| Author | Message | ||
     Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Prolific User Username: soviet Post Number: 108 Registered: 2-2013 |
Back in the 1970s I worked at the main Mercedes Benz dealership in my state and had the opportunity to inspect a 600 SEL Mercedes, a limo. Underneath the car there was this metal that covered most of the underneath. That gave me an idea. Today, I had to work on the cow killer Falcon panel van which has made many a trip up the rocky dirt road that leads to my residence. Well the underneath of this workhorse has been serious panel beated and not in a nice way. I am not talking about dent here or there but an actual metal massacre. So I had this thought about the Camargue eventually travelling this road and decided that I would clad its underneath with some form of metal protection. I thought maybe 6mm aluminium which is easy to work on but then I thought about stainless steel which is a complete pain to drill. So chaps, do any of you have some metallurgical info you can depart to me. My other alternative would be to buy use a car carrier/tilt tray but that's a big expense plus the government appears to have attempted to financially tax truckies out of business with idiotic amount for registration etc and so I don't really want to join the march of the doomed. Any ideas? | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1531 Registered: 4-2003 |
Vladimir, I need to think about this before commenting further; as I see it now you have the following options for the key under-body protection plates plus a few alternative modes of transport: 1. Mild steel. 2. High-strength low-alloy steel. 3. Stainless Steel. 4. Aluminium alloy. 5. Kevlar or equivalent non-metallic composites. 6. Fully enclosed off-road capable triple axle trailer with at least 6 spare wheels [or dual rims for each road wheel]. 7. Caribou or Hercules air freighter. 8. Chinook heavy lift helicopter. 9. Antonov AN124 air freighter. [Last 3 very tongue-in-cheek suggestions  .] | ||
| Lluís Gimeno-Fabra Grand Master Username: lluís Post Number: 335 Registered: 8-2007 |
Hi, My brother made an amazing undercover with Kevlar for a Lancia Delta Integrale. Originally it seemed a crazy idea, but with a wood template of the area it turned out very well. | ||
| Lluís Gimeno-Fabra Grand Master Username: lluís Post Number: 336 Registered: 8-2007 |
By the way, it might help stopping visible leaks so I might also do one for the billiard-table Dutch roads irrespectice of panel beating damage  | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 450 Registered: 4-2009 |
I would suggest that galvanic action be considered if using metals like aluminium or stainless. If these are to be connected to mild steel floor pans or chassis members, you could inadvertently create a galvanic cell. I like the idea of kevlar. Is plywool sheet not an option? | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Prolific User Username: soviet Post Number: 109 Registered: 2-2013 |
David, your humour exceeds me. Antonov AN124. Unfortunately, my last name is not Putin and therefore I don't have 60 Billion USD tucked away.But trust me, Brother Vladimir with retire from the Kremlin with an immunity from prosecution for any alleged scallywag behaviour just like Yeltsin. It is the Russian way. I do have an airstrip 5 minutes walk from the front gate but I doubt an Antonov could land on it without hitting the creek. On the other hand we have bitumen on the road in town on which I am certain an Antonov could land but given its wingspan many trees, power poles, and some houses would have to go. I can't imagine how much fuel an Antonov would use on take off and or to fly over the 57 kilometres of rocky dirt road but I think even Putin would have trouble justifying the expense. Actually, in the 1990s one of these things landed at Darwin airport. Massive craft really and totally necessary for any good collection. Plus I think the use of such a craft would bring some small, black suited, bespeckled man from the tax department to my door. Bad enough I will drive the Camargue but an Antonov could conjure up all types of bean counter speculation. Can you tell me what will dent worse, aluminium or stainless? I think stainless would dent less, plus given that the sheet will be parallel with the road the rocks will give only a glancing blow. Whereas under the Falcon Panel Van Cowkiller it is the subframes vertical metal that has really copped a hiding. In some areas the metal looks like its been blasted with 12 gauge buckshot. Omar has brought up an interesting point about the electro chemical reaction. However, I think if the sheet was drilled with larger holes than the tex screws with rubber washers that hold it on and rubber was between the sheet and the underbody then there would be no electron flow to the sheet from the car or viceversa. I thought about Sikaflex but once on the sheet attached to the car it would be near impossible to remove for repairs to the drive line. Also, the grill on the Camargue is stainless, so I will check when the sun comes up to see what Crewe did in isolating the grill from the mild steel body. Then you have the doors, bonnet(hood), boot(trunk) lid which are all aluminium. Are they insulated from the body? I have had the Cadillac on the rocky dirt at high speed, today I am going to force myself to look at what damage may have been done, but then it has a full chassis so I keep my fingers crossed. And now a question for Omar. Omar, I often look at Dubai on the internet and I see these horrific pictures of some very exotic cars appearingly abandoned in the streets, dust all over them. What's the situation there, can you simply pull the Russian stunt with a fist full of dollars and have the authorities load these cars into a container on an Australian bound ship or is there a more bureaucratic process to go through. Naturally, these cars would be better suited to my property and their removal would enhance the beauty of Dubai's dusty avenues. Well there are women who certainly would not complain because most of them can't tell the difference between a Jaguar XJ220 and a Citroen although almost all of them can tell the difference between a man's full or empty wallet. They are simply different from us. To them a dusty abandoned car is a dusty abandoned car. Honesty, Omar these pictures almost bring a tear to my eye. Something must be done. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1532 Registered: 4-2003 |
Omar, Galvanic corrosion is one aspect I will cover in my future comments however relative surface areas of the dissimilar metals is also a factor in the incidence and rate of galvanic corrosion. Vladimir has also mentioned the use of Aluminium and Stainless Steel components in the Camargue so he obviously is aware of the potential problems. Vladimir has conditions that involve low-stress abrasion [think road dust], high impact forces [think gravel, rocks and fallen tree branches - I don't think he is contemplating low altitude flying in the car but I may be wrong  ] and heavy deformation [think body hitting road crown, road debris and animal impact]. All possible materials will have different performance capabilities in these conditions. |
