what sheet metal to use (gauge)

[stanger66]

I basically need to know what gauge steel I need to use to weld reinforcements for the rear shocks mounts in the body. I had the pass. side punch through and now make a god awful sound when going over bumps. I was going to replace whole suspension soon but I need to fix this first.

[stanger66]

Originally Posted by stanger66

I basically need to know what gauge steel I need to use to weld reinforcements for the rear shocks mounts in the body. I had the pass. side punch through and now make a god awful sound when going over bumps. I was going to replace whole suspension soon but I need to fix this first.

Should I use like 1/4 or 1/8 thick, my buddy has a old class 3 trailer hitch that I could cut up but would that be thick enough. It would be the side pieces that mount to the frame.

[bmxmon]

I would think either 1/4 or 1/8 would be overkill, but probably good. Those choices I would go with the 1/8. Can you cut out a part of the old part that blew out? Im not sure what gauge that is though... Searching online it shows 1/8 approx .1285 equals 8 gauge. How'd you blow out your shocks anyway?

[stanger66]

like a dumb a** I put air shocks in rear to raise it up, (40 yr old) suspension sagging until I had enough to buy the full suspension which I will be getting mid to late summer.

[bmxmon]

Yeah, those will do that. Im waiting for my brothers to go in his camaro...

[Rev]

I would use the same rule of thumb on sheet metal repairs that I use for electrical. Always go up at least one size over the original for any repairs (the original size failed didn' it?) Also, when you weld in the repair piece, add in some reinforcement pieces (gussets, diamond reinforcement pieces, etc.). Always make it stronger than new.

Rev

[stanger66]

I was planing on do that rev. I was going to do either two pieces on top of each other with welds or put the one in and pieces through the top of the hole. I am going to use anywhere from 8-12 gauge steel.