2118 replies to this topic

[TerrA LX]

I heard he was using 2 Starfires and a V8 crank to make a boxer flat 8. That is why he trimmed the chassis rail.

Hey hey, this is not the "shit Torana owners never say" thread...

[Heath]

So this is why my Build Threads end up with so many bloody pages hahaha
 
Had to clean up this repair section from the previous owner and butt weld it in properly:

 
This probably doesn't even look as good as before, but in my mind it's a more robust repair as there aren't little flat cavities for moisture to sit in. My aim is to grind the relevant welds fairly flush so that the water can flow (for the most part) freely down across them towards the drain areas rather than sitting against a big ugly butt weld from the MIG. Even grinding the repairs isn't all that easy though...
 

 
Can't help but feel curious about how long it takes other people to do repairs like these... obviously I haven't done this kinda work much before but jesus christ it takes a while. You'd hate to have a short attention span!

Edited by Heath, 13 May 2021 - 05:53 PM.

[76lxhatch]

You'd hate to have a short attention span!

That's why my projects always take so long... :-(

Aside from the sticky beak, a die grinder with a decent burr can also be useful in the corners (finish is hard to get flat but it will knock down the welds ok)

[Heath]

^ That was all I had planned, but the hand-held linisher is a good suggestion too.

Darren I do agree, and there's no real constraints that the shape needs to meet (who cares how different it is under the dash). If it rusts out again (which will hopefully not happen) then I might just construct a new one of improved design!

[slar]

Hi Heath looking good mate.....

 

Get yourself one of these

 

 

Right angle die grinder with a 50mm ROLOC attachment then buy a box of these

 

 

these are 36 grit roloc discs

 

and also a box of these.......50mm roloc coarse linishing wheels

 

 

 

 

also use 40 grit flap discs on your angle grinder to knock the welds down fast and then use the die grinder with 36 grit to level the weld down to a flat surface.....followed by the coarse linishing wheel  and you will have an almost invisable weld line.

Of coarse use the finger linisher in tight corners as well.

 

Just another note....the coarse linishing discs are excellent for removing old paint around areas like door apertures and plenum areas....they wont take any metal off and they leave a perfect finish.

 

The above is what I used on my entire car

[LJ RB30]

Very expensive and slow way to do it ^ ?

I used these to strip the engine bay in my red torry.

 

They are suprisingly quick & excellent for nooks & cranny's!

 

Wouldnt bother to use it on larger panels but!

 

Plenty of faster ways for larger areas!

[TerrA LX]

You know in all honesty, I thought I would scream if I seen another torana in undercoat but it is clear this one is not another tin of bog flashed with 2k.
Heath, just to try gauge man hours myself, how many hours do you honestly think you would have spent on the engine bay?

[Heath]

Maybe 150-200 hours between starting to strip it in December and now? I guess it doesn't really matter how long other people would take but I'm somewhat curious. At the end of the day I'm loving the work and as long as I can keep motivation levels up and get the job done, I don't care how long the journey is.

I do have some of the above hardware but they aren't as pleasant to use on my straight die grinder, a right angle one would be better for that. I find a wire wheel is fine for removing paint in 99% of situations though. A lot of tools I would use if I had them but can probably make do without...

[slar]

Very expensive and slow way to do it ^ ?

OK bomber lol you got me on that one....I meant I used them on the rust repairs on the whole car not stripped the whole car with them....they are pretty effective though

[TerrA LX]

Maybe 150-200 hours between starting to strip it in December and now? I guess it doesn't really matter how long other people would take but I'm somewhat curious.

 

 

Thank you, I was sure I'm not the only one spending over 150hrs on an engine bay alone.
It's not hard to clock up those sorts of hours, especially when you think about start up and finish times, like if you have to get everything out, put everything away, clean up etc etc.

[Swarbs]

Hi Heath
Good to see another on the go and a far cry from the driveway build of old

Had to edit this as somehow the picture of the guardless grinder stuffed up
Please please fit it up as those thin discs go through shit like butter

Taken on a daunting task and making it look easy - nice work

Edited by Swarbs, 12 February 2015 - 12:40 PM.

[IMORAL]

Car looks great Heath. Not being a panel beater myself i have a question regarding the welds. Please only take it as a genuine question and no a smart ass remark as I am genuinely interested.

When welding panels with a mig welder how do you go about grinding them down without removing the parent metal? It may just be the pics and not just your build as I have noticed this on several other builds but once welds have been ground some of the time it looks as if the two panels were ground slightly then making them slightly thinner than original. Or do you hold the grinder on an angle so only the weld is ground down?
Again this is truly out of interest and by no means having a shot at you or anyone else for that matter. Just curious that's all
Thanks Paul.

[hawk]

hi IMORAL, heath has been a great help to me with my build and we spoke about this exact topic. I was having a big problem with taking too much out and causing blow throughs. he told me his preferred method is to knock it down with a grinding disc then finish with a sanding disc.

 

thanks again heath for all the great advice, looking forward to seeing more progress. 

[RIM-010]

It's impossible to grind down -JUST- the weld, but you can do it without removing too much of the panel by

Starting with a grinding disc, making sure you ONLY hit the raised weld

And finishing with a flap disc or one of these ^ 50mm roloc sanding discs, and being careful not to run off of the weld.