Someone told me that when welding in the trunk floor or even floor pans I only need to weld small beads about every six inches apart and then use seam sealer as opposed to running a continuous bead on the seams. His reasoning for this was that running a full bead will cause stress in the body not allowing the body to flex. I know the factory used spot welding to join panels but when replacement panels are installed usually you are cutting out sections of pre-existing panels. Any thoughts?

I would do the full weld, but do it as you would any body metal weld. That is do a number of short welds and skip around. This avoids the warping from thermal stresses. If GM felt that a prforated floor with sealer on it was the way to go, they would have done it that way. A fully welded floor will be a better barrier against exhaust gas entry into the body, also.

If it's a complete panel like the factory, then weld it like the factory. If it's a patch panel, then butt weld it solid.

[This message has been edited by AlMyPal39 (edited 07-04-2001).]