finally got the last floor patch piece welded in today

hoggyrubber

i had 4 rotted out pieces in the floor of my 53 hornet. i finally got the last one in today. none were too big but all were too big to ignore. i have several pin holes but i didn't want to replace more than i had to. here is a picture of the biggest one, rear pass side. i made the panels from scrap hudson pieces i had. i will be putting on some por15 in a few days. i really liked that fiberglass welding blanket i got from harbor freight, made protecting everything a little easier. good buy for the money.

Kdancy

Maybe just me but I would have cut out a bigger section that included the holes toward the bottom of the picture. That would leave a solid patch with no further repair needed, just metal treatment.

Kdancy

Rick, you shouldn't need any anti-heat compound when doing floor panels. Slight warpage can be minimized by not welding in one spot very long and letting things cool down. I tac everything together and then weld no more than 1" spots while moving around to different areas whether I'm welding a floor pan or building a truck bed.
I have some of that compound on hand and can't say that I recommend it as I can accomplish the same quality without using it. Also, it tends to run down hill on a vertical surface.
You should take more time with panels that are going to see high gloss paint, it will show every warp if not blocked out properly.
The whole area I see in the bottom of the picture is full of holes and I bet the metal is ultra thin. Cut all that out and put good metal back in place.
I also use Picklex 20 to pretreat those rusted areas, it makes for a better quality patch.

hoggyrubber

the part with the smaller holes is prob stonger thanlooks. i did consider removing more, but decided against it. i did not want to go all the way to the inside of the frame. i am not a pro or even a resorer, but from past experiences in removing metal, less can be more. you are right, i may be sorry later. i had a couple of small holes on the other side, but just replaced the total bad area.
i usually shy away from harbor freight, but i was impressed with this blanket. i have a couple of the copper spoons, but didn't have to use them on this. i used a 0 tip and warpage or burn thru was not a problem. i seem to do better gas welding on these than tig. it's hard for me to tig with the pedal unless i am at a welding table. i don't do that good laying down or knealing.
i also find the harbor freight butt welding clamps work good for this too. i still do tacks on both sides of them before i remove them and do a lot of moving around. did the cleaning and prep for the por15 this morning, hope to get it on on thurs.

Kdancy

Tig is very good for nice clean metal, but mig is best for old rusty metal work and much faster. The butt weld clamps are something I regularly use and are great to have on hand when needed.

[Deleted User]

When I have a few small rust holes I like to braze them closed, after sandblasting of course. Brass can add a lot of strength to that thin lacey steel.

hoggyrubber

got the por15 yesterday and today some paint. did some painting on the front sheetmetal as well. spent most of the morning working on the rear axle before i had to go to work.

hoggyrubber

marker345, forgot to say thanks for the brazing idea. i do a lot of brazing on cast parts but haven't tried it on those small holes in sheetmetal. and kdancy- i hear you about the mig being a lot faster. i like them for a lot stuff, but it's prob just my skill, or lack thereof; but i can control the heat so much better with gas on these butt welds.