body panel gaps

[alpar80]

In the daunting task of fitting and aligning new floor pans and panels I have noticed that I have gaps in the metal where I cut and fit the new panels, large enough that I cannot weld a bead there. The gaps arent much more than 1/16 of an inch wide, what should one do to fill the gap, caulking ??

[72CSTC5]

You can close up a 1/16th of an inch with a welder if you take your time and work back and forth and side to side.

[alpar80]

What if not??

[sleepyboy]

Do you have spare sheet metal you can use to bridge the gap and weld in on both sides??

[72-stomper]

duct tape

[alpar80]

Briging the gap with sheetmetal can work. It is wicked hard to be precise with cutting and fitting.

[67ChevyRedneck]

That can be somewhat cured by cutting the panel slightly large, test fit, grind down areas that are too big, test fit, grind, test fit, grind. It's a pain in the ass but it worked for me. My very first welding job was on this a few months ago:

[alpar80]

Damn that looks sweet.

[alpar80]

After the weld/grinding, what did you use? Metal prep, rust encapsulator, body filler, then prime and paint?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Basically, yes. I love rust encapsulator. Don't use it on a hot day though, that crap dries FAST! Thanks for the props. There was a long time between pic one and pic two Unfortunately (as you can see) I had a rust free fender but it was beat to crap by the previous owner/owners. I beat it out the best I could. In case your interested here's one from underneath. I haven't installed the clamps or vent hose yet (I'm currently trying to find where I put it )

[alpar80]

hey that looks great, you took the spare tire mount out and placed a tank back there, not a bad idea. I used some rust encapsulator from Car Quest, I want to get some from Eastwood, but cant wait too long, I guess it's all the same. I have some spots to sandblast, lots of work. Looks good tho.

[alpar80]

BTW is that a piece of tailpipe used for a fuel filler?

[67ChevyRedneck]

No, not the main piece that you see. It is stock '96 Silverado fuel filler neck. The diamater on the silverado filler neck was much larger than the blazer tank filler neck, so I did use some muffler pipe from a parts store to make up the difference in the filler neck size using 2 different sized rubber fuel hose. Hope that makes sense??? There is a lot of detail and pics in my "build thread" in my signature.

[jaros44sr]

Sometimes I have placed a piece of copper behind the gap, sorta supports the molten metal so it doesn't drop out. Worked for me!!

[High Speed low Drag]

Turn your wire speed up and amperage down. Not too much. Practise on scap first. With short bursts you can build up enough metal to weld the two together. Do small sections at a time. You want to hear it "POP" as opposed to "sizzle".

[Rokcrln]

Now if you are using a wire feed welder than a 1/16" gap is just about right. When using the wire feed you want a gap in your metal the same thickness as the metal that you are welding. Practice, Practice and then more .....

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[shortbed70]

Use a carbon block or a piece of brass on the back side and you'll be able to fill the gap. We use them at work when welding odd angles that or band saw won't cut.