L Stands for low carbon - less carbon in the stainless steel to prevent weld sentitization

308L is for connecting 304L to 304L (Stainless steel to stainless steel)

309L is for welding stainless steel to carbon steel

I had a project (I used to build large chemical plants) where we had a lot of weld cracking from using the wrong stainless steel to carbon steel procedure. Probably not so much an issue with a rally car but I suspect you would not want to cause anything that would potentially cause a crack.

^^ cool, thanks...not too much stainless on my car...but can't hurt to pick up a roll. sounds like stainless is the way to go on these weld nuts.

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Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Fer cryin' out loud guys, this is all just mental masturbation. All you're doing is just welding these little nut things under the car so you can bolt plastic to them. You're not attatching an engine to an airplane or welding up the cooling tower plumbing on a nuclear powerplant for chrissakes!
Even then these fancy little nut plate things are more money and more work than you need to do for attatching underbody plastic. I always use wide head 3/16" steel rivets (not the aluminum ones.) You will really want to invest in an air riveter for them, though. They don't vibrate loose and fall out and they are flush so they are not so susceptible to rocks. If you want to take the plastic off you gotta drill them out but big deal. How often do you take the underbody plastic of anyway? Not very often.

I'm sorry, but what's wrong with masturbation?

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Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Jon Burke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm sorry, but what's wrong with masturbation?

This is today over on Turbobricks.com, the best automotive forum, except a few idjits, I know of. It's from a friend in UK:
BB-Q wrote:
One of my sons has recently joined the Merchant Navy as a Cadet Officer. He is off to the Med in a few days for six weeks as part of his portfolio/training (Hoggen can probably explain this better than me).
Anyway, he just showed me this book he has:



WTF? I mean, I know the Merchant Navy's run on very much like the real Navy and I know it must get lonely at sea, but do you really have to keep a record every time you crack one off? :wtf:

I can just imagine how it would be filled in:

I've warned him to keep an eye out for Phillipinos and pineapples. :nod:

Quote

27/11/08. Been at sea for approximately three weeks. Was just discussing the merits of Tomb Raider and up came Mr Happy. Quick trip to the toilet and discharge completed at 10.15pm, approx 10cc. Wiped and flushed."

So whaddya think of that?

My answer was:
"Yepp, gits mighty lonesome at sea, m'am.
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."


>
>
>
>
> Jon Burke - KI6LSW
> Blog:
> 'Holy Shit!' @ 4:10

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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.

Doivi Clarkinen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fer cryin' out loud guys, this is all just mental
> masturbation. All you're doing is just welding
> these little nut things under the car so you can
> bolt plastic to them. You're not attatching an
> engine to an airplane or welding up the cooling
> tower plumbing on a nuclear powerplant for
> chrissakes!

What...are you a madman??? I full intend to not only die penetrant test all of the weld nut welds but in fact go one step further and x-ray them all too. You just can't be to careful when you attach thin plastic sheeting to the underside of a rusty POS '80's Japaneses econo-box. Peoples lives are at stake here...

I also regularly drive so fast that air friction causes the underside of my car to climb dangerously close to 800F rendering all of my stainless welds susceptible to sentitization and intergrandular corrosion. I studied metalography and have seen first hand how scary microscopic carbide precipitation can be...you just don't know man

^^
god that's sexy......gimme that log book.

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Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Jon Burke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ^^
> god that's sexy......gimme that log book.
>

Sadly it's not very useful. All the pages are stuck together...

that's just nasty

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Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2008 04:21PM by Jon Burke.

david amor Wrote:
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> Too much thinking not enough riv-nutting going on
> around here. The force on underbody plastics
> should not be pulling DOWN so the attachment point
> doesn't need to be TOO sturdy. If your underbody
> is getting ripped off you've got other problems.

Also note that there are two convenient holes (or dimples) on these nutplates -- drill 3 holes, place on inside, rivet/repeat.

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Pure mathematics is the enemy of every truly creative man -- Sir Alec

Ted Andkilde Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Also note that there are two convenient holes (or
> dimples) on these nutplates -- drill 3 holes,
> place on inside, rivet/repeat.
>

Now you're being redundant. Skip the nutplates, just use the rivets.

david amor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Too much thinking not enough riv-nutting going on
> around here. The force on underbody plastics
> should not be pulling DOWN so the attachment point
> doesn't need to be TOO sturdy. If your underbody
> is getting ripped off you've got other problems.


Riv-nuts won't last 2 seasons. The Protege started with rivnuts. By the end of the second season they were either all tacked with welds or ripped out and replaced with the above style weldnuts. They would become loose and just spin in the sheet metal. Junk. No, no force pulling down, but the vibrations of being continuously pelted by a storm of gravel loosens the rivnuts' grip and they start sucking shortly after installation.

Don't rivet in the weldnuts either. I just tack em on the ends instead of doing pretty ribbons of tig like that photo up there. Just get em in using your mig glue gun and call it a day.

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Lurch
Eric Burmeister
The west coast...of Michigan



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2008 11:01AM by Lurch.

What if I just dipped my whole car into a giant can of vinyl???

Tim Taylor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What if I just dipped my whole car into a giant
> can of vinyl???
>
>
Just keep the wipers and fans going as it sets up, you'll be fine.

---

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.

Put a cork in the tailpipe first.

---

Lurch
Eric Burmeister
The west coast...of Michigan