Need some patches to fix my rusty lower window area. Anyone have any parts cars? I need both corners and parts of/or whole center section. This is the area that I need. Thanks!
Makeum Hi Steve,From the picture the channel doesn't look like it is rusted too heavily.Most Skylarks over thirty years old are going to have some rust issues in this area unless they were garage kept cars and that usually means they are not a parts car.Why not just make your own metal patches to weld in? Check out my pics in the "lil ole lady car" thread in members rides section where I made my own metal patch panels.If you have any questions email me your phone number and I'll give you a call tonite when I have free phone mintues.
Thanks Rusty. Actually, I have been following your buildup on the "lil ole lady car", you have some great fabrication skills! Yeah, I know it's kinda of a long shot, this was a garage kept car for most of it's life and it rusted out. Probably not too many parts cars with good rear window areas, but I figure what the heck. I really was planning on having someone else do the work, I figure it would be cheaper/easier if I had a piece for them to weld in. I thought about attempting this myself, but I don't have a welder, and I have no welding experience. I'd really hate to warp a panel or something. I have a little experience with filler work though. o No:
Steve, You don't need any welding experience if you use Rusty's method. All you are doing is a series of tack welds (you could call them spot welds); just point the MIG gun and pull the trigger for a second. That's it. As Rusty mentioned, after welding a tack hit it with a blast from your air hose to cool it down. Also, work slowly as you don't want to warp the metal. After cutting the patch panel to size, tack it every few inches. Keep tacking all around the panel until all of the tacks are touching. Grind and your done. If, after making the first few welds, the panel does not fit correctly, just cut the welds with a cut-off tool and start again. Any low-end MIG welder or even a super-cheap flux-core welder will work (you'll have a lot of clean-up to do if you go the flux-core route). Follow Rusty's advice and you will succeed. You'll save enough money doing it yourself to buy a decent MIG welder and still have a lot left over. Brian
Well now you all are starting to have me convinced that I can do this myself. I was thinking of buying a MIG welder to repair my rusty core support, guess I could get a little practice there. Actually, I think I have may have located some patch panels, (from Buick Trainee). I was not so worried about the flat area, it was the fabricating, bending and folding that corner piece around the window ledge that is scaring me the most. I don't know I might tackle this myself, not sure yet. Maybe I will see how my core support turns out first. (If I screw that up you won't be able to see it anyways, right?) :TU:
