948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

Thanks Steve, appreciate the comment.

 

Hi Colin, thanks mate I still have a lot of grinding to do, but getting there. I didn't notice anything different when welding with the magnets, but it could be just me not noticing it!

 

I posted some of these photos on Facebook, and a couple of lads told me that my wire speed seems a bit high. I will reduce it when welding the other half, to see if that helps. I don't think the welds are too high, but I guess it would be better to get them a bit flatter!

 

Victor.

[gaspen]

Flatter welds, less grinding, happy neighbours :) 

[Verderad]

Wow. Good work there Viktor, that’s how mine was meant to go in my head.  
I would agree wire speed looks a fraction high.  You could also tap the copper down to close gap to steel, this will reduce the penetration, less grinding.  
 

enjoy the grinding session. 

[Viktor]

Yes, indeed. I wish I could do flatter welds, but this is always difficult for me. I have improved quite a lot, but still a long way to go.

 

To be honest at this point I wish I would have taken a different route for my project. Working this floor bit by bit is time consuming and a lot of effort. I decided to do it this way to 'save money', but I'm not sure if I have saved that much.

 

A new heritage floor is £750, and can be fixed to the car with the spot welder and a few plug welds. Doing it the way I'm doing it, might be cheaper in parts, but then you need to do a lot of welding (gas + wire) and a lot of grinding (grinding disks, etc.). On top of that, many many hours grinding and making noise, which is not great.

 

I still have to finish this half floor, and then do the other half. Lots of hours ahead, oh dear!

[Viktor]

I spent the morning doing a few more plug welds and also started grinding. I only managed to grind down the internal side, which came together nicely (after a lot of effort!)

 

 

There were some areas with very little weld, which was much easier to grind down

 

 

No more grinding this weekend...

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[stuart bowes]

looking good mate, you can get your feet up now and feel that warm glow of happy making good progress  lol

 

I know what you mean about gas and grinding discs, it does make you wonder sometimes, but I also think it's worth factoring in you're also 'earning' a lot of welding experience from this which is valuable in itself

Edited by stuart bowes, 13 November 2022 - 05:39 PM.

[colinf1]

That looks very good Victor, nice and blended, should be pretty much invisible once it's painted!

[Aridgerunner]

Victor, your project is looking good. I am replying just to say thanks. I've been down with a severe common cold so I needed something to read. When I got to your post on the flattened copper tubing you used to help when welding two panels together I thought, genius! So I made some for myself.

Thanks mate!

[Viktor]

Victor, your project is looking good. I am replying just to say thanks. I've been down with a severe common cold so I needed something to read. When I got to your post on the flattened copper tubing you used to help when welding two panels together I thought, genius! So I made some for myself.

Thanks mate!

Thanks mate, I'm glad it did help. I'm making this not only for myself, but for others to avoid the same mistakes I'm doing!

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Not much progress yesterday, as I only spent a couple of hours in the garage. Mainly grinding down the long weld on the floor panel. I normally use the angle grinder to take out the bulk of the weld, and then use the finger sander to finish it more carefully. However, the finger sander stopped working yesterday so I would need to come back to this once I have a replacement. Good news is that it is still under waranty, but it might take a few days until I get the new one...

 

Some photos of the grinding...

 

It is going well at the front

 

 

Also the toe board is now all done, waiting to finish it properly with the finger sander

 

 

Lots of grinding to be done...

 

 

But getting there...

 

 

The back of the car is the area is more complete now...

 

 

The plan for today is do a bit more grinding and perhaps start looking at the closing panel inside the companion bin. Let's see how far I can get.

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

Some proper progress Victor, may seem slow and laborious but it's another big job ticked off the list!

My grinder started to play up also, the variable speed control would kick into max 12000rpm randomly, not very good when using a wire wheel that's only 8000rpm max. Thankfully it was still in warranty and was no quibble refund!

[stuart bowes]

Bad weekend for grinders then, mine died as well!

It has done about 12 years of faithful service in all fairness, ordered up a new makita, should last a while

[Viktor]

12 years is quite a lot Stuart, I wish my tools would last that much!

 

Although I couldn't continue grinding the welding along the floor, I managed to make some good progress today.

 

First of all, I tried to get the closing panel in position, but to be honest I have no clue about how this panel should go in. I put the end (red) flat on the wheel arch closing panel, so the angle is dictated by that. Then it is flush with the inner sill along the green line. 

 

 

Questions:

 

1.- Is this the right position?

2.- Once spot welded to the inner sill, should I cut out the sill along the green line?

 

I parked that from now, until I get some responses...

 

Then I decided to give it a go to the companion bin. I ordered some repair panels from M-Machine, and as always good quality and almost perfect fit! The repair panel comes with the top flanged, so it can be overlapped with the existing.

 

 

I put it in place and marked it up to cut it 10mm below the line, so it can be overlapped with the repair panel. See double black line...

 

 

 

Then all cut and cleaned from paint. I also marked up the floor, so I can drill some holes to do plug welding from underneath.

 

 

I drilled all the holes with a 6mm drill bit, including the toe board.

 

 

 

I got the repair panel in place, overlapping both edges.

 

 

And used some screws to force the panel in place and aligned with the floor.

 

 

Then I put the longer arms in my spot welder and started welding along the junction between the 2 panels. Quite difficult and heavy to operate the spot welder in this location...

 

 

But I have to say that the result was superb! It would need some grinding and some filler, but looking really good. I cannot reach under the seat, so I might need to weld that from the inside with the MIG welder.

 

 

 

Then I plug welded the floor and the companion bin repair panel. All grinded down.

 

 

This is from inside. The right hand area is the space under the seat, which I cannot reach with the spot welder. I will weld that from this side...

 

 

And this is how it looks completed from inside the car. I still need to weld the small plate along the door step. It is perfectly aligned, with just a small gap in the corner, that can be filled with sealer at the time of paint...

 

 

So that was it for today. Hopefully I will receive a new belt sander this week and can finish the floor.

 

Have a great week all!

 

Victor.

[Retro_10s]

Really really really good work Victor. Well done mate.

[Ben_O]

The closing panel is in the correct place however the top of the flange on the closing panel needs to be clamped level and flush with the top edge of the inner sill

 

You may need to bend the other end down slightly so that it fits under the step

I've always had to do that and every original one I have replaced was like it too