Seam Welding

[Westfaling]

My car is about to go for paint and I have the opportunity to strengthen the shell through some seam welding and/or gusseting. Has anyone any experience of where this might best be applied?
Regards
Nick

[flying farmer]

imported post

Whenever I have rebuilt any triumph I always weld the seams between the nose panel and front wings and on the rear deck. Works wonders for rust prevention at these points and with a skim of filler and a chainsaw sharpening file you can even recreate the seam. So far I have used this to good effect on TR5s TR6s Dolomites Toledos and 2.5 saloons and it saves the inevitable cracking and lifting of paint along the joints. My stag was resprayed by the previous owner only three years ago and it is already starting to crack and bubble along the seams

It will get the same treatment when it next needs a paint job. The quarter panel/sill seam is an obvious candidate. I have done this to one of my 2 door toledos 12 years ago and it is still good, the real problem here is heat distortion of a rather flat panel which makes it a far bigger preparation job for painting, I will have to take a close look at that before I try it.

One final point, don't crash it because replacing bent panels is a far bigger job

Neil

[Westfaling]

imported post

Neil
No-one to crash into down here (famous last words)- one million people on the South Island in a land the size of England. I suppose a stray sheep could still do a lot of damage.

[thaddeus]

imported post

Hello

A box section or tube across between the front chassis legs behind where the rad sits is a good idea as the two members are not tied together.
If you really want to get silly then a blade type sill piece between the inner and outer sill panels is the best thing to give the shell more beam strength.
The original design had double inner and outer sills, very few of these cars survive, (-I only ever worked on one) The structure was initially more rigid -but it also included more water traps with the inevitable result.

Regards ~Martin

[twitchiwobble]

imported post

Dear Westfaling

Yes, when I had my Stag bodywork restored in 1993, I asked for the upper four seams(two on front nose above the outboard headlamps) and (two situated above the rear wheel arches) to be filled with "silver solder" ("brazed")

Today, (16yrs on) and the two-pack paintwork is still perfect in that area. I hope this info is a help?