joe's restoration!

[mk1joe]

thanks for the welding tips, thats just the sort of information im looking for. i do want to keep it semi standard so i guess the best way to make a replacement panel is to weld in lots of smaller peices to make it bend round easy, i cant really think of any other way of doing it.
thanks
joe

[mk1joe]

i did my first bit of welding today, i knocked up a repair pannel and just tacked it in for now, the some of the tack welds came out really well but the welder was on a very high setting,it actualy blew a fuse in the house but when on a lower setting the welds didnt come out as well. the pannel i made was also a bit bumpy but probably wont see it much
im not woried about finishing the welding on the outside but its going to be a bit tricky when it comes to attatch it to the inner arch because it dosent quite match up. heres some progress pics though.









thanks for following my progress
joe

[Edweird]

You've shaped that nicely. It'll look great when it's done if that's how you're going about it.

[4eye]

that looks fine .....you'll have no problem, cutting the panel to good and making pieces to fit is the hardest part,and you've shown your more than capable with that!

if you havnt found already...a damp cloth will come in handy.....little fires tend to sprout from time to time(it did when i did mine ), give it a dab...and off you go again

[mk1joe]

hello again scuk, ive been trying to soldier on with the welding, but i was just wondering (as i do) about the flange that was in the wheel arch, it stuck down at a 45o angle, as far as i can see all it did was collect mud and rust away but maby it had a reason for being there? is it importiant that i replace it?

you can see part of it here


and i was looking through some other zook sites and found this one, they have hundreds of pictures from all over the web including scuk and even mine,
http://suzukijeep.blogspot.com/2011/03/its-laundry.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
i dont get the title though?

and as for the terrible disaster hapening in japan, thank god the sj floats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X43T-nMzDpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[xiztrn]

Doing a good job there

[mk1joe]

my learning curve is turning into a mega mission, (for me anyway).
i ran out of gass for the welder so tried gasless but i didnt get on with it, i dont know how anyone else finds it for automotive work? im finding welding in genral very tricky.

finished patching most of the side pannel and ground it back to wheel arch shape



but now i have to bridge the gap which seems about 1000times as hard, making the metal the right shape is imposibble and im not to sure about welding on the corner



still not sure that everything is going to match up in the end but i guess thats what learning is all about.

[ScottieJ]

gasless, I would rather wait until I can afford some gas rather than go gasless.

Your doing a top job there for someone learning to weld, even some experienced welders hate doing sj bodywork as its so thin.

If you get some cereal packet you should be able to make up a template to copy for that gap, tack one end up, bend it into shape, tack the next bit, bend it up again etc.

if you can't get to the inside edge, its not to bad welding on the outside edge, you just need to grind it back to tidy it up so.make sure you have some flap discs ready.

[mk1joe]

hi,
finishing off my arches finaly, hopefully move on to painting soon.





ive seen a few good paint jobs on here, i guess rollering gives the best finish? il hopefully get it to an MOTable stage within a few months.
im having trouble finding a new O/S/F outer wing as i think replacing will be quicker/easier than repairing.
thanks
joe

[Edweird]

Wow! That rear arch looks great Joe! Nice job!