[Bob Carriere]

When attempting to get the same thickness as the original actually measured sheet metal for a cab 11 we found a lot of sizes no longer were being made. For example the rear cab wall is about 19 gauge.....local fabricator stocks standard 18 gauge.....but when you take the 18 gauge home again it is not exactly right because most if not all suppliers/manufacturers are producing under the metric system..... I still buy 18 gauge since that is the language the old metal fabricator sues everyday.

A bit like buying a wooden 2x4 inches which turns out to be 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 but I still refer to a sheet of plywood at a 4 feet by 8 feet even though ithas a metric size sticker which I can never remember.

For CMP measurements I prefer the old inch/foot measurements and anything close to 1/16 to 1/8 is accurate enough...... 2B1 cargo boxes I have all have different width and lenght but all within 1/8 to 1/4 in variance.

For smaller items like a battery box using the metric scale and marking cut off and bends using a sticking knife or carbide pointer is much better than using a 1/8 wide magic marker.

Grant and I reproduced 3 battery boxes for installation behind the running board/driver's side. We had and original to copy the design concept. We sued similar gauge steel BUT worked backwards from the size #34 battery case that we intended to use in 12 volts. We copied the spot welds and bends but did not incorporate grooves in the bottom plate. We were fortunate to get Grant Dad to do copies of the original large brass knobs fasteners. In all it took us 2 days at two guys to produce 3 boxes that are very accurate....even forged our own theaded rods for the cover stays. Under the cover the battery is held in place with a iron angle perimeter frame then the cover fits over the whole assembly. The bottom tray was heavily coated with POR 15 to minimize corrosion and we found at Summit battery felt pads saturated with baking soda..... they fit under the battery and serve as a vibration pad and will neutralize any small acid spill.

To produce them commercially on a small scale, we estimated it would be near $100 each for parts, paint and minimum time to break even...maybe cheaper at $80 if we got really good at it by repitition...... it is our opinion that at that price they would not roll off the shelves.
Besides 3 was fun and we have a spare......highly repetitive work would become tedious I am afraid.

Cheers