For the uninitiated....on the Wire Car, all of that "sheet metal" in the interior and
engine compartment is not aluminum. It is magnesium and light as a feather.
Clyde Hodges had told me that it was the job of one of the crew to keep the panels on the underside polished so that it looked like aluminum so no one could tell it was magnesium. I don't remember which car he was referring to though.
He also said that when they started using titanium, they would have to paint it so no one would know. He said the titanium bellhousing was some beautiful metal and it was a shame to have to paint it black.