948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

Between yesterday and today, I managed to get the boot floor panel ready for welding. However, I'm now stuck because I'm not sure if the rear subframe mounting panel is in the right position!

 

Let's start from the beginning...

 

Trunnions completed and new bushes.

 

 

 

I tightened the new bushes and tried to align everything again. But this time the floor panel was not in place.

 

 

 

 

Then I prepared the mounting panel to get it ready for welding.

 

 

 

And zinc primer in all welding areas.

 

 

I prepared the boot floor, mounting panel and rear subframe out of the car.

 

 

 

And then I put everything back in the car. Boot floor and mounting panel first, and then the rear subframe.

 

 

 

 

Everything seems to be aligned as per the above photos and based on the datum I took before removing the old floor.

 

The problwm is that it seems to be a 5mm difference between one side and the other. The gap between the end of the rear subframe and the quarter panel is not equal on both sides.

 

 

 

The dimension 'X' is 5mm bigger than the dimension 'Y'. The rear subframe is mounted and all nuts and bolts are tightened. I checked other gaps and everything seems to be in its correct place. Is this 5mm difference 'normal'. If not, how can I amend it?

 

I will not do any welding until I know this is okay, or how to fix it.

 

Thanks all in advance.

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

How much flex are in those rear side panels now that the folds are cut off?

Is the centreline of the new boot floor, subframe mounting panel and rear subframe all in line with the remaining part of the floor?

[Viktor]

Hi Colin, I guess the flex should be the same on both sides. I didn't check the aligment of the boot floor, mounting panel and subframe in relation to the rest of the floor. I will do a quick check tomorrow.

 

I have to say that this has been the most challenging and difficult part of my project so far. I lost count of how many times I put the boot floor in and out! After all of that, it seems that it is still not 100% right    Anyway, I'm sure there will be a way of getting it right!

 

Thanks.

[Spherix]

Have you done a full alignment check between front and rear subframe yet? See second post here for reference: http://www.turbomini...p=vt&tid=587196

[Viktor]

Hi Pherix,

 

No I haven't done a full aligment check. I have downloaded the files on that post and will check dimenions on my car.

 

Many thanks!

 

Victor

[Viktor]

So I finally got the boot floor, mounting panel and rear subframe all aligned and where they should be. It took quite a lot of adjusting, but now I'm happy with the final setting out. Some photos from today.

 

Mounting panel now aligned with the centre of the car, and also equal gaps on both sides from the trunnions to the quarter panels. I took dimensions like 100s times!

 

 

 

All aligned also here with the central tunnel.

 

 

With the rear subframe still in place, I made some plug welds to fix the mounting panel to the boot floor. There's a lot more plug welds to do...

 

 

 

I also plug welded the stiffeners to the boot floor, while still keeping the rear subframe in place.

 

 

 

With both the mounting panel and the boot floor welded in position, I removed the rear subframe to have better access to the plug welds along the wheel archs. I then run out of time, so I will carry on welding tomorrow.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 17 February 2022 - 07:24 PM.

[colinf1]

Looking good, will be a great milestone achieved once it's fully welded in place!

Keep it up!

[Viktor]

Thanks Colin, very excited about the welding stage! It took a fw weeks to get the boot floor panel prep and aligned!

 

Today I managed to weld half of the floor. Some photos of the process:

 

Panel in place, I used a screwdriver to remove the zinc paint from the welding area. I also used clamps to keep the pieces together.

 

 

I noticed some of my welds were too high, and took me a lot of time to grind them down. I learned that I need to move in circles around the area to keep the welds as flat as possible.

 

 

Then all grinded down. Some areas were not really accessible with the belt sander, but in general I'm quite happy with the result. Good penetration and really solid.

 

 

And a bit of anti-rust paint to finish it off.

 

 

Then I continued with the mounting panel, following the same procedure.

 

 

 

In this area again, I wasn't able to reach the whole weld with the belt sander. I guess it should be fine and this area is not visible. 

