to glue or to weld?

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fonzy

fonzy

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ok, i hope this doesn't create the furor that is has on other forums....i am replacing the section of floor pans on my 66 valiant, i have the rust cut out to good metal, i have the new floor pans basically cut out(still need to trim a bit, but before i do i am looking into my options) i have a cheap flux core welder from hf, and i have read about the acid in the flux causing future rust issues, so..my question is should i go ahead and do the spot welds and seal or should i glue? i have recently read where the automotive glues have come a long way, however shouldn't be used on structural parts...in a 66 isn't this a unibody? therefore a structural part? i am doing this myself and am not the greatest welder. thanks for any advice.
 
p.s. this is going to be a driver, and i don't need it to be "show" quality, but i do want it to last.
 
I'm in the same boat as you Fonzy. I plan to spot weld and seam seal. Don't forget to spray with corrosion protection before painting!
 
i was leaning that direction clifftt, its the fact that the glue would make a good water seal and corrosion resistance too that really makes me want to research a little more.
 
I am curious what forum gave you a hard time on a simple question like this.
Musical A wholes?

Good advice in #3.
I have researched this for a different repair.
This is what I have found.
You can used weld through adhesive alone. Your choice with one.
But unless you have a high end spot welder, welding through it is not recommended.
That leaves most of us out.
You can MIG plug weld with the adhesive. But must stay 1 inch from the adhesive.
Or you can just MIG plug weld alone, obviously.
My OPINON is that I would not use adhesive on floor pans if I had any other choice.
But for a low powered car, it should not be an issue.
I have no OPINON on flux core since I've not researched that.
Is there no way you can add bottled gas to your welder and use plain wire?
Perhaps a person close by has one you could borrow or rent for the day.

This is not applicable to your repair perhaps due to not having a TIG.
But I have also read, and asked people that should know, and it seems that MIG CAN change the metal structure and weaken the adjoining metal.
TIG and spot welding does do this.
Again, I have no hard information on that. It's just not that critical to me.
I have TIG.
But note that spot welding is how they were put together originally.
 
They didn't give me a hard time, but it has caused quite the vibrant discussion on other forums. I am just trying to weigh the pros and cons to everything before I commit to any one way or another.
 
clifftt said:
I'm in the same boat as you Fonzy. I plan to spot weld and seam seal. Don't forget to spray with corrosion protection before painting!
Click to expand...

Definetly weld. Floor pans are structural, and more importantly not perfectly flat so the glue won't work. Nothing like getting everything perfect, doing all that work, then jack the car up and hear that 'POP!' of delamination...

Rustoleum BBQ black works great for this, I cobbled up a straw extension by chopping up a carb cleaner nozzle and adapting it to the Rustoleum can.

Worked great to get in there after welding!
 
Flux core is fine.......turn the welder up almost all the way and adjust the wire speed untill it sounds smooth and the wire is flowing good in the puddle.......your gona get alot of splatter so prepare the surrounding area. ......

Get you a bunch of scrap sheet metal and practice practice practice.... .........
 
I welded in my '65 Val 'vert floor pans, but then I had a FULL floor pan from a donor car and joined the floor at the rockers on each side, halfway up the firewall in front, and under the rear seat at the back, all at the factory spot weld points.
 
having ask this question before myself, I have a neighbor who races a firebird. He is pulling close to 1100 HP. He didn't weld his pans in. He used an adhesive and self tapping screws every 2 inches around the floor pan. Definitely not saying this is how to do it, but I've seen him at the drags multiple times with no issues. My Barracuda came with a 235 HP motor so it seems that would be adequate. When I brought this up a while back, I kind of got a lot of negative responses.
Just a thought.
 
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