Shell preperation

Ok, so I am in the process of getting ready to stich weld my ae86 shell... Is there anything I should be aware of? What are some important things to do/ avoid doing? What else should I do to prep the shell?

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

>>What else should I do to prep the shell?


If you believe the Ford guys you want to get a cage in the car first.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Hmm... missed that part. Out of curiousity, why?

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

Word is all the heating and cooling cycles of the stitch welding will "stress relieve" (bend/tweak/warp) the shell if you don't have the cage in there adding stiffness/bracing. How much this is really the case I don't know. If you've got the dough, get a legal cage in it and get it logbooked promptly.

--Andrew
master of the perpetual (incomplete) project pile

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

fiasco Wrote:
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> Word is all the heating and cooling cycles of the
> stitch welding will "stress relieve"
> (bend/tweak/warp) the shell if you don't have the
> cage in there adding stiffness/bracing. How much
> this is really the case I don't know.

Ain't really "stress relieve" more like simple stress.

You can do a simple experiment:
shear two 2" x 24" strips of 16g, over lap them and zap 'em on one end real good. pull the helmet up and watch the other end curl up.

One of my first jobs as a welder in Sweden was sand and gravel truck bodies, long fawkers, and they were fairly heft material but LONG like 10 meters, I had to do multiple passes here then over there then here then shift to the other side then.
Was 'spossed to do a final pass to cover all the multiple passes and it was a low feed hiogh heat thing, and it took some doing to get going good, and I was only to weld a short 5" pass before shifting.
Well I had a good pass going and I welded maybe an 8-9" pass and was going when the foreman taps meon sholder.
He points at the other end of the now near done body and was off the jigging table by over a foot warped.
YIKES!!!

He went to another place, welded a long pass which pulled it nearly down, then shifted to another place and welded a long one which re-squared the body.

Doodz, a car shell aint anywhere near as strong.




If you've
> got the dough, get a legal cage in it and get it
> logbooked promptly.

YES. LOG BOOKED PROMPTLY, and don't talk to guys whose brains are frozen.
(I tried to get a friend who was supposedly a log book issurer to log book my cage, Skye's and Seattle Scott's.
"Can't"
Me : why?
"Cars don't run"

Me: but you're certifying the cage details and execution , right?"
""Yep, but the cars aren't done."
Me: "But the cages are, can't you look at and certify those before the guys make up yet more bizarre requirements?"
"Nope, can't"
Me why?

"Cars aren't done"
>
> --Andrew
> master of the perpetual (incomplete) project pile
>
> Andrew Steere, 1973
> Lyndeborough, NH
> KB1PJY
> eventual XR4Ti rally car...

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Around here, a rolling shell with cage, legal seats and valid belts can get a logbook.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

Dazed_Driver Wrote:
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> Ok, so I am in the process of getting ready to
> stiTch weld my ae86 shell... Is there anything I
> should be aware of? What are some important things
> to do/ avoid doing? What else should I do to prep
> the shell?

Well, not that I know as much as most of the guys around here, but related to my own AE86 hatch, which resides in the heavily infested tinworm belt of Wisconsin:

In addition to the openly accessible places, really dig deeply into the underside of the floorpan, and the rockers, because they kind of rot from the inside out, up into the rear wheelwell, especially.

Things to avoid: ruining a great shell by twisting it all out-of-whack, and accidentally lowering the bucket of a huge front-end-loader on it. I keep a lookout for both of those things, and so far neither one has happened to my cars.

And, although it's not really about a Toiletta, the easily downloadable, printable, and readable PDF of the Ford Motorsports Prep Manual for the really cool car is chock-full of really good information. Print it out single-sided, then hole punch it and put it into a 3-ring binder. Then, you can make notes pertaining to your own application as you're reading it in the comfort of a nice recliner, within easy reach of a mug full of the frosty beverage of your choice.

I keep mine easily accessible, and it's also really good to take into the bathroom (especially since you're working on a Commode anyway) because that's where some of the best ideas occur.


--sarge

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---** To be in compliance with the Anarchy **---
Jorden R. Kleier
Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA
1990 Mazdog Protege 4WD
1973

One can stitch a car without a cage, but it is not a fast process. You have to do a bit at a time. I usually do both ends, let the panel cool and fill in with stitches more or less. My car is still as straight as it ever was and I still have to work out a cage for it...after I delete the effing sunroof.

I stitched it first since it is currently my daily driver. Makes for a much stiffer nice DD all stitched up. The windshield doesn't sound like it is walking around as I flog the car. You could save time by stripping it and caging it first. I'm enjoying DDing it and getting acquainted with all the oddities of an old 240 volvo.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2007 02:12AM by fridgewagon.

yeah... I have that problem too... I have to figure out how to do a sunroofectomy... with out leaving a BIGGER hole...

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

Dazed_Driver Wrote:
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> yeah... I have that problem too... I have to
> figure out how to do a sunroofectomy... with out
> leaving a BIGGER hole...

Thankfully, in a 240 brick, it is easy enough to find a 4-door and slice its head off under the gutter trim. A patch is also a possibility, but if I bother painting the car, it isn't that much more work to weld a new skin on it.

I'll see what JVAB says and see if I can drive my 240 up to him next summer and have it come back sans sunroof. I wish I had a non-sunroof shell, but now that I have foolishly and very slowly stitched this one up and it feels pretty good and is a color I like, I am kinda at a point where one has to wonder if deleting the sunroof is that big of a deal. It weighs about 53lbs right where you don't want it, and I hate it generally.

53lbs? really...guess the GT will be losing the sunroof too

fridgewagon you get my pm?

ciao

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Volvo - not just a car, it's an addiction