Here's what I'm trying accomplish. I consider this the benchmark

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http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...ead&st=2009
Starts at Post #223

The only other thing that I've read that might be causing some of my issues.
220v mig welding. Reading thru the hot rod welding boards. Some say that the 220v welders create a harder weld that can't be worked. Also more brittle.

Here's Jeff Hail's How To Grind Down Butt Weld :

Installed the rt quarter panel that I had to cut off for the wheelhouse.

Used the butt-welding clamps to secure and align the panel. Making a series of tack weld's while stopping to cool the panel with compressed air.

More tacks, let cool, and many, many more tacks, let cool etc etc etc until one solid weld is complete all the way across the gap.

When butt-welding along with good weld penetration the key is the grinding and finishing process.

I begin with a spot weld grinding disc ( I can't find what one of hose looks like or is) to take the crown of the weld down to just above panel height. Move slow and let the panel cool. A grinder will warp thin sheetmetal just like overheating while welding.

Then I use a 3 inch 36 grit disc on a angle die grinder to take the crown down a little more.

Then I switch to a 6 inch flat flap disc and follow the crown back and forth eliminating any high spots.

At the end I then use a different type of flap disc on a straight die grinder. I follow just the butt weld crown. This will level the weld and not dig into the surrounding metal. This type of disc is like 250 grit emery cloth.

Then I take a dual action sander with 40 grit and enlarge the area of finishing. The DA really smooths the weld and surrounding area well. Switch to 80 grit paper and then 120.

I then knocked down the inside of the qtr panel with 80 grit 3 inch discs and then a squirt of primer. I will let the primer dry and block sand the the panel Tuesday.

No bondo.

Will see after block sanding. Most likely just a skim coat of metal glaze is all it will require if that.

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Here's the other style flapper disc. I have one but didn't use it

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As I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee. I'm thinking I'm going to cut off the rear fenders on my $75 parts car and try to perfect this skill/talent.
I think I have the welding down. It's the grinding down that needs a little work.
Most of the problem is between the ears. But some of it could be tool selection.

Here's some info to digest.

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Here's some nice work. Metals a little thicker than ours. But has some good technique ideas.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53534

Spent the entire night reading up on butt welding and grinding. I've got the welding down. Now it's time to perfect the grinding. The Tool Whore is going to order some 2" 3m Cubitron discs for smoothing out the weld after I take down the bead.
The Cubitron is supposed to cut faster and cooler. Plus I'll use a much lighter touch with grinder and let the media do the work. Not me pressing down on the grinder.

Here's a nice selection of Cubitron discs.

http://www.zoro.com/search?q=cubitron&...N+II&page=6

I ordered a small selection. We'll see if it's 3m hype or a better mousetrap.

Upped my seam sealer game ..............

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Both are 2 part. The 019 is brush on. The 123 is squeeze on.

Today was kind of a race against temp and time. The SPI epoxy primer is pretty adamant that it needs to be kept at 70 degrees for 24 hours.
When I got to the shop it was 60 degrees. Spent the morning welding in the right jack point and the patch Super In Law made for the inner fender support.
I didn't shoot enough pictures today, imagine that.

Here's a shot of the fender well with the new epoxy primer.

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Then I emptied the tent so it could finally be used a booth. I'm not painting in it, but I am going to use it to cure the primer. Using a pair of shop lights as the heat source. Too paranoid to use a heater. I'll run back out there tomorrow night to check on the lights and temp the steel.

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Snug as a bug in a rug. Car into the booth for the first time.

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Sorry for the lack of photos. That's not like me .........

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Redecorated my welding helmet .............

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I was digging in my parts stash looking for a front hood that I'll start using for paint gun testing panel when I found early engine lid. It had a pair of rubber bumpers.

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Wow lots of good information here.

ESAB Easy Grind 0.023" wire. It has a lower tensile strength, and can be hammer welded easier. Only use it for sheet metal body work. Go back to normal wire for anything that have a load on it. Less heat, easy to grind dow, and then since it is a low carbon steel, it can be hammered and dollied back into shape.

BTW how did the SPI work out?

I'll have to look for the wire. I'm using Hobart .024 now, it cools pretty hard. I did tinker with hammering the rosette welds on the jack support yesterday. They harden pretty quick. I'll take a trip to AirGas for lunch.

SPI Epoxy, I like it. The portions that needed to be sanded so I could blend in the adjacent area look to have great adhesion. Yesterday was a change of gun and tips. Plus I used my touch up gun to cut in the tight areas. Once I got it dialed in, it laid down real nice.

The first application (couple weeks ago) had a few fish eyes on the first fender. I didn't let the Wax & Grease remover flash off completely. My Bad. If all else fails, follow the instructions. I ordered their W&G Remover on the order I placed Wednesday.

I'm going to bring an old fashioned egg timer from home.

