It's been a while seen I made the promise to show shots of repairing the frunk seal channel. Taylor's car has 3 or 4 spots that need attention.

After doing the same repairs on Doug's car I determined there has to be an easier and faster way. So I asked Mark @ 914 Rubber about making up some metal strips with the correct flange/lip made up. Like always, he was quick to oblige.

Here's what I got.
Click to view attachment
Sorry, forgot to measure for dimensions. It's been a while. But they are a prefect fit for both the narrow and wide pieces.


First order of business. Fixing the rotted out corner.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
Can't say enough about the control I have with my MillerMatic 141.
There's 3 more to do on the other side.

Now onto the section that most car's have an issue with.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
Cut with a metal band saw. Holes punched with my punch/flange tool.

Click to view attachment
That was the easy part.
I'm still using too coarse of a belt on the sander. Problem is, the weld is harder than the parent material.
I have a box of 3m Cubitron coming to see if they work a little better. They cost twice as much, but maybe they'll last longer than 15 seconds.
I'm trying to go too fast , but time is money.

Patched the hole on the bottom with a piece of 18 ga.
This new toy makes short work of making patch pieces.
Click to view attachment

That was the easy part ..................

Nice! I've been using the 3M Cubitron belts in my cheap HF 3/8"x13" sander. The 80 grit belts are fantastic and seem to last forever. 36 grit are a complete waste of money. Maybe I got a bad batch, but the grit flies off the belt in the first 30 seconds of use. Completely worthless. The 80 grit belts cut so clean and fast that I didn't have much need for the coarser grit anyway.

Very skillful work. Well done.

Now onto the long section on the left that was cut out some time ago.
It's unbelievable how small the lip is that the fender sits on.
But in this case the lip was cut while cutting out the rotten sections.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
Once again cant say enough about my MillerMatic 141 with Easy Grind wire.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
Isn't quite as lumpy as it looks in the picture. Hopefully I can find some 80 gr for my 1/2 belt that will lasts longer than 3 seconds on the welds.

Now on another piece of Mark's channel patches.
Click to view attachment

Having the channel with the exact correct width and height makes short work of it.
Click to view attachment

Here's where I'll start next week. Short day, family birthday dinner.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I have a box 36 gr coming to test. I'll order a box of 80 gr in a couple minutes.
Its not very funny how fast the 36gr disappear. Hopefully I'll get the finish I want with the 80gr.

Hopefully Mark will chime in on the cost and inventory of the strips.

Plan to go to Home Depot this afternoon and look at Dremel cutting and finishing tools.

+1 on the cost and inventory of the repair strips. I've been wondering for a while. Great work Cary!

Is it just the lighting, or did I see a brazed corner in that second pic?

--DD

It's just the lighting. Haven't run into any sparklers. LOL.

several spots are brazed to close em up...factory

I'm faced with this same repair need on my car so I'm watching with interest. How did you stretch/shrink flanges to match the compound curves along the seal channel? Particularly along the front, other threads have made it look like there is a lot more shape than one would think.

Click to view attachment

It takes just a smidgen to get the arc you need.

Pretty sure we have some. Matt will have to follow up as I'm in SeaTac for awhile.

Darn you Cary! Metal working is one of the last frontiers in automotive repair for me and I'm a tool whore. So, these are scratching an itch I didn't even know I had. AND they're on sale right now from Eastwood.

A couple shots of finishing up on Monday afternoon.
Stated with the little patches above the right head light bucket. All these patches were done with the strips created 914 Rubber. The 8" shear made it a little easier. But it cuts real easy with a pair of yellow tin snips.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
Didn't run into any brazing in the corners.

Finished up the long patch on the left channel.
Not quite totally finished. Waiting for the new 3m sanding belts.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment