seam welding&roll cages

[Anonymous]

can someone tell me whereabouts in the engine bay gets seam welded and any other tips about doing this. also i have seen some cages that come throught the bulkhead and attach onto the top struts. do places like courtenay etc do cages like this or do they have to be especially made up??

cheers

rodgerq

[Anonymous]

um on all the seams!! around the bay!

[Anonymous]

I've just done this and was wondering what needed to be done myself. I ended up going round the bay and doing the whole lot concentrating on making sure that all the bulkhead and front cross member metal was in good order b4 welding. I've heard that the chassis rails can pull apart from the front cross member and that the turrets break out at the top and round the bases. I concentrated on these areas although since I'm not going rallying or fitting a 2l so I didn't plate the top of the turrets esp as I have a turret brace to go on. I also put a lot of effort into the area around the engine mounting brackets, the lower TCA bracket and the tie bar bracket. I took about 3 nights with a Mig welder to weld it all up and burn all that stupid body/ sealer shit they love to daub into all the seams. I used the oxy-actylene to burn it out but I think the professionals use some clever process and tool to get it all out. If you don't remove it properly it fooks up the welding big time.
Not sure whats best as rgds roll cage. I spose the more extensive it is the more rigid the body becomes but may only really be necessary for rallying to have a full belt and braces job?

[Anonymous]

cheers CP. did you remove your interior and dash before doing it. i was wondering cause some of the parts to be welded must be just on the other side of the firewall and they could catch fire from the heat. as for the cage, i am after the full works. door bars, across the bulkhead, through the bulkhead. the full rally feel. its also to try and bring back some of the handling because of the 16v engine. the stiffer everything is the better i think. hopefully with the welding, cage, polly bushes, loads of strenthening etc this should help a lot.

cheers

rodgerq

[Anonymous]

If you really want to get it strong, look at investing in a plating kit from hockleys and fitting it properly.. I tend to use a blowtorch and wire brush as a first level remover though scrapers are useful for larger areas. The seam welding is done on the plates (turrets, tie bar brackets, engine mounts etc) using a seam in the most part. To make the shell more rigid, then stitch weld the chassis rails to the car underneath and also all the joints in the monocoque... As for a roll cage that joins with the suspension turrets, you will probably need a 'weld in cage' from safety devices or rollcentre. They do have some of these types available I believe.