Project The Austin 2dr 1100 story - Part IV - Now in sharleys hands

[SiC]

One thing I'm really not sure what to do about is the inner sill on the off side.

 

Some bits are alright.

 

Some less so.

 

Some bits look rather thin.

 

That jagged hole is where I poked through with a screwdriver. I guess this bit past lobbing krust on? So it could do with cutting out and replacing?

 

Or can I weld a patch over the top inside to stiffen up the area?

 

It looks quite a difficult area to cut out and reshape properly. Also I'm a bit fearful of taking too much out of the inner sills until I at least get the outer done. But then I can't see the inner and where it would need work!

[Guest Hooli]

I'd have thought that if you can treat the rust so it doesn't come back then a patch is fine.

Let's see what those that know anything about bodywork say.

[SiC]

Also note those captive bolts in that picture. They're the drivers seatbelt mounting points...

[Guest Hooli]

Don't crash then.

[Scruffy Bodger]

If you've got to do the outer sills can't you do that bit from outside? I personally don't patch anything unless it's deemed a temporary repair to get something through an MOT quickly. The rust will just sit there and fester and you'll be back to square one fairly quickly.

[SiC]

Thinking about it, I probably do cort16 method. Sheet steel, self tappers to hold it into place. Hit with hammers to get curve on existing profile. Cut out old. Weld in new.

 

I can get to the other side ok as the interior is completely out at the moment.

 

Is there a reasonable way or even if possible to determine when steel is too thin?

[Scruffy Bodger]

Well it normally just sounds thicker when you clobber it for starters. Having anything you can stab through with a screwdriver can't be good though as it basically means that metal is about as thick as a rusty baked bean tin.

I tend to cut into it with a grinder a bit, stop, assess how thick the metal is and if it's still really thin cut a bit more, repeat.

Court's system sounds like it'll work fine but if you have a lot of curves to do I'd honestly try and find something you can use as an anvil or shaper.

[Squire_Dawson]

Some parts of the car are just thin. That looks eminently saveable to me with only localised rot. You can still see the original factory black. I would weld, treat with rust neutraliser, coat with primer and then topcoat and spray with cavity wax because it'll be covered up pout of sight again.

[vulgalour]

You've found where I stopped with that repair.  I was going to clean up, prod, and then chop out the nearest to a simple square as I could before letting new steel in, much like you've already done on the more daunting areas up front.  It's incredibly pleasing to see that shiny new metal going in, it's already looking so much better and your welds are really rather nice and tidy.  Clever solution with the fire blanket over the pipes.

[purplebargeken]

Just one thing Si. Perhaps go out and buy some weld thru primer. 

[Mally]

Going back to your second photo, the welding at the right hand half looks perfectly acceptable as it is.

Don't go welding over the top of decent welding, waste of time, gas, mig wire and effort.

Regarding thickness of metal, tap it lightly with  hammer, if it sounds good it is good, if it holes or deflects badly, cut it back until you get to a solid bit.

It can be preferable to put a full piece in rather than lots of patches, both in time and appearance, but just sort what you feel best with at each point.

Unlikely the seat belt mounting will rip out for instance, I'd just plate up to it as required.

Others might say  ITS A SEAT BELT MOUNTING!

[captain_70s]

Some parts of the car are just thin. That looks eminently saveable to me with only localised rot. You can still see the original factory black. I would weld, treat with rust neutraliser, coat with primer and then topcoat and spray with cavity wax because it'll be covered up pout of sight again.

This, metal degrades in weird ways. On my Acclaim you'd have an inch wafer thin holed metal completely surrounded by good stuff...

 

Somebody who previously worked on my Acclaim worked around crusty seatbelt mounts by simply plating over them with a big rectangle of 2mm steel over all the holes and then removing the seatbelts...

[Scruffy Bodger]

This, metal degrades in weird ways. On my Acclaim you'd have an inch wafer thin holed metal completely surrounded by good stuff...

 

Somebody who previously worked on my Acclaim worked around crusty seatbelt mounts by simply plating over them with a big rectangle of 2mm steel over all the holes and then removing the seatbelts...

When panels are stamped out you will get areas where the metal doesn't flow as well as other bits causing thinner spots, it won't be totally uniform or you'll get spots where there is more of a radius where the metal is stretched more, thinner again. Over time with rust these can be highlighted as thin spots. You can physically see this sometimes as you cut into curved areas.

[SiC]

Got on with some more metal bashing today. I'll be extremely happy once this floor is in. Taken far longer than I wanted it to. Just loads of fiddly little bits to do.

 

Ran a bead on the bit near the gear stick hole to finish it off. Also ground it back to clean up the mess I made. Not entirely happy it penetrated all the way through along though. However it feels solid it giving it a good kick.

 

Next up the crusty Subframe mount. Let's remind us how it looked.

 

I then attacked it with this flap disc.

 

My God this one is a little monster. Way, way more aggressive than the cheap discs I used previously. Both 40 grit, but this cuts through material as quick as a die grinder.

 

Anyway after a quick buzz over it looks like this.

 

Another minute later it looks like this.

