What do folks prefer for repairing or replacing floors in 50s / 60s cars? I'll be doing simple forming with hand tools. I did some searching here, but didn't come up with much. thanks, Dan T
Dan My got to sheet is 18 gauge. it is easy enough to work and strong enough for most repairs. Of course for just a patch or two I really like old license plates.
I have used 20 gauge and it oil cans ( flexes ) unless you put lots of ribbing into it ( looked like corragated siding ) , 16 gauge works best for the least amount of ribs ( 3) its strong and workable just make sure its cold rolled and not pickled ( acid dipped it hardens it and takes away some of the workability ) oil coated is ok . and try to stay away from the high carbon stuff too . 1020 crs is what you want
I think its always a good idea to measure the existing metal and try to match it as close as possible when doing repairs. You get better results when stuff matches each other.
18 gauge again here... I make complete floors out of them... As long as you use enough bead work you can use 20 gauge...
For floors I'd use 16 or 18 gauge hot rolled pickled and oiled (HRPO) sheet. Pickling just removes the scale from hot rolled sheet and has no effect on hardness or workability. The oil is on it to prevent rusting prior to use. For the same thickness, hot rolled sheet is much easier to form than cold rolled because its softer. The only thing cold rolling accomplishes is an increase in yield and tensile strength. While this makes the steel stronger in absolute terms, it does not affect the stiffness. Stiffness comes from the thickness of the material, and for the same number and size of beads, a hot rolled part will have the same stiffness as a cold rolled one. Different parts have different properties as their main design consideration. Some are designed with strength as the main objective while others are based on deflection under the anticipated loads and others yet are based on stiffness of the finished product. For a floor pan where stiffness is the main objective, there's no need to pay a substantial premium for cold rolled sheet when it gets you nothing but increased difficulty in forming. Commercial quality hot or cold rolled sheet is typically 1008 or 1010. The carbon content in either one is kept low to aid formability. Car makers use aluminum killed steel sheet because of its superior formability, but its not widely available as a stock item from most steel warehouses. None of the above concerning the use of HRPO sheet applies to exterior body panels where you definitely want to stick with cold finished sheet.
I keep a sheet of 18 gauge cold rolled leaning against the back wall and nibble away at it for patch panels, brackets and such. I have the steel place cut it in half for easier handling and it usually lasts for a year or so. It is really a universal supply item for shop use. I do use the bead roller for floor patches for stiffness.
I like 1/4" plate. fixes the floor and lowers the car at the same time. ooh. got to go watch the Big Bang Theory. Penny, knock, knock, knock...Penny, knock, knock, knock...Penny, knock, knock, knock...
Best to use the same thickness. Some floors are 18 guage with lots of shape, beads, and under structure. Some floors are 16 guage with not as much.
When i went to buy sheet metal for my car (70s plymouth) i asked the exact same question. This was at a metal fab shop and the guy told me mid 60s and up used 18ga and most cars from there down down used 16 ga especialy floor pans and other sections that help with the structure of the car. Even though a little heavier i used 16
Whatever ga this old washing machine is, been cutting patches from the case for a while. Just joking, or am I?
Bringing this thread back up. Im channeling my 1940 Desoto and redoing the entire floorboard with 18 guage. What thickness should for the support braces (subsctructure)? I was thinking 16 but its much harder to bend and form. Would 18 guage suffice?
Yes, I have the tools to do the cutting, forming, braking and bead rolling. Ive been watching plenty of videos and have a solid idea on how to proceed. Im extending by body mounts (not frame to body mounts) up 2 inches using 14 guage steel. Will be doing the floor structure cross braces with 16 g. and the floor 18g with bead rolls..
I plan on bending the braces for added rigidity. Doing so because that's also where my bench seat will be bolted to. I made my own 48 inch break that works well with 16 guage steel. A lil bowing in the middle but not too bad. Thanks for the recommendations - truly appreciate it.
I’ve made hat channel braces out of 18 I’ve got some seat mounts to make next. Those will be at least 16
Thats what I was thinking of doing initially and once I thought of where to mount the seats I decided to go with 16g. Im curious how are you building the heavier guage seat mounts? not part of the cross braces?
heres a floor with hat channel braces. Copied the factory design I have another ride that I will probably bend 16 gauge in a U shape. Weld it to the floor legs down. Use this area to mount seats. When we built flat floors in 32s we used a sheet of 16 gauge. Smooth as seen from the bottom. We used 3/4 tubing as a frame work. This was used to fasten the body and seats to. So bolts passed thru the tubing and 16 gauge floor.
on this floor a seat mount was welded to the sub rail (hole not drilled yet) We used the OE bench. The arrows are the front of the seat mount. The rear of the bench seat was mounted to an x-member welded between the sub rails. The original sub rails were wood. New ones were made using rectangle tubing.
I bought a 4'X4" sheet of aluminum killed steel sheet from Ron Koval yrs ago. great for forming by hand. shipping was as much as the metal!
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