Rad Support

[Swank]

Afternoon,
Anybody know off hand what gauge the rad support is made out of?   Measuring the thickness where i can, i'm coming up with aprox 14ga.  That sound about right?

[oldave57]

That is about what I measure on my 57 radiator support also (measurements run from 0.072" to 0.076" depending on where I can get the caliper) which is 14 gauge.

That radiator support is a pretty complex stamping.  Good luck with your repair.

Dave

[Swank]

Thanks.  It's got the spots on the lower corner under the battery tray.  Going to try and not weld my foot to the bumper.

[gasman826]

With the hood off and radiator removed, the core support will slide up out of there.  Much easier than working on it in place.

[Swank]

How bout the gauge of the floorboards, and body panel sheets?   Im getting aprox 16ga, but could be 18ga also maybe?
Body is pretty good (so far), ...and i have one small quarter sized hole in passenger front floorpan.

[rmk57]

The body panels are 19 gauge from what I have heard from restorers. You can use 18 gauge for floors and that is what most company's use, but it's hard to work with.
20 gauge is much easier to form but slightly thinner from original. I would use 18 gauge for a flat or slightly curved patch.

[thomasso]

If you just have small holes in floorboards they can be easily patched with POR 15 and fiberglass cloth. Its bulletproof, rock hard and conforms and seals the entire surface.  I've actually done large areas on work truck floors using stiff cardboard backing, still intact years later.