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Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:47 pm

Does anyone have a link to a reference showing how thick different sheet metal gauges are? I'm not happy with the floor pan halves I bought, and wonder how they compare to the red ones in the Wolfsburg West catalog (they identify the thickness by gauge, 35 I think, and I could then measure my pans to compare). I know the WW units are way more expensive....but it might be worth it to do it right once, as opposed to half-a$$ed twice......

Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:52 pm

I just re-read their ad..... it lists their pans as ".035 guage thickness". I guess I misunderstood it the first time. I'm taking this to mean 35 thousandths thick....not 35 guage...would that seem right?

I'll measure my replacement pans and let you know how they compare...

Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:02 pm

.035" is around 20GA.

Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:10 pm

10 ga. = .135"
11 ga. = .120"
12 ga. = .105"
13 ga. = .094"
14 ga. = .074"
16 ga. = .063"
18 ga. = .047"
20 ga. = .035"
22 ga. = .031"

Sat Apr 29, 2006 12:06 am

Jowlz wrote: 10 ga. = .135"
11 ga. = .120"
12 ga. = .105"
13 ga. = .094"
14 ga. = .074"
16 ga. = .063"
18 ga. = .047"
20 ga. = .035"
22 ga. = .031"

I guessed, Pretty good eh?

Sat Apr 29, 2006 3:08 am

Thanks, guys! That's exactly what I wanted to know.....

Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:30 am

Whats the front clip metal gauge wise?

Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:55 am

It depends on the year. The older cars used thicker metal.

Sat Apr 29, 2006 2:47 pm

Just as an update....I just went out and put a set of Vernier calipers on my Brazilian replacement floorpans. It's very frustrating. Hard to get a good measurement due to the slight "rolling" or "curling" of all the edges, presumably from some stamping process.
The smallest reading I got was .032"......and, of course, that's with paint on both sides. I'm guessing that means 22 guage at best, right?
I wonder if the pricey ones from WW are really any better? I know Rocky Mountain Motorworks (back in the day) used to advertize some that claimed to be 30% thicker than stock. Great....but how thick is stock? Maybe I'll just use what I already have........ :?

Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:44 am

Half fast wrote: It depends on the year. The older cars used thicker metal.

1962?

Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:19 am

Food For Thought: Measuring the thickness of the metal stock that has been stamped in such a convoluted and complex shape as a VW floor-pan is going to yield some questionable measurements. Whenever metal is forced around a corner (in the die) the metal is going to stretch(get thinner), and if it is conversely pushed into a corner (in the die) the metal is going to shrink, or bunch up to get thicker. If you really had to know which mfg.'s pan was made of thicker gage material, you would probably need to weigh it. This would be affected by number of primer coats, and welds, but to arbitrarily measure the thickness of the pans edge is strictly subjective.
Then we can open another can of worms: The particular alloy of steel used by the various countries involved in the production of replacement panels!