tim,
do not braze! too much radiant heat and you are going to warp evrything
around the repair wich once cool will infuriate you! better mig weld it
and try to use some type of heat sink material around the welded area to
reduce warpage.
they usually crack on the outside skin not the inner shell.
cutting the cracks out,(like with a carbide cut off wheel) with a drilled
hole at the terminus of the crack stops the crack. putting a piece of
filler metal behind and welding the crack shut fixes the cracked area.
grind flat to finish.
chuck.
> [Original Message]
> From: Timothy H. Collins <thcollin@mtu.edu>
> To: <spridgets@autox.team.net>
> Date: 04/26/2005 5:42:16 PM
> Subject: How to fix - weld or braze?
>
> Hi Folks,
> I have found that both doors of my '66 Sprite have cracks on the top of
the
> doors that radiate from the window slots. There is one crack in front of
> the slot and one in the rear. They both radiate from the window slot
inward
> on top of the door. It is apparent that closing the door with the door
pull
> causes the inside door sheet metal to flex. Over time the crack
developed.
> I have two other doors from a parts car with the same problem.
>
> I can weld (MIG or gas) or braze the cracks. I am thinking that if
welded,
> the crack will probably just move over along side the weld after a short
> period of time. Brazing would add a little filler material over a larger
> area so should last longer - at least that is what I am thinking. I
suppose
> I could insert a reinforcing piece too, but that seems like more work
than
> is necessary. However, I though I would ask the group:
>
> 1) if others have noticed this problem?
> 2) how did you go about fixing the problem?
|