Buying a welder and I want to know what is the gauge used on a 914 ?, is it 22 or 24...etc

Thanks

I've always forgot to ask the same question... Chris??

I think most places are thicker than 22. The thickness varies depending on the area.
Get a wire gauge and slip it onto the panel to measure the thickness.

Depends on how much bondo is on the metal covering up the rust!

We're getting a ton of great replies here!! I though my reply was lame

It's actually a great question. I wish I knew the answer too.

Bueller?

18.00

i know i have the answer somewhere but my archive searches haven't turned it up. i could have sworn Jeroen posted some numbers from the thread where he cut up the firewall/bulkhead area - but i couldn't find that thread and believe me - you don't want to just go looking for 'Jeroen' unless you've got a bit of time on your hands !

anyway - what i recall - is that two thicknesses were used: 0,7mm in the 'lighter guage' areas, and 1,0mm where something thicker was required. for even more, multiple layers of 1,0 were used.

there are US sheet metal guage sizes that are "close" - depends on how "AR/CW" you wish to get ...

The question pertains to a mig welder and what would work for minor body welding i.e filling trim holes,flares...etc.
I am thinking of a Miller 135 110 Volt unit and it has the capability of .24 wire

Neal

It's metric, I think on my chart it turned out about 19 gauge

Neal, that's plenty. We were welding frame parts for a mudracer with my buddy's 135.

Is gauge in metal like wire, lower # is thicker ?, so 19 is thicker than 22 ?

Neal's welding and metal 101

yes.

I'm guessing 19 or 20 gage on the outer body parts

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

I bought 22 gauge. I asked the same question and was told .75mm 18 or 19 guage.
See thread here

Corrrekted the speeling mist@ke -thanks Rich

YES! -THAT- was the thread i was looking for and couldn't find.

it wouldda helped if i'd spelled 'gauge' the same was it was in the thread :-) ...

Short sheetmetal lesson for all of you:

Here are the relevent sheetmetal gauges being discussed here:
18GA = 0.0478in = 1.21mm
20GA = 0.0359in = 0.911mm
22 GA = 0.0299in = 0.759mm

Odd gauge sizes do exist by definition, but just try and buy some.....

Thickness of any sheetmetal gauge varies withing specified tolerances. Also, depending on who manufactured the sheetmetal it will vary in thickness depending on how it is sold. Traditionally, Japanese sheetmetal will run thin (20GA will run around .032 or .033 thick) because they sell it by area, and my minimizing the thickness, they minimize the actual amount of steel you are buying (by weight). American sheetmetal will run thick, because it is sold by the pound, and they want to maximize the amount of material (by weight) that you need to buy for your square footage needs. Make sense? I thought not.

Demick

Most of the structural metal on a 914 is 1mm (.040"). In some places it is two layers thick. Some reinforcing pieces are about 1.5mm thickness I think. I generally use 18ga (.045") cold rolled steel for repairs. It is slightly thicker than the original metal to make up for it being a little softer than automotive panels which have been stamped. This process work hardens the metal a bit.
I like to use .023-.025" wire in my 110v MIG because it gives better heat control than the thicker (.030") wire at the low machine settings typically used for automotive repair welding.
The body panels are a bit lighter and I generally use 20ga when making repairs. IMO it is a better choice than 22ga which is thinner than the original metal.

Racer Chris, thanks for your explaination. I am confused at a much higher level now, so I have that going for me.

Neal