Richard's progress thread Options

[Richard Casto]

Thats it for now. Any comments or questions are welcome! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[michelko]

Hi richard,
your metal working skills are amazing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

Keep on the good work.

Gerflag:

[jeeperjohn56]

Hey Richard, Your doing a great job of metal work, do you have metal working in your trade? keep the pic's coming, I might have to look at this thread some day, your doing a great job keep up the good work. John (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[Richard Casto]

Hey Richard, Your doing a great job of metal work, do you have metal working in your trade?

Nope. No metal forming experience prior to the stuff you see here. Everything is self tough based upon reading how other people have done stuff and from this book...

"Sheet Metal Handbook: How to Form and Shape Sheet Metal for Competition, Custom and Restoration Use" by Ron Fournier

http://www.amazon.com/Sheet-Metal-Handbook...n/dp/0895867575

I am learning as I go!

Richard

[BenNC]

Richard, it looks like your having too much fun with the metal shaping. I'm starting to think that you don't have enough rust on your car to keep you occupied.

I'll stop by with some strong oxidizer's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Richard Casto]

Richard, it looks like your having too much fun with the metal shaping. I'm starting to think that you don't have enough rust on your car to keep you occupied.

I'll stop by with some strong oxidizer's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Ben,

You know there is a strong urge to keep digging in deeper. Since I plan to do this just once it is hard for me to decide what to leave and what to fix. How much pitting from is OK and how much is not? Luckily I think I am dealing with the worst parts of the car right now. Since you have seen the car in person, you know I have front and rear trunk issues, but I have replacement parts for those, so less metal fabrication is a good thing. I hope those areas go quickly. All of this is also good practice for when I weld on the metal flares. Hopefully by then my skill at welding sheet metal will be good enough that the flares will look really nice.

I am having fun when it works out right. Not so much when I run into issues. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif) I will have much more fun when I am finished with the body work!

Richard

[Richard Casto]

I reached a cool milestone this weekend. I actually put something onto the car vs. unbolting or cutting something off!

As always my site has more in the way of photos and text. My signature line should always have an up-to-date link. Here are a few quick links...

Main page...
http://motorsport.zyyz.com/project_914.htm

Floorboard repair...
http://motorsport.zyyz.com/project_914_03_18.htm

[Richard Casto]

First I needed to mostly finish up the replacement floor section. I had to do this in two sections as my metal brake wasn't wide enough to do it all at once. It is a pain, but it is more practice butt welding thin metal.



Tack welded in place



Test fit so I can mark up final trim.



After final trim, but next to the old section.

[Richard Casto]

Now for the fun stuff!!

I don't want to just weld that floor section in place as I want to finish up inside the hollow bulkhead behind the passenger seat. To do that I need to replace the section that I cut where the bulkhead meets the floor. Once that is in place I can paint the inside of the bulkhead with POR15 and then seal it up!



Test fit of paper template



Test fit of actual part



Tack weld the new part into place. I had to take car to make sure it was flush prior to tacking into place. I used magnetic weld aids to hold in place. Holes on flanges are for welding to floor later.

[Richard Casto]

All welded up. What has worked best for me is short 1/4" to 1/2" beads that don't heat up the metal too much. This prevents warping and burn through. I also am using a copper backing/chill plate.



Mostly ground down. Some work still needs to be done prior to painting. Looks pretty good!



Here is the home made copper backing/chill plate. I made it based upon a description I read here on the forum somewhere (can't remember who or what thread). It is basically a copper pipe with a wooden handle in one end and then hammered flat on the other. It works well when but welding thin metal. I can put this behind the two sections and as I weld it can help take some of the heat. If I do manage to blow through a section, I can use this a a backing plate to weld against. It has worked well so far!

[Richard Casto]

Thats it for now. I am pretty excited to be welding on the car! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

I hope to accelerate now that I am at the point of making stuff and welding it in. Hell hole is next!!

[Rand]

That's choice Richard! And I wasn't even going to comment about the gloves. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) Just kudos about the backing plate tool you made. Carbon also works, but that pic shows a priceless practical example of a great tool for backing butt welds. Nicely done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[roadster fan]

Hey Richard,

It's been awhile since I checked your progress. Awesome work!

I am getting ready to start my rotisserie build, inspired by yours. Keep welding, it will be done in no time.

Jim

[jdogg]

Holy shit, Richard!!! Great stuff!!! You've got patience I could only dream of!!!

