AT LAST! Hairys Resto!!

Ok, so got a lot done today although it doesn't look it! Finished off the OSR beam area and inner sill, bar a bit of trimming and tidying but for when I put the outer sill on.

First off, I wasn't happy with the beam mount repair panel so cut part off, all around the two studs  8O - 'testy' moment but I'd had enough of trying to get it to fit! So, made a new section

and welded in to place…

Finished the inner sill too at the rear end…

..then gave a couple of liberal coats of zinc primer..

..and a coat of Hammerite No1 Rust primer on the beam mount area (needs another coat still)

It's not the neatest looking repair with a few random patches but it's held together and appears to be strong.
Aside from the second coat of No1 on the repair later this week, not sure when I'll get on it again but think rear chassis leg repair will be next, followed by same on the other side then rear panel.
I can't wait to be repairing something that's not underneath the car though, stiff neck!

:y: Nice job Andy, it's looking good!

Looking good mate, keep it up.

Plenty strong enough and will look ok by the time you have sealed the joints with mastic and over painted with underseal.

golf1 said

Plenty strong enough and will look ok by the time you have sealed the joints with mastic and over painted with underseal.

You're right, will hide my wiggly welding !

wow, good work mate i wish i could weld

Looks like you've got the hang of the welding, Andy. You might want to look into plug welding the outer sill to inner sill/floor flange.

Cheers

markwon said

Looks like you've got the hang of the welding, Andy. You might want to look into plug welding the outer sill to inner sill/floor flange.

Cheers

Was going to do but will take chudds advice which I think is a step better, same line as plug, but he had put slots in the flange rather than drill holes. Quicker with angle grinder and more surface area to weld on :wink:

I'm certainly getting better - did have to have a couple of stabs at the inner sill repair as couldn't get the balance of enough penetration without burning holes in it, so first time around being cautious, a lot of the welds didn't hold. It's strong now, just a little messy!

foxymk1 said

wow, good work mate i wish i could weld

Bit of practice it's no bother! All I had done was practice on sheet until my welds looked straight and ok, then made my MIG trolley which was good practice, then put bunches of grapes on my MK1!

Not had much time today. Started to scrape off the underseal stuff from, well underneath!! You'd think being so rubbery it would peel off but no :roll:  Anyway, scraping off so I can start on the rear chassis leg repair on offside.

Poked around the rear corner too to get rid of the loose bits - not much left now!

When I do the repair, does the square bracket thing with the hole in need to be kept and welded on to the repair panel or not required?:dontknow:

Took a look at inner arch, scraped a bit of sealer off to see how rusty - found there was no metal behind the sealer!


Got a couple of questions on the repair panel if anyone knows the answers?

The pic shows the panel the right way up in relation to the car. The green circle shows a cut out on the side which would be facing the boot floor. From what I can see the original panel doesn't have this and I can't see why it's there.


Secondly, the red circle shows the bit which will be at the rear corner. Should there really be a flange on this part of the panel to weld to something? Also, the corner is cut out. Is this for drainage or something else? Just want to double check I get it right. Anyone got a pick of a repair to this area?

Cheers for any help

Andy

Looking good , square bracket thing with the hole , chop it off it was a factory holding support when she was built . Serves no purpose now .

That repair panel shows right hand item , is that the cut out for the fuel filler neck ? Or the breather hoses ?

   :doh:

I will have a look under mine in daylight !

Cheers……….

Any progress?

paul_c said

Any progress?

Yes, little!!

No, I've had a few hours on it but not as much as I'd hope to have time for. Spent a couple of hours on yesterday pm. Scraping off all the underseal from the OSR inner arch - takes ages, and seems no quick solution as power tools just heat it up and slop it about but not take it off

See in above pic - the sealer has done its job mostly, but two holes in the middle of the pic. There was a stud thing and a clip thing here, which just fell out. Are these for the plastic arch liner to mount on? Can you buy them still?

Same holes from inside the car - bit rustier than I thought! 8O
I was hoping to spend the light evenings scraping this all off (and not annoying neighbours with noise!) but it's been all work and no play of late
Hope to have a fair few hours on it next weekend :wink:

Wire brush mounted on a mini angle grinder, is useful for removing the underseal. It spins fast enough to rip it off before it heats it up.

I'm sure along the middle front area of the inside of the wheelarch, there's a tab to hold the fuel filler overflow pipe, and the breather send/return. The stud may well be for the arch liner - I just used self tappers to screw mine in. A stud would make sense though, then you don't have the sharp end of the screw coming into the inside of the car, like I do!

I'd been trying one of those Piranha wire cup brushes on my 4.5 inch angle grinder. Is that too hefty for the job then? Certainly did overheat the sealer and slop it about!

Spent some of the afternoon on the MK1 but just got frustrated - interruptions plus cocked up the job so starting again!

Here's how it started, holes in OSR inner arch to sort (well some of them!)

Cut out and plate was cut and bashed in to shape to meet the profile - I was pretty pleased with the patch.

However :cry:  Whilst it doesn't look too bad from the back of the welds here, I just couldn't help blowing holes in the metal

Even on low amp setting, I just couldn't seem to stop it - was really doing my head in so in the end I've just cut it all out and will start again - but ran out of time. So, all in all I've managed to cut a big hole in my inner arch today and that's it! :evil:  Feels like I'll be working on this rear corner of the car for ever!
One bit of good news though was went up to Nuneaton this am to pick up brand new bumpers AND new VAG front number plate holder 8)  Was pleased to find these - just need to find somewhere to store the bumpers now, running out of space!! :roll:  
Does anyone else out there have a SIP MIG 130 turbo? If so, what setting are you running on and not blowing holes in your metal work?!

Blowing holes is because the metal is too hot. How long are you holding the trigger, and are you waving the torch round if you're holding it down? If I were butt welding stuff that thin, I'd be on power setting 1 or 2, and doing maybe 1/2 second blips. Ironically the rubbish wire feed wouldn't be an issue with this kind of welding.

Makes sense I guess, you can see the heat that's gone in to the panel!

Just frustrating, if I practice a weld or two on my metal sheet, they look spot on but as soon as I go to weld the same metal on to my Golf I blow holes in it! :dontknow:

are you welding to good metal, or rusty metal?

I also have this problem at times, i think its down to the rubbish wire feed on these units, i have the same welder, just dont think the wire feed is man enough for the job really.

Pete