Increasing rear tire clearance in a '70 Charger.

[1 Wild R/T]

Any way to see the outer wheel well from the trunk? Or by taking out the back seat? Maybe lay some wet towels across the inside.

If he puts wet towels on the inside it will pull the heat from the panel he's welding... The place to use wet towels is on the outside painted surface...

 

[BeepBeepRR]

If he puts wet towels on the inside it will pull the heat from the panel he's welding... The place to use wet towels is on the outside painted surface...

Possibly.. Just coming up with ideas lol My thinking was to lay it on top of the wheel housing next to the quarter. Kind of in this position. Shown with red line. Was also thinking the heat would soak into the towel without getting the quarter hot.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Possibly.. Just coming up with ideas lol My thinking was to lay it on top of the wheel housing next to the quarter. Kind of in this position. Shown with red line.
View attachment 1236823

But he's welding on the wheel house right there & he's bringing the outer wheel house closer to the outer skin of the quarter panel...

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Money bets hes welding from inside the wheel well not inside the trunk. If he is welding from under the wheel well then I think the wet towel would work. Again red shows towel placement. With thin sheet metal you would want to pull the heat away as fast as possible to prevent blow through. That's why some people use a copper block behind a thin sheet metal joint.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Crude but hopefully you can see what I am talking about. Maybe I am just a nutjob.

 

[hunt2elk]

Crude but hopefully you can see what I am talking about. Maybe I am just a nutjob.

View attachment 1236848

But the wet rag cannot contact the piece of metal you are welding on. In that area, it would be impossible to accomplish this.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

But the wet rag cannot contact the piece of metal you are welding on. In that area, it would be impossible to accomplish this.

Makes sense now that you guys made me think about it. But hell I was just trying to think outside of the box. Also not a welder so some of you guys that are would know better.

 

[HawkRod]

So like a few others, I am more of a grinder than a good welder!

Why not bond the patches in? I too would be shitting bricks and concerned about damaging my paint. One misstep and it's game over. This is inside the wheel well - a place where almost no one ever sees anything. So why not just bond it and undercoat it? Then the possibility of screwing up your nice, 19 year old paint (that everyone sees) goes away.

I might be talking out of my butt here - I am no bodywork guy. But I have heard many say that the bonding can be stronger than weld when done right. Maybe time to dip your feet into this???

Just brainstorming...

 

[dsd1967]

Maybe you could sneak a piece of painted metal in between the quarter and the wheelhouse and space it a little away from the quarter. Use the damp rag to space between the quarter and the steel panel. That way the piece of painted metal would take heat, and if you happened to blow through the metal you are welding on the metal would stop the MIG wire from hitting the quarter. By using painted wire, you would most likely prevent a blow through from sticking to the metal shield.

 

[Kern Dog]

Money bets hes welding from inside the wheel well not inside the trunk.

There is no way I'd have adequate access from inside the car.
In my other car, I can see evidence of the work on the left side but not the right...because on the right side, there is that emissions evaporative vent tube in the sight line.

The safe bet is to use the panel bond. I have one tube of it and that should be more than enough. I do need to close up the gaps where I made the cuts to shape the patches.....

In almost every project where I'm doing something new, I go back and forth in my head trying to form a plan. I hate regrets and mistakes so I try to consider what effect my steps will have on everything down the line. I've learned this from doing construction all these years. One move done in the wrong order can create an obstacle for me later and that sucks.
I thought I read somewhere that the panel bond doesn't like a lot of heat. If I were to glue this in place and try to weld up the gaps afterward, would that somehow cause a problem with the adhesion of this stuff?

I don't know the answer to that so I'll just go ahead and pull it out to flatten the bends a bit so they are all even to each other. I'll then put it back in and weld up the gaps. The self tapping screws will keep the patch in place and help it retain it's shape while I'm welding.
Afterwards I can pull the patches back out to apply the panel bond.
More coming in the next few days....

