Aluminum Doors

[Stan H]

So how long was it before anyone else realized the doors the hood and front fenders are all Aluminum?
I had a deer ding my front passenger door and while showing the ding to a friend he told me. I was like bull crap .. well he had a magnet and sure enough my mind was blown ??.
One ding is at the bottom crease of the door and cracked the paint. Guess it won't rust . But now to get it fixed?

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[jac04]

So how long was it before anyone else realized the doors the hood and front fenders are all Aluminum?

Well, I knew long before I even bought my Mojave. I also knew that the Mojave hood was steel and not aluminum.

 

[Throwback]

I didn't know but kept wondering why they were so light lol. Do they ding easily? I like the way the door is really light but closes with a nice thud.

 

[Stan H]

Well, I knew long before I even bought my Mojave. I also knew that the Mojave hood was steel and not aluminum.

Wonder why they added that extra weight to the front of the Mojave. ?

 

[jac04]

Wonder why they added that extra weight to the front of the Mojave. ?

Likely due to the stamping design of the hood and the forming limitations of aluminum

 

[Gordo]

They don’t rust but they are prone to corrosion trust me.

 

[ecidiego]

Wonder why they added that extra weight to the front of the Mojave. ?

The hood is a takeoff part from the 392.... no extra effort from them.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

There were articles out there about aluminum body panels from various auto makers before these even went into production. Articles about the Gladiator spoke of the light weight doors and tail gate, and you had to know without even guessing - the fender flares ain't gonna be steel.

Aluminum does corrode but - it forms a self-protecting form of oxide which prevents further damage. As long as that is left in place, aluminum can be left bare for a long time without issue. It's been used for bumpers and other parts for decades. Typically, bumpers are "anodized" but I've got aluminum parts in my shop, such as aluminum stock, car parts and more, that are fine and my shop atmosphere is slightly acidic due to the acid baths, plating tank baths and so on out there. Steel and iron rust fast, aluminum parts have been fine.

Now the problem comes in talking about what some believe are aluminum parts when in fact they are zinc alloys, or even aluminum alloys of zinc and other metals - and there's where you will see the white spots and fluffy white oxidation.
When I restore alternators - people say "oh, that's aluminum" - no, it's not, it's an alloy with zinc. I can tell because of how zinc reacts in my caustic cleaning baths, and other processes.
Windshield wiper motors people have said the gear housing is aluminum - it's zinc. Let hydrochloric acid touch it and watch the violent reaction. I can plate right over it - can't do that to aluminum. So it's a zinc or zinc alloy.

I think the term "aluminum" gets tossed around any time a magnet doesn't stick to something and it's not always correct. There are a lot of alloys used that are either other metals, or alloys of aluminum that totally change how it behaves.

I have "aluminum" bumpers sitting out by my shop under the shop's lean-to and they've been there for years - and look pretty much like the day I stacked them there.

My gut says the hinges are not "aluminum" in the pure sense - what we see with the paint bubbling makes no sense if they were.

Example of painted aluminum -
front and rear bumpers of all Eagles and Concords, Spirit, etc. are aluminum - painted or non-painted, and they don't bubble - they are bolted to steel brackets -

 

[JAPE]

I had good success using a paintless dent repair with minor dings in my door.

The technicians were real craftsmen.

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