where do i seam/stitch weld and plate my 20xe

[jamie gsi16v]

seam welding, o.k my cars going (sold) in september :( , got offered good money for it off a mate which i couldnt turn down so ive decided to get my a*** in gear and re shell the valver i bought cheap (was rotten) but i wana go for ultimate light weight, ive managed to pick up an immaculate black 14sr shell which ive gutted and is ready to weld but what i wana no is.....
where are the most important places to weld and do i stitch or seam weld these?
which places need plating?
how do i go about droping the engine mount down 25-30mm?
any good advise is very welcome and pics of any bays with visible lines where to weld would be great, cheers peeps

[Aragorn]

just leave the mount where it is and use a lowering bracket from valvers.com

u basically want to weld every seam in the bay and front wheel arches

[jamie gsi16v]

how much are these mounts and are they as strong? i dont wana go welding seems that dont need it (weight) it sounds silly but i really am going for light weight? is it best to seam or stitch?

[Dan]

The preferred way is to stitch weld. as for not going ott due to weight, we welded my whole car, not just the engine bay, we used between 2.5 and 3kg worth of 0.6mm welding wire. The weight after just strengthening the engine bay isn't worth worrying about imo and should be done

[jamie gsi16v]

is it as aragone says then and literally do every seem in the bay, is it a good idea to do anywhere else on the car?

[Dan]

We did my whole car as it was built as a fun/track car, the handling benefits and the feel of the car was very apparent after doing it although i also run a full cage etc etc etc. Here's some pic's of what we did just in the bay of mine. The welding is inch for inch inside the bay

http://www2.novaload.net/files/dan/weld1.jpg

http://www2.novaload.net/files/dan/weld3.jpg

http://www2.novaload.net/files/dan/weld4.jpg

[jamie gsi16v]

cheers dan, what would you suggest i do about my engine mount drop it down or use a spacer kit? is there anywhere else i should look into doing on the car? what welder/wir/gas did you use for that as it doesnt look rubbed down much and very neat. did you not plate anything?

[Dan]

if it was me doing a big blck engine conversion i would just get the kit aragorn said tbh as its just a bolt on and forget job rather than trying to move and lower stuff.

I didnt do any additional plating on mine as its only a small 1.6 8v and as said its just used for road and track use so the stresses arent as major. you can get a hockley plating kit if you want to do so, but then you was worried about a small bit of weld and weight let alone all the plates lol.

It looks clean mainly due to the fact we had a gas torch and actually burnt all the crap and paint clean off rather than sanding it all down. It was mig welded and all i know is the wire size of 0.6mm, CP from on here did the actual welding as he's very neat as seen lol

As for other area's needing doing unless you are going to abuse it on track for some fun the engine bay is the main point, maybe inch for inch the rear turrets if you intend on running coilovers on the rears. As said above mine was built for a purpose so we did everything we could to enhance it without spending lots of money

[jamie gsi16v]

ok dan cheers, i am intending to use it everyday but also a good blip round the track so maybe its best using some weight on the weld and plate and saving it else where, is it easy enough to burn the sealant and paint off then instead of sanding and grinding clean?

[Stuart]

Id recomend the seam inside the drivers/passenger footwell taht runs about 1/4 of the way up all the way across the car.

fack it, jsut stitch the whole car :) i know i should ahve but i coudlnt be arsed, and its stiff enough with the other bits ive done now.