Welding inner fender

2040 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by alvispace, Apr 19, 2001

johnpro

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2001

I've been reading (and searching and studying) every welding post on the forum, as well as in books, and plan to have a welder by the weekend, so we can start the welding on the '65 project.

Question, in welding in the inner fender, though ... We cut out the old one, and have the new one sitting in position. The old one was just spot welded in at the shock tower. When welding it back in, do I spot weld it back in (and if so, do I need to by a spot welder attachment that most of the posts I read say don't work well) or can I just run a bead on the wheel side?

As you can tell, I'm very new at the sheet metal stuff! *LOL*

If you always do what you've always done,
You'll always get what you've always got
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camachinist

· #2 · Apr 18, 2001

Save that old inner fenderwell; it'll make a great practice fixture for cleaning the joint metal, preparing the joint and welding...

Only one chance to do it right and pretty...*G*

If no one gives you a definitive answer, I'll check my stuff in the morning and get back to you with a weld type....

Beddie bye time...*G*

Pat
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Huskinhano

· #3 · Apr 18, 2001

Pat has a great bit of advice. You can also plug weld it. Drill a small hole, like 3/16" or buy a pneumatic punch, then weld inside the hole to join the pieces. I've done this before to make repairs look like the factory made them or for a cleaner apperence on items at work.

Tom
You can do anything you want to......ONCE!
aka "my 66 coupe"

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Art

· #4 · Apr 18, 2001

I like to drill 3/8" holes in the new metal where the old welds were..... Clamp the new panel or use self-tapping sheet metal screws to pull the panels together, "plug weld" thru the drilled holes, grind and metal finish.

If you really want to get fancy, make a punch and a dolly that will reproduce the factory spot weld appearance.

Required tools for operating a Vintage Mustang:
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2. J.B. Weld
3. B.F.H. (Big Fat Hammer)
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sasha98

· #5 · Apr 18, 2001

Factory spotwelds pass current through the two pieces while pinching them together. The metal melts and cools into one.

Plug welds look good and are fine if you are good at welding but aren't very strong. In fact, you may fill the hole and look perferct but have no "bite" into the back metal.

As a beginner, practice plug welds on the engine side, but weld some solid beads on the tire side. With a little grinding, you can hide these with seamsealer/undercoating.

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· #6 · Apr 18, 2001

While I have the engine out, I'm welding mine up solid...but then I'm not after originality. As far ast he spot welds go, I'd skip it. I doubt anyone near you has a spot welder that will do 3/8" diameter spot welds...even if you could get to all the places that need a spot weld.

Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down.
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Torquewrench

· #7 · Apr 18, 2001

I just did my battery apron a few months back and its the one thing I love to look at becasue it came out so nice. My local mustang shop told me this way to do it and it works really nice. When you drill out the spot welds, go ahead and drill through both panels. I ended up having to step through 2 drill sizes becuase when I tried to do it with the big bit I was using it would almost break my wrist when the bit broke through. Old massive drill, but thats another story.

Anyway, drill through both and then you can just lay the new panel in and do ytour plug welds from the wheel well. It gives the engine side a nice smooth look and you won't have to grind and dress up the welds in the tough cramped places on the inside. I also welded the front edges from the front. It gives you a lot more room to work and ends up looking great. You can utilize the bolts on the shock towers to clamp the upper sections and I just ended up using a 2X4 to pin in the lower sections, although drilling some small holes and using screws would probably have been more secure.

Good Luck. I really enjoyed doing mine!

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alvispace

· #8 · Apr 19, 2001

JP, I USED A FRIENDS SPOT WELDER HE GOT FROM EASTWOOD, IT WORKED GREAT AND LOOKED FACTORY. THEY COST LIKE 300$, BUT I AM GONNA GET ONE NOW. IF DONE RIGHT, IT IS AS STRONG AS ANY OTHER WELD. GOOD LUCK, WHICHEVER WAY YOU GO.

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