 

 

 

That was all for today. I'm hoping to get the whole floor completed this weekend, let's see if it can be done...

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Good progress over the weekend. I almost completed the welding of the boot floor, but still a few things to get done.

 

Firstly, I completed the welding along the other wheel arch.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I continued with the wheel arch stiffeners.

 

 

 

And the other side.

 

 

 

And then, it was time to remove the bracing and clean up the area.

 

 

 

Same on the other side.

 

 

 

The final plug weld to stiffeners.

 

 

And to finish it off with a lick of anti-rust paint.

 

 

 

I still need to do the plug welds into the inner stiffeners. I gave it a go today, but access is quite difficult due to the lack of space, but also because the jig is taking a lot of space.

 

 

I will try again next weekend to see if I can manage to get better access.

 

Have a nice week everyone!

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

This is a huge step in the right direction, well done Victor!

[MaximMini]

Hi Victor,

 

I'm by no means a welding expert but for me it looks like you have either the power setting to low or the wire speed to high. The weld should flow more and don't 'stack up' if this makes any sense. A professional once highly recommended to me to practice plug welds on a scrap metal before welding on my project until one day I would be able to do plug welds blindfolded.

[Viktor]

Hi Victor,

 

I'm by no means a welding expert but for me it looks like you have either the power setting to low or the wire speed to high. The weld should flow more and don't 'stack up' if this makes any sense. A professional once highly recommended to me to practice plug welds on a scrap metal before welding on my project until one day I would be able to do plug welds blindfolded.

Thanks for your comment. I noticed some of my welds came out better than others, mainly because the way I moved my hand while welding. I think the power is high enough, I tried a higher setting and it just cut holes everywhere. So I guess it might be the speed too high. I will give it a go with lower speed next time!

 

Thanks again, that is appreciated.

 

Victor.

[Verderad]

Good progress over the weekend. I almost completed the welding of the boot floor, but still a few things to get done.

 

Firstly, I completed the welding along the other wheel arch.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I continued with the wheel arch stiffeners.

 

 

 

And the other side.

 

 

 

And then, it was time to remove the bracing and clean up the area.

 

 

 

Same on the other side.

 

 

 

The final plug weld to stiffeners.

 

 

And to finish it off with a lick of anti-rust paint.

 

 

 

I still need to do the plug welds into the inner stiffeners. I gave it a go today, but access is quite difficult due to the lack of space, but also because the jig is taking a lot of space.

 

 

I will try again next weekend to see if I can manage to get better access.

 

Have a nice week everyone!

 

Victor.

Victor I would suggest a bigger hole, I punch mine then open up to 6 > 8mm depending on space. 
As suggested I would have the power turned up and the wire speed, took me ages to work out my settings, I had a lot of scrap panels to test on, I still test before each run, I try to find 2 pieces of steel in a similar condition to what i'm about to weld and adjust the welder until I get what looks reasonable.  I also remove the weld through primer in the plugs, makes for a better weld. 

I have a rather old SIP welder, it has similar settings to yours,  When mines on max the other switch settings make no difference, it's just max.   The other setting brings the other switch into play, I always use 2 as 1 just doesn't give the penetration needed.  Reserved for the thin metal in rusted areas. 

 

Its slightly different every time, with experience you can adjust the feed on the fly but I've just finished my welding and i'm not experienced yet!!. 

 

I've read your blog and see that you have a rust problem at top of a A Post on the near side,  I have a gift for you, I had a roof cut, removed the roof panel and I'm left with the Cant Rail, Corner Piece and top of A Post.   Send me a private mail with your address and I will post it over to you.  

[Verderad]

 

Double Post 

 

I started like you, ended up with lots of new panels. 

 

Keep up the good work 

Edited by Verderad, 22 February 2022 - 04:25 PM.

[Viktor]

Thanks Verderad, really appreciate the feedback. Sending a PM now!