2CV welding help required

[Mally]

1 hour ago, Stinkwheel said:

As i said above and as all others have said above, new panels are the way, if its complete floors and sills a 2CV can be done by even an only  competent welder in less than a day, add another day if it needs bulkheads (inner or outer) as well  - This is basically a 'patch up' job on a 2CV anyway, far from full restoration.

I'll even make a bold statement. If you could get the car to Northants and leave it with me a few weeks and leave the new panels as well, I'd do it 

  

I'd be doing this. I see more work than is described here though

I've stripped a few, they are simple things but the more you look the more you find.

I once had one with so many patches I'd have covered the whole underside in one sheet had I done it.

[Talbot]

9 minutes ago, Bren said:

What car?

Merc.  Link in sig.

[mercedade]

1 hour ago, Stinkwheel said:

As i said above and as all others have said above, new panels are the way, if its complete floors and sills a 2CV can be done by even an only  competent welder in less than a day, add another day if it needs bulkheads (inner or outer) as well  - This is basically a 'patch up' job on a 2CV anyway, far from full restoration.

I'll even make a bold statement. If you could get the car to Northants and leave it with me a few weeks and leave the new panels as well, I'd do it 

  

Offer of the year, right there! 🏆

[Mally]

Whats the distance, 100 miles?

Drive it there, train or whatever back. Stinkwheel welds it, then MOT's it, Drive it home again. Best to repair before MOT for a cheaper job IMO.

I'll throw £50 extra in @Stinkwheel's pot if it comes off.

[chaseracer]

He'll do a damn fine job, too.  Can't help himself, he knows no other way...

[Stinkwheel]

1 minute ago, chaseracer said:

He'll do a damn fine job, too.  Can't help himself, he knows no other way...

I'll be blushing next Dave 🤣

But yeah, its not like ive not done a few before 

[Split_Pin]

Great offer there, I'd be planning a roadtrip as we speak!

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

Well this is brilliant. @StinkwheelI will be in touch with you later, thanks!

[richardmorris]

If you want to send pics and a few words I’m happy to put it in the Citroen car club mag. Chris’s car has already featured when I fitted the new roof.

[somewhatfoolish]

8 hours ago, Stinkwheel said:

As i said above and as all others have said above, new panels are the way, if its complete floors and sills a 2CV can be done by even an only  competent welder in less than a day, add another day if it needs bulkheads (inner or outer) as well  - This is basically a 'patch up' job on a 2CV anyway, far from full restoration.

I'll even make a bold statement. If you could get the car to Northants and leave it with me a few weeks and leave the new panels as well, I'd do it 

  

Indeed; @SiC's travails with his Doloshite versus his Midget illustrate the difference between repairs to a car with and without good panel availability; you can pretty much build a new Midget, near every panel is available to buy, the same with the 2CV, panel availability is very good. Knocking out repair patches from sheet metal is slow work in comparison even if you aren't being fussy.

[wuvvum]

@Stinkwheel You don't fancy doing my Volvo next do you? 

[richardmorris]

In case you didn’t know where to go for parts

https://ecas2cvparts.co.uk/search?type=product&q=NOT+tag%3A__gift+AND+Panels*

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

On 27/04/2023 at 19:21, richardmorris said:

If you want to send pics and a few words I’m happy to put it in the Citroen car club mag. Chris’s car has already featured when I fitted the new roof.

Hi Richard, thanks for your input on the thread.Do you happen to have a copy of this feature / issue as I have not seen this one, thanks!

[RichardK]

On 4/27/2023 at 11:05 AM, Joey spud said:

I have to agree with Mr Pastry it's a horrible job repairing random inaccessable rot.

I have an elderly relative with a Rascal Camper van that needs front arches,seat belt mounts and front panel sorting out he has tried local garages and mobile guys and got nowhere so reluctantly he asked me it i could have a look as he knows i am busy with a house move and my own crap.

I don't want to do it but i've looked at it and it doesn't look a lot but it's fiddly,awkward shapes and has been bodged before and i know once i start cutting i will end up finding more corrosion. Flanges that have gone crispy and swollen are far more time consuming than they they look.

I  estimated three days to do a nice tidy job and as he is family quoted him £240 labour plus gas and sundries say £300 all in which i thought was reasonable but i have now heard back through the family grape vine that i am being greedy and ripping him off.

I am in a no win situation here as if i just patch over the rot or ignore the flakey bits it will look crap (and its an area that is very visible) and it'll need attention again in the future and i'll get called a bodger and expected to put it right for free.

 

 

FFS, I wish someone would quote that to do some welding for me and know they'd do a good job - I will happily buy repair panels, genuine panels if needed, strip all bodywork/trim/electrics, even get busy with the wire brush on a drill/paint stripper etc.  as long as someone who knows what's what tells me where I stop removing bits, then can stitch the metal back together

I'm thinking the ML55 will need this and I've got a watch list of parts /in Germany/ because I can find rust-free panels etc. there - but it'll need work on sills and rear arches at the very least, and I've no qualms about paying for the job to be done if it's done right. The painting is scary on some bits of course but solid/not going to rust > pretty.

