11secrex1161
12-22-2007, 12:54 AM
Well i have talked to a few people who wanted more information on how to do this so i will just post it here. Im sure that somebody here could use this information.
I got the repair patch panels from ebay for $110 for both sides however i think the seller got them from http://www.rustrepair.com so you might look there.
things you will need to do it properly
MIG welder (with stargon gas)
Air compressor
Air cut off tool
.22 gauge sheet metal (not galvanized)
Some clamps for holding the metal in place while welding
A flange tool with a punch or you can just use a drill but takes longer
misc tools that are common sense
To start with match up the new panel to the body and figure out where you want to mount it. then you need to trim it down a little because it reaches a little high and too close to the window. so on the passenger side (which is the easy one to do because of no gas tank lid) just basically cut the pattern out and then begin taking the sheet metal you got (home depot has it $6) and cut out 3 inch wide and however long you need to cover the cut line. you will have to angle cut the pieces to make them fit without a huge gap on each connection.
then take your punch tool or drill and punch holes about 3 inches apart along the cut line on the body. match up your sheet metal that you just cut and get it all straight and then clamp the piece to the body and tack weld through the hole you drilled. you want the 3 inch wide sheet metal evenly on both sides so 1 1/2" on the inside of the body panel and the same on the outside. just look at the pics to see what i mean. all your doing to creating a backing to mount the patch panel to so that you can weld to it, and have a backing for body filler.
once you have your strips of metal all tacked up and gap free, you can add another piece behind any gaps to create a backing for the backing. just punch some holes in your strips and tack it up. look at the pictures and it really is self explained. as for the driver side its the same thing except that you have to cut the patch panel around the gas lid and still leave room for the sheet metal backing. just take tons of time measuring and checking clearances. it took me about 6 hours for my first side. Im not a body work guy, this is the first time i have ever done this so you may get better advice somewhere else. I did about 3 months of research before this and i talked to tons of body work guys. some said to glue it, but only if your selling the car after. what the majority said was that you have to weld it and you have to create a lip that you can tack the panels onto, so that you don't end up with a raised surface.
I'm not completely done but the part that requires any explanation is so i figured that i would start the post. I should be finished with both sides by tomorrow night. and the body filler will be done hopefully by next week, so i will add more pictures as i go. anyone with body work experience please feel free to add to this, the method i have used has really worked well and i am confident that it will turn out great, if not good thing my best friend does body work. but there are many other techniques to do this, this is just the one i chose and I am very happy that i did.
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I got the repair patch panels from ebay for $110 for both sides however i think the seller got them from http://www.rustrepair.com so you might look there.
things you will need to do it properly
MIG welder (with stargon gas)
Air compressor
Air cut off tool
.22 gauge sheet metal (not galvanized)
Some clamps for holding the metal in place while welding
A flange tool with a punch or you can just use a drill but takes longer
misc tools that are common sense
To start with match up the new panel to the body and figure out where you want to mount it. then you need to trim it down a little because it reaches a little high and too close to the window. so on the passenger side (which is the easy one to do because of no gas tank lid) just basically cut the pattern out and then begin taking the sheet metal you got (home depot has it $6) and cut out 3 inch wide and however long you need to cover the cut line. you will have to angle cut the pieces to make them fit without a huge gap on each connection.
then take your punch tool or drill and punch holes about 3 inches apart along the cut line on the body. match up your sheet metal that you just cut and get it all straight and then clamp the piece to the body and tack weld through the hole you drilled. you want the 3 inch wide sheet metal evenly on both sides so 1 1/2" on the inside of the body panel and the same on the outside. just look at the pics to see what i mean. all your doing to creating a backing to mount the patch panel to so that you can weld to it, and have a backing for body filler.
once you have your strips of metal all tacked up and gap free, you can add another piece behind any gaps to create a backing for the backing. just punch some holes in your strips and tack it up. look at the pictures and it really is self explained. as for the driver side its the same thing except that you have to cut the patch panel around the gas lid and still leave room for the sheet metal backing. just take tons of time measuring and checking clearances. it took me about 6 hours for my first side. Im not a body work guy, this is the first time i have ever done this so you may get better advice somewhere else. I did about 3 months of research before this and i talked to tons of body work guys. some said to glue it, but only if your selling the car after. what the majority said was that you have to weld it and you have to create a lip that you can tack the panels onto, so that you don't end up with a raised surface.
I'm not completely done but the part that requires any explanation is so i figured that i would start the post. I should be finished with both sides by tomorrow night. and the body filler will be done hopefully by next week, so i will add more pictures as i go. anyone with body work experience please feel free to add to this, the method i have used has really worked well and i am confident that it will turn out great, if not good thing my best friend does body work. but there are many other techniques to do this, this is just the one i chose and I am very happy that i did.
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784