Stan,
I did a bunch of this and did exactly what Smitty does. If you don't do
it the way David describes and drill all the way through, you'll either have a
lot of holes left over on the inside piece (when the ones you drill on the
outside piece don't match), possibly weakening the seam and allowing access to
rust ............or if you manage the unthinkable and actually match all your
outside holes to the inside ones, you'll face trying to build a plug weld out
of a hole. Not recommended.
You do have to start the cutting bit with a punch mark or it will wander
and very quickly knock off a tooth or two from the bit. Do this twice and
that bit is ruined. And if you're not very careful putting in the punch
(support where possible!), you'll put a depression in the sheet metal in the
area, since the spot weld metal is far harder than the regular 'cold rolled'
around it.
Yes, it's a gigantic pain in the ass and incredibly time consuming. Did I
mention that those English boys were only sporadically successful at getting
the axis of their spot welds perpendicular to the surface being welded. This
of course means that the 'cylinder' of the weld through the metal is cockeyed
to the surface. But you can't tell looking from the undisturbed surface which
direction it may be cockeyed in so that when you center on the weld at the
top, you'll end up missing half of it by the time you get to the inner piece
and stop. Then you get to drill on half metal and half hole to finish it,
guaranteed to break more teeth and ruin more bits and your disposition.
I took a trunk floor out of an Alpine that I didn't want to save and found
an easier way. Cut the fender off (or whatever you're not saving) just short
of the interface with the 'good' piece. Obviously care and planning is
essential in that step, so don't hurry. You will then have a thin strip of
metal (spot welded and) sitting on top of the 'good" piece. VERY carefully
cut through this between two spots without scarring the piece below. When
you're 3/4 to 7/8 the way through, you can generally gently pry the top piece
up a little to give you space before you break through. Bend the two fingers
of metal up slightly and cut them off as close to the welds as you can.
Repeat between each of the welds. Then just like the final step with the
cutting bit method, you carefully grind off the nubs left on the 'good' panel
and off you go. If you're truly careful with the cutting and bending, the
'good' panel will stay pristine. And you'll save days!
Chris Hill
----- Original Message -----
From: sosnaenergyconsulting
To: stan gorski
Cc: tigers@autox.team.net
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: fender replacement
Stan:
When Smitty detaches a fender, he uses one of the special spot weld
drilling bits. Eastwood sells something similar, I believe, but Smitty's
are spring loaded. He has to use a punch on each spot weld to provide a
starting point for the drill bit. He's careful to only drill through one
layer of sheet metal (the fender) and to try to retain the supporting
metal underneath. Then when the fender is off, he grinds the spot welds
on the supporting layer flat and can place the 'new' fender against
the now smooth surface.
Hope this helps. If not, Smitty can be reached at: (619) 233-7937 (no
answering machine, so let it ring).
Regards
David Sosna
stan gorski wrote:
> Tigerers,
>
> Please advise the best method to remove a front fender and valance from a
> MK1. I have found the seam on the fender top and headlight area, melted
the
> lead, and figure to drill the spot welds out. Question, what size and
type
> of bit to use? On the otherhand is there another, better way. thanks
> always, Stan Gorski
> B9472504
>
>
>
>
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