Metal...body?

[NSTG8R]

LOL... I had a MUCH different experience. I bought an old Falcon... It was 48 years old but had spent the last 25 years sitting in a driveway. It had some rust, of course. BUT, I was able to simply use a wire wheel to get rid of the rust, bondo for slight dents, some buildable primer, and then paint. It wasn't that difficult. I wonder why your area can't figure that out.

Here's why. Personally, I think it extends all the way down to St. Louis, MO.

 

[skygazer6033]

A while back I was looking over some of the surplus equipment Elio had up for sale. Several of the items I noticed was very large hydraulic stamping presses. Just the kind of thing that might be used for unibody construction. Stamp out the steel panels, robots programed to do the welding and you've got the unibody structure. Could be part of the reason for the change to steel.

 

[Earl LaSitis]

I they use stainless it will look like a air plane that lost it's wings. I am wondering how many people will drive this in the winter anyway?

 

[Darrellh]

Question about the saturns. How does the steel structure under the plastic hold up?
I'm in GA, but I've seen northern cars. Outside clean and shinny, inside clean and low mileage. The underside, total rust! Suspension parts to brake drums and rotors.
It seems to me that in those conditions that rust is the price you pay to live there. Look at it this way. What ever you buy will be a disposable car, so do you but a $7300.00 Elio or a $20,000.00 something else?

The under-carriage can be sprayed with an oil/wax treatment annually, that is messy but prevents corrosion. It doesn't' really matter what the frame looks like as long as it is protected, however that doesn't help the car's skin. Luckily the outbound wheels will help protect the inset body from a lot of the dings that SMC is great for. However, rust spots will compromise the long term finish. It is a trade off between lower cost & higher production rate and long term durability.

 

[Ekh]

Make the damn thing out of Corten. It will look crappy, but it will last and last.

Did you know that there are many different "stainless" steels? They have widely varying metallurgical properties, such as ductility, crystallization, microporosity -- all over the map. Which means they behave differently, and some are quite brittle.

Stick with galvanized. Then coat it with something rust-resistant and paint it. Then sealcoat or clear coat that. Voila,

 

[pistonboy]

One of the reasons I was looking forward to SMC is the floor pan. I will be getting my elio without carpet and SMC would be quieter than steel. I wonder if EM will undercoat the steel floor pan. If they do not, I guess I can under coat it, unless they add a belly pan. Perhaps they will have a belly pan and undercoat only that.

The elio bottom would look very nice having a continuous ribbed surface underneath due to the belly pan. Where would they run the fuel lines and brake lines? These are always (today) placed outside the cockpit for safety. Would they be placed inside the exhaust bulge?

Speaking of the exhaust bulge, is it going to be made of steel too? I believe it would be difficult to stamp from steel. (SMC would be easier.) This is a great opportunity to redesign the exhaust bulge! Perhaps something smaller. A lot smaller!

 

[Ray O]

Before the cold process galvanize car in the 50's and 60's car rusted out in just 3 years or so. Today cars rust out a lot later and some if design correctly the last more than 10 years in the rust belt like Ohio. For toughs so censored I might recommend using some sort of lubricant on the exposed suspension parts. I do see that the consistency of steel would make for better fit.

 

[Chaz]

Here's why. Personally, I think it extends all the way down to St. Louis, MO.

View attachment 11055

It is called the rust belt because of all the factories that have closed and are rusting in disrepair. This is from years of neglect nothing really to do with anything else.

 

[slinches]

Climate makes a big difference in the longevity of materials. I live in Phoenix and a Saturn's plastic panels will fade and crack long before you see the first spot of rust on a steel car body.

 

[Darrellh]

Climate makes a big difference in the longevity of materials. I live in Phoenix and a Saturn's plastic panels will fade and crack long before you see the first spot of rust on a steel car body.

Yes, when I lived in Flagstaff, AZ, I didn't have to worry about rust, even in my Fiat X 1/9. Both the Saturn and steel are both painted, so it shouldn't make a difference in fading. You may be right about the cracking, but the steel will get dings that the Saturn won't.