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the bus driver
Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2006
Posts: 219
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 Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Braukuche wrote: |
| Being that the WW floors are thinner, do you notice any give when you step on them? I recall using the old orange ones years ago and there was noticable flexing. |
A tiny bit.. That's the only negative point on the WW floors, I wish they were the same thickness as OG ones!
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65 Highroof (13w-wt-westy)
64 Highroof (13w) |
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11004
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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| the bus driver wrote: |
| Braukuche wrote: |
| Being that the WW floors are thinner, do you notice any give when you step on them? I recall using the old orange ones years ago and there was noticable flexing. |
A tiny bit.. That's the only negative point on the WW floors, I wish they were the same thickness as OG ones! |
That to me would be the kiss of death, because you will feel it every time you step back there. It is a dead give away that there has been a repair there even with the rubber mat down.
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1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
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MrPolak
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2004
Posts: 1337
Location: AG ,atnaltA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:24 am Post subject: |
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I called Wolfsburg West today. They measured their floor for me at .98mm. Others have reported thicknesses of .8mm and 7.62mm (.030''). One person reported that WW floor was .15mm or .006'' thinner than stock.
The measurements are not done with the same instruments so naturally they will vary. Not all were done on cleaned metal.
The most reliable value is WW being .15mm thinner than stock since both WW and stock floors were cleaned and measured with the same instrument and by the same person.
0.15mm is not a whole lot. There's more to metal than mere thickness. Other properties come into play are malleability, hardness, resistance to plastic deformation, fatigue, shear, bending, and torsion. In short, while intuitively we think that thicker floors must be better, we do not have enough information about metals used in stock, KF or WW floors to make that determination, and therefore the intuitive will prevail.
The question to answer is not whether WW floors are better than KF, but if they are sufficient for the job at hand. I must presume that if Autocraft makes some of the best panels on the market and Autocraft decides to sell WW floors to fill their portfolio, the floors are indeed good enough. |
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splitpile
Samba's Worst Speller
Joined: May 03, 2000
Posts: 5927
Location: back to living where hell meets the suface
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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Here's a pic of the NEW Klassic Fab cargo floor. This is the first one out of the (4 ton or was it 8 ton) die (no more hand made). This will be available in all bus/truck configurations.
The floor 1/2 itself weighs 24 lbs and measures .045 thick (18gauge). Floors are still approx 3 months away before available and might be made in 16 or 17 gauge but this one feels pretty stout..
WW west floors are very nice, fit good and stout when welded in. I would use them.
Soon you will have 2 options on 2 great floors
I will be test fitting it in a few days
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the bus driver
Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2006
Posts: 219
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Braukuche wrote: |
| the bus driver wrote: |
| Braukuche wrote: |
| Being that the WW floors are thinner, do you notice any give when you step on them? I recall using the old orange ones years ago and there was noticable flexing. |
A tiny bit.. That's the only negative point on the WW floors, I wish they were the same thickness as OG ones! |
That to me would be the kiss of death, because you will feel it every time you step back there. It is a dead give away that there has been a repair there even with the rubber mat down. |
I meant i tiny bit - if you focus on it..
I have a wooden floor on top so don't feel anything.. my biggest concern is that the same spot (left cargo door entrance --> so42 interior) will get worn quickly leaving a "wonky" bit whilst all the rest is just fine..
My original floor wasn't that bad and could be patched but you can clearly see what I mean 
So having to go with something that is even less thick .. 
Looks like a decent floor!! Interested to hear if the fit is good too!!
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65 Highroof (13w-wt-westy)
64 Highroof (13w) |
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turbotype1
Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2005
Posts: 582
Location: seacoast
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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| the bus driver wrote: |
| mightymouse wrote: |
| turbotype1 wrote: |
| I have the new WW Cargo floors and when I measured the thickness I came up with the same gauge as the original floor...Very nice fit and pressings |
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Are you sure it wasn't 2 floors sticking together ?? 
As far as I know, only the green floor is nearly the same as the original floor in terms of weight and thickness! |
I wasn't using a micrometer, but a Starret sheet & plate steel go / no go gauge. Both fit @ 21 gauge .
Now obviously this gauge doesn't measure metric so maybe with a micrometer there could be a few thou differences either way.
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| 117harv wrote: |
This new fad of get it the lowest, or run it with the worst looks, (patina) isn't cool, it's for the hey everyone look at me crowd, i'm driving a beat down ratty, unsafe, VW, how cool am I ???...your not....
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Pissing off the purists since 1997
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6t3bird
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2014
Posts: 38
Location: Long Island, NY
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| Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 1:40 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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Hey everyone, first off I hope I am posting this in an okay spot, I got some grief for starting a new post last time. Still learning website etiquette so bare with me..
I'm installing the orange cargo floor WW sold me a little over a year ago, i absolutely hate them, and from what I read today it seems that's the general consensus. The fit is pretty accurate, especially the drivers side.. BUT the right side is giving me some troubles. I went to lift floor up to make some alterations and it just Kinked up in my hand. Honestly it's to just to damn flimsy, seems strong when it's all in place but I don't trust it.
Anyone have any luck using this brand cargo floor?
Think I can get away with using the drivers side and getting a funky green for the passenger side??? Or is it gonna be completely noticeable that stampings are different?
