Hi all, Before I go headlong into this on the weekend, I was wondering if anyone out there has experience in welding doors shut. I'm making my steel Topolino into a "floppy" body for a 60s style altered with a funny car style body. At the moment I think we'll fill the door jams with 8mm steel bar, shut the doors and weld over that. I'll update the thread on this car after this weekend's work. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=375267 Here is a (bad) picture of the car at the moment:
Please dont weld them shut, steel topo's are so hard to find, if you know someone who can work fibergl*** make a mold using your body the plug, besides it will probably start cracking where you welded it because the body flexing (flopper).
I don't have a suggestion for welding them shut...just a thought on it.. Why not just leave them functioning yet still make it a flopper body? I'm sure it can be reinforced enough to make it work.. Cool project. Tony
Yeah don't actually weld the doors, Remove doors put them somewhere safe, trace opening on to card, and transfer to sheet steel, and don't seam weld it to the opening, weld an inch and then skip an inch, will still be plenty strong, and easy to change back without ruining the body.
You've got to be kidding. By the time you get all the reinforcement, structure, firewall, tubs and stuff in it to seal off evrything it'll be so heavy you'll have to have weight lifters on the crew to get the body off. I'm not sure that there would be enough metal & strength left to hinge it from. Get a fibregl*** one-piece they are the way to go. Maybe there are tons of those fiats around where you live, here in Virginia USA you could get enough for that body to get fibregl*** and enough chromemoly to build the ch***is.
I understand what you mean, and believe me, I respect that, but in my mind this car has a destiny now. It would never have made it to the street and taking it to the strip is truly keeping it in a deep (racing) tradition. All of the ch***is, parts and trim that I've stripped or cut away have been donated free to the Fiat car club here - that's how much I believe in keeping these little cars heritage alive. As with the States, Topolinos were being raced here early in drag's history. There is not one steel car racing in Australia at the moment, I feel it's important to contribute something relevant, it's my commitment to create something special, a true tribute to those who stepped before us. Unlike the US, there are very few cars running in Nostalgia in Australia that really represent the eras they are meant to come from, some looking like bad hangovers from the 90s...
Id give both my nuts for a steel Topo! It would make a bad *** little hot rod. I want to do something like a 34 Ford hot rod.
Leave the door functioning with the flip up body. Many, many altereds had the doors working in the sixties. the fibergl*** cars were with doors that were seamed shut. You can strenghten the body in other areas. Flip up bodies with working doors are so cool. Step away from the welder!!!
I'm with you cutting it up to build a race Car. Having been part of many race cars most of my Life I can tell you being able to remove the doors has been a plus when doing Pit work. My advice would be reinforce the Body lightly and make it a flopper but keep the Doors functional and use pit pins for hinge pins and a good inside latch. You'll never regret doing it this way. The Wizzard
I know what you mean about keeping the doors as an opening feature, the suicide doors are super cool, though with the tube ch***is it'll be impossible to enter from the side Keep the input coming, I've got quite a bit to sleep on...
You can still enter from under the body . Just keep the doors so they open.Look at it this way. If you have a wife or girl friend they can open the door and wish you good luck before you make your run.
Put some x braces inside to stiffen the body. Then I would put some tack welds from inside (using 1/8th plates across the gap) to line up the doors to the body. Get some Automotive styling clay and fill in the all gaps on the body and clean it up (you can use a small straight edge scale). Then shalack the area with clay, then you can use regular High build primer over it. Thats my 2 cents worth.
If all Hell breaks loose your not supposed to get out. That's why they call it a Roll Cage. The Wizzard
hows this for an idea.... leave them hinged as original and weld several small tabs across from the door to the jamb on the inside. that way they are welded shut but could be unwelded shut later. if you weld them shut and mold them all in it will look just like all the fibergl*** ones only heavy.
screw them shut....plenty of points to just screw them shut....nothing gets permenatly ****ed up that way....i looked for over 20 years to find a steel topolino....and mine really found me so.........think about down the road...welding them shut is really oveerkill for what you want to do.... better yet, donate your body and tell them to buy ya a gl*** one peice...... ..................got a steel dash??i'll start the fund by offering to buy it....
Why make it flop? Not trying to be a smart***, I knew a guy that had a Fiat altered back in the day that had the body mounted solid and working doors. He made the door hinges so you could take the doors off in the pits to get to the clutch, and the nose came off to get to the engine, and it worked fine. And he didn't have to mess with all that Rube Goldberg hinging stuff. Plus, if your going to run a 'glide you won't have to get to it as often. IMHO, a solid mounted body would make things sooo much easier.
If you want a flip top car ,buy a gl*** body ,hinge it at the back, and your good to go. That's the way mine has been since 1965.. Rick 1939fiat
Remove all the rubber, and spot weld carefully around the opening checking the panel alignment with each weld. Then do it like any other panel- short welds moving around so the heat does not build up and warp the door. For extra weight reduction the inner door can be removed first.
think of it this way..that car body has made it this long without someone F-ing it up... do you really want it to be you?
For cryin' out loud!! Line the doors up in the opening. Fire up the mig welder spot them about avery 3" around the perimeter, then gradually fill in between the tacks with the mig welder. Thats the way it was done back in the day. It will still work.
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