I am building a Track VL and would like to know what everyone else has done. The car will have a full cage. Is there any point in seam welding the floor pan/ boot? (will the cage stop, or just limit movement) What about the front? Should the towers, rails, fire wall etc all be welded up??? Do I want to allow some flex? Any help would be much appreciated. an old thread about drift bodies, some interesting stuff. (2003) http://www.drifting.com/forums/tech-...welding-2.html (http://www.drifting.com/forums/tech-discussion-forum/1097-seam-welding-2.html) This has been covered a few times (strut tower welding) but I am looking at it from a race perspective, and am looking for strength and function, not just a smoothed bay etc. Cheers

Bump Here's a few more http://forums.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=843904 http://www.fourstarmotorsports.com/Services/BodySeamWelding/tabid/70/Default.aspx (http://http://www.fourstarmotorsports.com/Services/BodySeamWelding/tabid/70/Default.aspx) http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/i...owtopic=415094 (http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=415094) http://www.bmsc.com.au/forums/rallyi...m-welding.html (http://www.bmsc.com.au/forums/rallying-technical/1218-seam-welding.html) Has anybody done their VL..........

For a Track car you would want lest body flex as possable. The more bars the better in the roll cage & as for the Floor pan. If you can seam weld it then do it. It will make a hell of a lot of difference. When I was working at Paul Morris motorsport (Supercheap Auto Racing) we made sure very thing was welded strong and had a less flex as possable. It ment more bars & floor pans were double welded. They were strong as F^&k because I had a loose cannon of a Driver. lol.

weld up your strut towers from underneath for a bit of extra strength if you come off.. i did the same for my car but that was so the strut didnt go through the bonnet after the wheelstands

Cheers for the help. I have removed all the sound deadener, with a wire brush attachment for a angle grinder. Didnt want to pay for bead blasting. There was a few hours in it but was a cheap option. I have then buzzed the majority or the floor pan. Just gotta get the scotch brite type wheel dril bit and clean up the spot welds. I am thinking of drilling the spot welds with a spot weld drill bit and plug welding them. I am going to hire a 240v TIG from coates. its been a while since i have welded, but its nothing I would have forgotten. Is plug welding the spot welds a good starting point? I have never seam welded a full car before. I will throw some pics up when I upload them from the cam. Any help or ideas would be much appreciated. Cheers

wire brush for the deadender is the hard way. get some dry ice and freeze it and it just flakes off.

Quote: Originally Posted by VLT87 wire brush for the deadender is the hard way. get some dry ice and freeze it and it just flakes off. That would have been heaps better than the way i did it, heat gun and scraper, right temp the **** basically fell off.

Well, I have not done anymore on this as yet.... The dry ice would have been a good option. Here are pic of my floor pan, still need the spotties clean and drilled, as well as a few other things. I would also like to know what to do with all the sikkaflex?? I was thinking i could strip it and weld a seam along there. It pretty much runs around the whole floor pan Can anyone shed light on this?? Cheers Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

yeah use a scraper and remove the sikaflex, i think petrol on a rag cleans it up fairly well too. run a weld along there, couldn't hurt. Suppose just do it in sections so it doesnt get to hot and warp

Nah, yeah From what i have read 'Inch welding' is the way to go. Inch here, inch somewhere else That way it can cool, while I throw bead somewhere else. Cheers

OK..... So I ended up buying a TIG welder as the price of hiring was a bit high!!!!! I just need to buy/hire some ARGON. Ended up using petrol and a scraper to remove the rest of the sikaflex I also removed all the sound deadener from the boot. I used a cold chisel/scraper. (It separated the deadener from the paint without damage) Then I used a scraper and petrol to removed the sealer. Here are a few pics of the boot. Slowly Slowly............... Cheers Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by IGNITE [View Post] For a Track car you would want lest body flex as possable. The more bars the better in the roll cage & as for the Floor pan. If you can seam weld it then do it. It will make a hell of a lot of difference. When I was working at Paul Morris motorsport (Supercheap Auto Racing) we made sure very thing was welded strong and had a less flex as possable. It ment more bars & floor pans were double welded. They were strong as F^&k because I had a loose cannon of a Driver. lol. Agreed, he was always bending the cars. Out of all of the diffs I made, they were the most. I used to work for Harrop Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

keen to see pics, i'm in process of doin my sedan. how far are u goin? under floor and inside cabin? i've done all the chassis rails to floor pan, struts, engine bay fire wall, and suspension mounting points.

Quote: Originally Posted by trackbt1 [View Post] keen to see pics, i'm in process of doin my sedan. how far are u goin? under floor and inside cabin? i've done all the chassis rails to floor pan, struts, engine bay fire wall, and suspension mounting points. I am about to start welding over the next few weeks. I have not welded anything yet... I will be starting on the factory floor pan spot welds.(plug weld them) Then seam as much as I can I will get some pics up ASAP.. Keen to see some pics of your work.... Cheers

here's a few bit dodgy only self taught welder i find some better ones for ya Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Looks good.. Hey can anyone help me with this one.... Should I be cleaning the underside of the spot welds to ensure proper penetration????? I am talking of rails to floor pan. I have cleaned and drilled the topside (floorpan) , but should I buzz the under side (rails) spot welds ????????? I have been welding for years but never done a seam weld on a car where I am plug welding existing spot welds...

if you get yourself a proper spot weld drill bit then it will clean up the surface you will be welding to any way

stitch it like the bloke has done in those pics. this can avoid the welds cracking etc if they are full runs. I doubt it would happen but still better to be on the safe side plus stitching provides ample strength

Quote: Originally Posted by deano86 [View Post] if you get yourself a proper spot weld drill bit then it will clean up the surface you will be welding to any way Yeah I will be using the proper tool. but I will be drilling from the floor pan side.. Do I need to clean the chassis side for a good weld. (penetration). I will also be stitch welding it, after I plug weld the majority of factory spot welds. Cheers