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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Steel Guage

Posted by: obscurity Jan 5 2007, 04:12 PM

While many of the most needed parts are available from various suppliers I find myself in need of patching various areas from scratch

What is the thickness of the various parts on a 914. My goal is to have something that can be put in the 914info area or in the classics forum for future reference by those of us unfortunate enough to live 3000 miles from rust free cars!

Body Panels:
Floors:
Longitudinal member (outer skin):
Longitudinal reinforcment:
Tunnel:

Feel free to add additional areas you need...

Posted by: spunone Jan 5 2007, 04:24 PM

while welding up my car for the first time I know its an .02thin steel or maybe its my welding

Posted by: Travis Neff Jan 5 2007, 04:33 PM

The OE sheetmetal is a metric size. A close Equivalent is 20G for exterior panels and 18G for beefier areas.

Posted by: thesey914 Jan 6 2007, 04:07 PM

20 gauge is 0.9mm (.38")
18 gauge is 1.2mm (.516")

Posted by: bperry Jan 6 2007, 08:33 PM

QUOTE(thesey914 @ Jan 6 2007, 04:07 PM)

20 gauge is 0.9mm (.38")
18 gauge is 1.2mm (.516")

um.... I think your Imperial thickness is way off.

.38 and .516 of an inch is HUGE thick!

From what I've seen
20 gauge is 0.0359 of an inch
18 gauge is 0.0478 of an inch

Gauge really sucks as a "thickness standard" since it is not consistent
for all types of metals because it is based on weight not an actual thickness.

Sheet metal thickness gages are based on a weight of 41.82 pounds per square foot per inch of thickness. This is known as the Manufacturers' Standard Gage for Sheet Steel, and is primarily used for sheet steel. For materials such as Aluminum and Brass the thicknesses will be different. Thus a 10 gage steel sheet which has a thickness of 0.1345 inch will weigh 41.82*0.1345 = 5.625 pounds per square foot.

Here is a link: http://www.efunda.com/designstandards/gages/sheet_forward.cfm#SteelGage1

i.e 18 gauge steel is 0.0478 inch vs 18 gauge galvanized steel is 0.0516 inch
and 0.0403 inch for aluminum.

Just another example of the incredible complexities of the Imperial
measurement system that we continue to cling to.

--- bill