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TR2/3/3A TR3A Resto/Adding Metal Question

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M_Pied_Lourd

M_Pied_Lourd

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Hi Guys,

Quick question. I would like to improve my door gaps in one area on the leading edge of my door where it meets the front wing. I was reading my Williams book last night and it shows a pic on how to improve door gaps by welding a bead of weld on the edge of the panel. This bead is then ground and shaped to finish.

Any tips on doing this? I can't tell from the picture but do I weld the bead on the face edge, rear edge or right on the side of the panel? Or, do I weld on the face edge and rear edge?

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd
 
I have to preface this with the disclaimer that I am a hack welder at best who struggles with aging eyes, shaky hands and all my welding. In addition, this weld is best done with tig, which I don't have so I'll start with second best, mig. Lots of hot rod guys do this very successfully with mig. You can do his with oxy acetylene too, but with lots of distortion issues. I would put the bead on the center to outer edge of the panel (at 20 or 30 degrees), to minimize voids after grinding and to give you a little more to aim at. You'll do lots more grinding than welding if your as bad as me. Weld a little and cool a lot as the saying goes. I use (and like) ESAB Easy Grind wire. This bead area is fairly resistant to heat distortion but also fairly hard to fix if it does warp. If you have a choice, weld the door as decent doors seem to be much easier to come by than decent fenders (should you do something dreadful). Also bend a couple of pieces of sheet metal to approximate the bead shape to practice on and to get welder settings right. Tom
 
Thanks to the two Toms for your replys. Cheers,

M. Pied Lourd
 
if you do weld it with a mig only weld about an inch at a time , alternating from top to bottom to center. Take your time and if you have any scrap aluminium around clamp it close to your weld to help disperse the heat.
 
Some good advice here, just make sure the car is sitting on the ground with as much weight resting on the chassis so the frame can relax. If you are mig welding I would go with the steel rod along the edge and then fill. Double check everything before you start welding though.
 
Interesting idea. It would give you a nice straight edge without belt sanding and all that. I'll give it a try. It seems particularly suited to tig or oxy-acetylene, however. The amount of mig filler required to stick the rod on the edge would be more than enough to do the job without the rod. Tom
 
If the TR is on its wheels that's fine. If you have it up on jack stands, make sure these are under the frame in line with the front axle and under the rear axle centerlines. This way, you'll get the gap right when you lower the car onto its tires again.
 
Thanks all.

The car is on all four wheels. Will take pictures of the process when I tackle it over the weekend and report back. I have a couple of copper plates to back the sheetmetal for a heat sink as well.

Cheers,
David
 
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