[RichardK]

On 4/27/2023 at 2:44 PM, Bren said:

What car?

Looks like a Mercedes to me from the sill trim and jacking hole (and rust), nearside front corner on a W202 C-Class?

[Talbot]

58 minutes ago, RichardK said:

FFS, I wish someone would quote that to do some welding for me and know they'd do a good job -

Have welder, can travel.  Genuinely, this seems to be becoming a major issue for older vehicle owners.  Commercial garages simply won't entertain welding any more, and as far as I know it's a lot to do with insurance.  Even my local "under the arches" garage (actually on a farm) have a limitation in their insurance for welding that no welding shall be carried out within 1 meter of flammable materials.  So that's nowhere on a car then...

Mobile welding work might become very lucrative soon.  Or even a garage that is willing to entertain that work.  But it may have to be at risk (IE, there's no insurance cover on this..)

53 minutes ago, RichardK said:

Looks like a Mercedes to me from the sill trim and jacking hole (and rust), nearside front corner on a W202 C-Class?

Very close indeed.  Actually a W210 E-class of the same era,  link "mercedes" in sig..

[RichardK]

No sig visible on mobile, and there I was feeling clever...

Insurance cover: how different to me welding stuff myself in my own home? If I've had a 30A spur put in with commando sockets and everything, a big garage, and have put all the prep in for removing trim not just "from the area to be welded" but "from the immediate vicinity" it's probably a lower risk if someone experienced is wielding the torch!

[somewhatfoolish]

TBH having another pair of eyes in the vicinity watching for smoke armed with a squeezy bottle of water(or a garden sprayer if you're posh) is all it needs; I've only ever set fire to myself and/or the car when solo.

[richardmorris]

3 hours ago, BertiePuntoCabrio said:

Hi Richard, thanks for your input on the thread.Do you happen to have a copy of this feature / issue as I have not seen this one, thanks!

I’ll have to check back through the years - there’s no index. Will get back to you.

some pics…..

[Six-cylinder]

9 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I’ll have to check back through the years - there’s no index. Will get back to you.

some pics…..

We fitted the roof 7th April 2019.

[Bren]

40 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

TBH having another pair of eyes in the vicinity watching for smoke armed with a squeezy bottle of water(or a garden sprayer if you're posh) is all it needs; I've only ever set fire to myself and/or the car when solo.

You absolutely need a pair of hands - preferably with an extinguisher - firewatching. It's dark under a speedglass - you will not notice until the car is a ablaze.

I sold a very rotten 1300e escort to a relative who while welding it caused a fire that caused so much damage it never went back on the road.

Remember - if you set fire to a car at home you don't want the fire spreading to your house - or your neighbours.

[Talbot]

4 minutes ago, RichardK said:

Insurance cover: how different to me welding stuff myself in my own home? If I've had a 30A spur put in with commando sockets and everything, a big garage, and have put all the prep in for removing trim not just "from the area to be welded" but "from the immediate vicinity" it's probably a lower risk if someone experienced is wielding the torch!

Doing it in your own home means it's at your own risk.  You can be insured, or you can do it uninsured, it's entirely your decision.  If you burn your house down, it's your issue.

Also,  30A commando sockets are completely un-necessary.  I regularly weld on the end of a 13A extension lead, which is on a fused spur, from domestic ring main.  When welding car bodywork, it's not actually that much power required.. maybe 5-8 amps depending on section thickness.  If you are about to be doing welding that needs 16A / 32A mains, then you're not going to be doing that in a domestic garage.

And actually, as proven by me, a decent weld is actually MORE likely to set the car on fire.  You get more heat into a localised area and poof... it's up in smoke.  A shitty weld will often not have anywhere near enough heat in it.

[RichardK]

The 30A is for charging cars

[Talbot]

10 minutes ago, RichardK said:

The 30A is for charging cars

Ah... slight difference there then!

[Talbot]

35 minutes ago, Bren said:

 It's dark under a speedglass - you will not notice until the car is a ablaze.

This.  This.  Also this.

With added this.

Ask me how I know..

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

We fitted the roof 7th April 2019.

Looks like the previous one was well worn! You guys did a great job, it still looks brilliant and does not leak!

[somewhatfoolish]

4 hours ago, Bren said:

You absolutely need a pair of hands - preferably with an extinguisher - firewatching. It's dark under a speedglass - you will not notice until the car is a ablaze.

I sold a very rotten 1300e escort to a relative who while welding it caused a fire that caused so much damage it never went back on the road.

Remember - if you set fire to a car at home you don't want the fire spreading to your house - or your neighbours.

I always smelt it before I saw it, even when it was my trousers that were on fire(true story).

[richardmorris]

June 2019 issue.

 

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

2 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

June 2019 issue.

 

Fantastic! Thanks for finding that!

[richardmorris]

11 minutes ago, BertiePuntoCabrio said:

Fantastic! Thanks for finding that!

I am here to serve. Well one of @Six-cylinders staff of minions anyway.

ps, that’s a very, very old photo of me. In the spirit of all press bio photos it’s at least ten years old. Although I do seem to have the shirt still.