The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop SHeet Metal

May have been asked before but when replacing metal on the 66, where do I get sheet metal from? How thick? Specific type? Thanks.

I bought some rockers and cab corners from LMC for my '66. One rocker was .050 thick and the other was .035 and the cab corners were unuseable because they were so poorly shaped and they were mistrimmed. I came across H&H Classic Parts ( www.hhclassic.com ) at a swap meet and was very impressed with their parts. I bought both rockers, cab corners and outer floor panels from them.

I'm not sure about that year, but most older trucks had parts made from 19 gauge sheet steel. That is .0418 thickness. At least that is what I have measured on my stock 1958, I checked various parts. Most all the parts supply places use either or both Counterpart and Dynacorn sheet metal parts so far the gauge checks pretty close. It seems to vary from 19 to 17 gauge, and the smaller the gauge the thicker the metal. I'm sure the 66 is 19 gauge as well, you will need a micrometer or good machinist calipers to check it. For just getting the sheet metal in flat sheets, one of the outfits I think LMC sells it, and then of course a metal supply place in your area.
I would not buy mail order for sheet metal parts, find a supplyer that is close so you can pick and choose, look for flaws etc.

check local sheet metal shops for galvaneal, it's specially electro-zinc coated and can be painted directly without primer, unlike regular galvanized [satin gray surface, not 'spangled'] - available in 20 ga as satin body metal and most body shops here use it .... great stuff, but good to sand down areas to be welded to reduce fume hazard

Bill

Thanks for all of the replies. These will definitely help me out.

anyone with a set of calipers feel like measuring a few different areas on they advance design so i can get a feel for the correct thickness. I need to patch my upper cowl vent, lower door skins lower rear cab wall. someone told me their firewall was 16 gauge and they assume the rest would be the same but that seems thick to me....anyone?

Score! they have a lot of parts I haven't found supplied anywhere else!

For the cost of those small sheets at your local Hardware Box stores, you would be money ahead to buy a whole sheet of cold rolled steel. I have a contact at a local machine shop that orders 18ga for me in 4 x 8 sheets, I normally pay under $50 per sheet.

The OEM sheet metal is normally 19 ga metal, but it is difficult to find in some areas. With manufacturers working toward the lower end of tolerances to save materials (and money), I think you'll find in many cases the more readily available 18 ga is actually closer to the 19 ga trade size than it is to what should be 18. So if you're looking to fab up some sheet metal parts, buy some 18 ga cold rolled steel, and it should take care of most any sheet metal part you need. For structural components (like floor braces), they are normally made from 18 or 16 guage metal (or thicker), but that will depend on the component's intended purpose.