Airgas was a no go. They only carry .030. I have a roll coming from weldersupply.com.
Irony is, is that I only have a couple of pieces from my huge RD order left to go.
Engine shelf, trunk hinge mount and battery mount and tray. But I still need to order the long stiffener kit from Maddog.

http://www.maddogsmotorsports.com/

Back to the fender support patch.

Here it is having weld thru primer shot on the portion that will slide into the hem on the fender patch.

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That primer portion will slide into the hem you see here.

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Here is a couple shots of it installed both front and back.

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The hem has been left loose until I install the doors. After that I'll either spot weld or tighten the hem and 2 part seam seal.

The bumpy welds you see are usually welding on top of old welds. I probably don't give them quite enough heat.

When I got out to the shop the body temped at 60 degrees. Not too bad. But air temp in the shop was 55. So I'll need to figure something out.

So here she is ..............

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New Episode of Tool Whore .............

Dragging the air regulator and the filter into tight places with the spray gun is a PIA.
I'm going fabricate an air hose union on a stand mounted to an old heavy truck brake disk. Then have a short 6-10 ft. hose made to go to the gun.

I had a bitch of a time getting into here .............
Without on a rotisserie I don't know how you'd get the coverage I'm looking for. It will still need more more work after I build my stand.

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Too cold to shoot primer .............. 60 degrees

I was going to mix up some primer and load it in the PreVal to try and spray into the fender lips. That is one tough spot to get at.

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So on to installing the passenger side engine shelf. I'd been putting this off . Tinkered with it a couple times, I knew it was going to take some time.

Started by watching Adam's video from RD a couple time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZGf9yaFHEk

Here we go ..............

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I paused Adam's video quite a few times to see where he did the bending and cutting.

Words of wisdom.
You'll have trouble with lining up the new one with where you cut out the old rotten one.
Back engine shelf. Rear corner.

Most of the three hours of fitting was spent right in the hell hole corner.

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Then I had to cut just a smidgen off the engine seal rail at the fire wall rail corner.

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Most of the work was done with the floor vise, anvil, body hammers and these pliers.
http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-23EL5-8-Inch-L...t/dp/B0000TFGFU

After three hours it was fitted and ready to be welded in.

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Back from Subway and ready to go ................

No real issues with welding it in. Except that dumbass used too much weld thru primer, again.

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Shot from underneath .............

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Ok, on to the bad news.
The rear corner will need some reworking fabrication. Tomorrows project

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So while working on the side shelf I decided that the rear shelf needed some tender loving care.

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Off came the rail. I actually tried Rick's spot weld removal technique. All I did was use my auto center punch from HF. Then drilled a dimple in the spot weld then popped it off with a screw driver. Easy Deal.

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An hour or so with the hammer and dolly and the multiple wire wheels on die grinders.
I'll give it some more love tomorrow. Then give it a spray down with OSPHO.

I was on a roll ............. off came the broken rear trunk hinge pivot.

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Cary,
The trunk pivot point is one of my upcoming projects, what process will you use to line up the new part?

The part lays up against an overlap seam for starters.
Then I line it up with the marks I made with the spot weld cutter. The only issue that I saw was that new part is just a smidgen smaller.

One could make a cross with a scratch awl in the pivot opening. But with amount of adjustment you have on the trunk it's not real critical , + or - 1/16. IMHO.

I had the same problem... and I am working without a rotisserie.

I found this Devilbiss kit that uses plastic bags inside the HVLP cup.

Devilbiss OMX-70-K10

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You squeeze the air out of the bag and sealing it after pouring the paint in and you can paint almost upside down. twisting the gun in directions you really couldn't paint before.

They claim you can paint upside down but I couldn't manage that. but it was invaluable for painting inside the fenders and laying under the car and spraying the pan.

It doesn't work perfectly though, still sometimes sputters but you don't have paint leaking out of the vent hole and pouring all over you.. That alone is a big plus. I just use quart freezer bags for economy, (but NOT the ones with sliders)
the supplied bags ARE heavier though. It also saves on a lot of solvent when cleaning up the gun, you just turn the gun upside down and pull out the bag. the cup stays pretty clean. Be sure to save the insert you put in the bags. I reuse them multiple times.

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I enjoy following your progress.

Back to work ............

Started by cutting out the tore up end panel. If IIRC it wasn't so much rusted as it was over welded, imagine that. Who'd do some thing like that. Factory Weld. I swear I didn't touch it.

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Patch cut out. Added a ramp (kinda) with the vise and a hammer.

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Fitting the patch. Lots of back and forth to the grinder. Touch ups with the die grinder.

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Time to weld it into place. Cut off the excess with a cut off wheel.

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Ground it down a smidgen more after the picture was taken. This area will get sprayed on seam seal so not real critical.

