Thanks Everyone,

[redwine300]

For all of you of weak heart or nervous disposition, look away now. Making sure I could replicate the existing by way of templates etc' I decided to go for it. I tried to maintain the original shape of each section I cut away so as to use as a guide when making the replacements. I will cut the inner areas out at the top next, this will allow me to finish off this area complete before tackling the lower part of the wheel arch.

 

[katbloke]

Now this is an area close to my heart i shall be watching this very very closely

 

[redwine300]

Managed to make some headway fabricating one of many replacement pieces today. It is not the first part I will be in need of, but I thought I would tackle it first as it is one of the more difficult. Below are a couple of pictures just to wet the appetite.

 

[pedrobedro]

Try making a card or paper template from the original and cut and fold it out of one piece of metal. You might get away with only welding the corner where the two folded lips meet and leave less option for water traps and less heat affected area. The little bit of curve should not be too much problem.

 

[Sphinx]

That looks brilliant!
As I've said before, I'm hopeless at making little repair pieces like that so I'm doubly impressed

 

[redwine300]

Thanks Pedrobedro for the advice, I will try and incorporate it for the next fabrication.
Cheers Sphinx, I was wondering which fruit you may use this time. Brilliant!! is compliment indeed.
I decided to move away from the outer repair and tackle the inner arch, this would enable me to get something welded into place to build on. I will be tackling the upper section of the inner arch next, Once this is in place I can then finish off the outer top section.
Again, to everyone who has been involved with this site.THANKS!! my welding and metalworking has improved no ends because of it.

 

[katbloke]

Thanks for the updates mate, keep them coming

 

[Chickenjohn]

Yes, agreed, keep up the good work, keep the updates coming!

BTW, Redwine, for making up these wheelarch sections, this is where a shrinker stretcher combo would come in very useful indeed!

 

[redwine300]

Got inside the rear arch today. With a little help from some strong paint stripper and plenty of elbow grease, I managed to unearth a little more tin worm than I first anticipated. I will grind back most of the rust that appears treatable and cut out the remainder. The key point was corroded about half way through, so hopefully I will be able to salvage it. Looks like i have been lucky with the majority of the outer seam of the arch. I will be busy with some card and aluminium foil tomorrow making up templates, this will help me to determine if I will be able make a single repair, or a combination of smaller pieces. By the way Chickenjohn, I have put a shrinker/stretcher on my Christmas list.

 

[redwine300]

Really struggled today, I think it was a combination of cramped conditions and a very strong wind. I think I may do some trials with little or no gas so as to recognise the symptoms purely related to poor gas conditions. One thing that really made me mad was the amount of movement as I placed my first tacks. Would someone look at this repair and suggest the best sequence please? I started at the top and tried to work down, but before I was half way the patch had moved out of position, I very nearly had to cut it back out. I will grind back the weld in the next day or so, I suspect I may have left some holes, so may have to go over certain areas again. still, best to be sure.

 

[Spot the welders dog]

Inspirational :0)

 

[tombardier]

Inspirational :0)

I agree

 

[redwine300]

Thanks Guy's I have nearly finished the top outer section and hope to get it primed and welded into place this weekend, (weather permitting.) It doesn't look much now I have nearly finished this piece, but it has been a real pain in the butt trying to get it to match up in all the right places.

 

[redwine300]

What a day! After what felt like an age, I finally got to a point where I was ready to weld into position my latest repair. I did suffer a little distortion, but as I positioned the piece sub flush I should be able to salvage with a little filler. one thing i did notice whilst welding the underside areas was, depending on the position of my welder, ie a smooth laying torch lead rather than a tight curved one, I noticed 2 things, wire speed seemed more constant, resulting in a far better weld, and secondly a definitely more contented sound coming from the unit. I may be barking, but this appeared to make a significant difference to my finished welds.

 

[katbloke]

Thanks for the updates

Always room for more though

 

[tombardier]

I was doing some welding on a trailer chassis yesterday, and I had a bit of a problem towards the end of the day with the wire feed struggling to stay consistent. After reading your last post, I'm thinking now that it might have been that my torch was contorted, so I'm definitely going to try and keep it as straight and free as possible from now on I didn't really have a chance to look in to why it the wire feed was going wrong at the timebecause it started pouring with rain, so play was stopped

 

[keith19]

Truly Excellent Thread

Hi Redwine, congratulations on a fantastic inspirational thread. I've just spent the afternoon (day off) looking all through this thread, and the amount of problems you've had, and the way you've overcome them, has been truly inspiring. For a newbie to the site like me, the thread has been a great lesson in how people on here help each other, too.

As to your welding, it started off pretty good and got even better as the thread went along. As one who has done a bit of garage welding in the past I can say that many garage panel jobs I have seen were nowhere near your standards, including, alas, some of my own. This is not because some pros can't turn a good job, but mainly because they don't get time. There is often a management attitude of "So long as it holds together for filling and painting that will do, now get on with something else." This isn't just in back-street garages, either.

A keen restorer who is doing his/her own job is more likely to make a good job of it, given the right tools, the right attitude, the time, and the knowledge and determination. Most important is learning from experience, and from the experience of others, which is what this site looks to be all about.

By the way, you are right about wire feed in the torch lead. The tighter the curve in a torch lead the more likely you are to have problems at the tip. If it's impossible because of positioning to get a gentle curve, try to use short tacks instead of a run, then blend them into one another. The wire actually slows down against the resistance of the curve, inside the liner. In bad cases it 'skids' or stops momentarily, then goes, then stops again, playing havoc with the weld. Using a steel liner helps overcome this, as there is less internal resistance.

Please keep posting your progress in this great restoration, it has been a great inspirational read, and one I shall be directing other enthusiasts to look at.
Regards, Keith.

 

[Sphinx]

Sod fruits, that's farking brilliant!

 

[redwine300]

What can I say Keith19, You're comments are truly humbling. I can only hope that my exploits so far are as helpful to other like minded as yourself as this site has been for me. I hope I have struck a balance in what I have learnt from this site and that which I have tried to pass on to others.

I still have some way to go before my project is complete, and along with pictures of my progress, I will hopefully pass on any pointers that may be of help along the way.

I hope to finish off the top section of the wheel arch this coming weekend and will post some pictures of my progress. If I miss out any of the stages during my fabrication methods that may be of interest, please feel free to say and I will incorporate them next time.

By the way Sphinx. Appreciate the plaudits

 

[redwine300]

After what seamed an age, I finally finished fabricating the final section of the upper area of the wheel arch, I managed to get it tacked into position before the light went. I was lucky this time when making up this piece, I have discovered that if I make the curve oversize it pulls back slightly as the welds shrink.

Also, as you will see in the photo's, I made a profile template this time before I cut metal, helped for final reference when tacking into place.

As I touched on in a earlier post, I made more of an effort with regards to keeping the torch lead as straight as possible. As Keith19 said, It certainly makes a big difference.

Another thing I may have learnt, is the positioning of the torch with regards to the direction of the gas flow. I seem to get a much better weld if the gas is directed it the line of weld. ie pushing/pulling the weld along the joint with the torch facing the same way, Rather than the torch being at 90 deg's to the joint. Maybe just coincidence I not sure.

I hope I have not got too carried away with the photo's by the way.