Nifty video for patch-paneling
- Thread starter jos51700
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It looks good but what about the back side? Do people typically leave the ugly welds there? I'm going through the same with my Demon firewall, contemplating making both sides look beautiful, but not sure if it's necessary.
rklein383
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Really enjoyed the video, although the guy has a lot of tools that the average joe doesn't have.
I always admire people with high end metal working skills. How they can form and weld in panels to old metal without it looking like a dogs breakfast I don't know. Lots of tools, training and experience I am sure.
matthon
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Good questions, here's what I think I know.
No backside with spotwelds.
With buttwelds there shouldn't be an ugly side, more accurately, a side uglier than the side you're welding.
I replaced my firewall with an a/c one, had to weld up the various size holes, wasn't really ugly on the inside.
On another note, I noticed these Mopars get stretched pretty thin during stamping.
For larger holes in my firewall, I cut a piece of thicker metal just a hair larger, tack welded on the backside. Then when I welded the actual patch in, the thicker piece prevented blowing through and made welding 2 thinner gauge pieces together easy peasy.
Dammit, @jos51700 !
I have enough car projects going on. Now I'm reminded of my first Z car, just like the one in the video. I'll be spending 8 hours watching Youtube when I should be working on the Dart. 
Not to hijack a thread, but about ten years ago my 45 year old girlfriend had a busted up 240z in her garage. She said it was her car when she was a teenager. She then sent it to another state to get restored and got the old runaround from the restorer for years (it's being worked on, so send more money). Turned out he never did a thing with it and it was sitting in a field for years rusting out. So she dragged it back home and left it in her garage for years, in worse condition than she started with. Then when she met me I got it running and we cleaned it up and drove it around the block once and then sold it. I'll bet it was a nice site, seeing a hot teenager tooling around town in a cool sports car back then..Dammit, @jos51700 !
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Wow....I'll bet this dude doesn't work cheap.
Cuda416
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When it comes down to it, working metal isn't that difficult. There are some rules to follow and and an understanding of how metal moves and reacts to the tooling being used but it's pretty simple.
Metal moves like clay, just slower and in smaller movements. You shrink it and you stretch it, that's it. if you watch the video with those to facts in mind, then think about how you can do the same things using different tools and you'd be surprised how you will figure out how to do the same things without the high dollar tools. Bead rollers, English wheels, planishing hammers etc are all tools that just make the process easier and faster than just using hammers and dollies etc.
So far my favorite YT metal bumper is the guy who runs "Make it Kustom". Younger guy who know his way around metal.
Metal moves like clay, just slower and in smaller movements. You shrink it and you stretch it, that's it. if you watch the video with those to facts in mind, then think about how you can do the same things using different tools and you'd be surprised how you will figure out how to do the same things without the high dollar tools. Bead rollers, English wheels, planishing hammers etc are all tools that just make the process easier and faster than just using hammers and dollies etc.
So far my favorite YT metal bumper is the guy who runs "Make it Kustom". Younger guy who know his way around metal.
Cuda416
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TIG welding with a zero gap fit will give great results on both sides. Zero gap means minimum filler if at all so cleaning up the welds is very easy.,
Fit the panel, tack every inch, then planish the tacks back down to remove the tension created by the tacks. Weld the patch in, do a final planish, then smooth it out. Done well, you'll never know it was patched.
Butt welding two pieces together around compound curves and angles is impossible to get zero gap. So I just take a guess, cut the piece, say a prayer, and hope it fits at all. Gap size is that last thing on a novice welders mind... In this case in the two firewall sections below I did alot of guessing and hoping. And for a beginner welder, I was pleasantly surprised with the initial welded fitment of all the edges, they all lined up..
Cuda416
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Not impossible at all. Time consuming and a pain in the ***? Sure, but not impossible.
jos51700
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It's been a few years since I saw a Missouri 'Red Plate'!Dammit, @jos51700 !
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matthon
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What's the best way to shrink a section?
Someone with less skills than me, believe it or not, cut the rear quarter off below the patch, and tacked new panels over it.
I'll be cutting them off. Issue is just below and to the right of the gas door the original panel has an inward wave.
I don't think removing the patch will make it snap back.
I don't have a torch.
Someone with less skills than me, believe it or not, cut the rear quarter off below the patch, and tacked new panels over it.
I'll be cutting them off. Issue is just below and to the right of the gas door the original panel has an inward wave.
I don't think removing the patch will make it snap back.
I don't have a torch.
Cuda416
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Shrinking is from heat. When the metal heats up, it becomes malleable, when it cools, it shrinks down further than the original composition. Doesn't take much to remove oil canning for instance. Heat with a shrinking disk or map gas and apply a damp rag can do it. The trick is knowing what need to be shrunk and what needs stretching
matthon
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This was my plan, of course I'm paranoid, so I'll be doing very small spots, taking my time, and eventually screwing it up.
I have quarters, rockers, fenders, but this door is going to be a challenge.
Dented, pulled out, ran over something with the door open. No rust though.
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