I bought a 1932 Chevy sedan project car. The guy I bought the car from started to install a filler panel in the roof. He has it spot welded 3-4 inches apart all the way around the roof. Does the panel need to be completely welded in? Or can a kitty hair filler be used instead of being welded?
It doesn't necessarily need to be welded solid but it does need to be pretty close... If its where you want it and fits well, I'd clamp or hold as needed to keep the weld areas mated closely together and start by sport welding equally between the existing welds. Work all the way around the top from one end to the other. Make sure the panel stays cool and you can basically just continue to walk around the car welding at equal distances between the welds till you have it finished. I personally prefer to keep after it till there are no gaps and the weld is pretty much solid all the way around, but I think you can get away with leaving maybe a 1/2" distance between the welds. The big worry for my paranoid mind is not whether the welds will fail but rather the potential for corrosion beginning between the welds...
Rich My thought was to fill the area between the welds the best I can then remove the paint from the rest of the panel and put on a a product called rust bullet to prevent rust from forming.
I agree with Tinbender. "Do it right, and do it ONCE" . Not much worse than having to do a job over. Take your time.... 4TTRUK
I have welded one side and across the back which took about three hours. I would weld a spot 1/2" lg move down 4-5 inches and weld again, completeing a continous weld. ground off weld to smooth finish I seen some pin holes thats why I asked the question. My welding skill is not the best.
Unless you plan on using a padded original style top you need to completely weld the top or plan on repairing it in the future. HRP
The paint and filler will fail where it's not completely filled in..maybe not next week but it will fail. HRP
It will take you some time but just like others have said, weld the whole thing up and you will have piece of mind knowing nothing is going to pop up later...
Probably more chance to rust or crack. It depends on if you are going to put a padded insert in it or finish it off and paint it too. on my Model A Vic I plan to put a filler panel in it and make the top solid and put on a couple of coats of paint to seal it before taking it to the trimmer to have the top material/fabric put on over that. Onlookers won't know the difference in the end but it should help make the body a lot stronger.
How long do you plan on owning the car. Anyplace that can trap moisture or let moisture in is a good place for a rust issue to start. Do your best, maybe it will not be perfect but try and do your best.
I plan on keeping the car for a few years but I don't want to pass on trouble on to someone else. I'm going to put on two coats of Rust bullet over the welds before applying dtm primer
Metal expands and contracts with heat and cold. Areas with no or incomplete fusion will move more and differently. Over time this will cause failure (cracks and separation of the filler) even if the metal doesn't crack. This then leads to corrosion and more separation. The pin holes are a sign of the lack of fusion. Usually due to the cold start between welds. So is one pin hole going to cause the joint to fail? Probably not, but it adds up, and too many indicate a weak weld joint. Skip all the "rust bullet band aids" and fiberglass and just do a proper weld joint. If you really want you can use that on the inside where it might do some good. (the rust treatment, not the fiberglass.......throw that in the dumpster!)
I understand the importance of welding the panel in solid and how the metal moves at different rates. I'm more concerned about the pin hole where I start and stop my welds.
I'd forgo the rust bullet, Just weld it up solid, gring your welds (not too much in one spot, you can warp a panel grinding welds), be sure any trace of rust is gone and put your filler on clean bare metal roughed up with 80 grit paper. Once you get your mud knocked down and finished in 220 (work your way from 80 to 120 to 220), you'll be all set for epoxy primer and some nice fat coats of 2k high build.
That's cold start. You have to weld hot enough, and hesitate long enough to fuse into the previous weld. And the next one you weld into. Shine a high intensity light behind your welds, after grinding. Your not done til you cant see any holes. Just one of the many reasons I gas weld
i like to go around the backside of the weld with a flashlight to expose pin holes, then weld them up! you'll feel better doing it right!
Using a flashlight will be impossable as the guy I bought the car from used 1/2" sq. tubing to stiffen the the openning before he put in the filler panel and used 3/4 tubing to frame the roof to give it strengh.
it is has welds about 1" long spaced every 4-5 inches. It is very ridgid then the filler panel was recessed into the openning in the roof.
no the filler has not been welded to the frame work other than around the edges. The bows as I'm going to call them have had a slight arch to them to make contact to the filler panel. I will post some pictures tomorrow. I'll also post some pictures of what I've got welded up so far. I quess I should not call them pin holes as there is no light shinning thru, they are more like a very small crater.
Tinbender; I uploaded the pictures to my profile page. I have not yet figured out how to upload them to a thread yet.
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