Lost and Found - LS3 6L80 NP205 Full Frame Off

[mattrains]

Sorry I didn't clarify. I didn't post in both places because I had to go to a BBQ with the family.

I started ClassicK5.com as just a blog to keep track of what i'm doing to the Blazer. I do web design for a living so I like to have a little more control over what i'm doing on the web.

I'm still going to do it on CK5 forum but I just needed somewhere to do a little more thorough job tracking the progress.

And you know I always appreciate any trespassing that was involved.

Classic K5.com did not go trespassing to snap pictures of your lost rig....CK5 did....And CK5 demands equal rights and the same detail in updates that Classic K5 gets,

 

[scottishdave]

Ha Ha....It was a joke man, Just giving you a hard time. We like our pictures around here and we like em quick, ha ha.

 

[mattrains]

Picked up my welder today. My brother has had it for a couple of years. I'll need to get some CO2 tomorrow and another welding helmet then I should be ready to repair that floor.

-Matt

 

[mattrains]

Hey Everybody! I know it has been a while but I hope everyone is having a great Fathers day today.

The last post I published was about my old welder. Well, ends up it was out of commission so the build slowed down drastically.

So, today my wife and son surprised me with a new Hobart Handler 140! So excited! This thing rocks. AND I did get another bog box in the mail yesterday that should have tipped me off to the big surprise.

I will post some more pics tonight after I get some metal work done!

 

[Deuling]

Same welder i and alot of guys here have. Works great

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

I think thats what Chris has... Good lil welder.

 

[mattrains]

The first patch in the floor is done. I've never welded before so I know it's not great but after some seam sealer and some paint it should be fine.

I started with a small rectangular patch just to see how the process works and it took a little while longer than I thought and I learned A LOT working through the patch.

So here is the new metal cut to fit. You can see at the bottom corner there is a large gap that made it much harder to fill that I thought. I learned the more time you spend on the patch metal the easier the welding is and the faster it goes.

So here are my tack welds. I just did exactly what I saw on YouTube :-). I would tack weld one spot then move to the opposite side and tack there. I kept heat under control with a wet rag and just kept laying the rag on top to cool the metal so it wouldn't warp.

Welding took a lot longer than I thought but when I finished I started to grind it all down. I've always been told you've either got to be a good welder or a good grinder, i'm neither :-).

After grinding I did have to go back and weld in a few spots that didn't get full penetration. It all took about an hour so it wasn't that bad considering how much money i'll save doing it myself and the experience i'll gain.

The last thing I did today was spray some temporary primer on it to hold off the rust. I still need to lay on some seam sealer but i'm happy with it and i'm ready to move on to the much larger patch behind this one.

Here's one from underneath. I forgot to remove the undercoating before welding so it caught fire a few times and smelled horrible. It didn't seem to mess with the welds to much though?

 

[Deuling]

More gap = Easier to burn through as you need to add more metal and more heat to close it FYI. Looks good though man! I know exactly what your going through. If you need any tips my floor patching starts at post 450 or so in my thread. Link is in my sig.


And when i did mine I wet the undercoat with a spray bottle because mine also was catching on fire. DONT breath that stuff when it burns, hopefully your welding outside or have a fan blowing.

 

[jt512]

hopefully your welding outside or have a fan blowing.

watch out for too much air moving, it can affect your welds by essentially blowing the sheilding gas away from the weld .


Also instead of using a regular grinding wheel try using a flap wheel, 40 or 60 grit, they will leave you a much smoother surface and they don't create the amount of heat that a grind wheel does= less chance of warping. This is more important on areas that will be seen when done as opposed to floor work.

Something like these http://www.google.com/search?q=flap...im6AGm8_nxBg&ved=0CDkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=690

 

[mattrains]

Another great morning to knock a few patches out. I completely finished my largest patch and went ahead and cut out the one I am going to work on tomorrow that's closer to the passenger rocker.

This time I used a Diablo cutting disc to cut out the floor and the patch. A good cutting disc is a MUST, it lasted so much longer than the cheapo one I bought for the first patch. I also used a flap disc as recommended earlier and that made a huge difference in the final work.

This patch had a body brace running under it that I accidentally cut when I was cutting the floor but I will have to re-weld that from underneath later.

The spot welds were much better this time because I learned to keep my gaps tighter on the fitment of the patch. After the regular spot welds I did the spot welds that ran across the body brace and through the middle of the patch that kept it from popping against the brace when I pressed on it.

So here is the area under the rear passengers feet I have been working on...

This is probably the worst area I have in the floors so I am glad to get it buttoned up. I went to YearOne and got some scraps they weren't using to fill the patches which was great because they were free.

Here is it with Primer to hold it until I can get some seam sealer. As you can see I left more of the weld on top this time. I figured it adds a little extra support and once seam sealer is on top of it no one will ever see it anyway.

