Builds Won a '74 40 on a coin toss...

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Got all the sealant off the bottom and tried grinding the rust off. But it is too far gone to salvage so out it must come!

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Nice little rectangle should be easy. Got a nicer air saber saw and cut it out quite easily. Love that tool!
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But wait, what is that little notch? That wasn't drawn above. Turns out the metal was bad on the sloped section. Bummer. But I only cut out what I needed to and I'm hoping bending that little tab shouldn't be too difficult. Fingers crossed... Oh but of course the metal I have for the patch is big enough for the big rectangle section but not the notch. Will have to pick up some more metal. Oh and of course I sheared off the head of the bolt for the rod holders and due to its location I couldn't get a drill to it. So I ground the entire nut off of the bottom. Not ideal but without the top on it is easy to thread a nut on the bolt.
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Here is the removed metal.
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And here is the support bracket. Ground off as much rust as I could and treated it with rust doctor which won't be a problem with welding (unlike what I've heard about POR15). I'll clean off where I plan on putting the plug welds. Bigger project than I hoped but this will be good practice for me when I tackle the 75's rear sill.
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Fabbed up my patch plate now just need to remove some paint for the welding. Also, I bought some cold galvanizing paint to spray on the surfaces that will be sandwiched. Supposed to help with the corrosion. Definitely need to remove the coating where I'm putting the plug welds. Will get a fan and respirator going as well just in case.


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I'm curious - in the interest of avoiding tedium, as well as gaining some measure of accomplishment as one goes along, have you ever considered grinding that first round of welds smooth before starting the next round? Keep in mind I know jack**** about welding.
 
LasCrucer said:
I'm curious - in the interest of avoiding tedium, as well as gaining some measure of accomplishment as one goes along, have you ever considered grinding that first round of welds smooth before starting the next round? Keep in mind I know jack**** about welding.
Click to expand...

I know maybe one iota above jack**** about welding. But probably not. I've always seen people finish the weld and then grind. That was my plan. As I look more closely at a couple of the welds they need to be redone. So I don't want to grind those down - although it probably doesn't matter. Maybe the more experienced welders can comment.
 
Which leads to my next question: the holes that are drilled in the replacement plate - how do you plan to fill them? I have some PO drilled holes in that size range that need filling, so am wondering.
 
LasCrucer said:
Which leads to my next question: the holes that are drilled in the replacement plate - how do you plan to fill them? I have some PO drilled holes in that size range that need filling, so am wondering.
Click to expand...

So under this plate is the bracket pictured a few posts up. It has the nut welded in place for the seat bracket. Basically that is known as a plug weld. I will weld around the edge of the hole to bond the two pieces together. Then I will simply fill the cavity by adding more welds. I think in a perfect world all the welds in the hole become one, but I'm sure mine will have some stacking. I drilled holes in the exact spot the three spot welds were located. The fourth hole is for the bolt.

For holes this size that are too small to weld a piece of metal in place I believe you can put a piece of copper behind it to act as the backing plate since the weld won't stick to it. Then you build up your welds.
 
Here's a good video on plug welding:



I will try the circle technique he uses.

And another for filling holes:



He recommends any non-ferrous metal for the backing plate.
 
A piece of copper pipe hammered flat is your friend for this type of welding. even more of a friend for filling a hole that a POS drilled out! I am knee deep in patching rust on my 40 now, I have picked up a ton of great tips from Mud members, using a copper backer in one of the best!
 
Well my welding still needs work but thankfully most of this is covered by the seat bracket. Still need to grind a little bit but I'm sure the neighbors are happy I've stopped grinding this late. This weekend I'll weld in the bracket, seal up the perimeter of the bracket and then treat any leftover exposed metal with POR15. Going to need a little bondo to smooth things out. Then prime and paint.
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You guys make me jealous! I guess I could remove the top, but all I could do is set in the drivers seat and make vrooom vrooom noises.

Don
 
Got the plug welds done and ground everything down. Turned out pretty good, not perfect but I continue to learn about body work (and how difficult it really is). Little skim coat and primer and the top part is pretty much done. Then POR15 the underside and seal the seams.

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It's far from perfect but not bad for my first attempt at body work. And considering all the dings and dents in the back there it should fit right in place! Now just need some freeborn red spray paint. Oh and need to do the POR15 on the bottom and seal around the support bracket.

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Looks good to me. You gonna spot touch up or keep going whole bed?
 
Starting the jack refurb project. Started sanding but it was taking forever. Plus trying to get into the little nooks and crannies is brutal. So went and bought some sand and will blast tomorrow.
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Bummer one of my jack crank retainers is missing a piece. Will have to post up on the wanted section to see if that piece is available.
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