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Hi all
I'm looking to explore whether panel beating my triumph toledo myself is viable or not. It has rust in the door bottoms possibly in one sill and in the front panels and wings. I'm hoping to be able to replace the front panels and wings from another car.
I had the chance to swap the shell for another but I don't think the rust in the inner shell is bad enough to warrant that.
I used to do some arc welding many years ago and once you get the hang of its not that difficult and so I think I could probably tackle some of the welding such as patching door frames etc. other areas such as door skins and difficult bits like the bit where the inner wing attaches to the subframe may be a bit too diffcult
Given that I have no welding or sandblasting equipment I wonder if it is worth while - I imagine welders etc don't come cheap. I do have a well equipped workshop angle grinders etc
Is it worth doing it your self or is it best leaving it to the pros?
cheers
Alastair
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If you are handy deffo do it yourself, the money you would pay someone else could land you some nice tools instead.
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There's a lot of satisfaction to be derived from making and fitting a repair section yourself. Welders don't have to be incredibly expensive, a used MIG that is perfectly suitable for this kind of work can be under £100, though of course as you get into it you'll find yourself wishing you had a better one. Have a read through this thread if you want some inspiration: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/70135/panels |
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DIY PanelbeatingDeleted
@Deleted
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I am all for someone having a go at doing there own thing - but you need confidence - I would not start in most obvious place either - have a go in few inconspicuous places first then you see if you are getting the results you desire - don't be tempted to just rip everything apart only to find that you struggle piecing it back together has then you are at a point of no return - it's just so easy at this point to loose interest - a quick glimpse of e bay's abandoned projects can soon ring the reality bell - read up first, understand what's required and if you are still unfazed by it give it a go but it might be good to have a contingency plan too!
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Last Edit: Oct 9, 2017 22:38:42 GMT by Deleted
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I used to weld plough shears back in the day - arc welding heavy Iron, but I'm fairly confident it will all come back to me! Ill have a look at the recommended threads, I've seen a few good you tube videos on it as well.
In terms of gear that I would need can I get away with not getting a compressor as far as running sanders and cutters? Ive got a dremel but not sure if that is up to cutting door frames. A small high speed electric disc cutter of some type would be good as would some form of home sand blaster but an angle grinder with a wire would probably do instead
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oh and what is meant by a 'gasless mig welder'?
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oh and what is meant by a 'gasless mig welder'? A horrible piece of equipment only suitable for welding farm gates in a windy field in March, producing weld that look like they have comne from the rear end of a pigeon. (yes some people may get some good results, but really gasless wire was invented for heavy industry i.e hard facing, particular weld material compositions, pipe work etc) The amount of weld spatter produced and possible inclusions in the weld make it frustrating to use on bodywork with a hobby mig (yes ive used it in both industry and hobby applications) oh and the Fumes it gives off are far worse than normal MIG. You'll get far neater and more pleasing results with a mig with Co2 or Co2/Argon gas. don't go for the cheapest option (the smaller SIP sets issues are well documented on various forums). A decent mig will pay for itself in no time (in terms of quality of work and the speed in which you will pick it up) as GrumpyNortherner says start small, the rust WILL be bigger than it looks so make sure you clean off a good area, with a wire knot wheel, paint removal wheels are brillaint as they don't take any metal off. |
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Take the Next slot right coming up on the left.
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'gasless mig welder'? AVOID LIGHT THE PLAGUE
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Last Edit: Oct 10, 2017 9:30:28 GMT by shielsy68
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slater
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,390
Club RR Member Number: 78
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DIY Panelbeatingslater
@slater
Club Retro Rides Member 78
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Oct 11, 2017 15:42:42 GMT
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I'd be weary of jumping in the deep end tbh. If you really want to learn then I don't want to stop you but it does take significant investment in time and money to get the equipment and knowledge in place to do a decent job. Theres no point in trying if your looking to cut corners from day one.
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Oct 12, 2017 16:10:30 GMT
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I am a person who lives to jump into the deep end of a challenge. I did my first resto of a Bugeye sprite not having any experience welding or panel beating. Gotta wonder what I was thinking.  Got a bit concerned once I started cutting back a bit of the rust"  Came out OK in the end  So I guess the message is that if you get stuck in like a pit-bull on a chihuahua and refuse to quit, it gets done. As a bonus, I walked away with a new skill, a shed-load of tools and a passion to do more of this kind of work. I am about a dozen projects down the road since the humble Frogeye Sprite. Funny thing is I never even drove the car after it was done; got rid of it back to the original owner and moved on to the next project. If you do decide to go ahead, you will need a MIG welder with gas shielding. Also one or two angle grinders. I have a proven tutorial that will get anyone welding sheet-metal in short time, so post up when you get to that stage. |
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Last Edit: Oct 12, 2017 16:12:49 GMT by bjornagn
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Oct 16, 2017 23:24:16 GMT
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Thanks for that, I've been watching various you tube videos on panel beating so I reckon I can probably handle most of it. The rust in my Toledo is from it sitting rather than from it being used if you get what I mean, so all the tricky places (or most of them) like wheel arcs etc are all ok. The rust is in the bottom of the doors and the front wings the front upper valance. The inner wings have some rust where they attach to the subframe and I anticipate there being other problem areas at the bottom of the wings.
Luckily I think i have lined up a donor car fro the front panels which will make life easier.
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I'd start by trying to repair the panels that you have replacements for, at least this way you get the feel for welding actual car panels while not worrying about messing them up. It's one thing practicing on some nice new fresh metal, but you'll find welding old car metal can be a little different.
As for if you should go ahead with it or not depends on if you're the sort of person who enjoys doing stuff for yourself. You might be able to find someone to do it for you for a similar sort of cost to buying all the equipment you need, but sometimes it's not all about cost. If you enjoy doing your own work and enjoy learning new things then it's probably money well spent.
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