Yup you should see how cab sides and bed sides are replaced. Glue and rivets. But they call it rivet bonding. It's truly a joke and if you don't use the manufacturer recommended panel bond it's considered an improper repair. Some panels can't be spliced so citing the entire cab apart is normal. In class for my cert they told us to change the B Pilar on a crew cab we would need to r&I the roof panel try to imagine cutting off a welded and glued on roof then putting it back on. Yeah no I'm good thanks I'll keep my GMC
What did you do to your non-G body project today? [2022]
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even though I'm now a Ford guy, I always had to laugh at the commercials for those... "Military grade aluminum" ? military uses the cheapest minimum parts to get the job done and below budget...
lots of stuff nowadays is rivet and glue... look at alot of tractor trailer rigs and medium duty cargo trucks... if it says "Duraplate" it's basically glued or in some cases taped together... look at a PENSKE 26' moving truck next time you see one, and notice the lack of hardware between the panels.... and people wonder why I like my older vehicles.....
It's mostly about comparisons to beer or soda cans. Certainly not as easily repairable. I think when they first came out, someone (might even have been GM) circulated some videos showing someone knocking toolbox of the bed rail and it actually punctured the bed of the Ford where it just dented the bed of the Chevy.
Sure, aluminum still corrodes when exposed to salt, and it'll pit. But it's not going to disappear like the floor of my Cutlass 😉
We had to buy a special self piercing rivet gun to put ford bed sides back on. Factory there welded but the repair procedure is glue and rivets. Not to mention there just as thin or thinner than steel panels you can literally drive a screwdriver threw the bedside of a Ford truck. Don't get me wrong there not made by Reynolds wrap corporation you need to use brute Force but by hand you can poke a hole and I think the plastic bed liner is stronger than the bed it's self. Now they may be good for some people there just not for me
me either, that's why I'm trying to keep my '09 around for as long as possible... I don't live in the main rust belt, although we do get some here, so I'm not as worried about rot out...
my brother is the bodyman in the family, I'm on the mechanical side... I've heard some of the horror stories of your industry.
I have a couple good metallurgy classes as part of my degree, as well as currently work in a machine shop so I can tell you all kinds of stuff about working with aluminum.
Aluminum is the most common metal on the planet, way more than iron. It's just the process needed to take what you find how it is naturally and turn it into pure aluminum, then alloy it from there for intended purpose. 1/3 the weight of steel, but also 1/3 the strength.
So take 3x lighter but also 3x needed to get the same strength combined with the process needed to refine it, iron is much more easier to work with why you see it more.
Then again all depends on application. Steel bends and stretches, aluminum tears and cracks. It is no where near as ductile as steel, but then again that depends on the alloy, some elements help but that is the general trend. Same with steel, can alloy it but steel is much easier to work with.
The aluminim panels were for weight savings but look at all the crap involved to make it happen.
And yea, "military grade".. term to attract the sillyvilians for something to boast about. Those of us in the military know how it works.
Aluminum is the most common metal on the planet, way more than iron. It's just the process needed to take what you find how it is naturally and turn it into pure aluminum, then alloy it from there for intended purpose. 1/3 the weight of steel, but also 1/3 the strength.
So take 3x lighter but also 3x needed to get the same strength combined with the process needed to refine it, iron is much more easier to work with why you see it more.
Then again all depends on application. Steel bends and stretches, aluminum tears and cracks. It is no where near as ductile as steel, but then again that depends on the alloy, some elements help but that is the general trend. Same with steel, can alloy it but steel is much easier to work with.
The aluminim panels were for weight savings but look at all the crap involved to make it happen.
And yea, "military grade".. term to attract the sillyvilians for something to boast about. Those of us in the military know how it works.
Us "sillyvilians" who pay your salary sure do appreciate it when you talk down to us.
General term for the ones who are clueless to things and are drones of society, if you want to get in them feels that's you doing it, not me putting you there. Take that for what it's worth.. 😉
I pay taxes too stateside, so I pay my salary too. Moot point.
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