Slick 60's

First of all Im curious what guage sheet metal come on our trucks, and are you guys using the same thing to fix it with? Secondly where can I find some resonably priced sheet metal working tools, hammers and etc...??? Thanks

Hi, I am not sure of the sheetmetal gage - I think there is different gages used for different areas, like the floors vs. outer body. There was a thread on here a while back about the sheetmetal gages used, if you want to search back. Some one will chime in with the answer.

I got some cheap body dollys and hammers from Harbor Freight Salvage Co. Had them for a long time now. They still have them in their catalog for $40. www.HarborFreight.com Item 46779-1AFH

I agree w/ Gary, Harbor Freight is the most economical for tools. Eastwood might also be a good source, depending on how in-depth you want to go.

As for sheet metal, I used 18ga for everything I replaced in the bed. Put in a new floor panel from Ford, think it was also 18ga, but the floor braces seem thicker, maybe 16ga.

Most of the sheet metal is 17 ga steel, for some of the replacement parts I am going with 16 ga, maybe it will last 60 years this time.

Dean

I read an article somewhere about sheet metal and different types and what kind to buy. According to the article , the metal you should use is aluminized to be rust resistant, and it should be a certain type, which I have forgotten the name of, that has consistency of thickness as opposed to most metal which does not. The product I've forgotten the name of is harder to find and of higher price, as it is of a better quality. Most of the patch parts I've seen are notof a goodquality metal, which is unfortuante as we all want it to last, as we do not want to do this again.

Rich

I agree with Harbor Freight on the tools. that is where most of mine come from. as for the sheet metal, I used repop stuff and just used what I got. most didn't seem as thick as what I cut out but it was the repop panels.. I bought parts from several different vendors and the hinge panels were the thickest metal from Carolina Classics. Sorry I'm no help here....

Thanks guys thats what I was looking for. For the floor pans and such I will use the the repops but there are a few places it has pins hole (bottom of door, bottom of tail gate). You know fairly straight areas Im gonna try and do myself.