Couple questions from those who have installed these or have the knowledge I lack....

Are there any fuel lines or wires that need to be removed before welding? Hoping they can be avoided without removal.

Will the heater hose inside the longs be ok?

Is it a weld through primer on the kit or does it need to be sanded first?

I'm installing on a finished car. Any precautions I need to take to prevent damaging exterior finishes, catching something on fire, etc?

No wires to be avoided in the longs, there is the main harness that should be covered for the event. Fuel lines are also in the middle tunnel.
Drain the tank and blow out the fuel lines one day prior...then thel the fuel lines air out for a day. Cover the middle tunnel with metal or tin flashing so the sparks to get to anything.


That depends on how good you are with a welder.
If you blow through the long due to excessive heat or to much voltage you will get to the heater tube. If you sit to long in that area, you will heat up the metal and could burn the tube...you need to do one weld in that area then move to a different area till it cools.


I have never had good luck with weld through primer.
Here is what I do. Clean all the paint and glue off. Spray it with weld through primer. Test fit the piece. use a sharpy to mark all the hole onto the original long.
Remove the piece. Grind (use a 3m scrungy on a drill or grinder) just the sharpy marks so you leave as much primer as possible, just get to bare metal where you will weld.


Remove the interior, seat, door panels, back pad etc. all vinyl.
Cover the dashboard and gauges with cardboard.
One stray spark will melt the vinyl..just keep that in mind.
Fire...always a possibility.
Cover the paint around the doors (if its finished) so any welding spatter does not get to the paint.
I use thick cardboard and keep an eye on it while you pause during welding..
The thick stuff may start to burn, but if you watch it, it can be stopped fast enough.
I tried a cotton/canvas tarp and it catches to fast and smolders away..not good.
Plastic will melt.
Cardboard (corrogated) works well enough.
I guess leather would be best or a welding tarp if you want to purchase a few of those.

i was also wondering about Engman Inner Long Kit. thanks for the info r_towle.

I am planning to do some restoration work. is it a good idea to use the Engman Inner Long Kit and the frame stiffeners overlays from RD (or the Clamshells from A/A)

The question is should i use both or is one better than the other.
Thanks

Both is overkill.
Which one you choose depends on your specific issues.

The outer clamshell overlay from AA/Restoration design (same thing) is great for when your outer long is marginal.
Be aware that its designed and only works if you rebuild the long, add the jack post etc...then it fits over all of that and really stiffens the car up nice.
The outer clamshells also help you get the car straight again.
Its less work no need to remove the interior etc.

the inner long is great when AutoX is in the future.
the longs can and do crack just underneath the top of the windshield (drop a line from the top edge of the windshield)
The inner long kit also helps when your seat belt bolt holes are junk and the lower rear portion of the firewall is compromised.

Rich

Great info, thanks!

Two other comments;

Use weld-through primer. What I do is use a dental pick to scrach off the primer inside the hole before welding. The reason (in my mind) is that the primer protects the metal just adjacent to the hole, which would normally burn off.

Get a welders blanket from Harbor Freight. Use that to protect anything that may get welding splatter. (also use it when grinding)

Wes V

r_towle

Thanks for the advice no AutoX for me so I am going with the RD.

one last question is getting the 10 peices chassis stiffening kit worth it. or is it also overkill with the clamshells

When I did mine I notice some of the welds didn't stick instead it just filled the hole
on the long kit. When I drilled the holes just a little bigger it worked better.
Test fit and make sure the pieces fit good and tight against the longs you will probably have to do a little bit of grinding to get a good fit.
I took a old drill bit and ground the end flat put it in a drill motor and used it to clean
off the paint in the bottom of the holes. I also used clamps to make sure the kit stayed tight against the longs while welding. I would scatter your welds, weld a couple here and weld a couple over here. Oh last thing they say it good to put the car on jack stand supporting the long to remove the stress.

There was a thread by Trekor on his install a couple years ago that was pretty good
I would do a search and find it.

Overkill, dont bother.

Rich