Im working on a 1996 Dodge Neon ACR that I'm going to freshen up the chassis with a new chromoly cage and stitch welding the seams. I was thinking about how to go about not just welding the EDGE of the seams...but welding the center of the overlap for more strength. I figured I could take a grinder and grind off the top layer of the metal (leaving the lower metal untouched) and then MIG them together. Either that or drill a small diamter hole... 1/16" and then MIG the hole closed.

Any suggestions? What kind of grinder did you guys use to get the seam sealer out of the attachment points?

 

Better get some of that elbow grease. Mobil 1 makes a pretty good one.

 

:-P
Oil+ welding= FTW

 

i have never heard of or seen it done that way.

 

 

maybe ask l-con about it he seems to do a lot of stitch welding.


But on the 20 plus cars i have seen that were stitch welded they all did it the traditional way.

Just checked some pictures, and both the Real time racing cars and the pratt & miller CTS-V caddies are stitch welded in the traditional manner

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RTErnie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> What kind of grinder did you guys use to get the seam sealer out of the attachment points?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've used a die grinder w/a wire wheel and that worked good.

 

Really, the proper way to do it is with small stitches, not tacks. 1/16" hole will not lend itself to alot of fusion. 1/2"-1" stitches will ofer the most stiffness. Do them every 2" or so. Set it hot so the stitch is smooth.

 

awesome....i was reading sites with subaru chassis build ups...they all did similar work. But I like the idea of using more heat with a less convex weld.

 

I haven't done new cars but I imagine you will have a tough time burning through or cleaning out the coatings and galvanizing from the seams before you weld.

 

I in no way a welder or anything close to that that! but I do know 1 person who does alot of stitch welding and does it well....

Louie at L-con his name on here i think is L-con1

 

wouldn't be a bad idea to do a few searches on the nissan/drifting boards since tons of guys do it to there cars and there is a wealth of information on those boards.

 

If the car is already bare, have it dipped and the all the filler, sound deading crap and sealers will be gone. The chassis comes out clean as a whistle. Makes stitching it a lot easier. I used to do old muscle cars like that back before I figured out engines could work without pushrods. Tightened up those sloppy, creaky old bodies.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Top Ramen &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If the car is already bare, have it dipped and the all the filler, sound deading crap and sealers will be gone. The chassis comes out clean as a whistle. Makes stitching it a lot easier. I used to do old muscle cars like that back before I figured out engines could work without pushrods. Tightened up those sloppy, creaky old bodies.</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you know any shops that actually still does acid dipping?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gldndrgn14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do you know any shops that actually still does acid dipping? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Been at least a decade since I have restored a vintage domestic. Your best bet is to find a muscle car restoration shop and ask them who they use.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Top Ramen &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Been at least a decade since I have restored a vintage domestic. Your best bet is to find a muscle car restoration shop and ask them who they use.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, ive done that all over oklahoma when i lived there. couldnt find a place. same in north and south carolina. its all media blasting now. or theyre too lazy to completely strip the car(meaning tar, under coat, etc.). they want you to do it then they do the blasting. ahha

 

I believe they make bits for this... it looks like a flat milling bit (a lot smaller of course). Just cuts small diameter holes then you can use the MIG. I believe the resulted welds are stronger than that of factory.

 

Found this on google video, thought you guys might enjoy. Midway through the vid is where he starts some seem welding.

Look through the whole series of videos, its a VERY cool project.

http://video.google.com/videop...hl=en


Modified by Cobra Tim at 2:07 PM 4/14/2007