Propping her up - best done how?

[Bluesman]

Guys&gals -

it´s welding time. First, I will need to replace the right side chassis leg (most of it anyway) in order to get some stability back into the chassis.

I can´t roll the car over, so it will be a floor job. How do I prop her up in order not to twist the chassis (and mess up the geometry) once the old chassis leg is torn out?

Rear axle x 2 is obvious, and then front left just under the wheel assy/bushing thru the chassis leg. But the right side - where would you prop it up/support it?

Note: the engine will still be in the car.

I will need space to safely move the wheel assembly out of the chassis leg and out of the way, plus do the prep work and then the welding.

I am not 100% sure the bottom of the A section (where door/sill/front wing meet) is healthy enough to put a prop under. The second crossmember (with torsion bar adjuster) might be too far back (bad balance). Maybe I could spread the weight/load and still have reasonable safety/balance by using a bit of 4x4 wood and prop midway between "A" section and the crossmember?

Any risk of the body flexing due to bad/uneven support once I rip out the chassis leg?

Ideas, please?

Cheers /Richard

[Welung666]

I used an appropriate length of 4" x 4" fence post with a simple pyramid frame nailed to the bottom and put it under the damper on the bulkhead, it's about the strongest place up the front end other than the chassis rail.

[newagetraveller]

I would take the engine out.

Then take off enough of the LHS front suspension to enable you to take the eyebolt out of the LHS chassis leg.

Then get a steel pipe which is the same outside diameter as the eyebolt and push it through the hole in the LHS leg where that eyebolt goes and on through the hole in the new RHS chassis leg where the RHS eyebolt will go.

Then weld the RHS chassis leg on with the steel pipe still in position.

Hopefully the RHS front suspension will then be correctly aligned when you reassemble it.

[bmcecosse]

There are spare bolt holes on the chassis bulkhead X member - just beside the front dampers - you can maybe make some sort of 'leg' from angle iron to bolt on there and poke down through the tie-plates (or alongside the engine/box - but may be in your way then) to the ground. It is by far going to be the strongest part of the car.

[Bluesman]

Good thinking. Thanks. I have to mention that engine removal is not an option, I simply won´t have the tools at hand, and it feels like we are gulping over enough as it is...the prime objective now is to get the chassis leg replaced first so we can actually move the car on the street without risking a major wreckage by merely hitting a road bump.

One thing at a time. I am sure we will remove the engine later, if nothing else because we need to fix the engine room and the somewhat rusty tie plate(s). But that´s for later.

The bulkhead/damper tip is cool. I just need to find a way to prop things without blocking access.

Good tip on the aligning bit. I wonder if there is clearance behind & below the engine/gearbox to maybe do that trick, but with the LHS clutch/brake shaft mount - the holes are present in the RHS replacement leg too...*thinking*

I´ll have a look at it tomorrow, while at the garage. Hard to speculate on this without seeing the car.

Thanks so far. Keep them coming, though. You bet there´s going to be a welding thread or two soon....

Cheers /Richard

[bmcecosse]

Take some measurements before you start. But I'm sure it will be fine - but quite an awkward job. Do your 'test' people demand continuous weld -or will they allow stitches ?

[Bluesman]

They are pretty lenient these days, at least on older cars - not so many years ago, "home-made" patched reinforcements on chassis members, suspending arms (wishbones?) and McPherson damper/chassis junctions were not allowed - things had to be "professionally done" yada yada, which led to many vintage cars going to the scrapyard. "Unprofessional" repair jobs cost the owners a lot to rectify, and original spares were/are hard to find. Today, the MOT folks are more focused on other things - like getting the cars inspected and out of sight in 3 minutes blank in order to be "productive".

So honestly I believe they are going to accept anything that doesn´t look like painted-over Plastic Padding and gaffa tape/wire mesh and sounds healthy. The USSR submarine-style sound of *CLONK* always lights a light in their eyes...

That being said, I am going to do this as right as I possibly can. Where possible, it will be continous welds. Just for the heck of it, I will even try to plug weld in some straight and easy places where there were spot welds originally, just to impress the MOT punters and to gain some experience. It´s been a long time since my last welding job. Good thing is that I have a 1980:s VW Golf (Rabbit?) that urgently needs a couple of patches, and I will use it to practice and to set up the welder properly before hacking up Betty Blue.

But that´s best left to another thread... just be so sure I will be back here for advice. FWIW, I got a used 380V 160A gas MIG welder in good shape with accs (and at a very good price) so I´m pretty well sorted for this adventure, compared to a month ago.

Cheers /R

[bigginger]

I have a 1980:s VW Golf (Rabbit?)

Nope, Golf here as well. My last car before these damn Mogs bit again was a Golf, my third. Great cars

[bmcecosse]

Always make sure you disconnect the alternator on any car before doing any electric welding on it!