muzaz Posted September 13, 2023 Author Share Posted September 13, 2023 This morning attacked the dash and took it out. I was sort of dreading it but turned out to be pretty straightforward. The wiring!! 😳 spaghetti is an understatement. Will try to sort it out a bit better and maybe run it inside a conduit. After taking the dash off, the column could slide out of the bulkhead with ease...something to remember! Taking a closer look at the bulkhead pass side beside the wiper motor I can see trouble...hmm Took the pass side mudguard to investigate a bulge at the footwell area and found what looks like a patch repair. Is the footwell double skinned? If it's not then its repaired by slapping a piece of sheet metal from inside. Have to plan a bit now, on how to proceed, where to cut etc...and access isn't actually great because of the outrigger... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 Just done both those jobs on mine: Footwell: Top corner by wiper motor: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted September 13, 2023 Author Share Posted September 13, 2023 Good write up @FridgeFreezer spent the evening going through the posts and photos, it's just about the same work I have to do. Problem is I'm not a particularly good welder, especially on thin sheet metal and at that length of welds. My welder is a combi stick/tig welder, maybe tack welding with tig might do it. My plan was to cut the whole floor and leave a 1" tab along the perimeter. Then seal and rivet in a new floor. @FridgeFreezer should the repair footwell be double skin or a single sheet would be better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 13 hours ago, muzaz said: Good write up @FridgeFreezer spent the evening going through the posts and photos, it's just about the same work I have to do. Problem is I'm not a particularly good welder, especially on thin sheet metal and at that length of welds. My welder is a combi stick/tig welder, maybe tack welding with tig might do it. My plan was to cut the whole floor and leave a 1" tab along the perimeter. Then seal and rivet in a new floor. @FridgeFreezer should the repair footwell be double skin or a single sheet would be better? I think a good welding machine / equipment & good consumables make a difference - my MIG welder is designed for bodywork and I have a very nice auto-darkening helmet which makes life so much easier, proper shielding gas improves the welds too. Although I have a TIG and can use it, I would not fancy trying to TIG in repair panels due to the weird angles etc., you may well be more skilled than me though! MIG is very "point and squirt" and makes repairs like this much easier. Thin sheet is always hard especially if it's not clean metal and it's not flat on a workbench, getting access so you can get the torch & rod & your head in there can be a real struggle. Overlapping edges / joggling edges can make joining thin sheets much easier too as you are working with twice the thickness. I think the floors were originally double-skinned with an external ribbed section for stiffness but none of the repair panels I've seen are like that (maybe too hard to make) and I doubt it really matters. Riveting a new piece in would probably look neat enough but I'm fairly sure round here it would not pass an MOT (or if it does, only because the tester doesn't notice a neat job). Urchfab on youtube has some very good no-nonsense videos on welding bodywork, like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted September 14, 2023 Author Share Posted September 14, 2023 Thanks for the video link, helpful to understand the process. Not sure I can source co2/ar mix locally, I only ever used my tig with argon. Yea auto-darkening helmet was the first thing I bought as I found it impossible to tig without one. Not buying a mig welder any time soon so I'll give it a try with what I have and see how it goes. Will try to split it from the spot welds, at least that would be easier than full welds. Then the rest I'll rivet in. 3 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: Riveting a new piece in would probably look neat enough but I'm fairly sure round here it would not pass an MOT (or if it does, only because the tester doesn't notice a neat job). Over here I don't think mot testers go into such detail. You'll fail for obvious damage such as rust holes and exposed rust, or a nasty patch on a chassis or bodge repairs. Still, I really don't understand the adversity to riveting, airliners are all held together with sealant bolts and rivets after all ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 For TIG it's my understanding you want argon anyway, for mild steel MIG you want Argoshield while many use plain Co2 (pub gas) which works but isn't as nice. Rivets Vs weld is probably an internet argument waiting to happen I'm sure done right anything can work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 14, 2023 Share Posted September 14, 2023 Bolt a floor panel in and it’ll look like a proper design feature. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted September 14, 2023 Author Share Posted September 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, Snagger said: Bolt a floor panel in and it’ll look like a proper design feature. 😉 Tempted! Anchor or rivnuts all round, some pr1440 in between and tighten it up! 