FT’s Patrol Project

[spinna]

My fave part.... the rebuild. Keep the pics comin as this really is the best thread ive seen on any forum (been on many different sites):bow:thumb2

 

[R1cho]

Time for the opinion of all the readers.

As regular readers know I have taken the front end of my car (http://www.nissan4x4ownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12915&page=12 first photo at the top). to get the front end of I had to drill out all the spotwelds. Unfortunately the metal is so thin that the only way of drilling the spotwelds out was by drilling a hole through and through.

Now the time finally has come were I can start putting it back together.

However with regards to the front end I am torn between two options. Option 1 is to try and spotweld the panel back in. Which in my case means filling the holes back up or:
Option 2 to use 40 or 50 short bolts & nuts to bolt the panel back in.

My reasoning for bolting the panel in is that the final product will look nicer as everything is uniform. On the other hand I can try to weld the holes back up and then grind them down so get an even surface.

Only problem with that is that during the removal of the spotwelds the panel has buckled a little bit and getting it perfectly straight is near impossible. As a result won't be able to grind all welds back to an even surface. hence why I was thinking about bolting it back in.

Any thoughts?

cant u bolt every other hole then weld the others then remove bolts and weld where the bolts were so it will be nice and even?

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

I did think about that but a lot of the places there is to much space between the holes so putting a bolt either side doesn't straighten it.

And some places are not accessible with a clamp so that will be another challenge.

And with the holes close to the sides of the panels I am worried that I burn the sides of while welding up the holes. Which would be a real shame as the whole panel looks horrible afterwards.

 

[R1cho]

I did think about that but a lot of the places there is to much space between the holes so putting a bolt either side doesn't straighten it.

And some places are not accessible with a clamp so that will be another challenge.

And with the holes close to the sides of the panels I am worried that I burn the sides of while welding up the holes. Which would be a real shame as the whole panel looks horrible afterwards.

pack of bolts it is then lol

 

[illy]

When you say spot weld do you really mean mig plug weld, if it is thats the way to go.

illy

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Illy,

My apologies you are right and I was wrong. However I am not sure if I am plugwelding. The reason being is that I got two plates of metal which both have a hole were there was a spotweld. So I now need to weld it together and fill the hole up. In the process the results needs to look neat.

If it was straight forward plugwelding I wouldn't even think about putting nuts & bolts in but at the moment I am on the fence.

Not the best in explaining so I hope that you know what I mean.

 

[illy]

Yes I do no what you mean as I no what id do not so easy to tell you. Its ok for me though I have the kit at work to do it.

illy

 

[illy]

At the mo im doing a new Peugeot RCZ front end chassis bent and things, and nothing is welded apart from chassis legs, so why not bolt it. Dont laugh but you could also glue it and bolt it now that would be strong, ill check the spelling at work today but we use a 2pack glue called Terasson, and it is designed for that job really good stuff. If I have a job where heat would cause a problem I glue it.

illy

 

[rustic]

I know it may not be the most appropriate method, but what about small pop rivits.

I am aware that in some cases they are not allowed, eg for fitting sills etc,
If you do use them, because of the different metals (aluminium, steel) there will be electrolytic reaction between dissimilar metals in the presence of an electrolyte, eg water or even salt water from winter spray, which will accelerate the corrosion even more.

ie the bits will corrode, around that area, so corrosion protection is essential.



.

 

[makeitfit]

Good point I'd be inclined to get some good sized stainless pop rivets. Use a lazy man riveter and even some blind washers on the back . You can seal each hole with Illy's goo and jobs a ruddy good'n' :thumbs
S/S rivets done properly will be stronger than the surround too
PS if the bent panel is a pain you can bolt it up as you go just to hold it in place while you "pop"

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Thanks all for your thoughts. :thumb2

To bolt and glue it is in my opinion not the way forward. If it has to come apart again (hopefully never!!) in the future then I have got a real problem as it will be very difficult to get the plates apart.

Pop rivets is an idea I haven't thought about. Definately worthwhile thinking about.

Tomorrow I will do a test to see if I can weld it and how the weld looks. If it confirms what I think then I will either go for the bolt & dome nut option or go for stainless steel pop rivets.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Last time when I cleaned the underside of the body I had to leave the very last bit as the body was resting on some concrete blocks. Now I have moved the blocks and planned on 'quickly' cleaning the area and giving it the dinitrol treatment.

That was the plan, unfortunately reality was slightly different. As I should have known there were several areas affected by rust.

Off side rear wheelarch.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Rear off side from body attachment point to rear box section.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Rear near side from body attachment point to last box section. Looking at the tie in with the box section. (same position as last photo only the other side of car)

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

The first and last areas are relatively easy to repair. The last box section is a pain in the backside. Haven't decided yet what to do.

I have removed the rust and the rusted metal, which in turn revealed that the box section itself was rusted through. Access is the big problem in this area as you can't position a welding torch in between the last and next to last box section, only a 1 inch gap. Neither is there room at the back as you only have 1/2 inch of room there. Even cutting the metal out is a pain.

Initial plan was to put a bottle of dinitrol in the box section and weld a plate over the hole. The bottom (which you look at in the photo's) I will weld continuously. The metal that goes round the corner (i.e. up) I will plugweld to the remaining metal of the box section.

On top of that there will be a normal plate welded between the two metal 'rails'.

However having thought about it, I might have to cut the 'rail' out and open the box section up. If no access to the side of the box section I might make a new box section and plugweld this into the old box section, cover it with lots of dinitrol and then weld the top plate on. After that weld the rails back in place and connect them again with a plate between them.

What do the more experienced welders think?

The above is regarding photo 2 & 3 of the last four photo's.

Near side rear wheelarch.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Slightly out of sequence but here are some photo's from disassembling the interior.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

....

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

No surprise now, but some rust. :lol

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Wires, wires, wires and more wires.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

A general overview of the rust before I started work.