panel strengthening

[keep,er lit]

what i do it cut and shap a bit of metal to fit in side the panel and then cut were the split is with a saw and spotweld the plate on the weld the split up to the plate job done
billy

[dirtyhandslopez]

In the house construction industry, at least here anyway,they use stuff called liquid nails, sticky as anything, flexible and non degradeable. This may be the brown stuff John Howes is using. Comes in a tube like a tube you use for cualking.
http://www.liquidnails.com/products/pro ... oductId=56

[claretandblue]

For what it's worth I used JB weld to try and sort this out but it quickly got brittle and crumbled can only be heat related, surprised me as always done the job on other repairs.

[mawso]

I have a tube of "sticks like Sh*t" (yes that is the actual product name) which is probably the strongest flexible bonding I know of. So I'll try it out and see if first it stays on with the petrol spitback crap that'll end up covering it and also if it will halt the hairline split which has already appeared. Can't braze or weld etc as the panel is painted. Can live with the hairline split if the above remedy stops it splitting any more. I like the idea of the bent flat plates against the buffers as an interference fit too...as right hand panel has a tendency to spring loose sometimes. Maybe this may help it sit tighter.

[Lamaddict]

Red Ghost, Martin,
If those plates were commercially made I think you'd have a few buyers. I guess most of us could botch something but they look neat.

[soulsurfer]

Car panel sealer/adhesive would probably be the best to glue the plate on with.

[willwander]

Stu,
I seem to remember an old wives tale about drilling a small hole at the end of a split or crack to stop it splitting any further.
The hole is meant to spread the stresses in the metal.
No Idea if it really works, I could be talking rubbish.

Ah here we go, http://www.mechanicsupport.com/metal_fatigue_crack.html internet. good. init.

[mickdale]

surely the trouble with welding is the stresses in the panel are still gonna be there and the heat affected zone of the weld is more brittle and hard than the surrounding metal so it only delays recracking

i had some panels welded and one has resplit within 3 months

i had an indian gp imported through "motoitalia" in boston about 4 years ago and the panels had shaped strengtheners attached (maybe spotwelded) on from new - never split with loads of abuse

[mawso]

The above link attached refers to metal fatigue and corrosion. My problem relates to vibration and movement that has stressed the panel and cracked/split it on the apex of the right angle. When people modify pistons they reprofile the skirt or the windows to remove right angles which are seen as stress points. I can't reprofile the panel. Or spot weld a shaped rod in now, I could bond one in and then also bond a thin shaped ali plate in though. If the panels weren't painted I'd just spot weld a strip of rod along the lip...which I've had done before and it worked fine. This time I've got the double problem of the panel frequently working loose too, so the plate against the buffer may take up some slack too. Panel problem is prob' down to an out of shape panel which wont be helping the the area around the split either.