BMW E30 Underbody Rust Hole Welding | Car Underbody Restoration | 015
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- Опубліковано 19 гру 2021
- BMW E30 Underbody Rust Hole Welding | Car Underbody Restoration | 015
In this BMW E30 project video, I finally get to wire brushing the rear underside of the car to chase all the rust patches back to bare metal.
In doing this I uncovered a few small rust holes, namely around where the fuel tank mounts to the chassis, the rear passenger side chassis rail and also near the rear wheel well.
Here's what I use in this video:
Clarke Weld MIG 150 TE Turbo: ebay.us/jbdfE8 (this is the newer version)
0.8 Welding Wire: ebay.us/eQWqWx
Argon/CO2 Welding Gas & Regulator: ebay.us/7BOngD
Angle Grinder Wire Brushes: ebay.us/sSJjtM
Dewalt Angle Grinder: ebay.us/CmsNuW
Weld Through Primer Spray Paint: ebay.us/B7zIsR
Safety Goggles: ebay.us/2Dvt5C
I took the opportunity to try my hand at welding again to repair the rust holes under my E30. Although this time I ran into an issue with my old Wolf Weld welder and found myself unable to successfully weld the thin sheet metal I was using. Turns out the welder has a fault meaning it would either not weld the metal at all, or simply blow through with too much power. Very inconsistent.
Luckily I managed to pick up a new (to me) Clarke welder locally for a good price to get the project back on track.
For reference, I use 1.2mm sheet steel, 0.8 mild steel welding wire and Argon/CO2 mix welding gas in this video, rather than the flux core wire I was trying to work with previously. It's very challenging welding, and trying to do up upside down in a tight space between the E30 and the floor is not an enjoyable experience. However, I manage to cut out the rust and weld in a few solid patches, which although not pretty, are solid.
BMW E30s are well known for their underbody rust so yet again I'm feeling like I got very lucky with this particular example. You quite often see them too far gone and needing extensive welding work.
Although it's tempting to continue working with the wire wheel until all of the old underseal is removed from the underside of the E30, I think it's wiser to chase and tackle any rust I can find but leave the original underseal on where it's solid and on top of solid metal.
In my opinion, leaving the solid areas undisturbed and leaving the original e-coat and seal in place will be best for the car at this point. If I disturb it all I could easily make the car less rust-resistant than it already is.
For more helpful how-to guides and restoration project logs, visit our blog: www.spannerrash.com/
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Thanks for sharing. Excellent e30 content (and I am so jealous of your lights, so bright!)
Today i welded the rear arch on the driver side of my e30, there was a lot of rust.. but what a good feeling to compare before after when it is all welded!
Oh and everytime I weld I say myself, you can weld as good as how well cutted and closely adjusted your patch piece shape. Butt welding isn't the easiest for begin with but if we were chosing the easy things we wouldn't be on a rusty car project lol
Lap weld I can just not thrust for being futurproof with my little experience on welding..
To conclude gently it was just a word to say please keep motivated, we are on the same boat..
Awesome cheers, Murat! Sounds like our E30 projects are very similar indeed as mine has a bad rust patch on the rear arch.
I'm currently working on welding up the rear battery box which is another very common rust area on these old beamers. And you're 100% right about getting the patch to fit perfectly, that's probably the hardest part for me so far.
I'm hoping to keep the ball rolling with this project as I'm really excited to actually drive and enjoy the car it will eventually be.
Couple tips from one weekend warrior to another. One, try to do your cut outs on a bit of an angle. This will give you a nice beveled edge for welding. Two, prior to welding in new patch, "knock down" edges to be mated on original surface. This will give you some space for welds and body filling, without creating a bumped seam.
Thank you, I really appreciate the tips. Having a little bit of space between the patch and the weld is a concept I've only recently started to understand too. The avoiding a bumped seam is a very good way of putting it. Cheers!
@SPANNER RASH It's same if you can tack patch in place, and using a rubber mallet, knock it down around edges. This too will create a lowered edge for spot/button welds. Makes for a lot less body filling and sanding afterwards.
Cheers and thanks for the videos. Always great to compare techniques with others :)
@SPANNER RASH \ | Visualize the two lines as pieces to be welded. One be beveled on edge, other flat. When they meet along edge, it creates a groove to weld along, which is wee bit lower than the surface :)
@@chowchow2386 Absolutely, it's a very clever idea, wish I'd have thought of it myself! 😂
Theres so many specialist bits of knowledge when it comes to welding, it goes way deeper than I anticipated. I've learned a surprising amount just from the comments section which is awesome. Cheers!
@@SPANNERRASH Same. Why I love watching others work/reading comments.
I would also recommend try running a thinner wire for thinner metals. I use a 0.025" (may be a 0.028"), one size down from the 0.030". Note I use a flux type welder, with polarities reversed on power (inverted polarities gives cleaner welds with flux welders). As you know, thinner wire means less angry pixies, which means less heat/warping.
Top work!!
Cheers! :)
I strongly believe that if you spend time once in a while to check for chipped, flaky or any other form of underseal damage and you fix it by painting with rust inhibitor and apply new underseal there shouldn't be a reason why the underbody of the car wont last many years to come. Also applying fluid oil like waxes in the vulnerable parts of the vehicle is a must do especially for older cars or if you live in rainy and snowy places. Cheers.
Completely agree mate! Its a shame people aren't wise to that, there'd be a lot less rust in the world.
Great video. Your a Smart guy. 👍love the work you did
Thank you, that's very kind. Glad you enjoyed the video :D
I love your E30 content, your channel needs to blow up!
Cheers Dallo! :D
@@SPANNERRASH That sounds rather dangerous .
@@dougfields5798 Hahaa I'm hoping he means "blow up" in a good way! 🤣
@@SPANNERRASH Let’s hope so otherwise you’ll never get that car finished.
👏
Im not even hungry but your test weld patch looks like a delicious choco bar. I will now stfu 😶 and enjoy the real content of the vid
Haha! I can see what you mean actually. 🍫 But I assure you this would not taste good! 🍫🤣
where is the part youd do jack posts ?
Hi mate, do you mean where do I repair the jacking point? That's in this vid here: ua-cam.com/video/F0z8C6f2vNI/v-deo.html
@@SPANNERRASH how much did it all cost? ?
@@christophercolumbus8944 To do this repair? not that much to be honest, a few cans of zing primer, a bit of welding wire and gas, and some cuts of sheet metal picked up for cheap from a local engineering place. I quite often put links to things I use in the description where you can price things up. Feel free to check those out. 👍