Hi All,
In racing circles I have often heard of people seam welding all the seams in their auto chassis and strut towers to provide extra rigidity. This is not a repair, but an actual addition of a seam weld to increase the strength of the chassis over the normal spot welded variety. So I was wondering:
1) What is the best way to go about this? I have seen one car with 2" long beads about every 2" along each seam. Sound ok?
2) How about having one big continuous bead along each seam (welded in parts to minimize distortion)?
3) Assuming a rust and repair free chassis, can this be done with the car on stands or does it need to be held straight in some kind of jig to ensure the car is not welded into an incorrect shape? The car in question is an 88 e30 bmw and it is currently on stands with no engine or gearbox so presumably the chassis is under minimal stress and distortion?
Any general advice on this matter would be appreciated. I'd also love to hear that seam welding is a waste of time and that improvements it brings about to the handling are an urban myth! It seams like a lot of work!
Cheers,
Greg.
In racing circles I have often heard of people seam welding all the seams in their auto chassis and strut towers to provide extra rigidity. This is not a repair, but an actual addition of a seam weld to increase the strength of the chassis over the normal spot welded variety. So I was wondering:
1) What is the best way to go about this? I have seen one car with 2" long beads about every 2" along each seam. Sound ok?
2) How about having one big continuous bead along each seam (welded in parts to minimize distortion)?
3) Assuming a rust and repair free chassis, can this be done with the car on stands or does it need to be held straight in some kind of jig to ensure the car is not welded into an incorrect shape? The car in question is an 88 e30 bmw and it is currently on stands with no engine or gearbox so presumably the chassis is under minimal stress and distortion?
Any general advice on this matter would be appreciated. I'd also love to hear that seam welding is a waste of time and that improvements it brings about to the handling are an urban myth! It seams like a lot of work!
Cheers,
Greg.