Yesterday I bought sheet metal to use for rust repairs. I measured the thickness of panels on the car, at several locations, and it seems as if BMW used 18ga. in the front and 20ga in the back. That's odd. I decided to buy just the thicker 18ga. Found a nice table of Sheet Metal Thickness Gauges at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In recent weeks I've been running all over town looking for sources for welding equipment and supplies. The equipment was hard enough to find, but supplies ... I was expecting a store filled with sheets and rods and pipes in various grades of steel and aluminum, but as yet have not found such a place.
I bought my sheet from Universal Manufacturers. They are located in Kalihi, on Kalani Street. These are the folks who fabricated some parts for my Lotus Europa, especially the gas tanks. They told me they only bring in thin sheet steel galvanized because the plain stuff rusts too fast. My 2ft. x 4ft. 18ga. galvanized steel sheet cost me $35.00. Seems like a lot, but they did write my name on it. Besides, the cost of the sheet metal will be nothing compared to the time it will take to get it right.
I'll be writing more about welding, but for now let me say that in Honolulu the best place I have found for welding equipment is GasPro. They carry Miller.
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