fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
This is what I had to cut out...
my frankenstein project...
- Thread starter fiatmonkey
- Start date
This is what I had to cut out...
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
Sooo... are ya gonna butt-weld it in place...
... or lap weld it, or rivet it or GLUE IT???
... or lap weld it, or rivet it or GLUE IT???
lookforjoe
True Classic
That's some crusty lookin' patches that you've removed!
How do you intend to proceed with securing the replacement?
How do you intend to proceed with securing the replacement?
Looks like a nice job so far. Glad to see it repaired correctly. I wouldn't go so far as to call it Frakenstein though, a lot more expensive cars are repaired the same way.
I would suggest buttwelding the patch. There is no place for moisture collect and rust to start as in a lap joint. It takes a little more work; hammering, grinding and such but creates an invisible repair on both sides if done right. Good luck!
I would suggest buttwelding the patch. There is no place for moisture collect and rust to start as in a lap joint. It takes a little more work; hammering, grinding and such but creates an invisible repair on both sides if done right. Good luck!
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
That section beneath the cut out is the replacement. Its a clean section. I etch primered it then ground it back some on the edges. Glen let me raid his "throw away" scraps a while back. Still more rust to fix here and there but I have all the metal I need now
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
Hey guys; Left my camera at my brothers down in SolCal over the weekend so no pics (yet).
I took an interesting approach to this repair. I agree that a lap joint weld is not the best for preventing rust and actually can excellerate it however there are sections that a buttweld was just going to be really hard to do and I don't have the skills for it.
So I opted to buttweld as much as I could and for the sections where a lap was required and or would help to strengthen the section I used a metal to metal adhesive. I have a friend with a shop in town and for panel replacement they use it almost exclusively. I know this is not simply a panel replacement but I thought it would make the most sense considering my skill level and the value of strengthening typical weak spots and added benefit of rust prevention.
Since this is my daily driver I need to add some filler, prime it some and button it up
-Tim
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
lookforjoe
True Classic
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
As Hussein points out its a simple application. I used 3M Automix 8115. You need:
A gun applicator -
Nozzle(s)
Adhesive
You prepare the sections to weld-bond like you would for lapwelding;ground/sand down to rough bare metal. There was no clear requirement of how much of an overlap was required but in my case I made sure I had at least 1/2 inch or as close as I could. You apply the 3M automix with a bead about 1/4 along the sections to be bonded - both panel and replacement panel. Its important since you are bonding bare metal to bare metal that the adhesive cover the entire overlap to protect from rust.
The trick however is you need to temporarily keep the panels secured while the adhesive cures. I did this with a combination of rivets and c-clamps. Depending on what and where you are bonding you might be able to get away with just c-clamps and less body work/filler later
Took about 24 hours for the adhesive to be 100% cured and sandable. Seems a bit long so if I do this again I will do some research on other possible adhesives with a faster curing time. I might have used too much adhesive so this could have slowed cure time down? I don't know for sure.
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
There ya go Tim...
I agree totally with your repair philosophy, especially for a DD car...
Shame on you for leaving the camera in SoCal... and for not letting us know you were in the neighborhood!
I agree totally with your repair philosophy, especially for a DD car...
Shame on you for leaving the camera in SoCal... and for not letting us know you were in the neighborhood!
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
Had I driven down I would surely stopped by Tony! Hopefully FedEx knocks on my door today with my camera
lookforjoe
True Classic
The SEM 39537 has a 1 hour work time (max, less in high ambient temps) and is set within 2-3 hours. They still recommend 24 hours before use, but after 2hours, it ain't goin' nowhere :grin:
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
So was that in addition to the nut/bolt attachment there already or did your spoiler not attach that way? Mine bolted right up or am I missing something?
lookforjoe
True Classic
The SerpentAuto spoiler has to be bonded all the way around.
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
That's right. You have a new spoiler
I thought it was the stock early one.Did I miss pics of that somewhere ??
Found it: http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/9058/
VERY NICE my man!
Last edited by a moderator:
fiatmonkey
Tim Hoover
More pics...
Finally got my camera back! I also found that I did take an in progress pic of the panel attached.
The seam next to/below the bumper mount hole up to and across from the tail light is a buttweld. The rest is lapweld with the metal bond adhesive. The adhesive is also a strong rust repelent and is sandable so I sealed along the buttweld as well. That was the last pic before further body work.
Here is the same finished with the last hi-fill primer coat:
The quarter is just sanded and not wiped so what look like hi/low spots or shadows is just the lack of dust in certain sections.
The left rear quarter was in nearly as bad shape
It was about 75% bondo! You could put your finger right thru or if I slapped it a couple of times you would get a nice pile of rust
I wasn't as lucky to have the whole section (like the other side) so I had to peice some of it together (sorry - no pics) but here is the near completed section:
Not the best shot here but since I am converting to a single bumper style (using one bar each front and back from 76-78 year style) I went ahead and starting plugging up the bumper holes that were on the body for supporting the later model bumper peices:
PLENTY of work left to do including front cowel rust (no holes), rocker panel section rust holes, door rust (left door has a hole), the front right air dam connector is toast and rusted to hell. Not to mention the tons of door dings, etc.
I really dig it. I just wish I could get more than an hour or two here and there a week to work on it. I know if I had like 3 whole days I could knock out a lot of stuff.
Finally got my camera back! I also found that I did take an in progress pic of the panel attached.
The seam next to/below the bumper mount hole up to and across from the tail light is a buttweld. The rest is lapweld with the metal bond adhesive. The adhesive is also a strong rust repelent and is sandable so I sealed along the buttweld as well. That was the last pic before further body work.
Here is the same finished with the last hi-fill primer coat:
The quarter is just sanded and not wiped so what look like hi/low spots or shadows is just the lack of dust in certain sections.
The left rear quarter was in nearly as bad shape
It was about 75% bondo! You could put your finger right thru or if I slapped it a couple of times you would get a nice pile of rust
I wasn't as lucky to have the whole section (like the other side) so I had to peice some of it together (sorry - no pics) but here is the near completed section:
Not the best shot here but since I am converting to a single bumper style (using one bar each front and back from 76-78 year style) I went ahead and starting plugging up the bumper holes that were on the body for supporting the later model bumper peices:
PLENTY of work left to do including front cowel rust (no holes), rocker panel section rust holes, door rust (left door has a hole), the front right air dam connector is toast and rusted to hell. Not to mention the tons of door dings, etc.
I really dig it. I just wish I could get more than an hour or two here and there a week to work on it. I know if I had like 3 whole days I could knock out a lot of stuff.
eflexter
Eddie Flexter
Not new technology
People don't realize that bonding metal to metal is not new. My old '67 Jag E-Type had the entire big long hood GLUED together from the factory. All the reinforcing ribs, gussets, and hinges were all glued.
They didn't want to fix spot weld marks on that 6 foot long hood! Held up for 40 years just fine.
People don't realize that bonding metal to metal is not new. My old '67 Jag E-Type had the entire big long hood GLUED together from the factory. All the reinforcing ribs, gussets, and hinges were all glued.
They didn't want to fix spot weld marks on that 6 foot long hood! Held up for 40 years just fine.