Another chassis galvanised

[saml666]

Well, I did it...

It sits flat on the floor (as it did before it got hot dipped), so early signs say no major warping. Debating whether to bother taking it to a jig for checking or not, reason being, is anyone likely to have the right info/skills to hand to properly measure anything meaningful? If you know smoewhere that does near Glos let me know That said, if you train your eye along key points and lines end-to-end there is no obvious variation in heights of suspension mounting points, paralells etc.

Anyway, enough of that, I've now got a chassis that has been acid dipped twice to remove all traces of rust and galvanised. Rust and dodgy outriggers (replaced first of course!) are now a thing of the past, firmly. Forever. Ish.

I sleep easier knowing all will be as sound as anyone can imagine underneath when my little Tivver is back together

[saml666]

pwd95 said:

clap I'm sure this is the answer to all our problems...

Thanks ... hope so!

Simon Says said:

Looking good,thats gonna be a joy to put back together all ready for spring,am no expert on this Galvanising/heat chassis twisting lark,but reckon that it will be fine thumbup its hardly a flimsy/spindly construction wink

Yeah, great to have no old/rustyoily parts anymore. No reason other than life getting in the way that it shouldn't be on the road in Spring now As you say, they're not flimsy and an engineer I was talking too the other day said that after 15 years the metal has done all the moving that it's likely to. Whether this is true or not (I'm sure any metalurgists on here could debate the point forever!) it certainly made me feel even more confident at he time

More will follow as it gets built-up ... just looking for some x-ray paint now so that the shell can't disguise the goodness that lies beneath. Anyone?

Cheers,
Sam

[saml666]

GreenV8S said:

...Did you need to have holes drilled in the chassis tubes before it was hot dipped? If so, what did they do to these afterwards?

I drilled holes myself for the first dip at Surface Processing in Dudley. They said that the welds wouldn't keep the chemicals out and so drain holes required. I decided to drill tops and bottoms as close to the welds as possible to minimise air traps and therefore maximise the ability for the chemicals to get inside and out and do their job.

McArthur (Galvanisers) said the holes must be RIGHT next to the welds (some of mine were 1/2 inch in) so added a few themwelves.

Yes, it feels like a bit of a pincushion but I think I'll go with your method (was it you, my memory is crap!) of plugging the holes with 'Quick Steel'.

Thanks,
Sam

[saml666]

trumpet1608 said:

If you had to drill holes to let the chemicals drain out, does that mean that the tubes are galvanised on the inside as well ie zinc drained out of the same holes.

Absolutely. The holes also needed to be there for galving anyway to prevent trapped gases expanding and bursting (if very weak from corrosion) pipework/box sections or causing warping. As you point out, the up-side is you get galv pretty much everywhere imaginable

hiltonig said:

think we need a libary of where all the holes are drilled, are you painting over the top ?? it looks good

It's possibly easier to describe 2 golden rules (I'm afraid I don't have the attention span to document each hole

EVERY box section/tube must be free draining.
LIMIT as much as possible anywhere that could be an air trap.

If you work your way from front to back imagining the chassis being submersed (level), you drill a hole at the top and bottom (as close to the welds as possible) of every diagonal tube. To be REALLY throough you cuold drill both sides since obviously a hole on one side of a tube can't drain the small recess on the opposide side (where two round tubes intersect). For box sections I drilled 2 at each end and on longer runs I let holes in the top mid-way to release trapped air.

It is a lot of holes, it feels bad to start puncturing your chassis when you start. If you feel that way, have a drink or two first...

...the 6-way tube 'web' at the front gets lots of holes, just keep drilling!!

I'm considering paint (which requries etch primer first I think) or powder coating. It's very polite of you all not to liken it to a farm gate but close-up in the flesh it has that effect! I like the idea, but my main goal of protecting it is achieved and I'm itching to start building ...

Cheers again all,
Sam

I think the quick-steel method of sealing them all up looks good. With no welding you don't damage the zinc. You're only making watertight (which theoretically doesn't matter if its all galved but seems like a good thing right?) repairs rather than structural so Quick Steel (Chemical metal, whatever its called) is the perfect easy-to-apply solution.

Cheers,
Sam

[saml666]

...I'm with Rick, on reflection I would rather try to seal the holes up, if I don't powder coat I may coat the outriggers in underseal/stonechip which will further seal things. Dunno yet, might be a bit ugly. But either way, sealing seems better. But hey, I'm no expert, you guys try it your own way ...

Rick, thanks for offer of tap, hadn't got that far and would certainly appreciate it. PM me some details and we'll sort it in December.

Today I started sealing holes and trial fitting a wishbone. Galv adds material in places you don't want it so some filing here and there is necessary. Still, armed with a vernier I now have some very slick moving close fitting polybushed arms

Later
Sam

[saml666]

JaySTee said:

Nice job

Does the galv definitely cover all the insides of the tubing? Maybe whilst you have all the holes drilled already it would be worth injecting some dinitrol or similar inside the tubes? I've seen rusted through galvanised farm gates...

I don't know to be truthful, without either a keyhole camera or cutting the chassis up I couldn't say. To be fair, I'm sure there are pockets that escaped the zinc. To keep all this in perspective though, a gate spends 100% of its time exposed to the elements. Even kept outside, a chassis is covered much of the time. My Chimaera is kept in a dry garage and rarely used in the wet. Thats not a reason NOT to dinitrol it though, perhaps I will.

Thanks,
Sam

[saml666]

JaySTee said:

not to mention tractors and cows etc. crashing into them!

Cough cough, lets not tempt fate eh

[saml666]

Hi there, thanks, thats an easy one ... drill 5mm holes and talk to Phil Robinson at Surface Processing Ltd. www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk

Some money later (worth EVERY penny) it will look like this...



...then you can galv it. Its looking like I'm going to powder coat mine too, galv is a little agricultural looking and it's an extra layer

Cheers,
Sam

[saml666]

dbv8 said:

I had a quick look but couldnt find if you said how much the galvanising process cost.
Ive just been quoted £250 from Pillar-Wedge near Rochdale.
They also do delivery of £50 each way from Barrow (about 100 miles).

Does this sound like a good price?

Wow ... maybe not ... McArthur in Bristol charged £87, inc VAT

Having said that I paid a lot to have everything acid dipped first to remove the paint which McArthurs dip would not do. So if the £250 covers that too then it's very good.