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Thread: How to replace the floor pans (?)

  1. #51
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    Modest progress / practice.

    Lessons learned thus far.
    1. Cut less, not more. You can always grind off the extra but you can't put it back.
    2. You can't fill gaps bigger than 0.5mm
    3. Clean *both* sides to a shine, not just the side you're welding. Because, guess what!? Undercoating is flammable, gives off a thick, sooty smoke and will contaminate your welds instantly!

    Before:


    "Floorpan Repair Kit" $64 (4x8' 18 Guage)
    Instructions: "Cut and shape pan to fit. Attach to car. Drive merrily away."








    (Note discreet lack of any close-up shots)
    Last edited by pommeree; 04-25-2011 at 09:19 AM.
    Eric P.

  2. #52
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    One down ...

    What was lacking in weld quality was made up for with seam sealer (Ha ha!)


    Nice coat or two of Rubberized Undercoating ...


    Not going to make the mistake of trying butt-welds on #2. Going to leave a 1/4" overlap this time ...
    Eric P.

  3. #53
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    Spackle & paint make it what it aint!


    Quote Originally Posted by Tom D View Post
    throttle lift oversteer is a way of life and should be celebrated. there are few things as much fun as steering a car through a corner with the throttle.
    He who dies with the most unfinished projects wins



  4. #54
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    Wha? no ribbing on that panel to make it stiffer? Oh, I guess since it's 18 gauge you don't need that.... Great to see!

    I do have this evil thought of installing a metal frame and put a lexan panel there so you can see the road go by. Kind of like that cartoon showing the "cars of tomorrow" with the glass panel on the floor so you can view the pedestrians you hit.... watch at 4:04...

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aTjof5fqQo[/ame]
    I still drive daily with no commute...
    The Hazard is All, Praise the Hazard!



  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by midlifebmw View Post
    Wha? no ribbing on that panel to make it stiffer? Oh, I guess since it's 18 gauge you don't need that.... Great to see!
    Yes. Once I cut a piece to fit, it was remarkably strong. I haven't measured the original floor pan but I bet it's more like 20 gauge. It seemed to cut more easily and blow out more easily when trying to weld the heaver 18 gauge to it.

    The good:


    The bad:


    And the ugly:
    Eric P.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by pommeree View Post
    Yes. Once I cut a piece to fit, it was remarkably strong. I haven't measured the original floor pan but I bet it's more like 20 gauge. It seemed to cut more easily and blow out more easily when trying to weld the heaver 18 gauge to it.
    it's 22 gauge... so don't feel bad, that's about as hard as it gets with a MIG. I feel your pain, I basically taught myself to MIG weld on my floor pans. Lap welds are much easier. I've heard that pressing a piece of copper to the underside of the seam while welding will help dissipate the heat and reduce blow outs... I never tried, I just went back & welded up my blow outs.

    Not bad at all Eric. Keep it up!
    e21: 1981 2.5L sleeper
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  7. #57
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    Ah yes! That reminds me.
    This works like a charm provided you can hold it perfectly flush with the metal.
    That gets harder, though, once the seam has globs and blops along it.

    EDIT: Now that I'm looking at the picture, I'm thinking, "Then why didn't you switch to the 90 Deg. or Curved one, dumbass?"
    Last edited by pommeree; 05-06-2011 at 04:11 PM.
    Eric P.

  8. #58
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    Hey,
    while you're at it. Weld another piece of that 18 gauge onto your seat rail mounts where they attach to the floor. Mine have broken TWICE with the Recaros because the seat rail mounts are too damn weak.

    Holy crapola. I never realized how small our cars are! That e-brake mount almost looks like its in the back seat!
    Last edited by midlifebmw; 05-06-2011 at 10:17 PM.
    I still drive daily with no commute...
    The Hazard is All, Praise the Hazard!



  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by midlifebmw View Post
    Hey,
    while you're at it. Weld another piece of that 18 gauge onto your seat rail mounts where they attach to the floor. Mine have broken TWICE with the Recaros because the seat rail mounts are too damn weak.

    Holy crapola. I never realized how small our cars are! That e-brake mount almost looks like its in the back seat!
    Hey, that's not a bad idea. They appear to be held down with a handful of spot-welds. I could polish up the edges and add a series of stitch-welds.
    That should do the trick, no?

    (Note to self. Remember to extinguish the undercoating after stitch-welding the seat brackets.)
    Eric P.

  10. #60
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    Rock, paper, scissors, razor, undercoating.

    Paper covers rock.
    Scissors cut paper.
    Razor scrapes undercoating!
    Faster, easier and less messy than wire-wheeling it! (on the flat parts anyway)
    The consistency is somewhere between wax and plastic.


    Where the undercoating hasn't been compromised, the factory primer/paint is like new.


    Something old, something new ...


    got the metal all polished up but no time to weld last night so I hit it with a coat of weldable primer ...
    Last edited by pommeree; 05-10-2011 at 09:35 AM.
    Eric P.

  11. #61
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    Confidence level: rising.

    Hey guess what?
    When you clean the metal to a shine and set your voltage and wire speed right, you can actually weld without blowing holes in your floor and setting things on fire!
    Imagine that!?




    Eric P.

  12. #62
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    looks great! what do you have for driver side views? thanks...i'm right there with you...

