Stich/Seam Weld S13 Chassis Questions

[Edgar]

I know thier is another thread about it here somewhere but I had some of my own questions that I needed to address.

I wanted to know if anyone had any pictures of where to stich weld on the S13 chassis just so that I can get a fairly good idea of what it needs to properly look like. And also best technique I guess of doing it correctly.
Im also in the dilema of welding on some sheet metal or some sort of metal onto my floor which was rusted threw and also on my firewall and reinforcing it.

Any help would be awsome. Ive been reading on all sorts of forums so that I can have the correct knowledge of it or what not.

Thanks

[DJPimpFlex]

ok basically you drill throught the top piece of metal, but not through the bottom piece. Then spot weld on top of that. You drill between the stock spot welds. You need to at least do it on the strut towers because coilovers put a lot of stress on them. Be sure to grind off the paint and appoxy so you can get a clean weld. Mig weld it of course. If you wanted to do the whole chassis you need to do the firewall and above the windshield. Also arround the doors and allong the floor. Basically anywhere you see stock spot welds, do inbetween them. Also when your doing it you really should be on a frame rack, but most of us cant afford that, so just be srue to allow proper cooling and move arround a lot. Do one on the rear strut tower then one on the door and so on. Wait a bit between each so it can cool. If you do them all in a row you can actually warp the chassis. Be sure to paint over them after to avoid rust. Umm I think thats basically it. Remind me if I forgot anything.

[Edgar]

Aight I sorta of got it lol.
What about the chassis glue shit what did you use to take that off?

And when you mean move around do you mean like do one weld and move on to another area of the chassis?

I think I will do all the metal and weld the sheet metal on first and move on to seam/stich welding.

Did you do all your car? How rigid is it?

[datboibrad]

i watched a guy do it to his s14 shell. what he did was just remove the suspension and let the frame rails lay on the garage floor with the front and rear bumpers off. leaving on the wreck gaurds he was able to jack the frame back up after he was done to put the suspension back on.

[neverlift]

if you want her super stiff you should go through and weld the seems that are just tac weld and epoxy)were the 2 piece's meet(

[Edgar]

Let me start on this and see how it goes.
Matt I might be IMing you later lol

[chibo]

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=98772

[Edgar]

Originally Posted by chibo

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=98772

Thanks Chibo!

I just used the wire wheel air tool and im going to start on one spot and see how it goes.

Thanks for that link.

[NMS1lvi4]

hey edgar got any pics of your rust? i wanna see how bad it is cause i'm deciding whether or not it to redo some sheets

[Edgar]

I can get some pics but its not that bad. Its like 2 hoes that I need to get covered up and reinforce the chassi and seams on the passenger side. I will post some pics but I should be done with the car this upcoming weekend and getting my cage put in.

[Jonnie Fraz]

Originally Posted by Edgar

Aight I sorta of got it lol.


When you mean move around do you mean like do one weld and move on to another area of the chassis?

I think I will do all the metal and weld the sheet metal on first and move on to seam/stich welding.

Did you do all your car? How rigid is it?

Any time you heat metal above 700 degrees it shrinks so if you do a bunch of welding in one area you can warp the chassis, that is why when you do sheet metal repair you spot weld the panels together.

[DJPimpFlex]

Originally Posted by Jonnie Fraz

Any time you heat metal above 700 degrees it shrinks so if you do a bunch of welding in one area you can warp the chassis, that is why when you do sheet metal repair you spot weld the panels together.

Also if your using flux core to weld, get a big fan and shoot it in there. Try to cool the stuff down ASAP. DONT USE WATER! It will crack the welds and make your car weaker! If your using gas as you weld dont use a fan as it will blow away the gas making your welds not work as well. Move arround a lot. Do like 2 welds on one side and switch to somewhere completely different. Also wait a few seconds for the weld to cool down (like not flaming orange), smell the roses and admire your good penetration welding job!

I havent completed mine yet, I've just been doing it in combination with my roll cage, so I know a lot about it. Also be sure to get a good drill bit, you'll thank me later. Also in the pics above where he seam welded, you can take out that rear seat brace. It does provide some regidity, but your stich welding and cage will easyily take care of it, also it looks really nice with out it.

To get that out you need to drill the spot welds holding it down. This is INSANE!!! Took me about 4 hours to do it. Also its really hard to judge where is far enough. Use a large drill bit. Much larger than the spot weld. Try not to fall through, but if you do just use a welder and fill the holes. Once your almost all the way through, take a pry bar and hammer it between the metal and pry it up. If you did it right the weld will pop and you have taken that section off. I'll post pics at some point. NOT FOR THE FEINT OF HEART!!!! Seriously I alsmot died.

EDIT: I also used 2 different wire wheels/brushes on a grinder to get the chassis glue off. Its pretty easy, but it gets messy. Be sure to vaccume all that shit up as it is kinda flamable and when your welding it can catch on fire.

[PoorMans180SX]

Sweet I was wondering what I would get that glue crap off with. I'm doing this as well, the entire car, top to bottom, kinda like in that link.