whats the best way to fill in body holes?

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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i am currently removing the dart custom trim from my 69 dart bcoz i am making a GTS clone ....and now i have these trim clip holes ....i have never had holes this big, usually they are smaller ones or the stud nubby you can just grind off.

so what will be the best way to fill in these holes..

can i weld them shut without too much heat?

wheres the paint guys LOL
 

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Make little steel discs that fit in the holes and do the weld stitching method to ensure you don't overheat the adjacent metal.

Good luck!
 
Have you ever used a rotabroach hole saw kit? You can use one of these and a piece of scrap sheetmetal to make small hole plugs, use a wire welder and tack weld them in place. Dont heat the metal for any length of time. Small tack welds, then let it cool, once you have it all welded up grind it smooth, and body filler it to smooth it out. Also seal the holes on the back side after you have welded them, as moisture can get in your repair eventually and rust it thru from the back.

Have fun and take your time welding and grinding to not overheat the panels. Not taking your time during this step will mean lots of bodywork later.

Cant wait to see how it looks without holes.

Matt
 
Save the trim if its nice, somebody on fabo might want it. Also posted to your thread about the hotwheels today Cool thread.
 
If you can get to all of them from the other side, you can use a piece of brass held over the hole on the back side and fill them gently with a weld and grind smooth. The brass needs to fit tightly against the hole. A piece of round stock would do nicely, using the end of it against the hole.

It may require and extra set of hands.
 
seen a gut do it with a 16 penny nail head ground to just the head and held with a small screw drinver just tack and come back like they said the heat will make waves it you get to hott then he tacked aoround it ground it when he was done you never new it was there ,never saw a year or 2 later either then i seen him cut the holes bigger like a dime magnetic screwdriver to hold and tack it in again but he is a master we all need a SCREW driver gl take your time not a welder here just a supervisour lol
 
After removing paint, I usually just start at the edge of the hole and work my way around in short tacks. Doesn't take much to close them up.
 
I'm no pro either but I've used the nail method. What I like is you have something to hold onto and the nail soaks up heat so there's less burn through and distortion.
 
Idaho said:
I'm no pro either but I've used the nail method. What I like is you have something to hold onto and the nail soaks up heat so there's less burn through and distortion.
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I've seen it done too, looks like you have alot of holes to fill Rani :coffee2:
 
Take a round rat tail file (chainsaw file) and get to bare metal on the center edges of the holes. Like was mentioned above, use a piece of brass, or even easier...take a piece of copper water line and beat it flat to put behind the hole while you're welding. Just little short tacks around the hole till you get it filled. Be careful grinding it back down smooth, as you will generate as much or more heat doing that as you will welding. You should find a raggedy old body panel that you're not going to use, and drill some holes in it the same size as the ones you are going to weld up....and weld them up just for practice. Good luck, and have fun! :D
 
Y'know, Rani....I was thinking about doing a project like this and wondering how I would weld up some body trim holes like yours. I was thinking....if you could source some small pieces of sheetmetal with the center "punched up" so it would fit perfectly in those holes. Seems like it would be a much better, safer (and quicker) way to weld up the holes. Maybe get a hand tool (like this one) and some square or round pieces of sheetmetal and somehow attach them to the inner quarter panels. OR.....I'll bet if you went to a sheetmetal fab place, they could hook you up too, and just have some made.

http://www.asianproducts.com/product/A13129592592558286_P13206263533380679/hand-punch-sheet-metal.html
 
70Duster440 said:
After removing paint, I usually just start at the edge of the hole and work my way around in short tacks. Doesn't take much to close them up.
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This is how mine were closed. Just move around from hole to hole so you do not build up a ton of heat in any one area at a given time.....
 
Seems a shame because those quarters look nice and straight, but I think I see some wheel well lip rust there. Might be more practical to consider quarter panel replacement.
 
i second the clean hole/brass backer/weld shut. take your time and it won t warp.
 
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