948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

Well done England!

 

I started cutting the area for the repair on the top, drilling all the spot welds I found on the way. Some on the A-post and some on the internal shelf of the dash. That area is quite delicate, so I did it very slowly.

 

 

 

There's superficial rust inside the A-post area, but with a bit of brush is all gone. I removed all the foam material inside the cavity, who thought that was a good idea? Sir Issigonis himself?

 

 

Once the piece was removed, I was able to clean a bit the area a try the repair panel on. I needed to cut a little bit more here and there, but I preferred to do it this way, rather than cut too much at the start.

 

 

 

Then, I used a couple of nuts and bolts to fix the panel to the A-post and marked up the areas where I needed to cut / sand down for a perfect fit. The gap between the panels is quite consistent, with a couple of spots where it is too big and I might need to put something behind when welding.

 

 

But overall, very happy about how this is coming together. The plan now is to prepare the bottom part repair panel and another repair just above the lower hinge. I'm not going to use the Magnum panel, it is way too thin than the other panels and the shape is not correct.

 

 

More updates coming soon.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Ben_O]

I use the full height magnum panel quite often and find that it always needs a fair amount of reshaping to fit nicely but can be achieved without too much trouble.

 

You are making great progress with that top repair. You certainly have the patience to do it carefully which is great. It's all to easy to rush it and cut too much away.

 

Cheers

Ben 

[Viktor]

Thanks Ben. I have no rush, so whatever it takes as long as it is properly done! I'm returning the Magnum panel, didn't like the quality and didn't want to spend time adapting it to fit.

 

So I continued with the repairs on the inner wing. I started drilling the spot welds on the bottom area and cut it out to fit the repair panel.

 

 

 

Once the panel was removed, I was able to put the repair panel in place and verify the line where I will cut the inner wing.

 

 

 

But before going any further, I decided to give the internal area a lick of antirust paint. At least that should protect it from rust again, I hope...

 

 

I prepared a paper template of the area to repair and cut it from a 1mm steel sheet. I bent the area to the left, trying to keep the bend line continuous from top to bottom. I think it looks pretty good.

 

 

And that it is for today. I might try to start welding during this coming week if I manage to spare some hours after work. Have a nice week!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 04 July 2021 - 06:00 PM.

[Viktor]

Some progress done today. I prepared the top repair panel for weld it in place. I have a problem with the spot welds, they are not working. I have used a 5mm punch tool + the drill in some other areas. I have spot weld all of them, but when I grinded them down, the panels were not attached. Any tips on this please? Some photos of the process.

 

 

 

Zinc primer in the welding areas

 

 

Setting out the panel to its final position.

 

 

And first spot welds on the A-post. I thought I have achieved good penetration looking at the circles areound the spot welds, but as I said the panels were not attached.

 

 

A few more welds here and there, before removing the clamps.

 

 

 

And all the welding done

 

 

And after a bit of grinding, that is the result. I forgot to take a photo from inside, were I also did some welds.

 

 

There area couple of small holes along the welds, which I will repair tomorrow, as I run out of time today.

 

Other than the issue with the spot welds, I'm quite happy with the final result. More tomorrow.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[gaspen]

Zinc primer will not help the penetration of the welds    I recommend that clean the area of the holes to bare metal. Good penetration = strong weld. 

 

I think you make VERY short welds or the welding voltage is still low, I bet you afraid of burning the metal. Learning on scrap pieces is strongly recommended. 

 

Believe me : it is not impossible 

[colinf1]

Believe me : it is not impossible

Sometimes, like 99% of the time, I'm doubtful about this lol

[sonscar]

As gaspen says,clean the primer out of the holes,scraping with a screwdriver is enough.Turn up the power,aim at the centre of the hole go down and then round in a circle.Roughly if you are not burning through the power is too low.
Counter intuitive but if you have more power you melt the metal and add filler wire quickly which penetrated and reduces heat build up.Keep trying,10 minuted practice on the same metal with varying power and wire speed will pay dividends.Keep it up,Steve

[Viktor]

Thanks Gaspen, Colinf1 and Steve. That sounds sensible and exactly where the problem seems to be. Short weldings, low power and the zinc primer, can make the perfect combination for a bad spot weld. I think I had all of them 

 

I will do some practice with the same sheet of metal (I have some bits in the garage), and once learned properly, I will go back to that top repair and do some spot welds in there.

 

It is really appreciated to have your support on this guys. I am so tankful.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Jase]

Fantastic work

[Viktor]

Following the advice from Gaspen, Colinf1 and Steve I tried different settings with my welder for the spot welds. I pressed the buttom for longer, while moving it in circles trying to achieve a better penetration. I also removed the zinc primer with a screwdriver through the holes in the new piece I was welding on. I am pretty satisfied with the result. Some photos of the process.

 

 

Zinc primer removed from the holes

 

 

Some spot welds pressing it for longer and creating a bigger weld around the holes.

 

 

Even from the back it seems that I got good penetration.

 

 

Spot welds and plug welds along the vertical joint.

 

 

I used an aluminium plate to put behind that area where the gap was too big and I weld it over.

 

 

 

And after a bit of grinding the job was completed. I cut the excess of metal following the A-post template.

 

 

 

Very slow progress, but very satisfied with how my welding skills are improving. Thanks guys for your comments and advice, it is really appreciated!

 

P.S. Welding with 30 degrees outside it is not nice, not at all!   

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[gaspen]

"I've got to admit it's getting better. A little better all the time"

 

[colinf1]

Looks like your making good progress, and more importantly your satisfied with it.

Yes I agree about this weather, not great for welding, especially with all the heavy ppe. I took a break from mine due to the heat, ended up with sunburnt feet

[gaspen]

What is your plan with that lip ? You have to bend the edge of the A-panel over that.

 

 IMG_20201004_143749.jpg   76.96K   4 downloads

Edited by gaspen, 19 July 2021 - 03:48 AM.

[Viktor]

What is your plan with that lip ? You have to bend the edge of the A-panel over that.

 

IMG_20201004_143749.jpg

Hi Gaspen, the plan is to bend the edge of the A-panel over the A-post. At the moment I have the inner wing repairs following the profile of the A-post, as this is how it was before I removed the A-panel and outer wings. Is that what you are referring to? I understand you have already done that, so any tips or advice?

Thanks.

Victor.

[colinf1]

Viktor, if you look closely at Gaspens photo, you can see the inner wing has a return fold along the hinge section, this goes around 25mm past the A-post at top and bottom and 10mm in middle, then the A-panel is bent around this to sandwich it in place.

Here's a quick video showing that part
VID_20210719_204319

Don't know if clicking on the picture opens the video, if not try link underneath picture

Edited by colinf1, 19 July 2021 - 10:01 PM.