mopar metal

More of an art than a science - discuss metalworking and welding here.



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PostPosted: Fri May 16, 2014 12:47 am
While doin up my my 70 Cuda I noticed a few almost invisible blisters... I 50 gritted down to find some brass... while I was at it I wanted to deal with the infamous Ebody quarter panel seem that was almost invisible but I saw it. Im told the ONLy proper way is to Tig weld the seam and LEAD it

Since I'm doing a color change I thought this is the time to fix this stuff.... Why did they use brass? wouldn't that be considered butcher?
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PostPosted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:21 am
It looks like someone used brass to fill the rust holes there, so when you repair that you might want to remove the window and do some more checking for rust. The brass will not let you weld over it, so it has to be completely removed, but you will probably need to do some cutting anyway to get all the rust.

You can use mig, or gas torch on the seam to close it up, then body filler. I'm sure some other guys will help you out on what type they use. At this point, I would weld a patch over the seam to fill it in, but it has to be welded good to seal it up.

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PostPosted: Sat May 17, 2014 11:35 pm
leading is old technology and if you were still to get "lead" it wouldnt have any actual lead in it. the proper way to do it would be to tig/mig weld the seam right up, then coat it in a waterproof filler such as duraglas or all metal or something like that and finish off by skim coating the whole area with body filler. also I would remove all the brass and weld up whatever you were left with. the brass tends to react with the metal and blister.



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PostPosted: Sun May 18, 2014 12:54 am
Good point on the reaction, with brass. The factory used it for a long time and painted over it without any problems, so I think it must have something to do with the flux, and neutralizing it properly. They do sell a lead free body solder, but the old lead solder is still available just like it always was 70/30, but most people won't take the time to learn how to use it so its best not to use it. It also takes practice like a lot of other things. I just picked up so silicon bronze to try out, it doesn't have the problems associated with brass.



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PostPosted: Sun May 18, 2014 3:31 pm
You can tell by the roof to quarter seam that the quarter panel was changed at one time and they sleazed it in around the glass pinchweld area with brass instead of using the complete new panel.Obviously they were to lazy to take out the glass,another substandard repair that is quite typical of an early car.Your best bet is to strip that area to bare metal just so you know what you are dealing with and make your choice accordingly as how to repair it.The brass used at the factory is much different than what was used in the repair shop with a flux.When done properly lead or plastic filler will last a lifetime,in this day and age lead is not needed unless you really want to feel warm and fuzzy about using it.



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PostPosted: Sun May 18, 2014 11:26 pm
actually that is not how it was welded in.. it was welded in from the top of the taillight to the top where it meets the door.. Back when the new quarters were installed 2003 there was very minimal mopar metal out there.... that being said I will tig a strip in the seam and replace the area where there is brass



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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2014 1:48 am
You are the guy looking at it not me so you could be right.Now what you describe is how an aftermarket "skin" is installed but I can assure you your quarter to roof seam that you are showing is not factory along with the brass around the window area.It looks like a full quarter was sort of sectioned in there along with the roof seam when it was fairly new then a lower skin was installed many years later.I would definitely strip it so you know what you are up against and post pics.



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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2014 10:44 am
I think what was done is the quarter was replaced and they "dealt" with the common rust issues with copper or brass in the lower rear window section... The car was forsure blasted to bare metal ... I figure Im going to cut the section out and weld in a new piece along with welding up the trunk filler while am right there... As far as the quarter seam I will tig weld a strip in there is my game plan



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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2014 6:27 pm
You could be right,but it doesn't expalin why the quarter to roof seam looks like some kind of welding was done,not a factory looking seam at all.ANyway I would advise against tigging some kind of patch over the void of the seam,if anything clean it out with a 3m clean and strip disk,clean up the seam with a spot sandblaster and weld the seam solid with a mig or tig.Clean it up and use some short strand fiberglass fillerto fill the void then finish off with regular filler.If you put a patch in there it will just be another spot that you can't seal properly and it will rust out again,bubble,etc.



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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 11:06 am
When all done, repairing correctly, then fog some MoPar rust inhibitor or the Ford Motorcraft rust inhibitor (same product, provided by a vendor-this product exceeds the SAE and ASTM standard) into the cavatity behind the repair.
That is the recommended and for warranty repairs-required, by both Chrysler and Ford.
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