Galvanizing distortion

[Maxakarudy]

I planning to build an AC Cobra chassis as pictured, I've never seen one galvanized, what's the possibility of distortion if I get it done, any special considerations?

 

[WorkshopChris]

what's the possibility of distortion if I get it done,

From the galvanising jobs i have seen i would say the chance of distortion is huge, with the run of the mill bog standard dipping methods.
Are all the tube/ box parts fully open or welded closed.

 

[armalites]

I think you will be fine distortion wise assuming there are no inbuilt stresses like parts that you have to force in place while welding,even on that sort of frame I don't think it will be big issue. You need get them to cool it naturally and not quench it.

Your biggist issue is going to be vent/drain holes. They will need to be in exactly the right place depending on how they hang it. If you get is wrong at worst it will be dangerous but you could end up with heavy sections and pay way more for the dipping. Most places will drill hole but be aware they will drill them in a places that make their lives easy, they won't think about the possibilities of something filling with water.On a frame like that you would need 2 holes in every single sealed section

When I had some gate posts done I had provided quite a big hole near the top but they said it wasn't close enough and wanted drill one in the top plate!

 

[Fazerruss]

I think the one that Mark Evans did on a car is born (pilgrim sumo) was galvanised but i think the chassis was a much simpler design compared to the one you have pictured.
Personally I would stay away from having a sports car chassis done. From experience the galvanisers are monkeys who have no idea what the consequences are from drilling holes wherever they like.
At the end of the day I presume this will be a fair weather car so a decent paint job will last the life of the car.

 

[Kent]

Do not give that to the galvanising monkeys.! The chances of it Comming back not requiring extensive correction work or worse are pretty slim.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I have a Pilgrim Sumo with box section chassis and this one is galvanised,

 

[Maxakarudy]

Thanks Guy's
Looks 50/50 about the distortion, I might look into metal spraying, see how that compares

 

[knighty]

if you're making it yourself... why not make it out of something that won't rust ?

 

[Burdekin]

We occasionally use Thermally sprayed aluminium on piping and is regarded as the best type of coating for corrosion resistance but it may cause distortion as well so worth checking. TSA is a very tough coating, we had to sand blast a few lines for UT inspection and in the end we gave up as it was so slow and messy compared to removing epoxy and replaced the lines instead.

 

[8ob]

If I were you I would take the chassis down to the galvanisers armed with a decent cordless drill and get the guys off the shop floor run through the procedure. I have done this and they were told there would be no extras for drilling, they were also told they were to be strung up so as to not cause distortion. The results were spot on, they took care to hang them on the line in the manner we discussed and it worked out a lot cheaper than paint.

Bob

Wessex galv have done a fair few chassis`s on a project our fabby is involved in and they have all come back perfect.