 

I was going to cut a piece to fit, but I decided to cut a bit more out. The material here was thin in places, so thought best to just make a nice square. Needed to be careful as the rack and gaiter is just behind this bit.

 

Ended up looking like this.

 

Which made fitting this square in pretty easy.

 

Then put a bead in. Being thick material made this job much easier. One blew through a couple of times - all on the old stuff.

 

Pretty good penetration on here I think.

 

Just need to drill some holes and remount the mount. I'll take some pics of the mount but it looks perfectly fine.

 

Got the day off tomorrow for some more welding fun*. I'm really, really hoping to get the final bit of the floor in.

 

Annoyingly though the gas is quite low now. Probably end up using this partially during the day so may have to change it first thing tomorrow. I really don't want to start and then have to pack it all up so I can get more. So I'll have to go out first thing and get it changed.

[Tickman]

 

Annoyingly though the gas is quite low now. Probably end up using this partially during the day so may have to change it first thing tomorrow. I really don't want to start and then have to pack it all up so I can get more. So I'll have to go out first thing and get it changed.

 

 

You have at least 325 litres of gas in there, what rate per minute are you welding with?

[SiC]

Haha. Yes a bit high originally. I started it at 25l/min when I was practicing. Now down to like 10l/min. Probably can go down a bit more on that too.

[Tickman]

I worked out that the SGS gasses were better value for me and go a 20L bottle that was very heavy while I still had the rest of the old bottle to use up and return.

[SiC]

This is the bottle I have: https://www.hobbyweld.co.uk/products/hobbyweld-5/

 

They do a bigger one, but I preferred the smaller as lighter and easier to drag out of the garage. Just checked the receipt and it's 40 quid with the VAT for a refill.

[SiC]

How much is SGS gasses? Turns out they're based in Somerset, so not far from me!

[Tickman]

How much is SGS gasses? Turns out they're based in Somerset, so not far from me!

 

There wasn't a huge amount of difference in it but per litre the SGS was cheaper and were both sold by the same motor factor but I'm sure the hobbyweld was more expensive than yours.

[DodgeRover]

SGS are bigger bottles, I think when I compared they worked out much better value than Hobbyweld.

[SiC]

There is the Hobbyweld 5 ultra which is a 300bar bottle. 6.13 cubic meters of gas vs 1.34 cubic meters in my smaller bottle. Handly has a regulator built into it too. £83 to refill vs £40 on mine.

 

But the reason I didn't go for it - 34kg empty bottle Vs 17kg empty bottle. I have to lift my welding cart off a 3 inch high lip in and out of the garage. Apart from my back, I don't think my welding cart would appreciate that either.

 

I didn't realise quite the difference in gas fill though and only realised that from looking. If I knew it was around 4.5x the capacity, I'd possibly would have gone to the larger bottle. Not least my regulator was £45 alone and I wouldn't have needed that.

[meshking]

Thank you for all this talk on welding gasses. You've reminded me that about 8 years ago I bought a hobby weld bottle, luckily I see they have expanded since I got it and there's a place just down the road.

[sharley17194]

I had a gas issue at weekend, annoyingly my line has a leak and due to my deafness its emptied half my bottle. Frustrating as it takes alot of time to collect another bottle but they are only £20 to refill!!!

[Mally]

I have a problem with deafness.

I've left the grindstone running a few times without realising.

 

The welding looks good, picked it up very fast.

Be difficult to find a bigger challenge next time than the one you already have.

[Tickman]

Thank you for all this talk on welding gasses. You've reminded me that about 8 years ago I bought a hobby weld bottle, luckily I see they have expanded since I got it and there's a place just down the road.

 

Just to spoil you plans, you have to return it from where you got it!

 

You may get away with it if the person behind the counter cannot find the contract in the file and gives up looking so just refunds (it took me 20 minutes messing about for this to happen)

[vulgalour]

Hooray, more metal!  Flapwheels are friggin magic.

[richardthestag]

Just to spoil you plans, you have to return it from where you got it!

 

You may get away with it if the person behind the counter cannot find the contract in the file and gives up looking so just refunds (it took me 20 minutes messing about for this to happen)

 

that wasnt what I was told by Wellyweld, they said so long as I have the receipt Hobbygas could go back to any supplier. BUT if receipt is lost you may need to go back to the vendor you used

 

I can only assume that the deposit goes to Hobbygas and is not kept by the supplier :/

 

and my regulator leaks as well!! so I switch it off between welds which is a right faff. need to get around to fixing it

[meshking]

Well that's pissed on my chips. I don't think I have the receipt anymore. Arse.

[SiC]

I bought my receipt when I got my gas today but the guy at Welly Weld said he didn't need to see it. Apparently they only need to see it when you want a refund on the deposit.

 

I always spend too much. Bought a new torch today too. Wanted a 4m one so I can get the machine in a better place.

 

58 quid for a genuine Binzel isn't too bad I reckon.

 

Can hear a slight hissing from this bottle, so I think it's not quite sealing properly onto my regulator. Going to undo it later and refresh the PTFE (Plumbers Tape Fixes Everything) tape.