rear arch panels

[Christ]

Im about to start welding in my rear arch repair panels, they are the small ones that just cover the arches. I was wondering if you folk just weld them on as they come or do you trim them back a bit?

Looking at them it seems the weld will end up right ontop of the flared part, surely it would be easier if It was lower down on the flatter part of the panel.

hope that made sense, im trying to make life easier for myself as im a welding noob.lol

[shy witness]

i think the secret is to use as little of them as possible mate

ive to do mine shortly myself

i think the closer down the fold of the new arch your welding.the better


should stop it warping so much


and be easier to fill in i reckon

[Christ]

looking at it my inner arch is rusty where thy lip folds round, should this be cut out and replaced aswell?

[loggyboy]

Pics from when i did mine:
(bare in mind I wasnt after a factory finish, so there maybe better ways to get a better result.)

Cut back to decent metal

http://www.loggyboy.com/images/MeritMk2/SillArchRepair/Arch1.jpg

If both skins are rusted, then you will either need to make up an inner skin out of sheet metal, or as I did, weld both skins together.

http://www.loggyboy.com/images/MeritMk2/SillArchRepair/Arch2.jpg

Cut the repair panel down to the fit, leaving a a few cms overlap.

http://www.loggyboy.com/images/MeritMk2/SillArchRepair/Arch4.jpg

DO NOT do anything more than spot welds or the panel will warp and look real bad!

Then its a matter of fillering:

http://www.loggyboy.com/images/MeritMk2/SillArchRepair/Filler1.jpg

Smooth it back:
http://www.loggyboy.com/images/MeritMk2/SillArchRepair/Filler2.jpg

and primer away

http://www.loggyboy.com/images/MeritMk2/SillArchRepair/Primer1.jpg

please note that isnt fully finished, still neesd some smoothing and tweaking.

after you done that fill the inside (behind trim panel) with waxoil and cover the inner arch with underseal.

[Christ]

thanks very much for those pictures mate, that really is a massive help. When you say only spot weld, do you mean do an inch at a time and let it cool down before continuing? or do you mean spot weld and just leave gaps between welds and skim with filler?

[paul james]

Literally just do small spots of weld at a time. Leave a bit of time between each spot so none of the metal gets hot enough to start bending about, or so hot you start blowing holes straight through it. You could join up all the spots eventually if your willing to spend enough time on it.

[yellow nova]

as above
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z219/broomy_2007/turbonova029.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z219/broomy_2007/turbonova028.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z219/broomy_2007/Image003.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z219/broomy_2007/turbonova051.jpg

[Christ]

cheers mate, did you do paint it yourself?

[yellow nova]

yep in my garage at home ;)

[Christ]

looks bloody good mate I hope mine turns out like that!

[craig green]

You could join up all the spots eventually if your willing to spend enough time on it.

Thats the way it should be done, else moisture etc will come in behind the filler & ruin the finish.

If you can borrow or buy one, a Joggler is a usefull tool to create a lip on the repair panel so it will sit in behind the edge you have cut.

Google it perhaps.

[bump]

^^ Seconded. If you can lead load it too then all the better.

Have a look at this (http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8440&frostProductName=Joggler+Hole+Punch&catID=13&subCatID=18&FrostCat=Bodywork&FrostSubcat=Forming) for a Joggler.

[k0ax]

hi, what is this for a suspension kit? never seen that

[craig green]

Wtf?

[shy witness]

what ways that jogler work??

does it put an inset crease into the panel so you can overlap your new panel....but it all stays flush??


has anyone any pictures of 1 in action???

[craig green]

Yes it does exactly that. You work along the top edge of the arch repair panel & work in a crease so that you then slot the top edge of the arch repair panel in behind the lower edge of the quarter panel where you cut it off. Essentially it means you arent welding metal to metal, end on & actually weld the existing quarter panel ontop of the repair panel.

I borrowed one when we did the arches on my Astra GTE.

(edit) Bumps link is exactly the thing & details it nicely.

[loggyboy]

hi, what is this for a suspension kit? never seen that

I assume you mean Yellow Novas rear suspension.

Its a 1.9" coilover, that replaces the standard shock unit

[shy witness]

im liking the look/sound of that to be honest

i think it might b worth an investment for the sake of 30 quid

are they easy enough used ??????and do exactly what they say on the tin lol???

[bump]

Yep, easy to use and do the job well. They make it really easy to put a repair panel in neatly and quickly.

[General Baxter]

hi, what is this for a suspension kit? never seen that

i think he means yellow nova's coil overs :wtf:

[bump]

i think he means yellow nova's coil overs :wtf:

Think we'd already established that some 3 posts ago.