately, it's 2024 T3, so it won't stand much working, but will do for flat, single flanged or simple bead rolled, unless I heat treat it.
I imagine bodies are made of .030 - .045 3003 H3. It works well, yet has some basic starch to it for stiffness.