I will use JB Weld to do all my bodywork, but first I'm going to rebuild my engine by pouring a bottle of No-Smoke down the 710 hole.
This has been drug out 7 ways to Sunday...I think everyone has cabin fever When's the last time any of ya did anything hands on with your kids? Stop signs don't make proper floor boards either...but isn't all this creative McGuivering what makes rat rods RAT RODS?
It's great that father and son can do a project together, makes for some lasting memories. Many years ago (yea down memory lane) we lived in east Texas and Dad decided to move to Calif. He had a Model A and we were going to pull a trailer with all the household things in it, so we went shopping and bought a '37 Chevy. The wrist pins and piston slap in it was something to hear. The king pin bushings were worn out and the car was all over the road. Dad pulled the king pins, knocked out the worn bushings, wrapped king pins with tobacco can, finally got them back in (smeared grease in them before putting them in) and loaded the trailer and moved to Calif. Wasn't done right but it worked. I helped and was probably in the way, but that is a great memory to me, helping Dad and how he fixed it (priceless). I can't remember anything about the Model A but still remember helping Dad and the piston slapping Chevy. Thanks for sharing George. Vergil
I read this and think a lot of you are missing the point. The issue isn't that this dude did this 'bandaid' this way, if it really is a bandaid, it's that he submitted it for tech week. I know that I know jack shit compared to 98% of the people on this site, so I don't post techs, I read em. The original poster should think about that. There's already a couple good techs in the tech forum on this subject and you could do most of the work and get someone to weld it for little more than the JB weld cost. Also, while I do applaud him doing this stuff with his kid, one of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome when I started messing with cars as a teenager was the urge to make a 'good enough' repair and having my dad teach me something like this wouldn't have helped. That being said, my dad showed me jack shit about cars, so I guess I should just shut my mouth and go back to reading techs instead of posting in em....
The skeptics can say what they want about fixing it right but every situation is different and the repair you made may last a long, long time. I made a similar repair to the tailpan on my '55. It was rusted thin and had several holes. The proper way would have been to weld a new one in. I cleaned the metal with a wire brush down to solid metal. I then rebuilt it with a layer of fiberglass and then undercoated the back side to prevent moisture from getting in there. This was done 22 YEARS ago and still looks nice, if I were to repaint the car tomorrow I see no reason to redo it, it doesn't need it. By the way, this car is driven in the rain several times a year. A good friend of mine who is a body man said it wouldn't last two years, I still gig him about that from time to time. Just seal the backside from moisture and that will probably last forever. Uh, 22 years is enought time for a new one to rust through.
It may not be the best way or the right way to fix it, but if the rust was all wire brushed or sandblasted off, I would think its going to last a fairly long time. I've seen people make much bigger messes to fix later when they try'd welding in patches...
When I was 16, my first rust repair was house window mosquito screening masking taped to the back of my rusted out '51 Chevy headlight eyebrows. Then I slathered it with White Lightening. A month later I found out about pop rivets, and I pop riveted in galvanized tin into my rear wheel wells. A month later I saw fibreglass and used it everywhere else. I was a kid. It all looked and lasted like crap. I sold the car after wasting 7 years on it. I'd like to think that 30+ years later I've learned to not waste my time doing things obviously wrong.
Well don't look at a post for 24 hours and see what happens! Looks like I ignited a shit storm but no problem , I have a thick skin First the post wasn't a joke or a set up. Second I am not asking for your approval of what I have done. It is simply a solution to a problem that was fixable without welding. Would I use a bud can or fiber glass or galvanized steel and rivets? Nope. I will be welding in my rear wheel well patch panels. Thanks Druss 32 but I have the same welder. Why not weld in the JB patch? I didn't want to take a chance on screwing up the sheet metal in a highly visible area and having to fix it with bondo. (And bondo is okay?) Should it be a tech post? Absolutely. If we can give some one the seed of an idea that they can use to get their car on the road then that is what HAMB is for. Now I know that there are perhaps better adhesives like Fusor etc. for next time. Was I showing my kid something wrong? Nope. What he was learning was that there are alternatives to doing things. As for some future purchaser of my car. Anyone who is buying a car nearing 100 years old better do some due diligence, and anyone who thinks they can find a blemish free 1928 Model A is off in another era. Have you guys looked at the posts showing what HAMBers are starting out with? Yikes. Hats off to their dedication. Who is this car for? Me and my kid. Will it be a show car? Nope. Will it be a runner. You bet. As for my boy Gavin (16) he's a gear head and I am grateful that he's out there with me. He claims all his slave labour on the A warrants a muscle car for the next project. Check out the exhaust baffles he made at http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152359 Anyway, it's good discussion and I want to thank Ryan for HAMB and the guys who sent me PM's George
Um, just because it's called j.b. 'weld' doesen't mean it works like are real weld, there is no fusion, and no penetration think of it as glue, and with a patch panel you really want it to become a single piece.
in addition the panels that are "glued" in place are usually panels on space frame cars, and even then it's a whole nuther type of adheisive, it's usually a two part like the jb but have a different chemical make up. and just to be clear the reason that any auto manufacturer would suggest adhesive over welding is because many parts are HSS or even UHSS and both of their grainular structure is weakened big time by heat, unlike mild steel.
The bond gained between father and son while working on the project is more important, the metal repair can always be a do over as skills are gained.
