Please check the pics attached. What would be a good repair method since replacement is not an option. My wife suggested Flex Tape. Not sure if that is a good idea or not. The metal is very thin so I am not sure that welding wouldn't make it worse. Would fibergl*** cloth or body filler be a viable option? I am asking here because all y'all seem to have many, many skills and tricks for this stuff. Thank you so very much. Bill
Is this for the rear seat in a wagon? I don't recognize this piece in a sedan. Reason I ask - it looks as though the hollow studs are meant to hold or secure a part of the vehicle that must be "spot on" in adjustment. I am no expert so take my advice for what it is worth, but I would think that having a shop fabricating a new piece for you is the best/safest route. Most of the shapes of what you have pictured are geometrically square, triangular, include bends/brakes that are easy to reproduce, etc. That may keep the cost down for sure at a fabrication shop. Barring that and going the DIY route, I would cut sheet metal plates to spot weld in place BEHIND the metal that is showing, being sure to weld the plates together at each seam. If you extend far enough with your plates to the more solid metal of the piece you will have something a whole lot more rigid to keep its shape. Now let the real experts chime in!
A real expert...I surely am not however, danman55 was right. They're all right angle bends and fairly easy to reproduce. You'll probably need to ***emble several different pieces to repro that piece. It's definitely doable! Something that would be a big help and not break the bank is this...……. https://www.harborfreight.com/30-inch-bending-brake-67240.html That brake is exactly what I use (although I bought it used for way cheaper) and it's helped me form many patch and repair panels. Go to your local steel supplier and see what type of 18ga sheet metal remnants they have laying around. Cut and bend some pieces and weld others together. It can be done! I had to build the same type of structure for my rear floorpan. It had different elevations so I cut and bent some pieces and welded other pieces together.
Thank. I shall bend and weld. This should be fun. When finished I, hopefully, will be able to handle welding sheet metal just a bit better.
Small sections like that can be bent using a vice. You just have to bend a bit at a time and keep moving the piece back and forth till the whole bend is done. A simple hammer and some old pieces of steel (different shapes) can be used to help shape the bends as well. Another trick if it's too wide for the vise is to clamp some angle iron in the vise and use that edge to form bends. It can definitely be done without a brake.
The trick with sheet metal is to do small spaced out spots to hold the shape and them fill in the gaps. Try to keep the heat of the rest of the part down. I use a wet rag to cool it off between welds. That will help you get good penetration welds without blowing holes.
The Jalopy Journal
