by "Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
Published 03/16/2017 at 09:21
by "Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
Published 03/16/2017 at 09:21
Tags: bmw
; diy
; restoration
; fabrication
; welding
; classic car
STARS: 15
When doing patches for body work, butt weld joints are hard to fit up and inherently weak because in order to blend everything smoothly you have to grind the weld and by the time you’ve got it smooth typically you’ve ground away most of the weld! For this reason an overlap joint is nicer to work with, it allows some misalignment of the patch and allows you to put down more weld, and a hotter weld without blowing a hole through. The obvious issue is that in order for an overlap joint to sit flush there needs to be a step in the material for the patch to sit in. After looking online, there are some tools you can buy to help you achieve this... or you can just use some scrap steel and copy them...
A pair of vise grips, a piece of scrap flat bar with a step machined in it and a few tack welds and you’ve got yourself a cheap tool to crimp a step for an overlap joint. With a good line, a little bit of muscle and some patience you can crimp a pretty straight edge. Here’s a picture of the rocker on my E21 that I did last night...
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
03/16/2017 at 09:47, STARS: 2
Nice. I “made” this socket for changing the transmission oil on my Jeep as there wasn’t enough space between the trans and the exhaust manifold to get a ratchet in there.
Head of the bolt either goes in the plug or wrench depending on whether you’re tightening or loosening the drain plug.
"VonBootWilly - Likes Toyota, but it's still complicated." (vonbootwilly)
03/16/2017 at 09:49, STARS: 2
Very nice.
I have one of those drawers with all the “custom” tools for when I ever need to use it again, and want to actually find it instead of make another one. :)
I also hate when I can’t remember what the custom tool was for. Something like a small 10mm socket welded to the end of a bent piece of 3/8" fuel tubing, probably for a recessed trim piece... or a heavy wall 12pt 12mm socket ground down to a thinner wall for some tricky head bolt clearance for a car I once owned at some point that required like 90ft/lbs of head torque on a 12pt bolt.
"Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
03/16/2017 at 10:06, STARS: 0
Nice. I have to do something similar on my E30. The trans has a plug with something like a 15 or 17mm female hex... but a typical allen key set doesn’t go that large, so I bought an allen key socket set that had the proper size but when installed on the ratchet there isn’t enough room in the trans tunnel. So i stick the allen bit into the plug and use the same sized wrench to turn it.
"Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
03/16/2017 at 10:07, STARS: 0
Haha, same. I’ve got a few different custom sockets and tools in my tool box. Fortunately I’ve only had to make custom tools for my E30 so far, so I know that they are all for that car.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
03/16/2017 at 10:11, STARS: 0
I recently had to work on a piece that had this profile.
<-
I cut through right at the crest of the contour line and brought the new metal behind, so I could do this:
Seemed to work out okay, but over a lot of the run I didn’t leave enough top piece metal, and I have a lot of filling to do...
"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
03/16/2017 at 10:26, STARS: 0
Petrolhead ingenuity at its finest right there. Also what’s the E21? 323? I’m an atypical BMW guy - hate E30s, love the E21
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
03/16/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 0
Yep. I first had to do this on my old E30.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
03/16/2017 at 11:31, STARS: 0
This is all kinds of awesome.
"Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
03/16/2017 at 11:51, STARS: 2
1983 320i 5-spd manual... one of the last E21's as I think they stopped making them at the end of 1982. I definitely like the retro-ness and simplicity of the E21, but it’s feels like such a flimsy car, it’s definitely in need of some structural reinforcement. Also, the front suspension design I’m sure looked great on paper, but didn’t quite work that great in practice... and those US spec bumpers... bleh. Late model E30's with the plastic bumpers are like the best blend of retro and modern IMO.
"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
03/16/2017 at 11:57, STARS: 0
Nice! That must be so much fun, E21s are on my list for a project car this summer. I’m sure I’d like E30s but my first car was an E24 so that kinda ruined all other late eighties BMWs for me. It also had the ‘88-’89 color matched “world bumpers” like the E30 did, that’s definitely the look.
"Danger" (dangerray)
03/16/2017 at 12:03, STARS: 1
As a gearhead who has pledged to NEVER do real body-work, I applaud your ingenuity and thank you and your bondo covered brethren for all of your contributions to our hobby.
"Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
03/16/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 0
I wanted to try it out, but this project ended up being way more than I wanted to do. After this project I am making the same pledge as you lol... all future classics will be bought from the hot dry south in the US and shipped/driven back to Canada.
"Hateful Mate" (hatefulmate)
03/16/2017 at 17:46, STARS: 1
I am here to inform you, that despite your best intention that pledge is no worthless. By the time you have finished this project, your view on what is actually badly rusted will be skewed. Having no sense of reality, and more and more skills, you’ll be forever stuck in a vicious cycle of rustrepair. As your world forever revolves around replacing and making fresh new panels, you’ll dip your toe into crash damage as well. Because after all, it’s only metal, and it has no rust, right? You’ll somehow gather more and more tools. Hammers, planishers, maybe an english wheel. And then suddently you find yourself one friday afternoon, with a car that’s not seen the road for decades, it’s frame replaced by something else, and it’s roof dangling from ropes as you’re trying do decide how much shorter the a pillars should be. But no worries you’ll tell yourself. It’s only a quick weekend project. By then you’ll have disappeared into your garage years ago, forgotten by friends and family, never to be heard from again. A true customiser. A Hotrodder.
All because you dipped your toe into rustrepair. “Oh go on, just try it once they said. It’ll be easy to quit they said” It was all lies. It’s a downhill spiral from here my friend. And I’ll see you at the bottom.
"Bullitt Ride" (yesterdayknight)
03/16/2017 at 18:46, STARS: 0
I’ve always maintained that people who do body work for a living are probably closet masochists...