car thickness

[KrisR]

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out how thick of steel I need to match with my car body. Anybody familiar with this?

Thanks.

Kris

 

[grandads_shed]

i think most modern cars are about 0.8 but i use 1mm when reparing things like the floor or sills..

im sure othedrs use other thicknesses

 

[Dusty]

you could just measure the metal, then you would know what to use......or?

 

[mignoob]

I just had rockers/sills made for my '86 mazda rx7 and they make them with 22 gauge which is pretty much 0.8mm. Use at least that if you are repairing large sections. if you are just patching small sections I was told it was alright to use thinner metal that you can tack in place and bend with pliers/hammers. I myself would still use 0.8mm anyway though because that is the stock thickness in most cars body work.

 

[rkde]

Generally 0.8 - 0.9 give or take but I generally use cold rolled CR4 (mild steel) 1.0mm which is normally rolled to the thinnest tolerance so you generally get 0.9mm and that will be fine for most body / sill repairs.

Best thing to do is put a vernier calliper over the metal and gauge the thickness then trot off to get some material

 

[piman]

Hello Kris,

the age of the car will probably have a bearing, the 60's cars I'm interested in use 20 gauge for the outer body panels and 18 gauge for the structural elements, some also have 16 gauge for outriggers etc.

I don't know what your standard measurement for sheet steel is but in metric, 20 gauge is about 1.0mm, 18 gauge about 1.2mm and 16 gauge about 1.6mm.

Alec