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by pommeree View Post
    Hey guess what?
    When you clean the metal to a shine and set your voltage and wire speed right, you can actually weld without blowing holes in your floor and setting things on fire!
    Imagine that!?
    Yeah, funny how good prep work and proper understanding of your welder all of a sudden makes you just that much better of a weldor LOL!! You'll also notice much better welds when using gas! Coming along though!
    Last edited by metalsoul; 05-15-2011 at 11:45 PM.
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  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by pommeree View Post
    Razor scrapes undercoating!
    Faster, easier and less messy than wire-wheeling it! (on the flat parts anyway)
    Thank you thank you thank you! Genius. That's what i needed! Great work on your repairs man!
    "The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn't any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it's right. If it disturbs you it's wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed. The test of the machine's always your own mind. There isn't any other test."
    Robert M. Pirsig
    Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

  15. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Crusty320 View Post
    looks great! what do you have for driver side views? thanks...i'm right there with you...
    Those most recent pics are from driver's side, passenger floor.

    Quote Originally Posted by metalsoul View Post
    Yeah, funny how good prep work and proper understanding of your welder all of a sudden makes you just that much better of a weldor LOL!! You'll also notice much better welds when using gas! Coming along though!
    I am using gas! Uh oh. Guess I need a little more practice.


    Quote Originally Posted by Brani View Post
    Thank you thank you thank you! Genius. That's what i needed! Great work on your repairs man!
    I was relieved, too, when I realized I could get if off this way without making a lot of noise and a giant, stinking mess.
    Eric P.

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by pommeree View Post
    I am using gas! Uh oh. Guess I need a little more practice.
    I think I have the exact same welder & cart...
    e21: 1981 2.5L sleeper
    e21: 1982 323i Baur TC 1 # 4210
    e21: 1980 323i project or parts car, can't decide
    e21: track car project
    e46: 325XiT

    click here for the latest updates

  17. #67
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    Branching out into three dimensions







    First rough template.










    How do you know when you're through the weld?
    When a bunch of brown junk starts falling out and you can see the seam.


    Gentle ...






    I've made a new template after expanding the hole and have cut and begun shaping a patch piece in 18 Guage ...
    Eric P.

  18. #68
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    Good work! keep it up! Practice more with the buttwelds. yeah a lapweld is fine, but you have more potential areas to become a problem in the future. pockets that allow contaminants can be future weak spots. with practice and going very very slow, you can weld in blow outs and large root openings. Very quick tacks at alternating sides with about 15 seconds of cool down between tacks until you fill it in. heat dissipating gel helps greatly. the shorter your electrode between the tip and work, the better it will flow into the metal.
    Last edited by Shimmy55; 07-18-2011 at 01:18 PM.

  19. #69
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    I'll give you three guesses as to why the patch doesn't fit the hole ...


    Hard drive fail = auto-body win!


    Tacked.


    Welding from within the wheel-well I'm sure was more of a pain, but the trunk will be that much more smoother.
    Last edited by pommeree; 08-22-2011 at 11:49 AM.
    Eric P.

  20. #70
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    What size wire are you using?, I have noticed for sheet metal I have much better results with the .025

  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by joel323 View Post
    What size wire are you using?, I have noticed for sheet metal I have much better results with the .025
    That's what I'm using.
    I have noticed I have much better results when I clean the metal first!
    My blowouts are thanks almost 100% to poor prep.
    The two blowouts in the upper corner are due to my failure to clean all the sealer/coating from the inside/back side of the weld.

    Where there's clean metal and a good joint, I have very little problem with striking an arc and getting a deep bead without blowing out.

    It looks like crap in the picture just cause each tack is crooked and of a different length.
    Maybe I don't need to stitch back/forth so much when drawing my bead?

    Also, I had much better success doing butt-welds this time. I worked longer to make sure the patch fit as closely to perfect as possible.
    I kept a body hammer handy to tap the panel back into alignment after each tack when necessary.
    Oh, also, I did *NOT* quench the welds after each tack. I thought that was important to minimize distortion, but when butt-welding a piece in, it caused the metal to shrink which would then open the gap making further welding more difficult.

    All in all, it's a lot of fun.
    Last edited by pommeree; 08-22-2011 at 11:39 AM.
    Eric P.

  22. #72
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    Looking good on the patching in here! Clean prep does make a good quality finished product.


  23. #73
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    Where OCD pays off ...

    I'm kind of proud about this part.
    100% Butt welds and there is zero daylight (save for my 4-5 blow outs. Har Har)



    Did I mention, zero daylight through those seams. (Except for the blow outs ... I can't help but laugh as I'm typing that.)


    Primered with "Rust Encapsulator"


    Seems a shame I have to cut a hole in it now ...
    Eric P.

  24. #74
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    Well done. There are a few small patches in my Scout that need some attention and this is actually quite helpful. I'm not quite as nervous about the repairs as I was.

    Although I'm still counting my blessings that I live in Arizona!
    Last edited by Toyotech; 09-12-2011 at 11:37 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost


    Quote Originally Posted by Tom D View Post
    throttle lift oversteer is a way of life and should be celebrated. there are few things as much fun as steering a car through a corner with the throttle.
    He who dies with the most unfinished projects wins



  25. #75
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    Now what?
    Getting it out was the easy part.




    Ingersoll Rand Airsaw FTW. Like a hot knife through butter.






    Front Passenger floorboard patch. Seam sealer is curing and I'll hit the underside with undercoating when I get the chance.


    Last edited by pommeree; 01-23-2012 at 10:15 PM.
    Eric P.

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