Aluminum durability

[rodneym]

Hello,

I'm a current SPF owner seriously considering a Kirkham.
I've read nothing but amazing things about the quality of Kirkhams but my real concern is the general durability of aluminum.
In SoCal, there's quite a bit of highway debris that gets kicked up, like tire chunks, small pieces of smashed pallets, etc. I'm pretty good at avoiding such things but.......
On a glass car, the road debris makes for tiny chips in the paint but what kind of damage happens to a Kirkham? Do you guys get dinged up in the front?
Is it true that you can dent a fender by working on the car or are these stories blown out of proportion?

Thanks for any input.

Rodney

[Lew Ledyard]

The aluminum is either stronger, thicker or both. I have leaned in my fenders, my kids have sat on them and there are no dents. I have some paint chips on the front, but no dings. I have 5,000 miles on the car and the only small dent is from someone opening their door into my door. It is very slight and you have to look to find it. I would imaging that a fiberglass door would have been damaged as well. The dent would probably be easy to fix, but I can't be bothered. Also, folks in the know, know that a fiberglass Cobra wouldn't have a dent.

My Dad had a 289 Cobra in the late '60s. I remember getting yelled at for denting it. I can't remember exactly how I did it, but I was maybe 6 or 7, so I am not sure how much "force" I could have applied. In comparison, my 5 year old smacked my Kirkham with a wooden mallet pretty hard and nothing happened. (To the car or to the kid.)

[Jamo]

Rodneym...it's terrible, so bad that few buy Kirkhams. I think they stopped production about a dozen after mine. Anybody that would buy one must be a dumb sumb!tch for not thinking of the concerns you have.

Jaguar, Audi and Range Rover are all going to fiberglass.

[RodKnock]

According to the Kirkham website, the aluminum used for the Kirkham is thicker than the originals (0.059" versus 0.050"):

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/faq/index.html#024

Honestly, it's always a concern, and anything that's a projectile from the freeway will damage virtually any car. Fiberglass is not without its own concerns as well.

I had an large empty cardboard box come off a truck that I was following on the freeway, some time ago. It bounced and hit my daily driver and it made a small indentation.

If the unfortunate does ever happen, then aluminum can be fixed just like metal or plastic.

[rodneym]

Well, I thought it was an honest question.

Thanks for the input, guys.

BTW, my mom's XJR is plastic front and rear. I assume the Audi and Range Rovers are the same.

I could live with the reality of an aluminum car, I was just curious.

Rodney

[1985 CCX]

Not only is it thicker it is alloyed differently making it harder. They are very durable as I think they are stamped versus rolled as well.

KMS person may know for sure.

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by rodneym

Well, I thought it was an honest question.

Thanks for the input, guys.

BTW, my mom's XJR is plastic front and rear. I assume the Audi and Range Rovers are the same.

I could live with the reality of an aluminum car, I was just curious.

Rodney

Jamo is pulling your chain.

E

[Jamo]

Yanking like hell, actually.

Yes, you can live with an arruminum car. Any doubts in your mind have been placed there due to sniffing plastic fumes.

[bnewell]

I found the Kirkham to be very durable..........how ya doing Eric??

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by bnewell

I found the Kirkham to be very durable..........how ya doing Eric??

I'm doin great!

Was just over at the LCS, were you there?

Sorry for the thread theft OP

E

[Ronbo]

The big difference is really painted or not painted..

Paint jobs are destined to look like crap over time doesn't matter what it's on.

An unpainted aluminum body on the other hand...

[patrickt]

But what they don't tell you is that repeated removal of the pesky oxidation will eventually result in holes in the aluminum.

[rodneym]

Sniffing plastic is right, Jamo. I'm in vinyl fabrication business: chemical suits, medical bladders, etc. Smelling a warehouse of vinyl in full bloom will kill some brain cells.

Thanks a lot, Patrickt. Now I have something else to worry about with Aluminum. Just pulling your chain, Jamo.

Rodney

[dblbarrel]

Isn't Windex an aluminum solvent. After 6-7 years the aluminum just dissolves.
Much like some mail boxes.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dblbarrel

Isn't Windex an aluminum solvent. After 6-7 years the aluminum just dissolves.

Yes indeed. Here's a close-up of some yellow aluminum that was repeatedly exposed to Windex.

[Ronbo]

Nah, those are high-speed bug impacts. The bugs can fly faster than the glass cars so it's not an issue with them.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by dblbarrel

Isn't Windex an aluminum solvent. After 6-7 years the aluminum just dissolves.
Much like some mail boxes.

I just went into my garage to check for holes in the aluminum and I found that there's both a large as well as a smaller hole in the front end of the car. Is that bad?

[Jamo]

Rodney...get an unpainted KMP and breath easier.

[Jamo]

Tim...bite my ass.

Your friend, Jamo

...and leave my mailbox oughtta this.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Jamo

Rodney...get an unpainted KMP and breath easier.

Just don't take it to any judged events in Fresno. The judges may think it's an Austin-Healy.