I think its fantastic to spend time with our kids and teach them various methods of tackling a problem, and this method works fine for getting a car on the road. But no one has mentioned that everyone posting on this thread will one day be six feet under, and the cars we are saving, restoring and building will outlast us all! That includes the work we do on them! I don't know about you guys, but when I've taken the paint off of a car and found "temporary" repairs or substandard work, I curse the guys name, dead or alive. Panels welded in correctly with minimal lead or bondo always get the high-five from me and I think about the guy who did the work and the time he took to do it. The bottom line is pride. And knowing that someone else down the line will see the work we have done, long after we are gone. In my humble opinion, that is what children should be taught...
you guys think everyone and everything needs to be done by a professional. this guy is having fun,and you guys are going to run him off with all that bullshit about the "right" way to do something. your all picking GNAT shit out of PEPPER ..
It really doesnt' matter why they recommend it. What matters is that they do. That means it has been tested and works, at least to the manufacturer's satisfaction. Cars now come off the assembly line with "glued" on panels, and even "glued" together frames (i.e. the Camaro). Yes, it is a different glue, and we have thoroughly discussed that point. I think everybody understands that. Yes, it is usually used by the manufacturers on cars built with space frames, but that is no reason it cannot be used on any other non-stressed panel on any other type of framed car. Yes, I would think that the purpose designed Fusor, etc. would be better than JB Weld. However, unless somebody takes the time to do it and test, we'll never know, now will we? That is one reason why I intend to do a long term test on the JB Weld...curious minds want to know. Remember, hot rodding is most basically and traditionally about trial and error innovation in order to improve a vehicle. When we forget that, we start restoring cars to a certain spec using only "approved" parts (like so many of the trad clones), or having cars professionally built for us, or building kit cars (like so many of the so-called gold chainer street rods.) That is not my way. Sorry...I got off on a pet-peeve rant.
Your son is off to a great start. I congratulate you on having a kid that is interested. Keep up the good work. That being said . . . If he was capable of cutting and welding to make the baffles, he should have been more than capable of cutting and welding the sheet metal. I just think it better to show him quality workmanship rather than micky mouse something together. Eventually that shit comes back to bite you on the ass. Craig
"I can't get 5 years out of a paint job, whether I do it or I have it done professionally. Might as well redo body work at paint time." - T-Time I can see why if this is how you repair rust. It's your car and I really don't care what you do, but I personaly think if you are going to spend quality time with your son it would be better spent teaching him how to do things the right way. If I was closer I'd offer you to stop with the son and I'd show you how to make that replacement panel, cut the old one out, and weld the new one in. You seem a little stubborn about it this just being an alternative method to repair but had you fixed this kind of butchery for a living, or bought a $25,000 hot rod to have a chunk of rocker panel fall off in a year you'd think different. Like I said before It's your car good luck .
Hey fellas... stating your opinion is good for the health of this joint. Continue to do so... However, trash talking especially on tech week will get ya banned. Please stop doing that. As for this thread, it's not going to win tech week. We all know that... Just take the content for what it is worth and move on.
I think this pretty much sums it up. Hell ....Thats what life is all about. Im working in the shop with my kid right now.
You need to go back and reread. I was not the one that did this repair. It is not my car. And I have never repaired rust in this manner, though I will be doing a test of bond-on panels to see what results I get. I will not be covering-up rust with my test repair. I will be doing cut and flange repairs. I will probably do one with Duramix, one with Fusor, and one with JB Weld, for comparison. It will be done on one of my Torino parts cars that will not be sold. By the way, the paint problems that I have experienced have been problems with the paint, not rust prep. In fact, they have all been on no-rust cars. Three of the problem paint jobs were by three different very highly recommended professionals, and prepped by them too...not by me. All three were done using high-end two part paints. Different brands of paint each time.
On the contrary, I think everyone on this site is about doing it yourself. At the same time, unlike some other "traditional" sites, this site is about striving for the best work we can do, and learning how to do better work (hence tech week). I don't know about that. We all know todays cars are throw away cracker jack toys that won't last anywhere near 50+ years like the cars we're dedicated to on this site.
FIRST OFF THIS IS MY TWO CENTS! in the been there done that/this bin/storage container, i 'humbly submit THIS'! i keep a 3M STRUCTURAL ADHESIVE TUBE KIT part no. 08101 in my 'pull-a-rabbit-out-of-a-hat-supplies'---[ along with pull-tab cat food can lids---i use them as mixing pallet/ with ground flat-ended popsicle sticks for mixing and spreading tools] when i 'put two pieces of plastic 'back-together' ----i use a bonding strip behind joint-area, then drill 1/8 holes thru the original repair and the bonding strip, use a small countersink on the 'outside' and the bonding strip, THE INNER-MOST SURFACE . when the 3M S.A.T.K. adhesive has 'cured' i have a 'chemical rivet'! i've repaired plastic automotive grills, 'created custom grills'--[ taken the ugly manufacturers names/ emblems --- bowtie/blue oval----- off an otherwise great looking grill , my son's 89 S10 taiwan grill had no bow tie, did the same surgery to a celebrity grill---both were monochrome silver vehicles, bumpers grills and trim.] the repairs/modifications using 3M S.A.T.K. have held up for years. i know the subject is J B WELD/ADHESIVES----but the plastic lower body trim and below the bumper plastic spoiler pieces were sanded w/180 grit, epoxy primed and painted enamel w/hardener [ no base coat clear coat ]---and have 'held-up-for-years'! hope the 'adhesive rivet system' helps some one! redryder
I think you should win, and so should GROUCHO for his "Whats your average age" thread. Oh wait, thats not tech, nevermind.
Around SoCal we call that a "TJ special". Only you spent a little more money on JB weld rather than bondo. Oh yeah, when you sell that car, will you disclose those "Repairs" to the unsuspecting buyer?
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