 

[HawkRod]

There is no way I'd have adequate access from inside the car.
In my other car, I can see evidence of the work on the left side but not the right...because on the right side, there is that emissions evaporative vent tube in the sight line.

The safe bet is to use the panel bond. I have one tube of it and that should be more than enough. I do need to close up the gaps where I made the cuts to shape the patches.....

View attachment 1237155

In almost every project where I'm doing something new, I go back and forth in my head trying to form a plan. I hate regrets and mistakes so I try to consider what effect my steps will have on everything down the line. I've learned this from doing construction all these years. One move done in the wrong order can create an obstacle for me later and that sucks.
I thought I read somewhere that the panel bond doesn't like a lot of heat. If I were to glue this in place and try to weld up the gaps afterward, would that somehow cause a problem with the adhesion of this stuff?

I don't know the answer to that so I'll just go ahead and pull it out to flatten the bends a bit so they are all even to each other. I'll then put it back in and weld up the gaps. The self tapping screws will keep the patch in place and help it retain it's shape while I'm welding.
Afterwards I can pull the patches back out to apply the panel bond.
More coming in the next few days....

Again, just brainstorming...

Since you can still remove the patch, why not weld up the gaps off the car, form them as needed and then finally panel bond the patch in?

 

[hunt2elk]

Again, just brainstorming...

Since you can still remove the patch, why not weld up the gaps off the car, form them as needed and then finally panel bond the patch in?

I was thinking the same thing, but would imagine it would distort from the welding heat and not fit nice and snug like it does now.

 

[HawkRod]

I was thinking the same thing, but would imagine it would distort from the welding heat and not fit nice and snug like it does now.

Yup, totally agree. But since it is off the car he can reshape it as needed to get it to fit right. Hopefully though, with slow and controlled welding, he could minimize warpage.

 

[Kern Dog]

Yup, totally agree. But since it is off the car he can reshape it as needed to get it to fit right. Hopefully though, with slow and controlled welding, he could minimize warpage.

That is exactly what I decided to do.
I welded up the gaps in the right side first.

The left side was next. I didn't finish tonight....I had to close up shop and get cleaned up for dinner.

 

[Kern Dog]

Well, I messed it up.
The left side had some longer cuts that required more welding than the right side. Welding off the car seemed to be going okay. I test fitted several times but I tried fitting it today and the gap at the top was too much to pull closed with screws. I was concerned that trying too hard could maybe distort the quarter panel.
I ended up screwing the LH patch in at the bottom and sides, then I cut through the welds and let them spread open. From there I screwed the flaps to the existing tub. I welded up the gaps in place.

I'll dress the welds a bit more. I should be able to "glue" the patches in place tomorrow.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

I saw that fritz guy mention using a coat hanger to fill the wider gaps. Maybe that will help ya.
Here is a dude doing it.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Its not the video I was looking for but......... You get the idea.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have welding rod that is normally used for welding with a torch. That fills the gaps nicely.
One problem that I always have is trying to walk the line between getting nice flat welds and NOT burning through the metal. If I slow down the wire speed, the welds lay flat but I often burn through. I really wish that I had the time to take a welding course.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

The video I watched he tested all 3 mig wire sizes. 023, 030 and 035 Flux core is horrible for metal under 18 gauge. He showed several welds with all methods. The best result was 023 wire with CO2 he said he didnt buy the co2 argon mix because it was expensive.. So he uses straight C02. He is using a mig welder. You mention rod that might be a little excessive for thin sheet metal.

Here is the guy and the wire size video.

 

[CoronetDarter]

When I installed USCT subframe connectors in the Dart, my neighbor volunteered to weld them. He's a hobbyist too and was concerned about blowing through the floor pan. I used 3M panel bonder on the middle portion of the sfc where it attached to the floor and he welded the front and back to the frame rails.
You're right, panel bonder can't take heat so don't weld over it.