It's been almost 2 weeks since my las post, but hey, who cares, right? As far as I know, no one is reading this (that's good and bad!). I've had my share of triumphs and failures. I regret a few things I've done, none without careful thought, but all without a second opinion from someone who knows better. Is that supposed to make me feel better? Maybe after I fix the mess. So far I've created a week of extra work to fix things that I've done that looking back (after the fact everyone knows), I didn't have to do; those slabs that I cut from the back of the roof, unnecessary. Stripping my car before taking care of the panel patching, etc, wrong! It's causing me a headache right now; the flash rust... The slab I cut from the floor (and I really thought this one out before I did it), unnecessary. Now I have to deal with a new patch that I can't fix with my current welder. The gasless (flux core only) welder that I bought, I regret buying it. It works fine as advertised, but I should have done what I was recommended to do; buy a true shielding Gas MIG welder. This little welder is giving me all kinds of headaches and I'm about to give up on it. Definitely not a good welder for sheetmetal work.
I was lucky that CJ Ponyparts is having a one-day sale on many parts, so I bought the entire 1-piece welded cowl panel for a hundred bucks cheaper (from $391.0 to $273.0). Plus I got my refund back from the cowl ends I ordered and returned earlier. The only thing; they will be on backorder for who knows how long. But the savings makes it well worth the wait, and I can do a lot of things in the mean time...Later I'll figure out how to paint it on the inside...
Now, back to the slabs I cut from the roof. I should have never done that. I did it because I thought I knew it would be all rusted on the inside, and replacing it would be easy and straight forward. I thought about butt-welding the original slabs, but my experience with butt-welding other parts told me to try and slap a new, rust-free slab with a 1/2-inch overlap. I made these splendid metal patches out of 20-gauge metal that I find everywhere here on base. Fitting was perfect. I thought it would be a textbook patchwork. But then the heat. It betrayed be. My patches warped a little, enough to make the patches look a bit hollow. Too bad, because my welds came out acceptable. Grinding the welds left a nice surface to cover with body filler, it's just the concave shape the patch developed that I don't like, and also, the thick metal is almost covering the stubs that hold the clips that hold the backlight in place. Maybe I'm being to much of a perfectionist. I wish I had someone to tell me if it's ok, or to do it again... I was thinking to remove those patches and glue a thinner-gauge patch (like a 22 maybe) using 3M sheet metal panel adhesive ( http://www.3m.com.au/intl/au/auto_marine/apep/H1_Panel_Bonding_Wallchart.pdf ). It will have a lot less relief, which means a lot less grinding and body-filling. But again, I wish I had a second opinion...
reinforcing the firewall contact edge surfaces
I was lucky that CJ Ponyparts is having a one-day sale on many parts, so I bought the entire 1-piece welded cowl panel for a hundred bucks cheaper (from $391.0 to $273.0). Plus I got my refund back from the cowl ends I ordered and returned earlier. The only thing; they will be on backorder for who knows how long. But the savings makes it well worth the wait, and I can do a lot of things in the mean time...Later I'll figure out how to paint it on the inside...
Now, back to the slabs I cut from the roof. I should have never done that. I did it because I thought I knew it would be all rusted on the inside, and replacing it would be easy and straight forward. I thought about butt-welding the original slabs, but my experience with butt-welding other parts told me to try and slap a new, rust-free slab with a 1/2-inch overlap. I made these splendid metal patches out of 20-gauge metal that I find everywhere here on base. Fitting was perfect. I thought it would be a textbook patchwork. But then the heat. It betrayed be. My patches warped a little, enough to make the patches look a bit hollow. Too bad, because my welds came out acceptable. Grinding the welds left a nice surface to cover with body filler, it's just the concave shape the patch developed that I don't like, and also, the thick metal is almost covering the stubs that hold the clips that hold the backlight in place. Maybe I'm being to much of a perfectionist. I wish I had someone to tell me if it's ok, or to do it again... I was thinking to remove those patches and glue a thinner-gauge patch (like a 22 maybe) using 3M sheet metal panel adhesive ( http://www.3m.com.au/intl/au/auto_marine/apep/H1_Panel_Bonding_Wallchart.pdf ). It will have a lot less relief, which means a lot less grinding and body-filling. But again, I wish I had a second opinion...
reinforcing the firewall contact edge surfaces
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