Floor/frame intersection repair question

Anyone have pictures of these areas that show what it should look like? There was an old repair here that wasn't worth saving and I want to make sure I fabricate the right replacement patch(s). Thanks guys!

I just did this - here is a pic of the "before" which is actually easier to see and understand.

There are three pieces - the side piece is joined to the bottom along the curved edge (I carefully welded them together along the corner and then ground flush). The of the side piece is trimmed to a fair curve that you can see here. The "back" is made of the shock mounting tower, and is pretty thick - 14g I think.

I can take more pics of the finished repair if you need them.

OK - it won't let me post another pic I don't think...but I will try. This pic is of the finished repair (and shows the seat belt mount from Todd Clarke).

Hey it worked! I thought I could only post one a day as a basic member!

JIM

Thanks Jim - those help. Appreciate it!

Not the best shot but it may help. Sorry I can't you a better one, my frame is all wrapped up for winter.

Jim, the repair looks very good, what kind of welder do you recomend, working in this area of the frame and rails, MIG?

Yes, I am using a MIG welder - either with gas or flux core - I actually am liking the flux core better right now. My gas valve is seemingly not flowing enough gas (and it's non-adjustable). When I finally ran out of gas and went back to flux core for the first time in a couple of years, I found my welds got a lot better all of a sudden! The metal here is not so thin, so burning through is not so much of an issue and it's easier to make pretty welds. I ended up not even grinding these and they still look OK I think. It is a series of spot or stitch welds - not trying to run a bead.

JIM

I just came inside from the shop and finished welding in a repair piece on my frame. Since our car sat exposed to the elements for about 15 years, where the wood floorboards met the frame, we had some weak spots and some holes.

I haven't tried the flux core wire yet, but have been doing mig. I did the stich weld technique (after some horrible beads), and found this technique to be very easy and seems to give more control. As for the welder, Sears was having a special on their Lincoln Handy Mig, and it does both flux core and mig. The things works great from a 110 outlet.

I was gonna outsource all of my metal work, but I've been bitten by the welding bug and it has been really fun. I figured between Barney's detailed specs on his website and everyone's help here, I might finish in under 10 years. :D

I have a Lincoln Weld-Pak 155 (wire feeder) (Mig weld optional kit) 230 Volts, I bought this machine 10 years ago, never used, i just opened the original pack and I am considering to learn how to use it, in order to do the same repairs you are doing in the frame and rails area. The welding process is been to me the more scaring part of the restoring process, (before the paint job that has to be done by a professional). Seeing your experiences and comments I am motivated to try by myself, thanks all you!!

Here is a picture of how I did mine. Hope it helps, good luck....Don

Here is one more

Thanks Don!

One welding resource I found invaluable was this site: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk

Great tutorials and a very active forum where they critique submitted welds. I had never mig welded before and it has been a blast. Not only that, but a chance to buy new tools is always awesome!

Jonathon, I too found that site excellent. In fact the videos were especially helpful for the stitch welding.

I had sent Raul the web address in a PM, not knowing you had posted.

John

John and Jonathan, thanks again!!!

I was talking to my welding guy the other day about a new Miller 135 I bought. He is a master welder and does the custom marine stuff for us. His recommendation with the MIG was to use flux wire with the gas. I asked twice to make sure what I was hearing and he confirmed it saying that I would get smoother and better welds, especially vertically. I have not switched to flux wire yet but plan on doing that when I get the next project underway.

Another good tip gathered from an experienced welder (not me) is to use some sort of heat sink on the thinner metals. Copper is good because the weld will not bond to it. I folded over some heavy copper sheet, but you can squish a piece of copper tubing. I put the copper behind some holes I had to fill and was able to bridge some pretty large gaps.

Thanks guys. I need to get the front suspension back on so I can move the car around to gain access for the welding, but I'll take a bunch of pictures and get them posted here. Thanks for the info/tips!