cab metal question
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: los angeles
cab metal question
what gauge metal is the cab floor in a 55 f100? ...firewall? Is it all the same? What about fenders? Thank you !! 
...sorry for the dumb question, but I cant find it anywhere
...sorry for the dumb question, but I cant find it anywhere
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
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From: Northwest Fl
We had a thread on this not too long ago and Randy Jack came up with 16 Ga. on the body/fenders and 14 Ga. on the bed sides. I think this is correct as I used 16 Ga. on a spot on the fender and a lower cab corner and it matched perfectly.
Hotshot
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From: Durham NC
Originally Posted by Jet Jock
Drool
We used 16 on my firewall, then covered it with 18 stainless.
We used 16 on my firewall, then covered it with 18 stainless.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Limestone, TN
AX
We put a steel firewall in got it flat and smooth then glued a 18 ga stainless on the top. You have to get the steel one flat first. Haven't polished this one out yet but we think it will be smooth. We fab-ed our own firewall. then we made a cardboard pattern with all the cutouts and gave it to the machine shop to drill the stainless.
Jet Jock
"I drive a 'girly'
302 because, when I want to go fast, I go to work"
We put a steel firewall in got it flat and smooth then glued a 18 ga stainless on the top. You have to get the steel one flat first. Haven't polished this one out yet but we think it will be smooth. We fab-ed our own firewall. then we made a cardboard pattern with all the cutouts and gave it to the machine shop to drill the stainless.
Jet Jock
"I drive a 'girly'
302 because, when I want to go fast, I go to work"
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Durham NC
Body exterior metal is 16ga? I know that trucks are built heavier than passenger cars, but that's almost 1/16" thick! I would have expected maybe that for the floor and the firewall, and 14-16 ga for the bed but something more in the 19-20 ga for exterior. I'm going to have to bring home a micrometer to check that.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Durham NC
Thanks JJ!
I'd like to suggest that next time tho you try to find prepolished SS sheet, or plan to use a brushed finish, SS is a B**ch to polish and a large flat surface is the worst possible thing to do. As a fine jewelry custom designer and manufacturer I polish metal every day for the last 25 years but wouldn't want to tackle a SS firewall from mill finish to polished, especially in place.
I'd like to suggest that next time tho you try to find prepolished SS sheet, or plan to use a brushed finish, SS is a B**ch to polish and a large flat surface is the worst possible thing to do. As a fine jewelry custom designer and manufacturer I polish metal every day for the last 25 years but wouldn't want to tackle a SS firewall from mill finish to polished, especially in place.
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Elder User
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From: Limestone, TN
Ax
Stay tuned in film at 11:00 on the polishing. I will let you know.
Jet Jock
"I drive a 'girly' 302 because, when I want to go fast, I go to work"
Stay tuned in film at 11:00 on the polishing. I will let you know.
Jet Jock
"I drive a 'girly'
302 because, when I want to go fast, I go to work"
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Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Durham NC
Well if you run into problems or need suggestions, how tos, what to uses, or where to gets give me a shout. If you haven't done it before, don't just jump right into the firewall without practicing/testing on some scrap first. Wrong techniques can be nearly impossible to fix. Be VERY careful! polishing sheet metal is one of the most potentially dangerous operations there is. I personally know a college professor of national reputation who cut off three of her fingers in just a moment of lapsed concentration polishing a piece of copper sheet. I also saved a female student from being scalped when she got her hair caught in the buffer in the jewelry studio at grad school.
Last edited by AXracer; Dec 1, 2004 at 11:49 PM.
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Junior User
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From: los angeles
sounds painful! The reason I asked is because I just bought rear fender patches from lmc and they are 14ga (or so it says on the sticker on them), so I was thinking that the cab would be 14 gauge too. The patches seem extremely thick, but I am not sure. Does anyone know what 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 gauge thickness are?? ...Ill do a search you dont have to answer that.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Durham NC
OK, I'm awake now...
It depends on who's scale you are reading, there are several right answers:
AWG
14 = .0641
16 = .0508
20 = .032
SWG
14 = .080
16 = .064
20 = .036
BG
14 = .0785
16 = .0625
20 = .0392
Evidently Mike has found yet another scale.
So it can be different by a significant amount especially if the parts were made out of the US.
It depends on who's scale you are reading, there are several right answers:
AWG
14 = .0641
16 = .0508
20 = .032
SWG
14 = .080
16 = .064
20 = .036
BG
14 = .0785
16 = .0625
20 = .0392
Evidently Mike has found yet another scale.
So it can be different by a significant amount especially if the parts were made out of the US.
Last edited by AXracer; Dec 2, 2004 at 07:32 AM.
Posting Guru
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From: Northwestern PA
by the looks of my chart,
awg is aluminum, swg is strip and tubing , bg is stainless
the scale I enter is listed as sheet steel.
Ax is right, it varies some from scale to scale, however I think, close is good enough for patching, a couple of .000s won't make a big difference in the end.
Mike
awg is aluminum, swg is strip and tubing , bg is stainless
the scale I enter is listed as sheet steel.
Ax is right, it varies some from scale to scale, however I think, close is good enough for patching, a couple of .000s won't make a big difference in the end.
Mike
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Riverside, So Cal
Too true, MT. 16 guage is around 1/16". It is actually listed in my book as .0598 (Jorgensen Steel Co), but the mill tolerance will let that go from about .056 to .062 (or so). And, no, it won't matter if it is a few thousanths different from the original stuff.