Rear Panel Patch Repair - Final Weld

I put tack welds between the Clecos..then took them out and finished the weld around the entire patch...

I know I know...still some shoddy weld work! But I realised I hadn't set up the wire feed on the welder correctly so it wasn't feeding the wire smoothly. Basically the wire reel was getting snagged so the wire was being fed erratically making it really tricky to weld neatly...honest!!! I fixed it so the last few welds worked fine. I'm getting better - nearly ready to fit the wheel arch flares on!

The whole job is given a coat of Primer to keep the rust off. I'll grind the welds off and clean it all up after I've fitted the Trunk Floor which is the next job.

Rear Panel Patch Repair - inserting Clecos

I spent ages filing the edges of the 'window' in the rear panel to get the Patch to sit inside it neatly. That was actually the hardest and most time consuming part! My arms are aching from it writing this post! - still, the better the prep work the easier the job will be to finish and better the outcome..

Once the Patch fitted neatly, I temporarily clamped it in place with G and C Clamps.

















I drilled 2.5mm holes at roughly 8cm intervals right at the join line.














The 3/32" Clecos were inserted and closed using M2.5 washers on the inside of the patch.


I used about 20 or so Clecos for the entire patch.

Next Weld Repair continued...

...so to it. I cut out a 'patch' in 18swg (1.2mm thick) mild-steel 100cm x 8cm - making sure it was square with straight edges! Then using it as a template, I scored around it on the car itself - then cut a window to drop the patch in.

Next Weld Repair with Clecos

Cleco clamps are brilliant. They're basically tiny spring loaded clamps used for temporarily fixing panels together to be welded. Normally you use them for overlap joints - drill a hole through both pieces and insert the Cleco which will clamp them together before welding. But I've used them differently here to do a Butt joint.

The rear panel in the picture needed some love. The previous owner had half finished a nasty trunk repair with a steel sheet and some seriously bodged welding. I'm a novice welder but this guy was a real hack!

























These pics show the state of the rear most panel after I'd cleaned it up a bit. It's got some rust holes too so it needs to come out and be replaced before the new trunk floor goes in.