Now on to the inside. Once again it was kinda messy getting the old engine shelf out.
Big rosette welds. Plus its a new upper long.

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Off to the shear to cut out the patch.

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All welded in .................

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Fairly straight forward welding. All new metal. Just reset when going from 18 to 18 vs 18 to 16 or 14 (long).
This area too will get sprayed with seam sealer.

Now on to the rear RD, Engine bay channel, must be bent to fit. Sorry to say I couldn't get it to bend without buckling the channel. Maybe getting out the torch would have worked. But it too would have deformed the channel. So I cut slits in it. Bent real easy then. LOL.
If I every put the piece on a CW car I'll need a new plan. Or at least 2 or 3 pieces to tinker with.

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Pretty straight forward. I did go in and clean out the slits with the edge of the cut off wheel so I don't have issues installing the seal before I installed it. Did the same after I did with the rosettes after welding. Ran a small flat screw driver along the inside to feel for burs.

After I decided to cut the slits I should have pulled out the spot welder.

Note to Self, Next time. Cut slits. Hold in place with clamps. Use spot welder.

Last project for the day. Welding in the trunk hinge pivot.

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I had the same problem... and I am working without a rotisserie.

I found this Devilbiss kit that uses plastic bags inside the HVLP cup.

Devilbiss OMX-70-K10

Click to view attachment

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You squeeze the air out of the bag and sealing it after pouring the paint in and you can paint almost upside down. twisting the gun in directions you really couldn't paint before.

They claim you can paint upside down but I couldn't manage that. but it was invaluable for painting inside the fenders and laying under the car and spraying the pan.

It doesn't work perfectly though, still sometimes sputters but you don't have paint leaking out of the vent hole and pouring all over you.. That alone is a big plus. I just use quart freezer bags for economy, (but NOT the ones with sliders)
the supplied bags ARE heavier though. It also saves on a lot of solvent when cleaning up the gun, you just turn the gun upside down and pull out the bag. the cup stays pretty clean. Be sure to save the insert you put in the bags. I reuse them multiple times.

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I enjoy following your progress.


I can't imagine getting into those nooks and cranny's without a rotisserie.
Thanks for the heads up. Off I go to AutoBodyToolMart.com

Hindsight ................

The back edge/flap on the engine shelf/shock tower/rear trunk fire wall belongs on the outside. I shouldn't have cut the corners off either.
I think that will be a piece I surgically remove from my parts car. On a CW car that would be tough to replicate, its a pressure formed piece.

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This might be my last installment for a while. For those left coast folks, I manage one of the Haggen supermarkets that is being liquidated. Liquidation starts tomorrow ........
I think I'll be in the store till mid December. After that ................... time will tell.

I've got about 3/4's of a new career left to go. Kind of leaving my options open.

FWIW my mom used to take me grocery shopping to the first QFC. I suggest liberating a case of smoked salmon, a box of filets, and a very old whisky of cognac. Oh, you said liquidated. Sorry, but with your skills I cannot see this lasting long. I suppose though you might end up posted farther away, and twice as busy. I do love your stuff. Best of luck all around.

After welding in the trunk pivot I'm almost out of parts to weld in.
So I've placed a couple orders.

* Spool of Easyweld .023 wire. Lots of work to do in the inside of the doors.
* Battery tray from RD, used the other one on the white car.
* Inner Long Stiffener and Front Sway Bar Reinforcement Panels, from Maddog.
* Suspension Ear reinforcements and braces from Chris @ Tangerine.

A box of Epoxy Primer and prep showed up from SPI yesterday. Next project will be SAFE heaters for the hillbilly paint booth.

When I get a chance to come up for air .............

AX season is over ................

Time for a bit more horsepower. I stumbled upon a pair of SSI's for the 3.2. I need to go and talk to Dr. Gamroth an see what other couple pieces I need to blend with that.

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To get to the winners circle sometimes you need to tighten up your line. But not this tight.

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Haven't lost my Thursday off, Yet ...........

So we hook up the enclosed trailer to take the 911 out to it's winter home.

My primary project today is to determine if I can create a space to maintain 70 degrees so I can paint. So I start with shop lights directly on the metal to see what I can get. Ambient is 52. Looks like I can get 72-74, but a fairly small area.

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We stop and pick up a couple diary heaters and some light timers on the way back from lunch. I'm a little paranoid about fires so I'm proceeding slowly. All my Porsche's have a Halon extinguisher right in front of the passenger seat.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst

So on to preparing the exhaust heat shield for epoxy primer. First order of business is to fill the spot weld cutter holes.

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So I (Tool Whore) start looking for some brass or copper to back the holes with.
Here's what I start with.

