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a1airboat,
I will have to fully agree with David on this one. Aluminum tube frames are a nightmare at best. (Alloy monocoques are also a problem as they age.)
6061-t6 is in the 70k tensile area and cheap old mild steel is in the 125K area. Therefore. sections and wall thickness of an alloy frame have to be quite larger and heavier to match the structure of the worst of steel alloys. (Of course the chassis will be a bit lighter for equal strenght, but it will be much bigger in all ways.)
Not to mention the problems of annealing around the welds, the changing of temper, and self aging timing, etc, etc, etc.
I would not recommend a Aluminum chassis for a Cobra type car unless you have a penchant for repairing welds and replacing tubes every 2000 or so miles.
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