nludkin
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 02:14 PM |
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Footwell bulkhead material
I have been pondering this question for a while. Is it acceptable to use aluminium for a footwell bulkhead?
My kit supplier has provided 16swg ali for this purpose and thinks it will pass SVA? Surely this can't be right?
Any advice would be very much appreciated. I fear I am going to have to start welding more bits onto the chassis.
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chrisf
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 02:23 PM |
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Thats what I used as well. However, I have a 3" strip of 1/8" steel welded across the footwell to support he master cylinder
--Chris
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nitram38
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 02:24 PM |
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A lot of tvr's have fibreglass floors!
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jimgiblett
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 02:24 PM |
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My bulk head is ally, but pedal box is steel though. Cant see why ally would be a problem for that too so long as it didnt flex / fatigue.
- Jim
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Mr G
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 02:25 PM |
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Lol, i've got fibreglass floors and bulkhead ffs 
Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a
car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes
and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.
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nludkin
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 02:32 PM |
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There is a fair bit of flex in the ali, but it does seem to hold the master cylinder ok...
I am all up for leaving it as it is, just appreciated a second opinion. :-)
Thanks for the replies..
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fesycresy
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 03:12 PM |
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You're not bolting the master cylinder to the ally are you ?
I stand to be corrected but this would worry me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
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nludkin
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 04:09 PM |
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I had been told that it should hold the master cylinder and applied braking force ok. It is currently bolted straight onto the ally as per
instructions.
Not overly sure that I am happy with ok.. It's just that my welding skills are non-existant and I would prefer not to have to modify it :-(
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lexi
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 04:24 PM |
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When you press brake pedal is it pushing on the rivet head ? ie. is panel rivetted from engine side ? Just thinking if you doubled panel thickness you
would still be relying on rivet heads. You`re missing a lot of fun and capability not welding. They`ve never been cheaper!
Alex
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jimgiblett
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| posted on 30/3/06 at 04:39 PM |
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I braced up my steel pedal box because it flexed under hard braking. Gives the feeling of spongy brakes which is not good.
I'll be a lot easier to weld now than when the car is fully built. Just check your yellowpages for a mobile welder if you dont fancy doing
yourself and cant move the chassis.
- Jim
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 31/3/06 at 09:16 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nludkin
I had been told that it should hold the master cylinder and applied braking force ok. It is currently bolted straight onto the ally as per
instructions.
Not overly sure that I am happy with ok.. It's just that my welding skills are non-existant and I would prefer not to have to modify it :-(
Not sure I would be overly happy with that either, doesn't sound great. Aluminium work hardens quite easily, so any flexing will cause cracks.
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andyace
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| posted on 31/3/06 at 01:07 PM |
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I have a GTS chassis and the bulkhead is prewelded on and is a steel plate.
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ned
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| posted on 31/3/06 at 01:19 PM |
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Steel sheet for the driver footwell bulkhead to mount pedals and mastercylinder, but ally on the passenger side imho.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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Liam
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| posted on 31/3/06 at 03:03 PM |
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Definately wouldn't mount master cylinders on a thin ally panel 
Liam
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britishtrident
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| posted on 31/3/06 at 05:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ned
Steel sheet for the driver footwell bulkhead to mount pedals and mastercylinder, but ally on the passenger side imho.
Ned.
Same here -- drivers side is an old genuine IBM AT PC case -- the master cylinder bolts through the bulkhead and two 18x18x2mm RHS stiffeners that
run vertically between C and Q -- nb crush tubes brazed in before welding into the chassis.
Once had an early Lotus +2S that suffered badly from spongey brakes due to pedal box flexing since then any home builds have been extra stiff in the
pedalbox area.
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andrews_45
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| posted on 31/3/06 at 06:09 PM |
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I picked up my chassis yesterday from mk and it came with aly footwell plate. Two steel bars welded into chassis to stop it flexing
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