Why not Aluminum Bodies?

[rbattelle]

Personally, I'd love to own a vehicle with an all-aluminum body. This comes from years living in areas with major road saltage in winter and seeing the horrible effects it has on steel bodies. Problem is, all-aluminum seems to only be available on high-end vehicles.



Am I correct in assuming it's because aluminum is harder to weld than steel, making the manufacture of aluminum bodies more costly? Aluminum is the most abundant metal on Earth and the 3rd most abundant of all elements on Earth (oxygen and silicon are more abundant), so it's not an availability problem. However, it almost never occurs as a free metal and must be electrochemically separated from the ore... perhaps that makes it too costly?



Is there some disadvantage to aluminum bodies that I'm not aware of?



-Ryan

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Corrosion especially in salty, damp air. Maybe you really want stainless steel

 

[ezcurra]

I suspect alum is not as ductile as steel, so is probably not as easy to stamp into intricate body shapes. Also, don't alum bodies cause some pretty bad galvanic corrosion problems?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Aluminum has corrosion problems of it's own - electrolysis between aluminum and fasteners used to secure other components can be a problem - and unless costly alloys are used, aluminum is soft and easily deformed. Body work on damage is more difficult - sure, aluminum CAN be used, and IS in some high priced sports car types - but not practical at the present for assembly line mass-production...

 

[fbaurley]

You dont want an aluminum body. A friend of mine has a Landrover Defender 90. It has an all aluminum body, and road salt is really hard on it. Aluminum is also hard to get paint to stick to. His ride has several bubble places on the lower side. Stainless would be the way to go , just like the Dalorean( spelling??) I think aluminum would also dent very easily compared to steel.

 

[Ncostello]

Many fire trucks, including our fire engines, have aluminum cabs and bodies. Some are made of galvaneel steel and othes stainless. Of course fire engines have alot of flat panel like surfaces so its not bad to produce. And its 3/16" thick with 1/4" door skins. Cars probably wouldn't get this thickness.



It still will crack and corrode if it gets lots of rough road service. And after some time... aluminum will corrode a bolt or screw to the point of total and permanent seizure. I've seen welded bolts come out easier than some gripped by corroded aluminum.

 

[CumminsBu]

How about this new composite metals like what the new Toyota Tacoma has? I see a lot of outboard and stern drive engine on boats are moving to them for protection in salt water.

 

[hammersley]

Aluminum has been used for years and if you use the right alloy

and paint it is a whole lot better than steel. Afterall how long do travel trailers last - do you see them rusting out like steel bodies? The real problem is the cost of production. They do not mold like steel and it is harder to worlk with and a whole lot more $$$$$$. BTW the reason that Land Rover went to Aluminum was that originally they wanted a body that was imune to sheep urine - no kidding - as they were largely going to be used for that purpose in the British Isles.....

 

[ezcurra]

The reason why Rover decided to use aluminum bodies in the Land Rovers was the huge shortage of steel Britain was suffering from after WWII. That's the version I've heard

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"BTW the reason that Land Rover went to Aluminum was that originally they wanted a body that was imune to sheep urine - no kidding - as they were largely going to be used for that purpose in the British Isles..... "





HMMMmmm - so yer saying LOTS of sheep are driving Land Rovers in Europe - and they tend to frequently pee while driving?

 

[hammersley]

When I was growing up -

early 60's we had about two dozen Rovers beginning with the Series IA and ending up with the Series II 109 Tropical setup... . All Diesels... . NO POWER except in Low Range... . You are correct about the use of Al - but it had a great benefit in that a huge market for the vehicle in Britain was Agriculture... . And thoose pesky Scots had a lot of sheep - and since I'm of Scotch background - I know the famous drinking song "It had to be YEW... ... ) and that was indeed in the literature early on..... It also allows for a lower center of gravity - something the SUV hating crowd could use today... ... .