tdgray
Well-Known Member
Great work… tricky little section there. So glad I didn’t have to yank mine out.
sympathetic restoration on a 73 CSi
- Thread starter davekillen
- Start date
davekillen
Member
All done patching up the driver's side inner rocker. This went smoothly and I'm glad I went ahead and bought the full inner rockers from WN rather than trying to fabricate patches as I'd initially considered. I kind of hate cutting up expensive new parts but I'm sure this saved an order of magnitude of time, and it was really nice to see the front section fall into place as there was a real mess there before (shoddy old repairs combined with not just rust, but some collapsing due to ill-advised jacking).
I've started fitting up the new intermediate sill, and the original b-pillar support, which was in fine overall shape, just needed one patch and a new lower flange. My plan is to use the method I saw on @nosmonkey's thread of assembling everything from the intermediate sill out off of the car, then spot-welding it all on as one unit. This should make the lower intermediate-to-outer-sill welds a lot better and save a bunch of time overall, in addition to being how the factory did it of course. I bought and fixed an enormous old spot-welder a while back with just this sort of thing in mind, but I haven't actually used it yet, so we'll see how that goes!
I've started fitting up the new intermediate sill, and the original b-pillar support, which was in fine overall shape, just needed one patch and a new lower flange. My plan is to use the method I saw on @nosmonkey's thread of assembling everything from the intermediate sill out off of the car, then spot-welding it all on as one unit. This should make the lower intermediate-to-outer-sill welds a lot better and save a bunch of time overall, in addition to being how the factory did it of course. I bought and fixed an enormous old spot-welder a while back with just this sort of thing in mind, but I haven't actually used it yet, so we'll see how that goes!
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tdgray
Well-Known Member
I agree Dave. I did section one of the new rockers I got from WN. Felt bad doing it but it wasn’t worth tearing the entire side apart after I saw that the inside was in good shape.
Sometimes you have to known when to stop.
Wise man.
Sometimes you have to known when to stop.
Wise man.
davekillen
Member
Getting close to being ready to button up the driver's side sill. Pretty much everything is set to turn over to the spot welder with the exception of the rear inner wheel arch, which I'm in the process of fabricating patches for and rebuilding (it's not really visible in the photo, but it's in two pieces right now from when I removed everything). I'm headed out of town for a week and a half, though, so that'll have to wait until I get back.
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tdgray
Well-Known Member
Top notch work Dave
davekillen
Member
I came home from vacation to find that part of my garage ceiling had collapsed (!), so I've been dealing with that as well as various other projects, hence the delay. All is pretty much back in order now, though, so I've started to make progress again.
I finished patching up / fabricating that tail end of the rocker assembly where it interfaces with the inner wheel arch (this took me a long time, mostly due to second guessing myself and lots of measuring, adjusting etc). After a lot more back and forth with test fitting etc., I finally committed and tacked the a and b pillar supports, as well as that tail end section, to the intermediate rocker. And then, finally, it was time to bring out the spot welder for its first real use since I resurrected it.
I did a bunch of testing settings on scrap metal until I was happy with the "nugget," and then went ahead and spot welded those sections together. And then finally, after still more fitting, adjusting and tweaking, spot welded the outer rocker to the intermediate assembly.
I realized too late that while the spot welder has no problem going through weld-through primer on the inner surfaces of the things it's welding, I guess it's not conductive enough for the electrodes themselves. So, I had to sand that off of the inner and outermost surfaces not long after applying it. Live and learn (and probably should have known better in the first place).
The next step is to re-mount the whole assembly, and then weld up all the but welds where I cut the a and b pillar supports initially. Then spot welding along the top and bottom flanges, and seam welding in the various spots where the factory did. There'll still be a few places where I have to use plug welds but nothing like what I'd be dealing with without ol' spotty. It take up an enormous amount of space in my garage, but it now seems clear it's worth it.
I'm alternating between this project and getting a Lemons Saab some friends and I have built ready for a race the 30th-31st. It'll be our second one and I'm wrapping up our various improvements from last year -- should be fun!
I finished patching up / fabricating that tail end of the rocker assembly where it interfaces with the inner wheel arch (this took me a long time, mostly due to second guessing myself and lots of measuring, adjusting etc). After a lot more back and forth with test fitting etc., I finally committed and tacked the a and b pillar supports, as well as that tail end section, to the intermediate rocker. And then, finally, it was time to bring out the spot welder for its first real use since I resurrected it.
I did a bunch of testing settings on scrap metal until I was happy with the "nugget," and then went ahead and spot welded those sections together. And then finally, after still more fitting, adjusting and tweaking, spot welded the outer rocker to the intermediate assembly.
I realized too late that while the spot welder has no problem going through weld-through primer on the inner surfaces of the things it's welding, I guess it's not conductive enough for the electrodes themselves. So, I had to sand that off of the inner and outermost surfaces not long after applying it. Live and learn (and probably should have known better in the first place).
The next step is to re-mount the whole assembly, and then weld up all the but welds where I cut the a and b pillar supports initially. Then spot welding along the top and bottom flanges, and seam welding in the various spots where the factory did. There'll still be a few places where I have to use plug welds but nothing like what I'd be dealing with without ol' spotty. It take up an enormous amount of space in my garage, but it now seems clear it's worth it.
I'm alternating between this project and getting a Lemons Saab some friends and I have built ready for a race the 30th-31st. It'll be our second one and I'm wrapping up our various improvements from last year -- should be fun!
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Really nice progress, and your spot welder sure makes it looks nicely original too. It's a beefy one for sure, looking at the size of the spotwelds!
One of the best traits of a spotwelder is the no-need to dress welds afterwards. Zap and done!
One of the best traits of a spotwelder is the no-need to dress welds afterwards. Zap and done!
davekillen
Member
Thanks! And yes it's great... no gas to worry about either. The downsides are it's awkward as hell and kind of a workout to use, but I'm really glad I picked it up. I might eventually sell it in hopes of finding a smaller one (I've seen them in a different form factor where they're more like a cart instead of a crane) but for now it's working out really well.
I have a hand held 240 volt version that's just manageable by my own in easy places. Works wonders but t's still to small; it can't sandwich the 3 layers of the sill.
When I used it upside down on the trunk panels, the seam behind the bumper, it was soo undoable that I bought a spring balancer to go with it.
I think I will eventually upgrade to a 380 Volt system that can manage the sills.
For me next e9..if ever...
When I used it upside down on the trunk panels, the seam behind the bumper, it was soo undoable that I bought a spring balancer to go with it.
I think I will eventually upgrade to a 380 Volt system that can manage the sills.
For me next e9..if ever...
On image 4499 it looks like you prefabricated the outer sill with the thick inner still. And that assembly is placed to the car. Wasn’t that a non welded area originally. It looks so unusual for the original manufacturer (Karmann) the get the complete sill (4 pieces) assembled.
By the way: you made much more stiffer sill! Not bad at all.
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davekillen
Member
Yup, that's what I did, having gotten the idea from @nosmonkey 's thread. I'm pretty sure that flange was welded originally, judging by what i found when I took everything apart. That's the main reason for pre-assembling the sills... for easy access to those welds (made even easier with the spot welder of course).
I got the whole assembly (mostly) spot welded in today. There are a few places where the electrodes couldn't reach, or where I hadn't cleaned the surface enough for good conductivity. I'll finish it up soon and then on to the passenger side.
I was really happy with the way I was able to get the butt welds lined up where I made the cut on the b-pillar support. Within .17mm of my pre-disassembly marks!
