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Welding in panels

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motofiaccone

motofiaccone

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Hi Gents:

I've been away on vacation and haven't gotten to work on the car much. However, before I left, I ordered a bunch of replacement steel panels, namely, the lower edge of the a-pillar and the long panel that goes under the doors.

Having never done this before, my question is, how do i remove the old panel? Are there spot welds to drill out? It seems like the easiest thing would be to remove the whole panel and TIG in the new one, but I don't want to start chopping on the body, only to learn later that i did the wrong thing.

Any advice is well appreciated.

--Thanks, Chris
 
Chris, it's usually easier to drill out the original spot welds and then grind that area smooth and plug weld the new panel into place. Trying to cut around the edges and butt weld the panels is just as good if you get all the rusted metal out, but a lot harder for most of us to do. There are several good sources for photos of how these repairs have been made, the A pillar repair at Eclectic Motorworks https://www.eclecticmotorworks.com/bmidget02.html
and the rocker panel repair at Peter Plouf's site https://www.cardomain.com/ride/2203663
 
Chris,

What you need is a spot weld cutter. Comes in two sizes and essentially cuts the metal around a spot weld. Think of a hole cutter for installing a doorknob on a much smaller scale. Use a corded electric drill, battery power runs out real quick. Arbor blade is replaceable. Most auto body supply houses will carry as well as places like Eastwood Garage and I'm guessing the Big Box Auto Parts Stores and NAPA. It will make short work of those welds, leave metal intact underneath. You've got a choice of small holes or larger holes.

One thing I invested in was a flanging/hole punch tool from HF. Cheap tool but I found on sale for < $30.00. Tools will make those Z shaped creases in panels so one panel can overlap repair panel as well as punch 1/4" holes in a panel for plug welds. A useful tool for panel repair. Works slick and since it is not a continuous duty air compressor application will work with most compressors.
 
I just did this:
Post Here

The fastest way I found to locate the spot welds is to use an old sanding disk in a grinder and lightly go over the surface that is spot welded. This will take off the rust / paint on the high spots and leave behind the low spots where the spot welds are. I drill a small pilot (1/16") hole to help center the spot weld cutter but depending on the type you use this may not be needed. Mine has a spring loaded center pilot and it tends to walk. The biggest problem is where the rear quarter meets the outer sill. You can't access the spot welds without cutting the bulk of the outer sill away. I made a cut about 1/2" below the seam and then attacked it from what was the inside of the sill. When I plug welded it back together like Bill suggests. For the door open section I drilled holes in the inner sill so that the plugs would be easier to grind down / not seem later.
 
I'll be the lone dissenter... having taken off just about every panel of my VW, I can't be bothered with spot weld cutters. If the panel isn't being saved, I find that if you chop it as close to the welded line as possible, you can usually 'pop' the welds off just by bending the remaining strip side-to-side. Ones that are hanging on by a thread can be separated with a cold chisel and a hammer. And a regular (3/16ths?) drill bit will take care of the rest, leaving holes that can be used to rosette-weld the new panel on.

(See VW link in sig for an exhaustive, and exhausting amount of said bodywork.)
 
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