Discussion
took a wheel off for a polish and found a crack half way through an upright just behind the front wheel , theres no rust and its not on a joint so i was going to buy a cheep mig welder to repair it. anyway is it ok to just weld the crack up or should it be patched ?
are cheep migs - £100 any good ? im have done a little ark welding but i think this would be a bit to aggressive with my limited skills.
and on different topic while im on is there any camping (not the gay kind) at BBWF ?
are cheep migs - £100 any good ? im have done a little ark welding but i think this would be a bit to aggressive with my limited skills.
and on different topic while im on is there any camping (not the gay kind) at BBWF ?
Sounds like the exact fault I had on my car: I just ground it back and MIG welded it up. It's only about 2mm wall so doesn't need huge current - a 90A portable would be adequate.
BBWF is in the grounds of a hotel/ conference centre so no official camping: there's a golf course over the fence mind..
ISTR the nearest campsite is 12 miles away at a pub, but only limited pitches.
BBWF is in the grounds of a hotel/ conference centre so no official camping: there's a golf course over the fence mind..
ISTR the nearest campsite is 12 miles away at a pub, but only limited pitches.
wedg1e said:
Sounds like the exact fault I had on my car: I just ground it back and MIG welded it up. It's only about 2mm wall so doesn't need huge current - a 90A portable would be adequate.
BBWF is in the grounds of a hotel/ conference centre so no official camping: there's a golf course over the fence mind..
ISTR the nearest campsite is 12 miles away at a pub, but only limited pitches.
BBWF is in the grounds of a hotel/ conference centre so no official camping: there's a golf course over the fence mind..
ISTR the nearest campsite is 12 miles away at a pub, but only limited pitches.
Yes but that pub does brew it's own beer.. it's very nice I can tell you (Pub - The Norman Knight !).
if the chassis cracks i would take some time for investigations why it cracked. was it cracked at an original weld? than maybe its ok to re-weld it. if it was cracked somewhere middle in a tube i would wonder.
a crack on a weld could also mean that a tube somewhere maybe is damaged (rusty) so another chassis tube must compensate it and thats why the weld is "overlauded" and cracks.
a crack on a weld could also mean that a tube somewhere maybe is damaged (rusty) so another chassis tube must compensate it and thats why the weld is "overlauded" and cracks.
Edited by micha on Friday 12th January 18:52
thanks for the replies, cant see any other problems with chassis but it is 18 years old so im not to concerned about what apears to only be metal fatigue. found this website quite helpfull www.mig-welding.co.uk . had a look at the pub website looks ok even if they do have a beer called chimeara !
and also the heat from the exhaust rapidly takes the paint off so the tube is very exposed to water spray from the tyre.www.thenormanknight.co.uk/
Looks like a good welding site.
I would weld a crack like this:
Clean up the weld area with an angle grinder to remove old paint and rust.
Make sure the welder is good and warm by practising on similar
metal first.
First weld to the side, second weld on otherside, last weld
right down the middle of the crack stiching in the other two welds.
Also make sure the weld is longer than the visible crack.
If it's the chassis then be sure ti use plenty of amps - to get good penetration.
thanks for the offer steve, but part of the whole wedge thing for me is the its my baby i'll do it thing - i bought it with the intention of selling at the end of last summer but fell in love . ive allways been more in favour off keeping cars standard but i think yours is just fantastic - would love to see it in the flesh. anyway next bottle and once again thanks.
I'm an NDT engineer, my job is to find such defects in power stations etc., so I'll through in my tuppence worth.
Best bet is to attempt to 'remove' the crack with angle grinder before welding.
Failing that, use a small diameter drill and bore 2 small holes, 1 at either end of the crack.
This should stop it propagating (growing) in the future, especially as you intend to weld over it.
If the crack is still 'alive', welding over it will not stop it growing again in the future, although it really depends on the nature and location of the crack.
Hope this helps.
JBR
Best bet is to attempt to 'remove' the crack with angle grinder before welding.
Failing that, use a small diameter drill and bore 2 small holes, 1 at either end of the crack.
This should stop it propagating (growing) in the future, especially as you intend to weld over it.
If the crack is still 'alive', welding over it will not stop it growing again in the future, although it really depends on the nature and location of the crack.
Hope this helps.
JBR
chris390 said:
...are cheep migs - £100 any good ?
I was quite pleased with the cheapo gas-less mig I bought about ten years ago. It worked well on body panels, rusty exhausts and sheet steel up to a couple of millimetres. Originally it was difficult to set the wire feed speed till I changed the pot for a ten turn version which made it sooo much easier. Not as neat as a gas mig but you never pay for or run out of gas! and it works well outdoors in the wind, which is handy if you don't have the luxuries of a garage. Sure the more you spend the better the welder but I would have thought a 1-200 quid job will suffice. Best of luck and do lots of practice on disposable stuff before you start blowing huge holes in your chassis 
chris390 said:
thanks for the offer steve, but part of the whole wedge thing for me is the its my baby i'll do it thing - i bought it with the intention of selling at the end of last summer but fell in love . ive allways been more in favour off keeping cars standard but i think yours is just fantastic - would love to see it in the flesh. anyway next bottle and once again thanks.
Chris, no problem. If you want to borrow the mig to do the work yourself the offer is there.
That crack is a weak point in the chassis, especially when you ahem start really thumping the performance up. As the suspension gets loaded, it has to take the sideways forces. The 520 has reeinforcing plates to provide additional strength and these overlap the areas concerned. Been fine since then. Did need a meaty MIG to get good penetration and be careful to keep the body cooland other bits cool as the metal will get hot!
shpub said:
That crack is a weak point in the chassis, especially when you ahem start really thumping the performance up. As the suspension gets loaded, it has to take the sideways forces. The 520 has reeinforcing plates to provide additional strength and these overlap the areas concerned. Been fine since then. Did need a meaty MIG to get good penetration and be careful to keep the body cooland other bits cool as the metal will get hot!
Steve - don't suppose you could post some pictures of you mods.
If the front of the chassis has started cracking I'd also check around the turret that the wishbones are mounted through. these often crack where they meet the top tube. on the 280i racer it pulled right out,and ended up with the car almost 2 inches longer wheelbase on one side and interesting handling under braking
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