5 replies to this topic

[kieranrushbrook]

Hi all,

 

Just a question about welding..

 

The outer sills need replacing and i'm thinking of trying to do it myself. I'm a motorsport mechanic so am reasonably confident with anything mechanical, but never attempted bodywork repair myself. Is it worth buying a mig welder, practising on scrap metal and trying to do the repairs myself? or is it worth biting the bullet and paying for a repair.

 

Appreciate all advice and interested to know if anyone else has taught themselves how to do it (and how successful they were)

[KTS]

Definitely - a decent mig welder will cost less than paying someone to replace the sills

The key to a decent weld is to ensure that what you're welding to is good clean metal - often it means cutting away more than you anticipated to get to a solid base

[sonscar]

The problem with paying for someone to do it for you is "look what I have found,it will be £xx more or worse or when I bodge this over here no one will see". Not all bodywork men are like this.Doing it yourself is not too difficult and all the parts are available.Allow a weekend per side before painting.You will also have the tools and experience to replace the boot floor,floorpans,door posts,front wings etc.( only partly joking)Have fun,Steve..

[neilw]

I'm currently replacing the floor and sills on my mini. I had never welded before so I went on a 1 day welding course to understand the basics. The course was great and focused a lot on the principles of welding and during the practical I made a cube. The problem came when I tried welding the mini panels, they are a lot less forgiving and I blew holes in everything I touched!

 

I like to do everything myself so I will persevere, I really don't enjoy doing bodywork I much prefer the oily bits but if you've got the patience to learn you might find you're very good at it. Unfortunately, I'm not

 

Good luck with whatever route you choose.

 

PS. I went on the welding course in 2017 and so far I've managed to get one part of the floor welded in :)

[weef]

I am all for upskilling and the ability to weld is a good tool to have in the box, but like most skills it takes some time to master. An experienced hand may make it look easy but to make a success of things takes many hours of practice.

Remember it is not just a welder you need, PPE, a variety of cutting tools, grinding tools clamps and clips etc are also needed.

Practicing on good clean steel on the bench is just a start but it is a far cry from actually welding a rusty vehicle. Everyone has to start somewhere so if you feel confident that you can master the skills needed then go for it.

There will be every chance that once you cut off the sills, with whatever equipment you have purchased, that underneath there will be more rust that will need addressed before the new outer sills are fitted, thus leading to more metalwork skills needed. 

If it is only the sills you want to replace then it may be worth just getting a reputable workshop to carry out the work, but remember to get a good job you cannot expect this work to be cheap, cutting off the sills can be like opening a can of worms. If you fear the workshop is going to rip you off then do not employ them, use someone else, or ask to see things once the sills are removed and reassess the job.

The choice is yours but if you foresee the need for this kind of work in the future them invest in the equipment and time, the rewards of seeing a nicely repaired panel are worth it, but there is nothing worse than looking at  "old indians",    "apatchy" as we say in the trade.

[sonikk4]

Think thin when it comes to mini panels. 0.9mm for all external and floor panels. Heelboard and toe board are thicker at 1.2mm.

So any flanges you can Plug weld. I would recommend 1/4” holes where possible but nothing smaller than 3/16th. Holes punches are normally 5/32nd and unless you have your power setting spot on the hole fills quicker than it can actually attach itself to the other flange.

Now Butt welding is an art especially on thin metal. So this is where intergrips come into their own here for clamping and also keeping the gap to no more than 1mm. Seam welding unless you are very good on thin metal will end up with more blown holes than anything. So instead try pulse welding instead which are basically overlapping spot welds.