62 replies to this topic

[mike.]

Right here is the latest update on my project thread: Link

My cars getting resprayed on saturday and as you can see i'm having abit of trouble with the rear window lip. The parcel shelf is also pretty rusty but until i can afford to buy repair panels and things that'll have to wait until after the respray.

So here those pics again:







As you can see theres some pretty bad rust on the parcel shelf but most of its still good and solid so i'll just have to grind that clean and rust treat/paint it. However some of the lip for the rear window rubber has rusted and i've ground it off back to solid metal. As you can see on the second pic the lip is now very bumpy and will probably leak if i just put the rear window in now.

My question is what would be your suggestion to sort of bodge this. I can't weld and especially don't have the skill to weld a big section like cutting out the back part of the parcel shelf and the lenghth of panel under the rear window.

So what else can i do to secure some metal in the areas where the lip has rusted away? I could probably just about tack a small bit of metal behind the the damaged area (thats if i get some gas and work out how the welder works) and use filler to form a half decent lip for the rear window.

Failing that could i just use fibreglass or filler reinforced with some repair mesh? to form a lip?

At most this repair/bodge would have to last a year until i can afford to take the car off the road again and pay somebody to do proper job of it.

Like i've said my cars getting sent off for spraying on saturday so i've got about another 15 hours to spend on the car filling little dints and treating any minor rust i find and things so i've not got much time at all.

[onefastmoke]

unfortunately you've got very little chance of bodging that, filler etc. will just crack if you try and build a lip out of it. don't forget this lip is all that holds your glass in

[MrMini]

Clean up the area as best you can and then form a fibreglass lip maybe?

[WiredbyWilson]

fibreglass is probably your best bet, filler will just crack.

if you are seriously depserate then use some ready mixed fibreglass as it is less messy, the mesh you can buy and maybe mix metal filings into the fibreglass mixture to add extra strentgh.

had same prob with mine but was lucky to have a skilled panel beater to hand who fab'd up a new section that went about half an inch down the back panel. got a pic somewhere!

Found them :

Edited by Wilson1275, 01 July 2008 - 08:34 PM.

[mike.]

Yeah i think i'll use fibreglass.

Would i be better using pure fibreglass or cutting a piece of metal to fill the hole and fibreglassing over the top of that?

[midridge2]

thats C**p welding and C**p spot welds.

[WiredbyWilson]

thats C**p welding and C**p spot welds.

to be quite frank bugger off. it must be nice up in your ivory tower, but as im a qualified accountant i was pretty pleased with my 2nd attempt at welding.

TOOL!

Edited by Wilson1275, 01 July 2008 - 09:05 PM.

[mike.]

They look fine to me. As long as the welds have decent penetration thats the main thing.

[midridge2]

i may live in a ivory tower but as i have been welding for 40 years its still C**p welding and C**p spot welds. nothing you can say will change that fact.
do you want me to say its the best welding i have ever seen,
if you are going to weld a car that can be a death trap if welded up poorly and kill a innocent person/persons then go on a welding course, time after time i see people buy a mig and think they can weld after a couple of goes then go onto weld there cars up making them death traps.



this is my opinion and will differ from others.

[MrMini]

I think the welding looks ok. At the end of the day its a rear window lip nothing structural.

[WiredbyWilson]

ROFL!!

I never said i was going to be welding up anyones cars!! I was "watched over" to make sure I didn't balls it up. All the structural welding was done by a person to similar years to yourself.

May I suggest that you remember this is a family forum and to tone the language down but all things relative the car isn't a death trap - infact for a 20 year old car it wasn't bad that the only other welding needed was a 2" square in the footwell and a scuttle repair.

Comment over - I have no more to say

[Tomf]

Mate, i know its not what you really want to hear, but i really would ask on here or similar for someone to come out and weld a partch in there and on your roof. otherwise you will be fixing them agian in 6 months and the rot will just be worst...

[mk3 Cooper S]

They look fine to me. As long as the welds have decent penetration thats the main thing.

Yes I agree. I'd be happy if mine was like that every time!!!

[WiredbyWilson]

They look fine to me. As long as the welds have decent penetration thats the main thing.

I think the welding looks ok. At the end of the day its a rear window lip nothing structural.

They look fine to me. As long as the welds have decent penetration thats the main thing.

Yes I agree. I'd be happy if mine was like that every time!!!

thanks guys, makes me feel a little better. i was quite pleased i was able to do that after a quick 5 min demo!! but i know they are supposed to flow nicely into each other etc etc, but after a grind up and filler it did the job fine.

[1984mini25]

I’m sure you can get metal filler/chemical metal, which might be better and stronger than normal filler/fibreglass.