[Richard Casto]

Its been awhile since I have posted an update. As usual I am having a hard time finding the time to work on the car. But I have made some progress. here is what I have been working on...

* A new "skin" for the area near the passenger rear inner suspension console
* Replacement for the bottom inside of the passenger inner longitudinal.
* Testing out ways to clean and protect magnesium parts (i.e. the transmission case)

As always my site has more in the way of photos and text. My signature line should always have an up-to-date link. Here are a few quick links...

Main page...
http://motorsport.zyyz.com/project_914.htm

Passenger side suspension console repair...
http://motorsport.zyyz.com/project_914_03_02.htm

Passenger Longitudinal repair...
http://motorsport.zyyz.com/project_914_03_04.htm

Transmission repair...
http://motorsport.zyyz.com/project_914_03_14.htm

[Richard Casto]

For the new skin, I want to replicate the indent that is located right where the four cylinder engine mounts are located. So I am making a mirror image of the driver side.



Here is my paper template I made. I am using 18g steel.



Here is the skin bent to fit with the indent parts tack welded into place. Needs to have final weld and trim.

[Richard Casto]

Back of skin with tack welds



99% Finished product.



Test fit. I have actually not welded this in place yet.

[Richard Casto]

On the left is part of the double wall that will be right behind the new skin. On the right is the inner double wall that is where the passenger seatbelt mount passes through.

This is the first time I have used weld through primer. I had researched to try to determine what primers are good. It seems like people like "U-Pol Weld #2". This is the product from the UK that is supposed to be good. I don't have anything to compare it to, but I can say that it is not easy to weld on. If you spray, let it dry and then weld, it is hard to get a good arc started. Then the pool may tend to lay on top of it a bit. So while I am still using it, if I have to weld a rosette plug, what I now do is take an air powered die grinder and rough up the surface (effectively grinding off the primer) on the inside of the rosette hole. I am then able to weld it up just fine.



Here are both welded into place. I have not ground down the welds at this point.

[Richard Casto]

Here I am starting a test to see what is the best way to clean and protect magnesium parts. With a target of trying to replicate what the factor did, but with easy to find supplies. The factory wants you to clean with "Stoddard Solvent" which is a type of mineral spirits. For coatings, it appears they did a chromate conversion to protect the parts during manufacturing (post casting and machining) and then follow that up (post assembly) with "Tectyl" which is a waxy coating. Chromate conversion is not easy to do at home due to environmental issues and Tectyl is nearly impossible to obtain in small quantities.

My cleaners are...

A. Soap and Water (dish soap)
B. Simple Green (straight)
C. Mineral Spirits
D. Glass Bead Blasting

My coatings are...

W. Nothing (unprotected)
X. Gibbs Brand Penetrating Oil/Lubricant
Y. CRC Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor
Z. Gibbs + CRC

My test part is the magnesium differential cover from a 914 transmission. The cast in webbing naturally segments the part into 10 sections. Starting with #1 being the most upper right segment, I numbed them 1-10 in a clockwise fashion.



Here is the outside after coating. Here is the key for the segments...

1. B, W
2. B, W
3. B, Y
4. B, X
5. B, Z
6. C, Z
7. C, X
8. C, Y
9. C, W
10 C, W



Here is the inside after coating. Here is the key for the segments...

1. D, W
2. D, W
3. D, Y
4. D, X
5. D, Z
6. A, Z
7. A, X
8. A, Y
9. A, W
10. A, W

I am going to let this weather outside and see what works the best.

[Richard Casto]

Ok, back to the passenger longitudinal. I had started on reproducing this section a few months ago, but was using 20g steel by mistake. I have redone that work with 18g. My metal brake is not wide enough to do the bends in once section, so I have broken this up into three sections and then welded them together. Even if I could do it as one, it would be hard as the first 1/3rd is different than the back 2/3rds.



Here I have the first 2/3rds done and am test fitting so I can trim the back 1/3rd and them mate them together. I am using the level as a straight edge. This shows where this also go when done.



Ok, here is is mostly done. I have some final grinding that still needs to be done on the recent weld, but otherwise, it is ready to go in.

This shows the old rusted section and what would be the "inside" that you will not see.



Again the same rusted section and new section. This shows the outside (which would be the very bottom on the longitudinal where the floor pan is connected.

The curved section is the very front of the longitudinal where you curve into the wheel well.