948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

Hi Colin,

 

The battery box didn't have anything like that, juts the box. As you saw above, it needed a bit of work to fit.

 

Colin, Ben

 

I tested the spot welder with 3 layers of metal (left overs from my new floor), and it worked perfectly with these settings.

 

 

It took me a lot of effort to split them out, but and the end I got the peel test as it should.

 

 

I put the rear valance in place and started testing the closing panels.

 

 

This side fits perfectly...

 

 

 

However the other side is way off! These Magnum panels are rubish, I have always had problems with them. No bueno!!!

 

 

 

Anyway, I carried on and applied zinc primer to the inner side of the closing panels.

 

 

I also prepared the rear valance. There's not much access space once it is installed, so I thought I'd give it a lick of primer and one coat of stone chip. I masked the edges and the area for the closing panels to apply later some zinc primer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That should get that panel protected until it is painted. I also applied zinc primer to the boot floor.

 

 

And then with the valance back in, I realized I painted in black the area where the closing panels should go, so I had to clean it up again and applied zinc primer instead.

 

 

I decided not to weld the rear valance or closing panels just yet, so I started cleaning up the rear shelf.

 

 

Quite rusty there, but it should clean up just fine.

 

 

I need to order the rear panel, so I can spot weld it in place together with the rear valance as advised by Ben. I believe the closing panels can be spot welded after this, as the access should be good enough with my spot welder. The question I have is how this area shown in red is welded to the floor?

 

 

The spot welder would not get in there, unles you do this before the rear valance is installed. I guess this can be plug welded, although the access is a bit narrow, but I think it is still doable. Any advise on this?

 

Thanks.

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

Hi Victor, I got the closing panels clamped in the correct position with the valance on, then took off valance and spot welded that section. Then longer arms on the welder to do the curved section to valance.

[Viktor]

Cheers Colin, that sounds like a good plan! :)

[Viktor]

Back to the garage this weekend to complete the rear valance and closing panels.

 

First everything clamped in position.

 

 

 

Then I plug welded the closing panel to the boot floor on both sides. Just one plug weld to fix them in position.

 

 

This side was a bit off, but then managed to close the gaps.

 

 

Then I removed the valance, so I can spot weld the closing panels to the boot floor.

 

 

Spot welded.

 

 

 

Then I put the valance back in place again and spot welded the closing panels to it.

 

 

 

That is as far as I can get with the spot welder, even with the longer arms.

 

 

And same process on the other side.

 

 

 

And that is all done now.

 

 

I also spot welded the rear valance to the boot floor just in the rear bumper mounts, waiting for the rear panel to weld all 3 panels together.

 

 

 

To finish off, I removed the rest of the old rear panel, cleaned it up and applied zinc primer.

 

 

 

That was it for today.

 

Victor.

[stuart bowes]

coming on nicely still, don't suppose you could do me a favour and confirm the height of that petrol tank support (A), plus distance from wheel arch (B)?  I'm going to make one I think 

 

I'm guessing A should be the same as the depth of the lip around the tank and B is no further than the width of that half of the tank (if that makes sense) but it doesn't hurt to check

 

much obliged 

 

Edited by stuart bowes, 19 February 2023 - 11:47 AM.

[Viktor]

Hi Stuart,

 

A=13mm

B=74mm

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 19 February 2023 - 05:25 PM.

[stuart bowes]

perfect thanks for that much appreciated 

[Viktor]

While I wait to receive the rear panel, I decided to start with a very tricky repair: The door frame and roof.

 

This is the starting point. The whole panel is rusted, and there's a very bad repair in the curve section.

 

 

I cut the rusted panel and discovered some more rust inside.

 

 

There are rest of filler, from a previous repair.

 

 

I drilled the spot welds and started to remove the rest of the old panel.

 

 

That is all cleaned up.

 

 

Then I removed the nasty repair and discovered some rusted metal underneath.

 

 

I cut it back until I found solid metal.

 

 

Then I looked at cutting the bad roof repair.

 

 

 

At the front, there's also a not great repair. It was covered by quite a lot of filler.

 

 

And that is how far I got today.

 

I have a donor roof that I boght a year or so ago, knowing that at some point I would need some panel cuts.

 

 

My initial thoughts are to extract the roof skin from the donor roof, and use some cuts to repair the nasty sections in my car. I believe the roof skin is the same for all models, but the gutters are different from newest models to my MKIII, so I can't use the gutters, but probably can use the roof skin? Buying a new roof skin is prohibitive, so trying to use this if at all possible.

 

Not sure if anyone has done something similar before, but it would be good to have some advice on this, or even a link to a post in this forum.

 

Thanks.

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

Good work Victor.

Matt Green has a good video on YouTube that will come in handy...

https://youtu.be/r1d2NgcAYpA

[Viktor]

Thanks Colin. I watched all the videos last night and now I'm not sure if changing the whole roof skin is the way to go. It seems like a monumental task to remove the skin from the donor roof and put it on my car, so many things can go wrong.

 

My roof is generally in good condition, it is just the two front corners that are shot and rusted. I think I'm going to try and cut repair panels from the donor roof and go from there. Worse case scenario, that might not work and then I would need to buy a new roof skin for the car... (around £500!!!).

 

I will give it a go next weekend, and see how it goes.

 

Victor.

[stuart bowes]

seems to me the smallest possible section in an area which is not flat (i.e. the curves at the corners) would be least likely to warp when welding because it's pressed into a shape

 

still though I would take time between welds because the roof is such a large panel and any warp would be blindingly obvious at the quickest of glances

 

that is assuming the two pressings are close enough that a cut section is a good fit..?  I can't see why it wouldn't be if they're both original.. the way they welded panels together may have been wayward but the pressings themselves should be quite uniform ?

 

only one way to find out really, cut a piece and try to fit it

Edited by stuart bowes, 20 February 2023 - 02:24 PM.

[Viktor]

Thanks Stuart, agreed.

 

In my view this should be easier than replacing the whole roof skin.  I was also thinking on getting a metal plate under the joint between the 2 sections of roof to be welded, pre-shaped with the curve following the roof profile. This would help to keep the panel in shape and avoid distortions. That metal plate won't be seen as the roof lining will hide it.

 

Just a thought I had today...

 

Victor.

[stuart bowes]

or maybe joggle the edges of the piece and weld in with the overlap, using the ridge for a bit of extra strength.  as long as the joggling doesnt affect the shape..

 

one thing a welder cousin of mine once told me he does, is have a bowl of water and use it to keep a rag damp (not dripping though) which you can use to cool the welds as you go and save some waiting time

 

but something about that made me think I dunno, im not that much in a rush I can just wait 

 

he does a lot of welding professionally though I guess sometimes you just have to get a lot done in a day

Edited by stuart bowes, 20 February 2023 - 07:30 PM.

[Fred&Rex]

Hi Victor 

Ask Ben as he will be able to offer some great advice, I had some gutter areas that required repairs and he tackled that with ease.

 

Thanks 

 

Daz 

[Viktor]

or maybe joggle the edges of the piece and weld in with the overlap, using the ridge for a bit of extra strength.  as long as the joggling doesnt affect the shape..

 

one thing a welder cousin of mine once told me he does, is have a bowl of water and use it to keep a rag damp (not dripping though) which you can use to cool the welds as you go and save some waiting time

 

but something about that made me think I dunno, im not that much in a rush I can just wait 

 

he does a lot of welding professionally though I guess sometimes you just have to get a lot done in a day

That's another option as well.

 

Thanks Stuart :)