This really sucks, please help
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BarryL 
Samba Member
Joined: November 01, 2004
Posts: 14269
Location: Casa de Oro, California
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| Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 6:54 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| If you're willing to go 1/2 Gerson then what if you dropped back and punted for the full monty and got all new from Gerson. The WW floor will be all saggy when you're done. |
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Spitty1974
Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2011
Posts: 647
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 9:19 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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I thought the new WW cargo floors were in grey and a bit thicker than the older ones?
Could the red/orange ones from a year ago that sat be a thinner metal than what they are now producing today? |
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BarryL
Samba Member
Joined: November 01, 2004
Posts: 14269
Location: Casa de Oro, California
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| Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 8:55 am Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| Spitty1974 wrote: |
I thought the new WW cargo floors were in grey and a bit thicker than the older ones?
Could the red/orange ones from a year ago that sat be a thinner metal than what they are now producing today? |
I don't know but this is from the page before.
| the bus driver wrote: |
| MrPolak wrote: |
| the bus driver wrote: |
My original floor measured 1,2mm, I fitted a new WW floor and it measured 0,8mm not ideally but nevertheless a superb fit and shape.
If you want the same thickness you should use the green stuff. |
That's interesting because WW listing clearly states the floor is the same gauge as factory. They would not lie, would they? I believe your measurement, so don't get me wrong.
Are you happy with the floor's strength and stiffness? |
I won't judge them about what they claim, all I know is that we measured and weighed the floors we had and the result was not the same!
This is what I found.. 4 floors available..
-The cheap black one (brand ?) which we measured 0,7mm which is nearly half of what the original one is and the fit/shape is not the best..
-The orange one (brand ?) little bit more expensive than the black (but still cheap) one which we measured 0,8mm with an equal shape/fit as the black one..
-The grey one (WW) measured 0,8mm with a great fit/shape/pressing.
-The Green one (Klassic Fab) measured ? I think 1,2mm as I believe the
weight was about 28 kg and similar to what I pulled from my bus but this needs to be confirmed by someone who used it. (I did not choose this one simply as delivery in Europe is not good and I've had a negative experience with their sheet metal in terms of fit/shape/pressing)
Hope that helps!
Here you can see my build thread |
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55samba
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2002
Posts: 805
Location: CA Bay Area
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| Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2016 10:48 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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I have installed several of the old orange WW cargo floors and the new grey cargo floors. IMO the fit is the same. The new grey floors do not seem thicker just made out of better metal. I need to find some old photos but the orange floors would warp when you walked on them. The grey floors do not.
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Spitty1974
Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2011
Posts: 647
Location: California
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| Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:18 am Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| 55samba wrote: |
I have installed several of the old orange WW cargo floors and the new grey cargo floors. IMO the fit is the same. The new grey floors do not seem thicker just made out of better metal. I need to find some old photos but the orange floors would warp when you walked on them. The grey floors do not.
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In your opinion, from the experience of installing the grey floors, is the strength and rigidity as solid as an original floor and less inferior than previous versions?
Also, where are you in the Bay Area, do you have a shop, or just personal build experience? |
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Stocknazi
Samba Member
Joined: June 18, 2004
Posts: 5150
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| Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:55 am Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| Spitty1974 wrote: |
I thought the new WW cargo floors were in grey and a bit thicker than the older ones?
Could the red/orange ones from a year ago that sat be a thinner metal than what they are now producing today? |
Are the red floors Brazilian?
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6t3bird
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2014
Posts: 38
Location: Long Island, NY
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 7:18 am Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| Thanks for all the info and pics. Their new grey floors look better, but WW has been tricking me to much lately. I'm gonna order the ones from klassicfab and hope it comes fast. Can't have the floor warping because it's walked on. That's what floors are for. Thanks again |
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55samba
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2002
Posts: 805
Location: CA Bay Area
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:00 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| Spitty1974 wrote: |
| 55samba wrote: |
I have installed several of the old orange WW cargo floors and the new grey cargo floors. IMO the fit is the same. The new grey floors do not seem thicker just made out of better metal. I need to find some old photos but the orange floors would warp when you walked on them. The grey floors do not.
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In your opinion, from the experience of installing the grey floors, is the strength and rigidity as solid as an original floor and less inferior than previous versions?
Also, where are you in the Bay Area, do you have a shop, or just personal build experience? |
Honestly I cant say vs original since I have never had an NOS set. I think the grey floors are nice, I am 220lb and these floors don't bend. The strength is definitely better than the orange floors they used to sell. I am happy and would buy again.
I am just working in my garage.
I would expect KF to make the thickest floors based on their other products. |
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6t3bird
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2014
Posts: 38
Location: Long Island, NY
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:31 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| Your floor looks great, very nicely done. I can't tell in the picture but did you weld the entire length to the long panel on drivers side? Or is that a weld from replacing lower portion of panel on drivers side? Just making sure I'm gonna do it correctly. Thanks |
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55samba
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2002
Posts: 805
Location: CA Bay Area
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: Wolfsburg West new grey cargo floor? |
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| 6t3bird wrote: |
| Your floor looks great, very nicely done. I can't tell in the picture but did you weld the entire length to the long panel on drivers side? Or is that a weld from replacing lower portion of panel on drivers side? Just making sure I'm gonna do it correctly. Thanks |
That is the lower long panel replacement. I then welded about every 3 inches give or take to the panel. The original would have been spot welded. My bus is going to have door panels so it will be hidden. If it was a panel I would have measured carefully and plug welded the floor to the long panel.
One of the important parts, IMO, is the second set of plug welds in from the door opening. They pull the floor down from the rocker.
Thanks for the comments, the worst part really is grinding all the welds down. |
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