I am thinking about trying to butt-weld some patch panels and wonder if anyone has tried Eastwoods clamps? Is it realistic to think that the panels on a 33 year old car will line up well enough with some sheetmetal stamped in Taiwan (I'm told this is where all the patch panels come from)? Any other ideas for butt-welding?

Gary,

I am just finishing the installation of a rocker panel and 3/4 quarter panel on my '72 and butt welded everything. The rocker panel fit like a glove, and I suspect was American made. The quarter panel was imported, and did not fit as well. There were several areas with very large radii that I ended up remaking myself. The butt welding turned out to be fairly easy. I just used Clecos to attach the new quarter over the old one, and sawed thru both at once with a die grinder and a thin wheel. That made for a nice close fitting seam that was easy to weld. However, counting all of the labor that I put into it, I would have been further ahead to spend the extra bucks on a full panel which presumably would have fit better than the patch panel.

Tom

Don't use the but weld clamps. I think they leave a slight gap in the metal which makes welding harder because you blow through the metal faster. If it is butted exactly, the metal dissipates the heat better.

In all my years as a body man you find very interesting ways of completing a task, and one of the better things that I have found are those butt weld clamps. I have never used the eastwood clamps but I assume all clamps are the same. One important thing to remember is never over tighten the clamps, just enough clamping force to keep the two panels form moving around. And never ever butt the metal excatly up to one another leave a slight gap in between, as I am reading there in the eastwood cat that the clamps leave a .030 gap which is just right. If you butt the metal together and start welding, the metal will expand agaist each other and form a bulge in the weld which would be very unwanted. The wire dia is also very important, the wire dia in shop I work in is I believe .024 or.026 as with my wire welder at home. I prefer that dia because of the less heat it takes to melt it into the base metal causing less panel distortion. Also take your time in butt welding dont rush it, if it takes you all day to weld that quarter on then so be it. Also take metal gauge measurements of the base metal or the original metal, and find scrap pieces of the same gauge and practice on those first to get the wire speed down right and heat selector. I good rule of thumb is when the welder makes a constat buzzing while welding, the settings are close to perfect. Another thing I like doing is if you find an area that the gap is to big or a hole you need to fill like in the firewall take a 2" piece of copper pipe and flatten out with a hammer. Hold the copper behind the welded area and start welding, the copper will not stick to the weld making for a nice weld with little heat involved, this is the best way to fill holes that I have found. One last piece of advise, if you dont have much welding experience find a buddy who does as it will pay off in the end.
Good luck with your project. Eric

Figbash,I just ordered the 3/4 panels,can you tell me how they looked(wavy,sharp lines ect?)Any pics would be cool.Thanks

Great information, guys!

Figbash: I like your idea of joining the two panels and then cutting. This method must leave some holes to weld up. Shouldn't be a big deal with sevt_chevelles copper pipe trick. My question is how do you hold the panel in place once the cut is made?



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toys:
1998 Camaro Z28 - Red 6 speed
1968 Chevelle SS396 - Yellow 4 speed, air, factory Buick interior

A much better way of getting your panels to fit is..hold the new panel up to the old quarter and scrip a line around the new panel. I like to avoid any body lines and prefer to keep the body lines present on the old quarter. After you scrip the line look at how it flows, and try to avoid any sharp curves or sudden turns and body lines. If you must mark a new line, do so to avoid any body lines. Then take a piece of tape 3/4" will do, tape along the bottom side of the scrip mark. Then take your cut off wheel and cut on the tape mark 3/4" below the scrip mark. Take your time in cutting not to over heat the panel. With the cut put the panel back on, rechecking alignment as sometimes the panel can move and throw off the alignment. As sometimes you get by clamping the two together and then cutting through the both panels and welding. Once you rechecked the alignment take your cut off wheel again and remove just enoungh metal to leave a little amount remaining below the scrip mark. Recheck the alignment and remove the rest of the metal with a 6" grinder disc, and again take your time avoiding to warp the metal. Now you should have close to that perfect gap in between the two pieces. Another piece of advise in welding, before you restrike the arc always take a side cutters and cut off that little ball at the end of the wire. This makes for a clean and easier weld, always do this. Another trick I learned, in places you cant get any type of clamps, use duct tape and short pieces of a paint stick to hold the panels together. Also use magnets, go to your welding supplier and they should have welding magnets that hold pieces at different angles, also an automotive store that sells body shop tools sometimes can get magnets but not as heavy as the welding magnets, they do the best job. I have numberous quarters on 70-72 chevelles, lucky enough to have all been nos quarters. Talking from experience, I did one job with the 3/4 panels and never again will that happen they are joke. For the time I had in welding and smoothing the quarters out, the owner would have been ahead to purchase nos panels instead of the 3/4's. Now that goodmark is stamping full quarters I see why no one would even want to buy 3/4 panels. With the full panels you get a better end result. I have not used the goodmark pieces yet but the people in here seem to say nothing but good about them, so if you have the resources buy the full quarters you will thank your self later. Also go the your nearest bookstore and buy a welding how to book, go to your local body shop ask questions. Thanks for listening and good luck with your project Gary. If you need any more advise just write back...Eric

70isfine,

The quarters that I got had large radii where they met the doors, and the same at the rear of the rocker panel. I cut both areas off, and remade them myself. The body line was fairly crisp, but there were several bulges underneath them that needed hammering out. If I had it to do all over again, I would have tracked down some used sheet metal, or went with the full size domestic quarters.

Tom




[This message has been edited by figbash (edited 09-13-2001).]

Gary,

When the cut is first made, there is a gap the thickness of the wheel (.032), but when the new panel is moved in to replace of the old one, the gap closes up. The nice thing is that since both panels are cut at once, you don't have to worry about making a straight cut.
As far as keeping the panel in position until the cutting was complete, I left a few short (1/2") sections uncut, and had the Clecos in the wheel well flange, and at the front and rear of the panel.

Tom