Meet Ziggy - '79 GLD MK1

**GoLfMan** · 14-03-2010, 07:57 AM

I'll be tackling this soon Pete, thanks for the info

**Jarred** · 14-03-2010, 11:56 AM

Great info Pete

Simple tips but true life savers once you get around to doing it!

that's for sharing!

**Preen59** · 14-03-2010, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by Peter Jones

Biggest trick with replacing metal pieces like that is that

YOU MUST MAKE THE REPAIR PIECE BEFORE YOU CUT OUT THE RUST.

Make the repair piece a bit bigger than the rusty area and shape it to the same shape as the panel.

Trace around it and cut the car to match the new section.

If you cut the car first you'll never be able to shape and size the new piece.

You can see some of my markings in the above.

The other thing to point out which isn't obvious is that that welding is done a few mm at a time. You can't just lay down a bead. I probably pulled the trigger a hundred times on the above. You lay down one spot at a time , waiting for the spot you just welded to stop glowing red. It only takes about 1/2 a second for the weld to cool.

You also need to watch the heat generally and not do too much at once or you'll distort the panel. A good panel beater will tap out the weld as they're going, using the residual heat to help with the shaping.

I'm no expert by a long shot, there's still a skim of filler over my repairs, my friend Dennis who's slowly teaching me this stuff would have done all of this in metal only and have kept the shape and thickness of the metal perfectly.

Pete

Yeah that was one of the things I had to get my head around with playing with this stuff.. Because in my job, you preferably machine the pocket/hole etc before you make the insert, that way if you **** up, you can just make the insert a little bigger.

Thanks for the info once again.

**Peter Jones** · 23-03-2010, 07:07 PM

Brand new screen back in the formerly rusty hole.

Added some new mylar too. This is the rare spares variety, not quite OEM but comes up pretty neat.

Pete

**Water Boy** · 06-04-2010, 06:50 PM

Much of the welding repairs on Ziggy were replicated on Josh's Mk1 today.

**Peter Jones** · 23-05-2010, 07:04 PM

Nearly time for Ziggy to move on to his new owner.

Finished the chin spoiler today after grinding off the welds that had come through the panel from behind where I'd had to reattach the cross member.