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All set up and ready to go.
I'll tell you a secret. All that backer is is a copper pipe squished flat. Not up to the task.
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The shot above looks like the way you'd like to weld it. But I switched backers and switched the welding to the inside. Much more better
Below is the backer I used, much thicker. Backside comes out almost flat.

http://www.harborfreight.com/welding-spoon.html

All finished up. Shot a little SE primer to keep the welds from rusting. SE primer will have to be shot off in the blast cabinet before the epoxy is sprayed on.

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Next will be repairing the shield stand offs .................

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Plan is to weld nuts on the stand offs so that shield can be easily removed (Spoke's idea)
In the top right corner you see a soldering shield. I'll slit a hole in that and slide it over the stand off to protect the epoxy while welding.

Super In Law is back from San Francisco. He's working on the other targa bar cavity cover. I need to get things warm enough so I can shoot another coat of epoxy inside the fenders. Then I can tack the covers in place.

Sorry for the time out ................

Been busy at work with the company melt down. And I'm working on the son's A6 at home. Fixing all the cam and valve cover leaks.

As for employment. I've committed to staying with Haggen thru the final auction. It might include some out of town work, yet to be determined. So much for getting some time off between jobs.

Just read all 30 pages. Massively impressed. Few would have the intestinal fortitude to take this on. I look forward to future installments.

Well I changed my mind. After Haggen decided to put the entire company up for sale I declined the new position they offered me...................

So we'll take a small break ............

I am on interview #2 with my preferred new employer. And that job wouldn't start till the first of the year.
So we'll get back to posting on Monday.

Wow Cary. Autocross champ and grocery store icon as well as a person who can use a MIG to basically 3D print a 914. Off topic but my nephew just quit 15 years at QFC to get a PhD in history at WAZOO. As a professor myself, I kinda pushed the store option, but I only know one side of things. I love your work!

We start the sabbatical with a record rainfall day for PDX. We won't start calling it unemployment till the first of February. If we were to get that far. I'm a little picky.

The plan/hope is to finish the spraying of the SPI epoxy primer in the fenders. But it wants 24 hours at 70 degrees. So we'll do a test on the hillbilly paint booth with two dairy heaters overnight. Shouldn't be a tough pull with the end of the day being 60 degrees. UPDATE TOMORROW

So I decided to unpack the tote of plastic bags. They went on my rolling wall. Not quite the metal wall and magnets that Canepa uses, but it will work. I think the next tear down of a car the bags will go straight on to the wall. Its two sided.
I have one bag without a label and I can't remember what they are. I'll post a ? for the entire World.

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While I'm working on that. Super In Law is building his car stacker. I get the basic design and loading the top car with the lift. His moving it with a snowmobile trailer I'm not quite all in. I'm told yesterday that moving design is based on how they moved 90mm gun emplacements in Korea. More details to follow. 4 * 4's and 2 *6's.

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The paint booth passed the test. 68 degrees. So we are now ready to paint again.

Decided to coat the inside of the targa bar first. I used their HD Anti Rust with a schutz gun with an interior spray hose.

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The black stripe is the targa bar cavity hole all sealed up. It's now ready for our custom cover to be tacked into place.

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Now back to spraying epoxy primer on the inner fenders. On the first go around I couldn't get the primer into the inside of the fender lip.

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So I decided to give the PreVal sprayer a shot.
I'll shoot some finished pictures tomorrow. Needed three hands to get the job done. Mirror, flashlight and sprayer. But it got the job done.

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Then I gave the front inner fenders its second coat of epoxy. I built the jumper hose I mentioned earlier so I could use the detail gun without the filter and regulator hanging off the end.

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Letting the primer cure for 24 hours.
So I set about unpacking the 12 totes of medium sized parts.

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

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So we start the week finishing Super In Laws car stacker.

Loading on the trailer.

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Here I am towing with the truck.

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Into its new home/location. Not quite ready to park my car under it.

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Opened up the paint booth, ready for tomorrow.

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Old Guys Rule..

That is version #1. The traveling version so we could move cars to and from the other building. Version #2 will have some mods and wheels.

Wet and cold ............ 41 degrees in big shop
Warm and Cozy in wood (madrone) heated middle shop ....... 65 degrees

Started the day putting wrench holder/dividers in all the drawers of SAE wrenches. (middle shop)
www.sears.com/craftsman-universal-tool-divider-system/p-00965397000P

Super In Law cut down a couple barrels I got from the store closing. They were put to use storing our scrap metal that is used for fabrication. Forgot to shoot a couple pictures

Decided to start tackling the brass e-brake pipes that go thru the firewall. First item to work on is the hoop that holds the right side pipe to the firewall in the engine compartment.

Started with this ............. got melted removing the original with the torch

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Got some brass backing and started to blip, blip, blip.

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Ended up with this ...........

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Stopped at Ace on the way home and picked up some 1/2" brass refrigeration pipe.
The stuff I had laying around was too old and hard. Wouldn't bend.