BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)

[Texas82GP]

Here we go guys, I got the driver's side marker light patch welded in tonight.

I needed to trim the patch panel I made down a bit, so I started by bolting the patch over top of the existing hole after I laid out my centering marks:

View attachment 74015

Yes, I know the bottom marks don't line up, but the other 3 did, so that was good enough for me.

After getting an idea of where the material on the patch was needed, I trimmed off the excess and traced around it on the quarter panel:

View attachment 74016

View attachment 74017

Time to get cutting. Outlining my marks with masking tape so they'd be easier to see, I cut the rusty crap out with a cutoff wheel.

View attachment 74018

View attachment 74019

I got a kick outta this (I've seen it before on The Juggernaut), but with the hole cut out, you can see this stamped in the lower trunk drop off:

View attachment 74020

Pretty cool.


Using my sheetmetal welding clamps, I got the patch positioned for welding:

View attachment 74021

View attachment 74022

I'll skip past the boring and monotonous welding part, and just show the pic of it fully burned in:

View attachment 74023

Continued >>>

Awesome work Donovan.

The last time I welded in a square patch on a broad flat expanse of sheet metal like that I had a lot of trouble with distortion, particularly with the corners wanting to suck in. I attributed it to shrinkage from each tack cooling. Have you encountered this, and how do you prevent/combat it?

 

[Clutch]

Here we go guys, I got the driver's side marker light patch welded in tonight.

I needed to trim the patch panel I made down a bit, so I started by bolting the patch over top of the existing hole after I laid out my centering marks:

View attachment 74015

Yes, I know the bottom marks don't line up, but the other 3 did, so that was good enough for me.

After getting an idea of where the material on the patch was needed, I trimmed off the excess and traced around it on the quarter panel:

View attachment 74016

View attachment 74017

Time to get cutting. Outlining my marks with masking tape so they'd be easier to see, I cut the rusty crap out with a cutoff wheel.

View attachment 74018

View attachment 74019

I got a kick outta this (I've seen it before on The Juggernaut), but with the hole cut out, you can see this stamped in the lower trunk drop off:

View attachment 74020

Pretty cool.


Using my sheetmetal welding clamps, I got the patch positioned for welding:

View attachment 74021

View attachment 74022

I'll skip past the boring and monotonous welding part, and just show the pic of it fully burned in:

View attachment 74023

Continued >>>

Who makes those clamps?

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Looks great Donovan, I really like the look of a flush marker light!

 

[Texas82GP]

Who makes those clamps?

You can get them from Eastwood. You can also find them on eBay for less.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...ps.TRS0&_nkw=panel+welding+clamps&_sacat=6000

 

[Rktpwrd]

Awesome work Donovan.

The last time I welded in a square patch on a broad flat expanse of sheet metal like that I had a lot of trouble with distortion, particularly with the corners wanting to suck in. I attributed it to shrinkage from each tack cooling. Have you encountered this, and how do you prevent/combat it?

Thanks Jared, and sorry for the late reply. It's been a long day.

What you're describing is pretty much just the nature of the beast unfortunately. Anytime you weld on sheetmetal, you can guarantee to get some sort of warpage or distortion. It's how and what you do to manage and minimize it as you go that can provide the difference.

This patch with the hole in the center of it is the absolute worst type to try to do. Having the hole in the center provides a path for the distortion to propagate, it can be a nightmare to try and bring back straight as evidenced by my 3 hours of hammer and dolly work between last night and tonight. (I did finally get it tho!)

As for just a straight patch, if the panel is particularly straight, that's gonna make it tougher as well. Curved panels are always easier to weld patches in than flat ones.
When I weld in a piece like above, I always start from the centers and work my way outwards. This keeps the distortion from showing up and bunching up in the middle of your patch.

I can't say that I've ever had a particularly bad problem with corners pulling in on me, it may have just been the particular spot or patch shape that you were working with. If you suspect that you may have an issue with a corner or corners pulling in on you, you could always make the corners a large curved radius instead of 90 degree. I've done this in the past, and it seems to help a bit.

After you place a tack how do you let it cool? Do you let it cool and equalize naturally, or do you cool it with other means? I always cool each and every tack for 5-10 seconds with compressed air through a blow gun. If the panel or patch is not cool/cold to the touch on a bare arm from the air, I don't move on to the next until it is.

No matter what you do, the metal is going to move around on you. Stopping frequently and checking what the metal is doing is pretty much a necessity. Hammer and dolly things back to where they need to be before resuming, and you should end up with a quality repair that needs very little finessing by the end. Also be mindful of the heat generated by grinding the welds down afterwards as well. That can cause as many problems as heat from welding.

Hope this helps you out some, any other questions don't hesitate to ask. Always happy to try and help out.

 

[Rktpwrd]

More awesome work!!

Thanks Turna!

looks great!

Appreciate it Darin, thank you.

They look awesome! I was never a fan of the 70-80's lights and their mounting. I did something similar long ago on my 83 Malibu wagon.

I didn't think I was the first one to apply this to a G body, it just seemed logical. If you've already considered and done it, I know I'm on the right path!
Thanks for the compliment Jim.

Looks great Donovan, I really like the look of a flush marker light!

Thanks Kevin, I agree.
I'm really happy with the way it's coming out, it should look great once its painted and put together final. I'm looking forward to that day for sure!

 

[Rktpwrd]

Who makes those clamps?

You can get them from Eastwood. You can also find them on eBay for less.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...ps.TRS0&_nkw=panel+welding+clamps&_sacat=6000

My particular clamps are made by a company called Magnum. They're probably Chinese made as they were very reasonably priced, but there's not much to them anyways so it didn't matter too much.

Jared is correct, they're available through Eastwood and many other companies. We don't have Harbour Freight stores up here, but I'm willing to bet you could probably find them there as well.

 

[chevymalibu283]

Who makes those clamps?

welding supply shops should carry them. I believe I have seen them for sale at summit racing Jegs or other speed shops. Eastwood would definitely have them. Id check their website first.

 

[chevymalibu283]

Thanks Turna!



Appreciate it Darin, thank you.



I didn't think I was the first one to apply this to a G body, it just seemed logical. If you've already considered and done it, I know I'm on the right path!
Thanks for the compliment Jim.



Thanks Kevin, I agree.
I'm really happy with the way it's coming out, it should look great once its painted and put together final. I'm looking forward to that day for sure!

Seeing how well this mod came out Donavan im half tempted to ADD marker lights my malibu lol... that would really throw people off at the car shows lol but seriously< your flush mounted marker light mod is killer. the metal work was spot on!

 

[Wraith]

Set my Malibu on fire, no way it can live up to this "stock" build.