Ol' Rusty - FB/EK Sedan

[Errol62]

Welcome to our world scooter. A pillars are mind boggling but now there are some patch panels available. Lining up the subframe mount is key of course.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Errol62]

I’m always one post out of sync here. Good stuff you won’t regret it. BOC have a good plan about $100 per year including rental and one bottle of gas.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[funkyscooter]

Hey Clay, called the tread Ol' Rusty for a reason! Looking forward to tackling this one. You are right, might be able to patch the inner sill but decided to go with worst case and get a new one. Figured it will be toast up front. Still looking at how to weld up something to the frame to use as a guide for the sub frame bracket. Want to sort that before I take the sub frame off as it lines up now and don't want the heartache later. Bit of a catch 22, need to take the sub frame off to replace the bracket, need it on (or a very acurate guide that is well out of the way on the frame) to check the fit when welding.

But before I tackle this, going to do a better check of the passenger side sill.

[ardiesse]

I agree with Clay. The inner sill can be saved. You're getting 0.6 mm wire and gas - it'll make life a lot easier.

So you've discovered where early Holdens rust out In for a penny, in for a pound: doors off, fixed glass out, interior out, steering column out, wiring out, subframe off.

You have a hoist, but otherwise you can lay the shell on its side on a couple of old mattresses from a council clean-up.

Self-promotion, I know, but I've been where you are now - http://forum.fefcholden.club/index.php?topic=20763.0

Rob

[funkyscooter]

I’m always one post out of sync here. Good stuff you won’t regret it. BOC have a good plan about $100 per year including rental and one bottle of gas.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

Yeah, should have done that. Went with speedgas. And D might be a mistake, too small?- but it fits on my 'welding trolley'. Doing myself no favours with my welder either - its a CIGWeld 135. Already seeing its limitations. But equally probably never would have started contemplating welding it if my initial outlay was going to be upwards of $1K. For thin sheet metal I have only managed to find 1 setting that will work if you are careful. Other wise get blow throughs. For 6mm wire, current is set to 1 (wish it had a 0.75!), and wire feed at just under 8.5. On the bench I get a pretty decent result. On the car, with the occational dodgy earth and dubious metal thickness, results are average at best. Will perservere at this stage. The grinder is my friend (but not my neighbors).

[funkyscooter]

So you've discovered where early Holdens rust out In for a penny, in for a pound: doors off, fixed glass out, interior out, steering column out, wiring out, subframe off.

Rob

Thanks for the advise Rob. Been in a world of denial. Trying to get as much done taking as little off as possible. That will change!
Read your thread when searching sill rust repairs. Great read - unexpected ending!
Scott

[funkyscooter]

Guard Off.JPG (691.35 KiB) Viewed 452 times

Time for the guards to come off. Notice the repair to the subframe. Section above the bolts has been replaced. Is this a common rust area?


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[funkyscooter]

Guard 2.JPG (724.06 KiB) Viewed 451 times

The wide angle on the iPhone give the car a decent toe out


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[funkyscooter]

Front end out.JPG (653.02 KiB) Viewed 450 times

Not too many bolts and there’s the front end out.


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[ardiesse]

Your subframe looks original to me: it's a Hydro subframe, matching the Hydro body. Rough-ish spot welds on the radiator supports, but that's normal factory finish.

Rob

[ardiesse]

Second attempt. The section above the bolts. I was looking at the front tie member. You mean the bit where the subframe bolts onto the body near the driver's side A-pillar. Yes, that's definitely a repair.

Rob

[EK283]

Hi There Funky Scooter,

Yes the firewall above the subframe attachment s probably rusted out on 90% of these old cars.

With the welding I find it the easiest to half overlap on top of the previous weld whilst its still red, so you go on then off cool then spot again.

This method limits the blow throughs, you just cant continuously weld sheet metal with a mig. Also the parent metal needs to be squeaky clean otherwise it will spit at you.

Another tip, if you weld or grind near the windscreen make sure its covered otherwise the sparks can melt into the glass.

Great pictures and progress.

Regards Greg

[Errol62]

Angling the wire feed nearer to parallel to the material surface is another trick I find helps avoid blow through though may dissipate more heat away from the weld.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[funkyscooter]

With the welding I find it the easiest to half overlap on top of the previous weld whilst its still red, so you go on then off cool then spot again.

This method limits the blow throughs, you just cant continuously weld sheet metal with a mig. Also the parent metal needs to be squeaky clean otherwise it will spit at you.

Another tip, if you weld or grind near the windscreen make sure its covered otherwise the sparks can melt into the glass.

Thanks Greg - think it was you that also mentioned compress air. Another good tip to keep things cool. Forgot about the glass! Always learning.

Angling the wire feed nearer to parallel to the material surface is another trick I find helps avoid blow through though may dissipate more heat away from the weld.

Thanks Clay. Going to give that a go too. Also got a strip of 5mm cooper to put behind the welds where I can.

[Brett027]

My 2 cents worth, on sheet metal welds:
- weld from one end to the other, not from middle outwards. This manages buckling best.
- stitch weld, ie. Individual spot tacks about an inch apart always heading in same direction.
- use a wet rag to cool welds and weld area. I find it quicker and easier than holding air gun, but either method to pull heat out of panel. A bit of dolly and hammer work after each weld will be useful to destress welded material too.
- 15litres per minute of CO2 argon mix gas. I think anything more is just wasting it.
- If your voltage setting is not able to be low enough, increase wire speed. Changing gun angle too low will weaken welds and muck up gas shielding. For stitching technique (which is pretty much applicable for all sheetmetal repairs) increasing wire speed will overcome most burn throughs because each weld is so quick.
- only weld shiny metal. MIG will not tolerate any foreign matter. In the same way cut hard to ensure rust is totally gone. MIG will find rust to blow away like Sherlock Holmes.
- Finally, a lot of buckling occurs from overheating metal by excessive grinding heat. Use the lowest rpm tool you can and move around quickly. Wet rag is good here too.
Hope that is helpful