Tomorrow is looking good for another patch or maybe even two haha. The next patch I am working on is on the passenger side at the edge where the floor pan meets the rocker towards the front. I already cut out the floor which went well and traced the patch on a piece of scrap so tomorrow all I should need to do is cut out the patch and weld it in.

Here is the floor that needs the patch...

Here it is cut out...

Here is the metal that was removed...

It shouldn't be that bad but since it's on a corner i'm a little nervous. I will start with a low heat on the welder then move up as I get comfortable.

Any tips before I start back tomorrow?

 

[scottishdave]

Looks great man

 

[Greg72]

Here is the floor that needs the patch...

Here it is cut out...

Here is the metal that was removed...

It shouldn't be that bad but since it's on a corner i'm a little nervous. I will start with a low heat on the welder then move up as I get comfortable.

Any tips before I start back tomorrow?

When in doubt......cut it out!

I know that in can be scary to cut out large sections of flooring when you are just learning to do rust repair, but it looks like you might be leaving some rust behind (those pockmarked areas near the cuts you made for the patch).... Go a little further and make SURE that all the rusty metal is coming out, or you'll be dealing with this same problem again in a few years.

Panel clamps are relatively cheap and will help you to hold the patches in perfect alignment for welding. The thickness of a cutting disc (usually .040") can be used to create a perfect gap for the clamps and for the spot welding you need to do.

Those are a couple quick tips..... It all comes down to practice, and as you get more experience your confidence and technique will improve and your results will get better and better.

-G

 

[mattrains]

Thanks Dave!

Hey Greg,

I understand what you're saying and I am trying to keep the welding to a minimum as I don't want to push my luck as a newb.

Here's what I plan on doing. After all the patches are done I am going to use a rust converter treatment to hopefully convert all the rust (only where I have thick enough metal) then I am going to use a seam sealer on all the weld areas then I will use a degreaser on the entire interior area and then use a POR15 kit to seal the floors?

I'm not telling you all this because I want to show you that the way I am doing it is just fine and I don't need to cut out the metal, i'm telling you this so you can tell me if i'm screwing it up and the above is a dumb idea that won't work?

 

[mattrains]

Alright, here is another patch. This one runs across the passenger floor right beside the spot welds of the rocker panel.

I was really worried about this piece because it has a 90 degree that turns down to the rocker and it has a small "hill" that needed to be shaped on the top end.

So here is the pic I posted yesterday of the before...

Here is the semi finished product. Again, I left a little amount of the weld intact for added strength instead of grinding it all the way down flat. I don't know if that really ads strength but it makes sense.

The little hill area at the top went well. I tack welded it as I bent it up so it turned out really well.

Once I finish all the welding in the floor my plan is to sand it all down to metal and then use a rust converter just to be safe. After the rust converter I will use a primer on all the welds then cover them with a seam sealer. After the seam sealer dries I will apply a POR 15 like product.

If anyone has done this or has any recommendation as to what steps to apply each product let me know. I'm just looking at it like what makes sense.

 

[Deuling]

Finish your patches, degrease, rust converter, seam seal, POR-15.

If your gonna bedline, I wouldnt do the POR-15. I did and its just a pain to scuff the stuff up because it dries like a freakin rock!

I used FAST-ETCH acid based rust desolver from Eastwood.com
Stuff works really well. Spray down, let sit for a bit, hit spots with a wire brush, wipe off and re-apply, let sit for half hour and wipe excess off. DO IT OUTSIDE because the stuff has some nasty nasty fumes. But it leaves a nice zinc protective coating.

 

[496truck]

POR makes a product called POR Patch. Basically a thicker version of the POR coating, comes in a squeeze tube like toothpaste. I have used it as a seam sealer with great results lots of times. Goes on smooth with an acid brush, small paint brush, or your fingers (with rubber gloves on). It's pretty good at hiding ugly welds too (ask me how I know ).

 

[fabjunkie]

Leaving weld doesn't really add any strength but grinding too far (into the parent material) will weaken it. Looks good so far. There's a few vehicles I wish I could have a redo on.

 

[mattrains]

Another box came in the mail today. Eastwood goodies...

Rust Etch, Seam Sealer, Rust Converter and Weld through primer.

 

[Deuling]

That fast etch is some good stuff man!!

Just spray it outside, cuz it will make you cough and cough and cough....


It wont work on heavy rust, but get any thick stuff with a wire wheel and then spray on, work it with a wire brush, wipe off, spray on and let sit for half hour, then wipe off. It says to not use it in direct sunlight as it will dry out too fast and not work properly. Do it outside in the shade, and hold your breath when you spray it

 

[496truck]

Adam, have you not learned anything from Ryoken? Using a wire wheel will burnish the metal which makes the topcoats or whatever difficult to adhear to the surface. Or something along those lines.

I think you can use a hand held wire brush but a sanding disc or flap wheel will work too.