I mean, if it's good enough for the engineering students... 
Photography by Wreck Racing, lead by David S. Wallens
A diffuser, firewall, delete plates, transmission tunnel and so much more: What do all these things have in common? They were all made from a filing cabinet.
Oh, and did we mention it was free?
That’s right, a single filing cabinet made multiple parts for Georgia Tech’s automotive competition team, Wreck Racing, and its Conquest TSI–a car that placed fourth overall, third overall in class and first in class at the concours at our Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge presented by Tire Rack and powered by AutoBidMaster.
Their process? Find a dumpster, check for goodies, bring everything home and make some templates.
“We took our measurements, cut everything with an angle grinder, attached the pieces and, yeah, that was it,” laughs Mikko Westerbeke, lead chassis engineer of Wreck Racing. “[The cabinet] was probably 11-, maybe 12- or 13-gauge steel. It made really good material to work with for super cheap, aka free.”
I mean, if it's good enough for the engineering students...
Damn, I need me some free 12ga filing cabinets. 😲
In reply to Crackers (Forum Supporter) :
You have to look for those super heavy duty ones in schools or stores.
all the firewall patches on the Wartburg are filing cabinet dividers
Don't forget baking pans. Running a bread pan fuel tank sump and a cookie sheet oil pan baffle here.
Excellent resourcefulness, folks! Dumpster diving and junk metal are your friends.
The fenders on the ScAries that won overall in 2012 were made from dumpster filing cabinet sheetmetal too. People used to thump it with their knuckle and chuckle - that sound is unmistakable.
- Bill C
I use have been using hoods, roofs, and trunk lids from my Scrapped MoPars to make Skookum Slant 6 Road and Drag Rracing Oil pans.... cause you know canton or Milodon does not make those. and I have been doing it for well over 20 years.
“[The cabinet] was probably 11-, maybe 12- or 13-gauge steel. It made really good material to work with for super cheap, aka free.”
Hmm, I'm no expert and not an engineer, (I did sleep in a super 8 once), but 11 ga metal is 0.1196" (0.120") thick which is pretty close to 1/8" or 0.125" which sounds pretty thick. I would guess that it's closer to 16 ga which is 0.0598" which is closer to 1/16" or 0.0625" which would be half as thick.
CustomPartNet.com: Sheet Metal Gauge Size Chart
Patrick said:all the firewall patches on the Wartburg are filing cabinet dividers
....and the rear firewall in the Corolla. The floor is closet doors....free also.
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