|
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
05-01-2010, 09:13 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 106582
Join Date: Feb 2006
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: DENVER, CO
Vehicle:2002 Suspension mod Siegel Tuned FP GREEN |
Welding Seams
I had a quick question. Has anyone taken apart all the interior and welded all the seams that were press welded? I know a roll cage is the best but I have a welder and some time. Was just wondering if anyone has seen some rigidity from doing this.
thanks dan
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
|
05-02-2010, 11:48 AM | #2 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 104246
Join Date: Jan 2006
Chapter/Region:
NESIC
Location: Pleasant Valley, CT
|
Most professionally-built unibody-based racecars and nearly all rally cars get seam-welded for additional strength and stiffness. Typically 1/2"-3/4" long MIG-welded beads at about 2"-3" intervals is fine. Far stronger than spot welds alone. I wouldn't bother with overhead stuff, but the floorpan/rocker panels and any structural members should be reinforced.
I've seen older racecars that weren't seam welded with torn metal at the factory spot welds. |
05-04-2010, 10:16 PM | #3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 104881
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Fenix, AZ
Vehicle:1970 stg7 Porsche914 |
Need to be careful to not put too much heat in one spot, or you can warp the chassis though...
Ask me how i know |
05-08-2010, 07:04 AM | #4 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 192599
Join Date: Oct 2008
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Reading, PA
Vehicle:2004 STI 2007 Outback Wagon |
And the schmutz they use to seal everything up from the factory can lead to some subpar beads.
|
05-08-2010, 10:19 AM | #5 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 133597
Join Date: Nov 2006
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: Orange
|
Dont you have to media blast the shell first? Or I guess you might be able to wire wheel it clean? But it seems like that would take forever.
|
05-08-2010, 04:05 PM | #6 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 32452
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The Netherlands
Vehicle:1998 Impreza Turbo 74F FTW |
Acid dipping it would be the correct and best way to do it.
Wirewheeling will work on the gunk you can see, but does not reach under the panels you will be welding, and there is sealant there as well, which will make welding difficult, and the welds themselves sub-par. Also,I don't think the fumes emmiting from the sealant and stuff are not to good for you. |
05-08-2010, 04:14 PM | #7 | |
Former Vendor
Member#: 93646
Join Date: Aug 2005
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Vehicle:Many Track Records Let us help you go fast! |
Quote:
we know of a dude in toledo who is doing quite well with a dual mount rear diff and new subframe kit he's come up with. |
|
05-11-2010, 11:26 PM | #8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 106582
Join Date: Feb 2006
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: DENVER, CO
Vehicle:2002 Suspension mod Siegel Tuned FP GREEN |
Thanks for the input. This takes FOREVER! I have done the seams that holds t he seats to the body and also the rear deck. Next is around the strut towers all the way down to the floor. I'm verrrrry nervious to go near the gas tank so i will not be completing the welding until I remove the gas tank.. That probably will not be done for a while. Let you know how it goes. So far so good.
|
05-13-2010, 02:49 AM | #9 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140444
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Near Seattle, WA
Vehicle:05 Stage Free LGT ATP 3076, 6MT, AVO FMIC |
Some friends and I are building up an Escort for Chump Car and we put a lot of hours into removing the paint and glue from all the seams in preparation for seam welding.
Flap wheels work a lot better than wire wheels - you can move down a seam twice as fast, at least. But there are corners that only a smaller wire wheel could get into, so it was good to have both. We removed the gas tank along the way. I think stock Escorts are actually held together by the glue as much as by the tacks. It was pretty eye-opening. The shell is now far stronger than it was before we started, that's for sure. |
05-14-2010, 12:07 PM | #10 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 67
Join Date: Jul 1999
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: San Diego, CA
Vehicle:1999 Outlasting the competition. |
the snapon crud thug. is the ****! its not cheap buy a long shot but it works amazing for doing seamwelding.