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: Rivets Vs weld is probably an internet argument waiting to happen I'm sure done right anything can work. Haha! Yea lets not go there! Probably I'll do mix of both, will see how it goes along and adapt on the way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted September 15, 2023 Author Share Posted September 15, 2023 Not exactely sure how, but the passenger footwell is out! Got bored looking at it half expecting the rust to grow back to steel... Tried to take it out from the spotwelds as much as possible. Took the complete thing off so hopefully I should not have much welding to do to put it back. Now I need a new one, will check local to me first, probably it will be a Britpart. Found this double skin, ribbed like the original one, not sure if its worth the x3 price tho! Are there any repair panels for the area - to the left of the wiper motor. I could probably fabricate a piece, but bending and curving that lip will be difficult I think 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 (edited) So it's time for updates... Have good and bad news 😕 Passenger side repairs mostly done, footwell replaced, bulkhead internal hinge area repaired, front chassis dumb iron repaired... Bad news, the driver side is in a bad shape. Existing repairs rotting out, door pillar rotten, door hinge same as the passenger side - rotten and the vent surround gone! Repaired section door hinge area. Rot removed new parts fabricated and welded in. Footwell rivetted and sealed. Should hopefully not rust again during my ownership! Front chassis rail repaired as best I could! Back to square one, not sure how I'm tackling this. It's obvious someone has been at it before as I can see welded patches and a good amount of filler. The door pillar and bottom support bracket is also rotten. Arrgh.. hate bodywork! Edited January 21 by muzaz Added footwell photo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Some very nice fabrication work there.. Regards Stephen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 16 minutes ago, Stellaghost said: Some very nice fabrication work there.. Regards Stephen Was going to say the same, very tidy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted January 21 Author Share Posted January 21 Thanks! Trying my best, the Lidl flux core welder did a very good job! I'm a bit wary of this next repair job. I'm afraid of what I'll find when I start cutting in the rust! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 2 minutes ago, muzaz said: Thanks! Trying my best, the Lidl flux core welder did a very good job! Err, the phrase " workmen and tools" springs to mind, but not the negative one @muzaz you drive the welder......... and if that's trying your best......it's more than good enough.. Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 I'm starting to have second thoughts whether I should have repaired the bulkhead or got a new one! 🤔 The more I try to fix, the more damage I find! Now I found the driver side internal windscreen bracket attachment rotten, and some rot under the windscreen frame rubber seal. So that's the windscreen frame out, I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do that! Anything I should be aware of before attempting to take the windscreen frame off? Looks like it's only held by the two hinges at the far sides of the bulkhead. The top looks like a seal or sealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurbie Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) 2 hours ago, muzaz said: Looks like it's only held by the two hinges at the far sides of the bulkhead. The top looks like a seal or sealer? original there is 2 seals behind each other , sometimes people use a bead of sealant on the outer edge as wel . (and don't forget the 2 screws (1 left and 1 right)in the upper corner of the windscreen frame that screw in to the roof) Edited January 27 by hurbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazza Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Keep at it, you're doing some really lovely fabrication work there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Given how much new / decent bulkheads cost I'd say if you've gotten this far you may as well carry on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Thanks for the encouragement! Giving it a go, nothing to loose! Does the roof need to come off to take the windscreen frame out? I have the hinges off and 8 screws from the top of the frame, but it looks like it's not getting off any time soon. Is it bolted to the bulkhead other than the two hinges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 No, I doesn't need to come off. Once the nuts are off that hold the frame to the roof, there is just about enough flex to move the fame forwards, away from the roof. It's been a while since I did it, but IIRC there are two locating pins on the bulkhead that hold the frame in position. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Managed to take the frame off...had to slacken the roof bolts and pulled it up with a chainblock as it was too tight. Popped right off from the bulkhead and remained attached to the roof! Yes there are 4 dowel pins on the bulkhead so it was useless pushing it! This is whats left of the bulkhead under the windscreen frame...not much steel left 😞 Got the repair sections ordered from SP4x4. Will probably have to fabricate the underlying structure tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Would you advise to take the windscreen frame of, if you have to work on the upper bulkhead anyway? To me it looks like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 55 minutes ago, Sigi_H said: Would you advise to take the windscreen frame of, if you have to work on the upper bulkhead anyway? To me it looks like that. Given the extent of the damage to the top sill of the bulkhead, I see no other way round it, the frame had to come off. Can't weld the repair piece in with the frame in place. Took the frame off completely, mosty stuck because of the bead of sealant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Looks bad, but your other work suggests it’s within your ability to sort. I don’t envy you the task, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I know you’ve ordered the parts .. but I’d be thinking galvanised at this point… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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