Replacing the rear arches with some Hadrian panels...

Well i have bought some replacement rear arch panels for the mk1, and need to get them welded in, but my welder friend is a fabricator, very good at welding, but car things isnt his trade!

does anyone have any hints for doing it? the welding, cutting, fitting?

any links to other links?

thanks!

Dan

Other than the obvious - turn the amps down! www.mig-welding.co.uk is a good site to peruse, if you're into welding in general.

measure twice cut once. test first. clean well. take it easy. avoid welding rust. buy him lots of beers as a thankyou.

as a fabi he shouldn't have any problems with welding on it. if he's used to his kit he will know what to set it up too.

cheers guys

my main thought is if you can imagine the piece thats going in, how can he weld it flush with the bodywork (as such), will i have to whack the welds in a bit, or something? so then it can be sanded down and skimmed over?

ah i dunno im crap with words lol

2 ways round this:

1. Joddle the edges, ie create a step so the new panel can sit in it flush. Then seam weld it in place. This is the easier technique but isn't always possible because you can't joddle corners and across seams, etc.

2. Cut & butt. Ie cut the repair panel to exactly the same size as the hole it fills, minus the desired gap (normally the same size as the panel, ie around 0.8mm), then butt weld the two together. This is a more difficult weld to get right, especially on thin metal, and if not done right its easier to leave a weak repair, so its best not done on structural areas unless you're confident of the strength. But its the technically superior technique and can lead to an almost invisible repair, which would need only a tiny amount of filler to completely hide.

personally i'd joddle the edges to create a greater surface area for the weld to penertrate.

but if butt welding then line it up and spot a few places to hold the panel and ensure it's in place before welding (youll need to stand back from the panel to see). if its all lined up then run a seam round normally around 5-8 mm think to get good penertration then grind the weld back to clean before sanding and filling (use minimum filler).

then again this is what you do with joddling the edges to so ho hum.

seriously if the guys a fabi then he won't have any problems with it it may be on a car but the same principles of welding apply.

Joddle :dontknow: … do you mean joggle with a joggler or is there a difference?

Cheers

yes thats the one. i thought joddle was worng but wasn't 100% so went along with joddle.