|
05-14-2010, 02:30 PM | #11 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 81659
Join Date: Feb 2005
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Snoqualmie
Vehicle:2006 STI / 2010 FXT Aspen White / Silver |
|
05-17-2010, 12:12 AM | #12 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 62555
Join Date: May 2004
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: DTLA
Vehicle:1993 FD3S E92 / CBR600RR |
|
05-17-2010, 12:58 AM | #13 | |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140444
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Near Seattle, WA
Vehicle:05 Stage Free LGT ATP 3076, 6MT, AVO FMIC |
Quote:
Anyone have tips for dealing with that kind of thing? We got the shock towers pretty good but there's a lot more that I'd like to see done. |
|
05-24-2010, 11:46 AM | #14 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 121108
Join Date: Jul 2006
Chapter/Region:
International
Location: Trier, Germany
Vehicle:2006 06 Spec C OBP |
Quote:
|
|
05-25-2010, 01:32 AM | #15 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140444
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Near Seattle, WA
Vehicle:05 Stage Free LGT ATP 3076, 6MT, AVO FMIC |
Thanks for the tips.
|
05-25-2010, 04:04 PM | #16 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 172501
Join Date: Feb 2008
|
If your worried about residual glue, get a acetelyne or MAPP torch and burn the seams- Way below the melt point or weakening of metal point, but it will get rid of the sticky glue seam sealer stuff.
|
06-06-2010, 12:19 AM | #17 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 221065
Join Date: Aug 2009
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: san clemente
Vehicle:2004 wrx blue |
liquid nitrogen will take that seam sealer out, it will freeze it then you can tap on it and it will break off allot less toxic that way
|
06-06-2010, 01:00 PM | #18 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140444
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Near Seattle, WA
Vehicle:05 Stage Free LGT ATP 3076, 6MT, AVO FMIC |
Where can you get liquid nitrogen? That sounds kinda fun actually.
|
06-06-2010, 11:07 PM | #19 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 80465
Join Date: Jan 2005
Chapter/Region:
RMIC
Location: Denver
Vehicle:2001 2.5RS Black Diamond Pearl |
|
06-07-2010, 12:18 AM | #20 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140444
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Near Seattle, WA
Vehicle:05 Stage Free LGT ATP 3076, 6MT, AVO FMIC |
Thanks for the tip.
|
06-09-2010, 11:51 AM | #21 |
Former Vendor
Member#: 6776
Join Date: May 2001
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
|
Also try dry ice instead of liquid nitrogen. We took out sound deadening material off a floor pan and it worked great
|
06-09-2010, 01:29 PM | #22 | |
Former Vendor
Member#: 95419
Join Date: Sep 2005
Chapter/Region:
E. Canada
Location: montreal
|
Quote:
As for dipping or stripping ... pros and cons to each. If you want the strongest car possible, don't dip it. If you want the cleanest welds and easiest to work on with the least amount of weight, dip. Again, acid dipping a car improperly can really weaken the panels. Too long or not enough can have the same effect. Also major downside of this is that the primer and sealers from the OEM assembly is no longer there, so inside frames, rails, etc the car is much more prone to rusting !!! On our current build, we removed as much undercoating, silicon, etc as possible from the seams. We actually yous the "JET" brand version of the crud thug. Same thing, different name. If you have stubborn areas, I suggest dry ice as well, but this really only works if you have the frame on a rotisserie so you can keep the ice in the spot long enough for it to do something. We then take a very LIGHT flame and try and dry out the remaining bits. You can pass with a little pic and get most out. If the panels are "warm to the touch" (keyword being warm, meaning you must be able to touch them) you can simply increase the gas flow a little and weld away. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1990556 Don't stay in one spot too long, and don't let things catch fire .... very, very, very bad (too much heat distorts the panels) -mark Last edited by MSI; 06-09-2010 at 01:34 PM. |
|
07-04-2010, 07:59 PM | #23 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 192599
Join Date: Oct 2008
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Reading, PA
Vehicle:2004 STI 2007 Outback Wagon |
i saw the crud thug on the snap on truck and blew it off. i will investigate on your opinion.
|
07-08-2010, 08:10 PM | #24 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 125304
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Crawford, TX.
|
I buy snap-on stuff but I try to find the original mfg. first to save money.
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Seam welding, how is it done? | Ru fan | Motorsports | 6 | 02-25-2003 09:02 PM |
Seam-welding questions | dead-eye | Normally Aspirated Powertrain | 24 | 12-31-2002 11:35 AM |
Seam welding | XT6Wagon | Motorsports | 6 | 06-21-2002 11:20 PM |
Seam Welding? | ImprezedRS | Motorsports | 19 | 01-31-2002 09:53 PM |
Self seam welding... | tcs007 | General Community | 5 | 01-16-2002 03:19 PM |