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REPLACING SPOT WELDED BODY PARTS


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Not having any experience in rebuilding or repairing Defender body parts, what would the advise be for the following?

Patient: 110 d/cab

Complaint: build up of body putty on the right rear wing - specificaly around the door striker area and around the filler cap - due to leaning against one to many tree and or lamp post. This has now started cracking rather badly.

Option 1: replace complete rear tub

Option 2: replace only the rear panel concerned.

Problem with option 2 is that it is spot welded horizontaly along the rear floor pan. So, how do I fit the new 'skin' back. Are the slight indentations running the length of the rear wing the spot weld marks?

Assistance from the gurus much appreciated.

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Not having any experience in rebuilding or repairing Defender body parts, what would the advise be for the following?

Patient: 110 d/cab

Complaint: build up of body putty on the right rear wing - specificaly around the door striker area and around the filler cap - due to leaning against one to many tree and or lamp post. This has now started cracking rather badly.

Option 1: replace complete rear tub

Option 2: replace only the rear panel concerned.

Problem with option 2 is that it is spot welded horizontaly along the rear floor pan. So, how do I fit the new 'skin' back. Are the slight indentations running the length of the rear wing the spot weld marks? Assistance from the gurus much appreciated.

Yes, the indentations are the spot welds.

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Very nice Maverick. How easy is it to remove the spot welds? Is it as simple as using a mini grinder at the welds and rivets?

Do you have a pic of the finished job? I am just concerned that the rivets stand out a bit much.

I am also wondering if using only a Sikaflex 11FC type product wouldn't suffice.. It will still be riveted onto the capping and at the two ends.

Finally, which do you guys think will be easier - replacing the 110 tub or replacing the rear wing panel?

thanks for all the responses.

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Removing the complete tub is obviously do-able but a chore as is finding a decent replacement. Replacing the panel is also a chore but that's probably the option I'd go for. Rivets and spot-welds can be drilled out easily enough. As long as it's the right type Sikaflex is good stuff and will do the job.

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Very nice Maverick. How easy is it to remove the spot welds? Is it as simple as using a mini grinder at the welds and rivets?

Do you have a pic of the finished job? I am just concerned that the rivets stand out a bit much.

I am also wondering if using only a Sikaflex 11FC type product wouldn't suffice.. It will still be riveted onto the capping and at the two ends.

Finally, which do you guys think will be easier - replacing the 110 tub or replacing the rear wing panel?

thanks for all the responses.

The spot welds where straight forward, get a nice fat grinding disk and locate them with the dimples and carfully grind it away until you see start to ping away from the plate on the other side. Just watch for the alu snagging the grinding disc. On my 90 there are actually I think 3 rivets as standard, I think they must be the holding rivets for the spot welding process.

Unfortuatly I don't have any painted photo's as my truck is still awaiting its date with the spray booth. I thought about it, but then in the end just went for it, it can't detract that much.

I'm sure I've seen some series trucks with fully rivited panels on the back...

As regards removal of the tub... well if you have a replacemnt tub for cheep then... but they you have cost of spraying the whole thing and not just the panel...

changeing the panel is relativly straight forward as long as you keep good reference points (verious ways of doing this) etc. Changing the tub will require less finess at it where. For me it was cheaper and easy for me to do the panel ratehr than the whole tub.

I thought it was a challange so I went for it, well chuffed with the outcome.

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You can also use a spot weld cutter to remove the welds. This a tiny hole saw with a sprung loaded point in the middle that goes in your drill.

Centre punch each spot weld, locate the sprung point in the pip and press gently. Cut through the outer skin only and not through the flange underneath (you'll see the panel seperate). I use a nice thin paint scraper to separate any reluctant spots :)

Repeat for all the spot welds and remove the panel. You'll be left with a plug of the skin panel where each spot weld was on the flange and you can now gently remove these with your grinder.

HTH

Mo

post-192-0-66977900-1295437334_thumb.jpg

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You can also use a spot weld cutter to remove the welds. This a tiny hole saw with a sprung loaded point in the middle that goes in your drill.

Centre punch each spot weld, locate the sprung point in the pip and press gently. Cut through the outer skin only and not through the flange underneath (you'll see the panel seperate). I use a nice thin paint scraper to separate any reluctant spots :)

Repeat for all the spot welds and remove the panel. You'll be left with a plug of the skin panel where each spot weld was on the flange and you can now gently remove these with your grinder.

HTH

Mo

post-192-0-66977900-1295437334_thumb.jpg

Oh man, I wish someone had told me about one of them things earlier!!!

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  • 7 years later...

When you want to pop-rivet the new panels there's a trick to make it all flush. Make your rivets countersunk before you pull them and countersink the corresponding holes in the outerskin. The result will be near spotweld-like.

To make the rivets countersunk I drilled a 3/16" hole in a solid piece of steel using a pillar drill. Next countersink said hole with a drill the size of the rivet head, just deep enough to accept the thckness off the rivet head. To reshape the rivets you will need a flush snapper with a hole in the center to accept the pop rivet's stem, hole about 1/16" diameter and deep enough  to fully insert the stem. Insert rivet in steel block, place snapper on top, give a good tap with a hammer. One flush rivet made. Off course you only have to make one steel part and one snapper. 

With the same drill you used to countersink the steel, you can now countersink the new panel holes. Newly formed rivet will fit exactly and will give a more factory finish.

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