MK1 Racer (ALL BROKEN PHOTOBUCKET PICS FIXED) - Painted and out of the bodyshop....

cracking progress dude, really nice to see people putting the time and effort into a car and then using it for whats its designed for, as for the uni work fook it off vw's are much more important

nah only kidding mate, at least you have your priorites sorted mate

 

Well, finished Uni now so thought I would get going with the mk1 again. Nothing interesting really, just trying out my new spot weld cutter as recommended by Chris Eyre.

I got a bit carried away with the grinder in my quest for weight reductions the last time I worked on the car, and just started my attack on the rain tray! I have since been introduced to the world of spot welds, and realised that there was a better way to get the job done!

How it's sitting at the moment...



Rain tray removal.

I don't have a pic of how I left it, but basically the rain tray had been cut off but I had not removed the actual skin where it folds round the bulkhead. It was this I wanted to remove.

Spot weld cutter. Delivered from Frosts for something like a fiver + delivery. I think your meant to keep it lubed, but I just keep spraying it with wd40 and it kept the heat down ok. I used a quick speed on the drill to get the grove going, then slowed it right down to keep the heat down.







You can't get in to drill the last 3 or so spot welds at the sides because of the strut top. I used the cutter on the other side of the wing. Could see them easy enough as its bare metal. The 3 holes on the left of the big one...



Finished. It looks like I have gone through to the 2nd skin, but it will be smooth after I have gone over with the grinder. Just a bit of the welds left.



A big flat head screwdriver is ideal for just chiseling down to separate the thin bit of weld left after using the cutter.

Thought the pics might be handy for someone as I have never seen pics of the process or even knew about the spot welds ( ), but seems to be a thing a few folk want to do.

 

Hi Ali,

Good to see you back with it ....

 

Good work there Ali - bit of a pain to get used to with judging depth, but great little tools!

^^ Now take a belt sander to those stupid tags VW put on the bulkhead. No need for the spot drill - it's thin-as. Just eye-ball the weld and mow it thin until the tag see-saws off !

 

Hi Andrew, long time no speak! Just trying to step it up a gear. Want to be have the car ready to rock for competition in the new year. Hopefully see you at the events too? Take it your still up this neck of the woods?

Yeak, definately a 'knak' to judging the speed and depth. Good tool though. Well impressed.

Yeah, they are next in the firing line! I might leave one in the middle for the brake pipes though. Where you fixing your pipes to?

 

Cable-tied to riveted clips similar to these where needed:



MB1 and MB2 from Trident Racing Supplies

 

how much as i will be stripping my bulkhead clean too.

 

MB1: 8.64+VAT/100
MB2: 10.73+VAT/100

RS Components do similar - click

The company that originally makes them is Raythem I think - I'll check, since there may be a more direct route.

HTH

 

Ali,

Sure is and yep, just about ... home is still `here` even after the recent best attempts of the weather to blow us away !

Work base remains London but away in Houston much of the time these days, a move of one or both to be sorted soon ... so, unlikely to be at the vents with you.

Mk1 is all but complete, as it has been for ages - can`t get round to sorting the outstanding electrical issues.

Mk2 is much the same as on your `test drive`, still providing superb weekend relaxation ... may look to sell it depending on how upcoming plans turn out.

Enough of the hijack, drop me a line / call sometime.

Good luck with the rebuild ....

 

[Likewise I owe you a call or three, Andrew. ]

 

Sure Chris, anytime ... working up here next week.

 

id recomend these for your brake lines. drill a 6mm hole and scud them in. saves sore hands with the rivet gun. those other ones are great for wiring as are p-clips.

p.s. is that spoiler there yet?


merlin motorsport link

 

Cheers for the suggestions. Looks like they would do the job.

Yeah it arrived the other day. I have still to offer it up to see how it sits on the car. The lower part of the spoiler does not look completely flat, i.e., will possibly give lift rather than any potential downforce. Could sit fine though, hence why I need to try it on.

Tried finishing off the seam welding in the engine bay myself as my welder pal is offshore. Mmm, I hope it gets better with practice.

Grinding them down tomorrow and hopefully might even have some presentable welds to show you.

 

I got through my fibreglass Berg Cup front spoiler (Thanks to Pol for the GB)





Needs trimming to fit with the arches properly though, as is meant for bigger arches.

I need to crack on with the welding again and as my mate is offshore and I need it done asap, I thought I would try doing it myself. 'Goof' kindly leant me his welder. I buggered about for ages, was getting crap welds on Sunday and eventually got it right today (I think!)






I think they are strong enough and seem to have penetrated well...



Pretty hapy with them as it was the first time I have welded. Should get better as I go along though.

You may notice a big hole in the bulkhead!! The usual clutch cable hole in the bulkhead had obviously been repaired at some stage in its life - badly. So I cut the offending area out and will weld in a new plate this wkend.

I have also removed every single bracket, clip and bit of metal not needed in the bay. Added up to a fair bit. (Need more spot weld drill's!!!)

 

welds look to be getting there. top tip is to clean the area as much as possible before you weld. the wax and underseal on mk1's get's everywhere, just careful you don't set to big a fire or burn yourself lile i've done!

 

Yeah, I made double sure the seams were as clean as possible. Angle grinder with wire wheel, then fine sand paper for all the hard to reach bits followed with a spray of brake cleaner and a good wipe and dry. You never manage to completely remove all the seam sealer as there is still some under the next skin of steel which fairly buggers up the welds as it melts out with the heat and splatters everywhere.

I manage by just going back on the weld slightly every time melted sealer comes out. My bedtime reading is the Haynes book on welding at the moment!

I'm not going to pay someone to do something that I can do myself and I have been meaning to try and learn how to do it for a while now. Last time I paid for work I had complete brake failure at 80 mph at the ring. If you want something done properly, do it yourself and all that...

 

Craig (Goof) nipped down to mine along with his hangover on Sat and we cracked on with the welding.









Craig gave me a few pointers, and by watching his welding through the spare mask I felt a fair bit more confident about cracking on with the rest of the car today.

My efforts...









Not too much of this left, cage is getting added to soon and then the shell is going for blasting and paint after the new year.

Oh, and Chris, don't worry. Those brackets on the dash will be going in the bin along with the rest!

 

!!

Yep, looking like a busy weekend had there!

Couple more smaller brackets to be had from the rear seat stay bit, third pic up, directly above the turret, though I guess you're lining them up. Two min job.

 

Wouldn't those front legs of the cage be better with a bit more boxing off instead of straight into floor or is it getting changed completely?

 

nice work so far when do you think it will be finished for ?