welding in the trunk tomorrow

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fredsmedina

fredsmedina

6 Dart 7 MOPAR OR NOCAR
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gonna try welding in some patches in teh spare tire well in the trunk of my dart tomorrow. any suggestions?!

this'll be my first time welding something on my car. so far the only stuff i've welded is clean sheet metal on a workbench.

i have a ton of holes in the trunk that i'll be attempting to patch up. hope it goes well

anybody got suggestions though?

i dont care about how it looks when i'm done. just care about the functionality. as long as water doesn't get up into the trunk i'm happy!
 
Clean the metal WELL before you do any welding. ALL rust/scale/grease/paint etc must be removed with a grinder or the weld will become contaminated. I am assuming you will be using a MIG machine. If it is sheet metal you're welding, a butt weld will give the best results because you can grind down the welds and make them disappear.

Make sure the gas tank is out of the car before you start! Take it out of the car, and don't leave it in the garage either, bring it outside.

Good Luck!

George
 
If you dont care what it looks like go top your local salvage yard and get a spare tire well from a newer car and use it. It will also allow the use of a larger spare tire.
 
the metal is very thin, even if there is not rust. you will end up shooting holes bigger than the ones you try to fill. (acl/ox torch would be better) if using a cheap wire welder, you need the lowest setting and fast wire. you can cut back on the heat if its a 110 v welder, by putting 100ft of ext cord on it. this lowers the amps. if you have to add some metal, add it to the inside, you can grind it down and hide the edges with bondo and the underside of the car can be hid with just lots of undercoating, and still looks factory. you can use the caulking like the factory did and spread it over the area in a manner that looks like the other areas of the trunk. this works if you have a natual break, like where the spare bolts down. (old mopar maker of the 70's fact:. the spare tire well was bent so much by the press when we made them, 3 of every 10 would split from being streatched so much, usually on the right and left as you look into the trunk, closest to the tail lights. so they are very thin to start with. ):profilel:
 
i would mig it a torch will distort it. just turn the machine down and stitch weld it. like jump from one side to the other so it can cool down. and dont hold the puddle in one spot for long lol. it will blow thru. but if you are carefull you will be fine
 
A mig hates paint, rust, etc. Turn it low, stitch. Jamb a piece of aluminum or thick copper underneath- that will help stop burn-through.
 
another handy tip, when filling the holes.......if its possible hold a piece of brass on the backside of the hole, it will help prevent you blowing through the sheetmetal and your not going to weld to the brass. If you dont have brass, a piece of carbon rod will do the same thing. Spot tacks work well also, take ur time and let the areas cool between tacks.
 
thank all of you guys for suggestions. i was planning on doing it today. but ended up replacing rotors on my truck instead. so alll i had time for was to practice on some sheet metal. i feel ALOT more comfortable welding now. i was cutting out pieces of sheetmetal and welding them back in. i will be attempting to weld patches in the trunk as my schedule allows early this week.

if for some reason i end up ruining my trunk floor. i will probably end up going to yearone and getting a replacement floor for the spare tire well.

hopefully i wont need to do that though.

i did try some brass behind my welds today though, and that worked great
 
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